ELLERSLIE AFC SENIOR PRIZEGIVING 2019
WELCOME Wow – that season went by so quickly! I want to thank everyone for all their efforts (big or small) in facilitating the sport of football in our local community. The 2019 season had some ups and some downs – which is not unique in this environment and, like all the previous seasons, the good folk at Ellerslie AFC stuck together when times were tough and patted each other on the back to celebrate our achievements. While sport is the reason we are all here, we are also a club which stands in the local community and when there are shocking events like we saw this year against the Muslim community, it really brings home how lucky we are to have such an inclusive and understanding group of members representing us as a club. There have also been events highlighted in news headlines this season about abuse of match officials and recently an article about some sideline drama at an U11’s match. Luckily at our Club we have not had any major incidents with this kind of behaviour, and although we have seen a few unsavoury incidents occur at Michaels Ave it’s been the other teams who have created these issues. I think the senior side of the club can be proud of the way we play, but we need to, as a group keep making sure we don’t let our standards slip. 2019 was also a season of a lot of change – some of this was brought to our table by Auckland Football Federation who, on the back of financial issues, decided to instil some significant increases in player levies, particularly in what they have phrased “the talent space”.
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We are very mindful of pricing football in a way that it is affordable to our local community and with our very unique approach of supplying shirts (instead of making members buy them) we feel we have achieved that.
This year we committed to running an U11’s National Tournament and it was fantastic to have teams from as far as Whangarei participate. This was very much a learning experience for us all and we have gained so much knowledge for future events. We hope to make the U11’s a key tournament going forward. Thank you to the Tournament Committee and our Operations Committee for all your hard work. We could not have achieved this without you! Facilities are on the tip of our tongues at the moment with the new clubrooms so close to being a reality (for more info check out the special page on our website), but also it’s a good time to recognise that the facilities we do have and how amazing they have been this season – the fields have by and large held up to all the foot traffic really well and of course the turf is a blessing when the rain finally set in for winter in August. Aside from a few games and trainings having to be cancelled towards the end of the season we had a great run through most of the season and we would be one of only a few clubs whose members experienced so few cancellations. At the committee level we have so much knowledge and experience with this game – which means we are able to have some really good debates about how this club continues to evolve – I want to thank all the members of the Club Operations Committee for all their time and effort this season, you are all truly valued! We are always looking for fresh faces and new ideas to join the committee and invite people to get in touch if you feel you have something to offer. I hope everyone has a chance to have a breather before they start getting involved in summer sports and we look forward to seeing you back playing football for the Ponies in the 2020 season!
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HOUSEKEEPING Just a few things to remember to make the night flow
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No alcohol to be taken outside
Only miniature trophies can be taken home - club trophies are to be left in the clubrooms at the end of the night.
Please try and respect other teams awards and keep quiet during the presentations
Enjoy yourselves but drink responsibly - the bar staff won’t be serving intoxicated people.
CONTENTS TONIGHTS PROGRAM GLOSSARY WOMENS FIRST TEAM MENS FIRST TEAM WOMENS RESERVES MENS RESERVES MENS SHOWSTOPPERS MENS CHAMPS MENS DIAMONDS MENS OVER 40’S METRO WOMENS REBELS WOMENS RED FURY MENS OVER 40’S MUSTANGS MENS IGUANAS ASSORTED TABLES MENS DECEPTIVELY SLOW MENS KFCFC MENS PONY RESERVES MENS BUSINESS TIME MENS BLACK PONIES MENS BARONS MENS SHICKYS CLUBROOMS UPDATE
6-7 8-9 10-13 14-15 16-17 18-19 20-23 24-25 26-27 28-29 30-31 32-35 36-37 38 39 40-41 42-43 44-45 46 47 48 49 50-51
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TONIGHTS PROGRAM AWARD
Men’s Pony Reserves – Player of the Year Men’s Pony Reserves – Sportsman of the Year
Men’s Champs – Player of the Year Men’s Champs – Sportsman of the Year
Men’s Iguanas – Player of the Year
Men’s Iguanas – Sportsman of the Year
