Winter tournament week - 1st XI Football

By OBHS | Posted: Wednesday September 6, 2023

With the disappointment of missing out on the Premier tournament, the football firsts headed off to Nelson to compete in the Jim Wishart Tournament.

With the disappointment of missing out on the Premier tournament, the football firsts headed off to Nelson to compete in the Jim Wishart Tournament.

The weather was perfect as we settled into our accommodation in Mapua after the long drive North. In our first game versus Nayland College we were 3 nil up at halftime which seemed comfortable, but made quite a few changes and ended up conceding a couple to win 3-2. In the afternoon we played Rangiora High School and suffered the second game blues. We still managed a draw 1-1 with a late equaliser from Isaac.

Tuesday saw a good win in the morning 1-0 over Middleton Grange which saw us into the quarter finals with a game to spare. We played the squad in the afternoon game against Whanganui High School and suffered our first loss 2-1 to the eventual finalists.

Wednesday's quarter final was against St Bernards (last years winners) and we played some great football to come out 3-1 winners. This set us up nicely for the semi-final in the afternoon against Rangitoto High School. We conceded an unfortunate goal after 15 minutes and never recovered against a very big physical side who kept our strike force at bay despite some strong attempts on goal.

Thursday's playoff ended in disappointment but it was the game no-one wants to play for, 3rd and 4th in the tournament.

We had a lot of parents supporting the boys, and their contribution was appreciated in keeping the lads going. 7 games in 4 days is tough work.

The team was well led by Isaac Adams with support from Thomas Mason, Cam McFarlane, Dylan Mitchell, James More and top goal scorer was Alex Dale who scored some cracking goals. These Year 13 boys gave it their all and played a lot of minutes during the 4 days. We have 10 returning for 2024 and these boys will have learnt a lot from the experience of playing on bumpy pitches which did not suit our style of play.

Thanks to everyone for their efforts. A great bunch of boys to take away and get some idea of what it's like to be a professional sportsman for a week.

Michael McGarry/Kate Hope

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