vs Papanui High School With both teams in the top four, the game had great potential and did not disappoint. There was very little between the sides in the first half, with College having (but missing) the only real chance to score. College had a fantastic start to the second half when, following a great cross by Jake Tacon, Jordy Annand scored. Some good play out wide and excellent build-up play from Charlie Cameron and Caleb Manson soon opened up a second opportunity for Jordy. Papanui got a goal back through a penalty after one of their strikers got tripped up in the box, but College were determined not to lose this game. Daniel Metherell and Sam Averill were superb in the centre of defence and Caleb Palmer made some crucial tackles to break down any dangerous Papanui attack. It was a great team effort. College’s work rate, speed out wide and tenacity made all the difference. The 2–1 win taking College to second in the league. vs Christchurch Boys’ High School With College caught napping at the start, CBHS created an early chance from a free kick that just missed. College then began to find traction, their pressure on the CBHS defence working well. A small mistake by CBHS defenders allowed Jake Tacon to pounce and open the scoring. CBHS were next to score, when College failed to clear on defence and ended up giving away a free kick. Charlie Cameron restored College’s lead with a cracking one-touch finish right before half-time. Unsurprisingly, CBHS came out firing in the second half, but some excellent defensive work by the College defenders led by Daniel Metherell and some great work by Jake Tacon and Caleb Manson kept College on the front foot. Caleb Manson scored off a top class run and pass from Jake, and then placed another tidy finish off a ball intercepted by Ben Abbot. It was an excellent game. Their 4–1 win scored College a place in the Premier national tournament for only the
vs Riccarton High School College secured its first semi- final appearance in the Premier competition since 2015 with a big win over Riccarton High School. Right from the start College controlled the game with a lot of possession and time in the opposition half. In wet conditions, after a first goal off the corner delivered by Charlie Cameron and another from Sam Averill, the flood gates opened. Although Riccarton did their best, they were powerless to resist the constant threat of the College forwards streaming into the box. With further goals for Owen Rees, Jake Tacon, and Charlie and Sam, and two goals to Caleb Manson, the half-time score was 8–0. In the second half, Riccarton were much tighter on defence, but even so College continued to control the majority of possession and focused on retaining and moving the ball around and creating chances. Caleb Manson added three more goals to take his tally to five. The final score – 11–0 – was more than enough to ensure College could progress to the semi-final. vs St Andrew’s College It was a pretty untidy, lacklustre display that ended the league season, with College losing to a young, well-structured StAC team. College started slow and found themselves under some early pressure and having to scramble on defence. Daniel Metherell did some great last ditch defending, but StAC kept breaking through. Caleb Manson found a bit of space going forward and Caleb Palmer did a good job winning possession in the midfield, but College just could not make anything stick. In the second half, College came out with much more intensity and purpose, but StAC kept the pressure on. College picked up a couple of yellow cards and StAC doubled their lead with a curling free kick that beat the College wall. With a few minutes to go, College went down to 10 men, with Jamie Barr shown a red card after picking up his second yellow in the match. The team needed to do some hard work
third time in 20 years, with 1999 and 2014 the previous two occasions. vs Shirley Boys’ High School SBHS were definitely the better team through the first part of the game and, if not for some pretty average finishes, could have been three or four goals ahead by half- time. College scrambled on defence, but uncharacteristically lacked any potency going forward. The team settled down and played a lot better in the second half, with Jake Tacon and Charlie Cameron working hard in the midfield, and Jamie Barr organising defence. Daniel Metherell was excellent in the air and Fin Smith’s steadying influence also helped create a bit more certainty. Eventually, after a free kick outside the box, Tom Tothill nicked one in to score his first 1st XI goal and College was first on the board. SBHS became increasingly frustrated as every time they mounted an attack College were able to break down the play. Some good counter-attacks kept College in front and Jake Tacon produced a strong run and finish. The final score a 2–0 win. vs St Thomas of Canterbury College Coming back after the holiday break to face top of the table St Thomas was not going to be an easy task, but College did themselves proud with a hard-fought effort from start to finish. Captain Jordy Annand led the team out in his 50th appearance for College and the team quickly settled into a very workmanlike performance. Strong tackles and excellent defence spearheaded by Daniel Metherell and Caleb Palmer kept St Thomas from scoring in the first half. In the second half St Thomas came out faster and stronger, and while College fought hard with some excellent play, St Thomas was able to forge ahead and take the win. Although the final score was a 0–3 loss, there were more positives than negatives for College. The team only needed one win from the last two games to secure a semi- final play-off place.
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Christ’s College Canterbury
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