with the tournament cancelled for the second year in a row, College again missed out on measuring itself against the rest of the country. It was a harder pill to swallow this year, given the progress and potential of the team. In the final league games of the season, College beat Papanui High School (2–0) and St Thomas of Canterbury College (1–0) in two tight encounters. Again it was early goals and strong defensive efforts that got College through to maintain an unbeaten league record. It was the first time that any team was unbeaten in the premier competition. St Thomas, Cashmere and Lincoln High School had one- loss seasons in previous years. Finishing top gave College a bye in the first round of the top-six play- offs. Then came the lengthy Covid-19 lockdown stoppage before College faced its semi-final opponent, a very impressive St Thomas team. It was another gritty effort, with early pressure allowing Charlie Cameron to capitalise on a St Thomas mistake and a classic attacking run and finish by striker Caleb Manson giving College a 2–0 lead. St Thomas scored late in the game, but College held on for a 2–1 win, booking a spot in the final for the first time. The final had the potential to be very exciting as College came up against St Bede’s College. The game started
shakily, with a few nerves causing some misjudgments. However, once the team settled, College began to create good forward-flowing movements. As it had done many times, College scored early, with Charlie Cameron finishing a well- taken corner. St Bede’s College quickly responded and, despite plenty of quality phases of play, College could not find another goal. Gabriel Gallaway went close and Caleb Manson found plenty of space on attack, with co-captain Kosei Oikawa a key figure in many of College’s chances. The team missed the defensive organisation of newly selected New Zealand Secondary Schools U19 representative Daniel Metherell who had been ruled out with injury. With seven minutes to go, St Bede’s College took the advantage with a long ball over the top. The St Bede’s College striker was awarded the goal despite some debate over player position. Despite a frantic finish, College lost, 1–2. The loss ended a fantastic season, with the 1st XI unbeaten in 12 league games, winning and then defended the Connetics Shield for the entire season, conceding just six goals to top the league and also winning the Mainland Referees Jubilee Cup for the team of the year in terms of fair play, sportsmanship and performance. Reaching the 1st XI premier final
and finishing runner-up was College’s best-ever result and a good reflection of the team’s progress over the last three seasons. With the departure of Year 13 stalwarts Caleb Palmer, Daniel Metherell, Jamie Barr, Charlie Cameron, Alexis Georgiou, Kosei Oikawa and Caleb Manson, the 1st XI team will look quite different in 2022, with some big shoes to fill. Played 13 Won 12 Drawn 0 Lost 1 Goals For 36 Goals Against 6 Place 2nd (Runner-up) Matt Cortesi MiC JUNIOR XI FOOTBALL Manager: Robbie Turrell Coach: Kevin Guttmann Team: Ollie Biggs, Freddie Coates, Tomas Coberger, Tasman Daly, Nikau Davies, Ollie Gormack, Lucas Gould, Jake Hayes, Max Johnson, Mark Reidie, Ben Rookes, Alex Rutherford, Milton Sedze, Oscar Talbot, Fletcher Tapper, Ashwin Thomas, Ollie Walker, Ewan Whiteside, Daniel Wilson, James Wood, Ollie Young The season started slowly as the boys got used to training and playing together. The team, which played in two leagues, faced a different level of difficulty between each standard, giving the boys many opportunities to develop into a group with a winning mentality. With the mix of Year 9s and Year 10s, the level of ability naturally differed. However, it was good to watch the collective unit forming as the more experienced helped the younger players. Coach Kevin Guttman was the perfect catalyst, blending the team and collectively raising the level of play. The boys soon started playing for each other and working hard together under his excellent guidance. In the first match to Rangiora, the boys overwhelmed the opposition, 7–1. Unfortunately, there was no opportunity for the boys to sharpen
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Christ’s College Canterbury
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