Over 40’s Metro – Player of the Year Over 40’s Metro – Sportsman of the Year Over 40’s Metro – Jo Crichton Supporters Player of the Year
Women’s Red Fury – Player of the Year Women’s Red Fury – Sportswomen of the Year
Women’s Rebels - Player of the Year Women’s Rebels - Sportswomen of the Year
Men’s KFCFC – Player of the Year
Men’s KFCFC – Sportsman of the Year
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INTERMISSION
Men’s Reserves – Players Player of the Year Men’s Reserves – Player of the Year Men’s Reserve – Sportsman of the Year TEAM MEDALS – LEAGUE RUNNERS UP
1st Team – Players Player of the Year 1st Team – Most Improved Player of the Year Brian Compson Memorial Cup – First Team Golden Boot Joe Walton Memorial Cup – Supporters Player of the Year 1st Team – Sportsman of the Year
1st Team – Player of the Year Colt Cup – Outstanding Young Player
Women’s Reserves – Players Player of the Year Women’s Reserves – Sportswomen of the Year Women’s Reserves – Player of the Year
Women’s First Team – Most Improved Women’s First Team – Supporters Player of the Year Women’s First Team – Players Player of the Year Women’s First Team – Golden Boot Women’s First Team – Player of the Year Women’s First Team – Sportswomen of the Year
Jack Hatton Memorial Trophy CUP & LEAGUE PRESENTATION (INC MEDALS)
CLUB AWARD: Club Golden Boot CLUB AWARD: Ritchie Family Cup – Manager of the Year CLUB AWARD: Brewster Shield – Best Overall Performance CLUB AWARD: Sportsperson of the Year CLUB AWARD: Supporter of the Year CLUB AWARD: Clubperson of the Year
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GLOSSARY Here is something to help you understand some of the trophy’s handed out tonight, and how the winners are chosen. Player of the Year - your teams best player, by team vote or chosen by your coach Sportsman of the Year - the player who gave your team the most, on and off the field, typically also someone who plays hard but clean (the Ellerslie AFC way!)
Supporters Player of the Year - some of the teams have this award, most of them have been donated by ex members and have the trophy's themselves have ties to great Ellerslie AFC family's—as you can see from the title these are awarded to the supporters favourite player! Most Improved - this is awarded to players who the coach thinks have made the biggest improvements during the year - it doesn’t mean the player wasn’t good to start with but more that their attitude and learning experience this season has been above the rest.
Golden Boot - Easy this one, the player who top scored for your team Players Player of the Year - some of the teams have a player of the year and a players player of the year—this is as the title suggests the version that the players pick, it’s not always the same as what the coach picks!
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SPECIAL AWARDS: Colt Cup - donated to the club to help recognise ultimate up and coming exceptional talent, usually rewarded to someone in the First Team or Reserves under 21. Jack Hatton Memorial - donated by Matt Hylla in memory of his brother who passed away, this award also recognises exceptional up and coming talent but also takes into consideration a strong off-field personality. Services to Refereeing - a nod to a growing part of the modern club, the referee - the winner of this award shows excellence in the field of refereeing. Club Golden Boot - the top scorer across the entire club in league games - based on goals recorded on your teamcards Team of the Year - this award is judged on league record alone - the team with the most games played and least losses (present at prizegiving) wins the “Team of the Year� Manager of the Year - The Manager who has made a massive positive impact on his team this season, someone who goes above and beyond the call of duty regularly Sportsperson of the Year - probably the most prestigious award for a player/member to win - the best of the best! Clubperson of the Year - The ultimate award at the club this award recognises ultimate contribution across any avenue at the club, could be a player, coach or a volunteer
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WOMENS FIRST TEAM 10
