2021 Football Report

2021 saw 4 STC teams competing in their respective competitions, Premier First XI, Second XI, Junior First XI and Junior Second XI. I would like to start by thanking the men that made it happen. Robbie Lange, David Murdoch, Andrew Jones, Shane Reddy, Darren Scott and Neil Phillips thank you for your time and energy.

2021 turned out to be another frustrating season for the First XI due to injuries, unavailability of players and results. We welcomed Dave Murdoch to the coaching staff this season and we got off to a great start beating a decent Burnside team 4-1. We encountered a few tough results following the great start and found ourselves much further down the table than we expected. There were many games that we dominated possession and chances on goal, but we just couldn’t seem to find the back of the net to everyone’s growing frustration. National tournament was a real focus for the boys this season and everyone worked hard to get into a position to attend the Premier tournament in Napier. Unfortunately, although we qualified, for the second year running COVID put an end to that dream. At the end of the regular season, we ended up in 5th position and played Shirley Boys High in the quarter final who finished 4th. The boys put in an excellent performance and were cruising at 2-0 before conceding a late goal. We then played Christ College in the semi final and narrowly lost 2-1 after a couple of defensive errors and missed chances at the other end. This meant we faced Cashmere for 3rd or 4th position. Again, the saying of the season ‘how did we lose that game’ popped up as we went down 2-1 after being all over the opposition for most of the game. We will have a slightly younger but still exciting team heading in to 2022. We farewell some excellent young men who have served the college football programme well over the last few years. Oliver Cosgrove, Cody Reid, Calum Murdoch, Jack Walecki, Ethan Mani, Api Rabuka and John Oakman all finish their education at STC in 2021, go well men! A special mention must go to Oliver Cosgrove for not only making 87 appearances for the first XI but also being selected for the New Zealand Secondary Schools team, congratulations Cossy. A big congratulations to current returning players that are also involved in ongoing NZ Football talent programmes; Alex Ballard, George Campbell and Daniel Heyman.

The Second XI once again represented the college well with pride and passion when competing in their league matches. The second XI finished mid table after 3 wins, 3 loses and a draw.

The Junior First XI welcomed not only new players but new coaches as well this year. Darren and Neil did a great job molding the young lads into a competitive side. There were more wins than loses and they also competed in the semi finals after finishing in the top 4. The boys eventually went down on penalties to Shirley Boys High School. This team will also be very strong next year as half of the squad were Y9 in 2021.

The Junior Second XI developed their skills and team unity as the season progressed. The main aim was to get out there and have fun and by the sounds of it they sure did that. Well done lads and we look forward to you playing again next season.