against St Andrew’s College with a 3–0 victory, with Nick Wilson and Lewis Whiteside proving their worth as key starters and leaders of the future by scoring decisive goals. Having progressed nicely through the season to this point – with just the one loss – College headed to Dunedin for the annual exchange game against Otago Boys’ High School. In the first away exchange to OBHS since 2018, both sides produced an excellent game of football. It was a tight tussle in the first half, with OBHS having the better of the early chances. Both the goalpost and crossbar kept the hosts out after two good opportunities arose from some mispositioned College defence. Led by two outstanding performances by the team’s co-captains, College took control in the second half. Spencer Smith battled furiously in midfield against a strong OBHS midfield, continually turning over possession and giving College good ball. Gabriel
Gallaway led from the front with a well worked hat-trick, scoring off a Finlay Broomhall free kick, a lovely cut back pass from Nick Wilson, and once from the penalty spot. OBHS was going down without a fight, but College held its composure. The 3–0 win was a great result and a reversal of the previous year’s score. College then returned to league games with a crucial qualifier game against Shirley Boys’ High School. College went out to a fast start and was 2–0 up after 20 minutes. Gabriel Gallaway finished off a great passage of play when he rifled home a nice cut-back from AJ Madondo, with AJ then scoring a goal of his own. However, a defensive mistake before half-time gave SBHS hope, after being outplayed to that point. In the second half, College could not find the back of the net. College created several good opportunities, but each time SBHS managed to get in the way or College missed the mark. A dubious penalty for SBHS levelled
the scores, making for a tense finish. As College pushed high to find a winner, a perfectly timed run by the SBHS striker broke the College backline and he made no mistake, one-on-one with keeper Harry Dufton. The 3–2 final score gave College it’s second loss of the season and needing other results to go the boys’ way for automatic tournament qualification. Those results did not eventuate, but College secured a wildcard spot to head to Napier. Following a comprehensive, controlled 7–0 demolition of Papanui High School, College was keen to turn in a good performance against St Bede’s College after losing the final to that team the previous season. College did not disappoint. After conceding an early first-half goal through sloppy defending, College responded well. It was a feisty affair, with both teams clearly up for the game. Despite being 0–1 down, College had the momentum heading into the half. Gabriel Gallaway levelled the game shortly after the
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Register 2022 Sport
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