If 2018 was the year of firsts for this team, 2019 was the year of adding. The start to that being adding in 3 new coaches to the staff in the likes of Ian Davidson, Callum McKenzie, and Alejo Perez Leguizamon. Then we had a few new players added to the team who were majorly all Ellerslie players in 2018 but were playing in a different team to the Women’s First Team. Once the staff and players were sorted, it was on to adding to the success the team had last year and finally, adding to the opportunities our youth players had to play in the Women’s team setup. It’s easy to start the season at the first game, but this team actually started their season in November with their preseason training. By the time the first game rolled around, this team had been training together for months and were already well attuned to how the team was looking to play. The season rolled through as the coaches expected but the team putting a high number in the goals scored column and keeping a 0 in the goals conceded column each week. The team hit its first roadblock in the season when they came up against last year’s bogey team, Norwest. The weather was terrible and for the first time all year, we didn’t score a goal. We managed to keep a clean sheet, so we came away with a draw. Two weeks later the scoring troubles continued, and the team picked up the first loss of the season. Conceding 2 goals in the process. Those would be the last 2 goals they would concede during the regular season. The team would finish with 15 clean sheets across all competitions entered. One of the biggest challenges and pivotal moments in the season came when the team faced Norwest for the second time. Oddly, it was only 4 weeks after the first Norwest match due to some AFF scheduling “magic” that the club has come to accept as part of the competition. Having not beat Norwest in the last 3 contests and needing to win this one to stay in the title hunt, the challenge found a way to get even tougher as many first team players were away, sick or injured for the match. This meant that the line-up included not just a few players making their season
debut for the Women’s First Team, but some making their club debut! With a starting line-up that included 2 players in their club debut and a center back playing striker, the message of the day was, “Let’s find a way”. The team bought in and they found a way to come away with a 2-0 win. The season boiled down to the final match of the season against Hibiscus Coast and the math was simple. Ellerslie needed a win, or they would narrowly miss out on the title. The match started out heavily in our favour, but the ball just wouldn’t go in the goal. When it did eventually go in the goal, it was taken away as the ref had spotted an infringement just before the ball entered the net. The game ticked along 0-0 and while it seemed bleak to some, the ladies never gave up and continued to play their game right through to the end. Coach Callum McKenzie was on the side repeating throughout the second half, “A goal is coming, I know it. I don’t know when, but it is coming!” His prophetic call was proved right as with 12 minutes to go in the season, Ellerslie found the back of the net and then hung on to a 1-0 lead through the final minutes of regulation and what seemed like an eternity of 6 minutes of extra time. AFF/NFF Women’s Conference League Champions! It was right back on the horse (pony) for the team as they had the AFF Women’s Knockout Cup 6 days later! Looking to repeat as champions here, they learned from last year’s mistakes of not scoring in regulation and took their early chances to get out to a 2-0 lead. Central clawed one back in the second half, but the ladies again showed their determination and defensive prowess to win back to back championships 2-1 over Central. 6 days, 2 cups. That’s an extraordinary season for any team, but then the team had to play their final two matches of the season that meant everything to them, their coaches and the club. It was a playoff against W-League winners Claudelands to decide who would head to the Lotto NRFL Women’s Premier division in 2020. The first leg saw Ellerslie go up 2-0 in the first half and it seemed all but simple math from there.
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WOMENS FIRST TEAM 12
Claudelands had different plans and found a way to get two back, the final in the dying seconds of the game to level at 2-2. An odd game where all 4 goals were scored off corners…the same corner for all 4. That must be a record. The second leg started just like the previous game with Ellerslie going up 2 in the first half and controlling the game. Having learned from their mistake the previous week the ladies didn’t let down and came out firing in the second half and were unlucky not to add more to their lead. When all was said and done, this team had done it again. Champions of the league, the cup, and now the playoff. Results are great but the true strength of this team comes from its culture. It comes from the togetherness, friendships and sense of belonging to the club this team possesses. They are a team on and off the field and that attitude is infectious to the new players who join. I am extremely proud of all of them and can’t wait to see what 2020 holds for this team.
A special thanks to Alejo for all his hard work and motivation with this team. To Ella and Sarah for contributing to the team when they were unable to play. A final massive thank you to Ellerslie’s best reptilian team, the Iguanas for their amazing support throughout the year.
