BACKThis season our 1st XI Boys Football team competed in the Auckland Senior A1 competition. This was the same league where in 2021 the team placed 3rd. This season they faced several strong teams but convincingly won all but two of their games, their only two losses being against Rosmini. In 14 games, the team scored an incredible 63 goals and only conceded 17 goals against their opponents. These results put them in a dominant position to secure the second spot on the table and finish the league in 2nd place. An awesome achievement!
During Winter Tournament Week the team travelled to Whangarei to compete in the NZSS Rex Dawkins tournament. After a strong season, they were the ones to beat at this tournament. After a convincing 5-1 result in their first game against Green Bay, the team faced a defeat against Orewa 1-0 but then went on to comfortably beat Pompallier 1-0 and Mahurangi 5-0. The quarter-final and semi-final were extremely competitive games. In the quarter-final, Northcote was up 1-0 for the majority of the game, but the boys continued to play great football and scored two goals in the last five minutes. In the semi-final, they came up against a strong Howick College side but again secured a one-goal lead, winning 3-2. This result earned them a spot in the final against Mt Roskill. In another game that could have gone either way, the boys fought hard until the end and came away with a 3-2 win, earning them the gold medal, and became tournament champions for 2022. A very special moment for all involved!
A special mention goes to Nathan Chapman who captained the team and had a massive impact on the team’s success this year. A big thank you also goes to Emmanuel Darkwa (Coach) and Craig Fickling (Manager) for all the time and effort they have put into the team this season, it does not go unrecognised.
