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
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