AWARD WINNERS ANNOUNCED TONIGHT
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MENS FIRST TEAM 14
The objective for the First Team for the 2019 season was to improve on the previous season while continuing to build the experience within the team at NRFL level. Ultimately the team had a disappointing season finishing 10 th on the competition ladder. Coaches Fred de Jong and Terry Torrens remained in charge and the majority of the First Team players returned from the 2018 squad. The start of the season was punctuated with dramatic last minute action to either win or lose matches. A tough 2-0 loss to eventual promotion contenders Mt Albert Ponsonby kicked off the season and then two 4-3 wins against Waitemata and Fencibles with winning goals in the final seconds got the season into positive territory. However, in similar fashion to the previous two seasons, a run of losses saw the team drop to the lower section of the table. With both Hibiscus Coast and Fencibles failing to win a point in the first half of the season there was always a sizeable buffer to the relegation zone but the team were disappointed to drop points in matches where we were more than competitive. In the Chatham Cup Ellerslie were drawn away to Ngaruawahia in the first round who were beaten comfortably 60. Next up was another away match, this time out west against NRFL Premier side Waitakere Utd. In one of the best performances of the team all season we took the lead and pushed Waitakere all the way. However two goals from Auckland City recruit Dylan Manickum gave Waitakere a 2-1 victory. The focus returned to the league and two crucial victories against Takapuna (2-1) and Waiheke (3-0) meant the team had done enough to retain their position in NRFL Division One for the 2020 season albeit in rather unconvincing fashion.
We wish to thank everyone involved with the team this
season, including players, coaching staff, management and supporters. Special thanks to Tim Adams who again managed the side and put in a huge number of hours to make sure match days ran smoothly for both the First Team and Reserves. The players and coaching staff would like to congratulate the Women’s First Team on their achievement of winning the Conference League this season and, as this publication goes to print, wish them well for their promotion playoff matches. We hope everyone has an enjoyable off-season and we look forward to seeing you supporting the club next year. Fred and Terry.
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WOMENS RESERVES
In 2018 the club tried to get a true Reserves and First team off the ground on the women’s side for the first time. We got close. In 2019 we got much closer to our goal of that and had quite a few players moving back and forth between the two teams. From a coaching perspective that was a fantastic achievement and something that Coach Ian Davidson was really happy with. Ian was new to the team setup this year and with him taking the reins of the Women’s Reserves, this allowed Tim Adams to relinquish his role as Women’s Reserve team coach from 2018 and support the team as a Manager. A role I believe he felt far more comfortable in this season. This team was a hybrid of ladies who had played Reserves or First team in 2018, plus some new players to the club and then adding in players who had moved up from U16 girls the previous season. With so many new players it was essentially a brand-new team. The team started out hot with a high scoring 6-5 win in their first matchup! Plenty of entertainment for anyone watching. Knowing that the team could knock in goals, the focus went to minimizing the goals they were conceding and picked up 5 clean sheets and scored over 30 goals in just 15 games on the way to a third-place finish in the league. Finishing behind second-place TKU who the Ellerslie ladies beat twice and drew with once. This team also entered the AFF Women’s Knockout cup and made an impressive run all the way to the SemiFinals! A fantastic effort for a competition that started out with 17 teams.
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The amount of improvement we saw in this team across the season was fantastic. Players were able to take what they were doing at training, put it into match day for the Reserves and from that, some earned opportunities to showcase that in the First Team in coming weeks.
The team had players who started out as part players and then earned starting roles within the team. The team had players who were just training with the group who eventually earned game time when opportunities arose. Those are exciting moments for the coaches, knowing that the effort that is going into training is showing up on the field. A vivid reminder that the pathways within the squad are working. The coaches are exceptionally proud of all the hard work, effort and improvement that we have seen in the team throughout the season. The attitude at training and matches was phenomenal and was key to the amount of development that took place within the team this season. They were a pleasure to coach and we look forward to the opportunities that 2020 presents.
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MENS RESERVES 18
This season we had to adapt with the new regulation for NRFL reserves. Only 5 players over 23 years could be on the team sheet each week. After few weeks of trials, we selected and decided to limit the overage player and gave the opportunity to a young squad to develop, acquire the experience and exposure to NRFL level. With a designed squad of 24 players at the start of season, we ended up playing a roster of 47 players including 17th Grade, Champs and 1st team player due to numerous players away, injured, or with other commitment. Thank you to every player who’s has been involved this year, coming at training and performing week after week. Overall our season has been good and a learning curve for most of us. The first part of the season we lost 1 game to Waiheke. Second part of the season was more challenging with our most experienced players called to fill in for the 1 st team. We ended losing 3 games of the second phase. After 22 games played and a good fight with Three Kings for the top spot, we finished 2 nd on a table, 6 points behind. On the positive note we are the only team to have beaten twice Three kings this season which is a great achievement knowing they didn’t lose any other games. The team finished with the 3 rd best scoring record in the league with a total 56 goals (2.66 goals/game) by 18 different players. Our top goal scorers with 6 goals each are; Patrick Fahey, Monju Shohei, Dastgeer Lai-Sai, Hazem Alfayad. We conceded 18 goals (0.86 goal/game), which is the record in the league this year. That helps us all thought the year knowing that we could count on a good and solid team block. I trust that everyone have enjoyed playing this year and will see them for many more playing with Ellerslie.
