All White on the Night

This was an awesome performance and probably the best we have played for an entire match. We spoke on Monday and before the game about 7 things we were trying to work on. You did them all for 90% of the game. We also said in the changing room that we had played good hockey for halves of games but we wanted to put a whole game together.

We started off really strongly and shot past the post, forced a save and then Riley turned away to celebrate knocking in a cross before realising the ball had hit the post with the keeper well beaten. Jamie and Ethan got some good linking play going with Ed, Shak and jacob. jamie opened the scoring with a well placed shot from the left hand side of the circle. Riley made it 2-0 bundling the ball into the net from close range and Ethan added a third with a well struck effort.

The defence was working really hard and Jayson and Raj played really well to shut out their forwards and to clear our lines. Bunsi again was immense with some superbly timed tackles. Ethan got yellow carded for ten minutes for a moment of ill discipline. It is never a good idea to retaliate - even if you feel provoked.

At half time we remembered what happened last time we faced Raphael when we gave up a 2 goal lead in the first half of the season. We said that if they scored we would not let our heads go down but would try to hit straight back.

They were awarded a ludicrous penalty corner from a great tackle by Bunsi which they converted well. From the restart Jamie dribbled passed to Ethan who bustled his way forward and restored our three goal cushion 30 seconds after we had lost it. This was probably the key moment in the game. Ethan completed his hat trick with second phase possession from a PC. Jack had been doing some good passes and near the end found Rupert unmarked in their circle. Rupert showed great control, dragged it away from the keeper and tucked it beautifully into the corner. It was a really nicely taken goal and was the icing on the cake for us. Rupert will be starting on Thursday against Scots (in his more usual position). They had a number of attacks but the defence were up to the task and Tom had a great game with good saves in both halves and some fantastic clears.

You all played really well today. It was not just the result but the way you played. It was a great game to watch and the crowd were buzzing at some of your play. Their coach and players both commented on how much they thought you had improved since the last time we played them. It was great to see you stepping up, supporting each other and putting some great play together.

Players of the day were Finn who worked really hard, kept Denzel out of the game and made some incisive passes and Jamie who did a lot of work off the ball and did some clever linking. Having said that you were all stars today! I also want to make special mention of Rupert's exemplary attitude on the bench and his goal was the least he deserved today.

To come out and dominate against a team that finished second in the grading round with the biggest margin of victory in the league so far was immense. It has also helped our goal difference and more or less assured us of a place in the semi finals.
Well done team - your coaches, manager and parents are proud of you!

Match Result: Wellington College Under 15A: 6 - Raphael House 1st XI: 1

How we lost

We turned up to the usual Elsdon weather of choose any 2 from freezing temperatures, howling wind and pouring rain. We were up for the game and played really well in the first half. We got some good patterns working and Ed scored a sensational goal bursting through the inside right channel to blast a sweet strike with very little back lift.

We kept up the pressure and had a few chances but could not get a second goal. They scored an excellent breakaway goal to equalise shortly before half time. At half time we spoke about the importance of marking and movement and of keeping up the intensity.

We did not play as well in the second half and gave the ball away time and time again. Our marking got sloppy and our passing became inaccurate. Rayhan made some good clearances but we failed to stick to our pattern of play. We almost scored with two minutes to play but the ball broke to our end and we failed to clear the danger on the right side of our circle and the ball rolled across for an easy winner for them in the last second of the game.

It was frustrating that they scored after the final whistle should have gone and there were a number of strange umpiring decisions but that was not what lost us the game. We did not work hard enough, our basic skills let us down and we made too many unforced errors.

We need to work harder to support each other and to pass and move like we did in the first half if we are to avoid throwing the season away.

Match Result: Wellington College Under 15A 1 - Aotea 1st XI 2

The Finn and Ethan Show

Sunday morning we played the Wellington Under 13 Development Team. It was a good opportunity for us to get our passing game going and really show the up and coming stars what fast, attacking, passing hockey looks like.

We somewhat missed this opportunity and instead resorted to demonstrating the deficiencies of dribbling (eventually someone tackles you).

I was pleased with the defensive efforts of the Development Team and Tom reacted well to stop a couple of breakaways that could easily have conceded a goal.

We won the first third 2-0, the second 1-0 and the third (when we finally started passing a bit) 3-0.

