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

Good start to the round

I was sorry to miss the match being in Auckland but Luke and Bruce stepped into the breach and I was cheering when the goals were texted through!

Match Report by our special correspondent

It was good to see so many parents supporting the team on a chilly, Fraser evening. The game started brightly and it was good having Nick, Ethan and Jamie in the forwards pushing forward early and keeping pressure on their defense. Finn spread the ball wide from midfield and Bunsi tackled hard to maintain possession whenever they got near our 25 and again spread the ball wide for our wings to take the ball forward. The tenacity of our play played dividends when we were attacking and Shak slotted our first goal behind the keeper.
The play continued much the same throughout the first half with no less than 28 shots at goal, with three PC's being awarded. During one of the PC's we went into a second faze in the circle where Nick then placed the ball squarely into the goal for our second.

At half time we spoke about the need to continue having our wings stay high and wide, to be on the ball and continue the pressure that we exerted in the first half. Again for some reason we lost our positional play for the first 10 minutes but then regained our composure and applied pressure to their backs and goalie. Both sides had chances in the second half and our replacement goalie, Marc staved off a furious attack midway through the second half by their forwards.A great effort. The pace of the second half was fast and was played in both halves with our boys pushing ever harder into their circle in the last 10 minutes. Ethan found an opportunity to score and planted a ball high in the top right corner but the goal was disallowed.

We had many promising breaks throughout the game with the ball being passed out wide and continued pressure applied to their defenders. A great effort and pleasing to see the team back to playing their game.

Result Hibs 2nd XI 0 - Wellington College Under 15A - 2