Thank you for the opportunity to coach the reserves team this year, I really enjoyed the challenge and group of players I had to work with. Fred and Terry thank you sharing your experience, methods and football knowledge that will certainly assist me in my coaching development and future to come. Grant, I really enjoyed our collaboration this year, your passion for football and learning from each other was a great experience. I hope and trust that you have enjoyed your time with us. Thank you to Tim for your helping and managing during the season. A game day without you will not be the same. Always making sure that players & staffs are in the best conditions to perform on game day. Thank you to Aaron for coming every Tuesday and game day to look after the squad. I wish to everyone a good off season, enjoy your summer and see you next time. Seb Bouvier
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MENS SHOWSTOPPERS
Intrigue, drama, suspense, joy, despair and 503 Nathan Russ handballs, Ellerslie Showstoppers 2019 season had it all. The season started on a scorching hot day in Michaels Avenue and finished on a blustery day at Ngahue reserve. It began with milk bottled complexioned Irishman Wesley pouring two full bottles of sun cream on himself (and that was just the first half) and ended with another Irishman, handsome superstar Leo McGuinn, booting the ball as hard as he could at an opposition player due to a dispute over a throw in. Showstoppers got off to a good start in the league. They won their first game 10-0 against a heavily depleted Waiuku side, down to eight men. Striker Cody Chan filling his boots with four goals. After that things went downhill. Successive losses to Bucklands Beach and Western Springs, 4-3 and 4-0 respectively, followed despite an Asher Crouch screamer to give Showstoppers the lead against Bucklands. A scrappy win against Central was next and then the Ellerslie sides season was hit with a blow, star centre back James O’Brien and permanent substitute Isen lasso left the team. Media speculation followed but the reasons for the divorce were never fully divulged by either side. As the crisis engulfed Ellerslie, manager/captain Nathan Russ had a decision to make, what happened next is widely regarded as one of the greatest managerial decisions made in Division 7 history. Striker Leo McGuinn, who had netted twice in four games, was moved into the vacant centre-back slot and another Irishman, Luke O’Toole marked his arrival with two neatly taken goals against strugglers Manurewa. Another signing, Vitor Santos was added and coupled with midfield engine Josh Lindsey, Ellerslie’s season started to gain momentum.
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Pukekohe, South Auckland Rangers, Otahuhu and Unimount Pittas were all duly dispatched with Ellerslie netting a combined total of 20 goals in four games, including two goals and seven stitches for right
back Nicholas “Tricky Nicky” Carpenter. The O’Toole/Chan/Santos trio, or ‘OCS’ as fans took to calling them, was proving to be particularly potent. Combined with expert penalty taker and new centre back McGuinn, it was raining goals for the reds. As the league split into top and bottom, Ellerslie had genuine hopes of finishing second. These hopes were unfortunately dashed during a run of bad results against the teams around them. It began with a 4-3 loss to second-placed Bucklands Beach, centre-back Ben Galloway scoring one of his world-famous own goals. The game that followed will take a long time to fade from the memory. Papatoetoe were the visitors and boasted a record of played 13, won 13, including a 4-2 win over Ellerslie earlier in the season. Ellerslie took a shock lead and from then on tempers began to flare. A series of bad challenges were missed by promising young referee. Papatoetoe captain Jason Statham, taking a break from filming Fast & Furious, was clearly furious and the Papatoetoe side started to lose their cool. Despite a good first half performance from the home side, their second half display left a lot to be desired and they eventually succumbed 2-1 to the league champions, whose winning record was to extend to the end of the season, winning all 16 games. Due to adverse weather, two consecutive games were postponed which meant Showstoppers next game was against Three Kings, a side they had failed to beat in the earlier home fixture, a 3-3 draw. Ellerslie’s season looked to be in ruins as a 2-0 deficit at half-time left them facing the prospect of three defeats on the bounce. An almost unbelievable comeback followed, two quick goals, a smart Cody Chan finish and an emphatic McGuinn penalty brought Showstoppers back on level terms. Despite Three Kings regaining the lead through a highly contentious penalty moments later Ellerslie rallied once more, Vitor Santos and Asher Crouch with quickfire goals to snatch the