Ethan scored 4 well taken goals (two of which should have been passes in a P3 game) and Shak knocked in the goal of the game.

Finn scored his first goal since he was about 7 years old with a cross that was so off target it tracked in at an impossible angle. Finn's other highlights included maiming a number of the Under 13s and an over head that would just about have cleared the opposition right wings head but would have struck even Shak on the chest or lower.

Rupert marking the wing in question had to be careful that he did not nip between his legs.

This was a good fun game and good to have some more turf time as a team.

Players of the day were Finn and Ethan - for being Finn and Ethan.

Thanks to Bruce for organising the team and yes I know the Umpires were a little sympathetic to the smaller boys (but they may just have been compensating for Finn) and yes I know there should have been a penalty (although based on our performance in the post match penalty shoot out competition it was perhaps as well that we did not)

Thanks for playing the game in a good spirit. I think the people watching enjoyed the game and it was a good learning experience for the Wellington team. I am sure it brought back memories for a few of you of playing Under 13 Rep.

Match Result: Wellington Under 13 Development 0 - Wellington College Under 15A 6

A good match.

Our fourth last game against Onslow was a story of valiant defending and missed opportunities. I was really pleased with the way the defence played. We marked well and closed them down when they broke forward. Finn and Bunsi played really well and Raj, Jayson and Rupert all tackled well. Tom made a number of excellent saves.

The missed opportunities were in the midfield and forwards. We took too long to get the ball moving and made too many poor decisions when we got close to their circle. They played well and closed us down quickly but we needed faster more accurate passing.

The first half we conceded three penalty corners and they scored from two of them. We were not alert to the switch of direction and stood off the shot. Finn almost stopped it on the line but it was a soft goal. The second PC was well struck. We hardly had a shot in the first half and went in 2-0 down at half time.

In the second half we played much better. Shak had a great chance which just shaved the post and Jamie put Ethan through where a slipped pass to the far post had players queuing up to score but the opportunity was wasted. We continued to defend well and Bunsi's diving clearance off the line showed the kind of commitment that turns a game.

They went in for a bit of sledging, appealing to the umpire and general back chat which we did well not to respond to. The most hilarious comment from one of their players was "If we play like this we could beat Wellington College 1st XI"

Players of the day were Jacob for some good passing and commitment and to Bunsi for a great all round performance.

Match Result: Onlsow 1st XI 2 - Wellington College Under 15A 0

So that is one game each between us and Onslow and we may meet them again in the play offs.

We are now entering the business end of the season. We have three games left and need to win two of them to secure a place in the semi finals. We need to improve every game from here on in.

Points but no prizes

This looked a bit like a team playing it's 6th game in 8 days. We were pretty surprised at the Rongotai starting line up and in the end that was what was going to get us the points. They apologised the next day for fielding an ineligible player and we accept their explanation that an honest mistake was made.

We only really came to life towards the end and Ethan knocked in the equalizer. We pressed for the winner and made several chances but left ourselves a bit exposed at the back.

We have awarded the goals to Ethan, Jayson and Rupert ( 1/2 a goal each) and Tom and Raj (1/2 a goal each).

Match Result - Wellington College U15A 3 - Rongotai 2nd XI 0

Now we approach the business end of the season and need to up our game for the next 4 games including 2 teams who beat us in the grading round and one that we drew with.

The Missin Cup

We competed in the inaugural Miskimmin Cup on Monday 26th July 2010. This brought together Under 15 boys teams from Wellington College, Hutt Valley High, Hutt International Boys School and Scots College. It was a great day of sport and was played in a very good spirit. It was unfortunate that we also had a first XI traditional against New Plymouth as it put our two 1st XI guys under more pressure.

Our first game was a closely contested match against HIBS. They had quite a few more players with 1st XI experience and we knew that they probably started as slight favourites. They did pretty much what we had expected them to do and sat back and played half court and tried to hit us on the break. We tried to get our passing game working and to push our forwards high but we could not get the ball to run for us. We had the bulk of the possession and territory but could not penetrate their circle. The first half finished 0-0 and neither team had really made a clear cut chance. In the second half they scored on an early break away. We regained our composure and deservedly equalised through Olly Logan. We were pressing for a winner when they broke away again. We just missed a tackle at the top of the circle and they scored a well taken reverse shot. We had two penalty corners after the final whistle but their goalkeeper kept the last one out with an excellent save. We played really well in sections of the game and Felix, Jacob, Finn and Olly in particular made some great passes.

Match Result: HIBS U15: 2 - Wellington College U15: 1


The next game was against Scots. We got good control from the start and it was pleasing to see our work rate and us getting to the ball first more. This again was a good competitive game and the score line at the end probably flattered us a little. Felix, Ethan and Jacob scored and it was great to see Shak and Nick working hard and combining well. I was also really pleased with the marking and commitment of Jayson and Rupert. Finn played his usual captains role and at times seemed to be everywhere.

Match Result: Scots U15: 0 - Wellington College U15: 3


The last game was against Hutt Valley High and was effectively the play off for second place. There were a few tired legs. We were always ahead in the game but we kept letting them back into it. We were 3-1 up at half time and let them back to 4-3. Our marking let us down and we gave their forwards way too much space to play. At least we kept going to the end. Nick and Ethan both scored good goals, Olly knocked in a couple and Jamie scored a hat trick. We ended up with a score that was two thirds of an aeroplane!

Match Result: Wellington College U15 15: 7 - Hutt Valley High U15: 4

Final Table



Great to have Olly and Felix with us for the day and to have Sachin, Henry and Marc contributing and getting a taste of the cup for next year. So a great first Miskimmin Cup which saw us just Missin Out on the silverware.

Really proud of the way you handled 6 matches in 8 days and won 4 of them and only lost 1. Well done team!

A Week of Two Games!

We travelled to Palmerston North to play Boys High in the Under 15 "traditional". We missed Bunsi, Rayhan and Ed from our usual line up but were bolstered by the addition of Felix and Olly. This has always been a tough fixture and we lost 6-0 last year in Wellington.

We had the best of the early exchanges but then had a nightmare ten minutes when we gave the ball away twice in dangerous positions and they took their chances to capitalise on our mistakes. The last man must not be dispossesed and we need to ensure that we don't pass to the opposition in front of our circle. Most of the goals we concede are when we get caught square at the back without any cover behind.

We kept working and trying to get our passing game going and Jamie managed to squeeze the ball home after some good work down the right. This made it feel like we more in the game and we scored our second at the critical time just before half time. Jacob found Jamie on the left and his reverse cross found Riley who pounced at the far post.

In the second half we pushed Olly into midfield and that helped with our distribution. Rupert, Jayson and Finn worked hard at the back and Shak made some great tackles on the left. Our linking improved especially when Felix got the ball going down the right and we had some good passing movements. They cleared the ball off the line twice and their goal keeper also made some good saves. Olly made a couple of good breaks and found himself with time to score our third into the bottom left corner and put us into the lead for the first time. It stayed balanced at 3-2 for most of the second half and it was the icing on the cake for Riley to score to make the game safe with a couple of minutes to go.

I was really pleased with how we kept fighting all the way to the end and did not let the umpiring affect our attitude. This was a well contested game and we played well to win it. As it turned out we were the only sporting team to win on the day - which demonstrates the calibre of the opposition. We were well hosted by Palmerston North Boys High and you did Coll proud in your behaviour on and off the pitch. I don't think I have ever seen a video on a bus stopped at a more crucial moment in the story.

Players of the day were Shak and Tom

Result: Palmerston North Boys High Under 15 - 2 Wellington College Under 15 - 4


The next day we played Wellington High 1st XI in the league. This was a very good team performance. We were sad to miss Nick being unwell just before the start but we adjusted well and got the ball moving effectively.

We were better at using our width and the midfield of Jacob, Shak and Ed really stepped up and all had excellent games. We got into their circle on numerous occassions but could not get a shot on target. The ball went across the face, went past the post, went over the bar, hit their keeper and was cleared by their defence.

There are some days that you cannot buy a goal! We have played worse than we did on Thursday and won. They had some pressure and Tom made a couple of good saves, as he had done in the second half at Palmy.

We got a penalty stroke when Jamie's shot was stopped by a foot on the line but Jamie pushed the stroke just past the post. We need to be more aggressive in the circle and take our chances.

Players of the day: Jacob and Jayson

Result Wellington High School 1st XI 0 - Wellington College Under 15A - 0