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MENS SHOWSTOPPERS
lead for the away side. The moment of the match was yet to come, however. When own goal king Ben Galloway picked up the ball 30 yards no-one could have predicted what was to come. A wicked right footed curling shot over the keeper’s head left players and fans incredulous, none more so than Galloway himself. The two Irish stars were unavailable for the penultimate weekend of the season, due to skiing commitments, and a shock defeat to Unimount followed, despite Tom Simson managing to bah his first of the season. A win would’ve secured fourth spot and continental qualification, but the loss lifted Pittas above the reds and left Ellerslie requiring a win on the last weekend of the season to secure a top four position. The final clash saw Ellerslie take on Western Spring Choppers, themselves needing a win to guarantee second spot. Josh Lindsey captained the side for the final game of the season despite not coming close to getting on the scoresheet all season long. Ellerslie raced out of the blocks in front of their home fans, netting twice in the first 20 minutes as they looked to sign off in style. Choppers came back strongly and a goal just before the break brought them right back into the contest.
A scrappy second half followed, with Ellerslie doing all they could to hold on to all three points. As time elapsed, Nathan Russ found time for one last handball of the season. The home side managed to withhold the Chopper siege and secure victory to lift them up to fourth place. Ellerslie will reflect on a season of maybes but overall will be pleased with their efforts during 2019. A trip to Wellington and a chance of silverware awaits.
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Player of the Year Josh Lindsey Sportsperson of the Year Leo McGuinn
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MENS CHAMPS
There was a marked increase in the standard and competitiveness of AFF div 1 this year which created a lot of buzz and anticipation amongst the lads.
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It proved to be a really crazy season on the injury front which had a big impact on player availability throughout the season. The injury situation, however, did provide one of the highlights of the season when one of our keepers Stephen West was forced into playing outfield in the cup, and he did not disappoint scoring a cracker for what must be his only career goal. We ended up having a good run in the cup where we met the old foe Western Springs Geezers in the semi-final and fought hard but unfortunately lost on penalties. On a personal note it was such an enjoyable season and that's down to a great group of lads who always found time for a beer and heaps of banter. Congratulations to Fencibles for taking out the league as well as Ellerslie Diamonds who ended up winning the cup and having a fantastic season in the league after being promoted from Div 2 last year.
Player of the Year: Announced on the night
Sportsman of the Year: Announced on the night
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MENS DIAMONDS
2019 started with a similar feeling for the Diamonds as we once again achieved promotion to a higher league. This time we've reached the ceiling. Division 1 (a long way from where we started in Div 4). Would we be good enough, would we face a drubbing every weekend, do we have enough players?? Well at time of writing we have 3 league games to play and we sit 5 points of the top spot (with a better goal difference). So although winning it requires a slip up from the current league leaders we have proved to be not only competitive but even title contenders.
Division 1 is undoubtedly a step up from Div 2 as the quality of teams across the league is consistently high (only 6 points separate the top 6 teams) and every week we had to be on our game. We have relished the challenge and thankfully for some great off-season recruiting of some much needeed youthful talent we were able to raise our standard to another level (and reduce the number of injuries to the older statesmen). On top of our solid first season in the top division, we won the Northern Knock Out Cup for the first time. It was a helluva game, coming back from 0-1 down to win 3-1 against fellow Div 1 team the Western Springs Diamonds Geezers (we aren't sure what they're up to with that name...?). Winning a trophy is always a massive highlight and brought great joy to Diamonds old and new. The achievement is made sweeter considering the big changes to the squad this season with 9 new players and a number of the older players having off-field commitments take priority. Despite the changes in personnel we managed to maintain our culture, which we take great pride in, and have continued to improve our quality of football.
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There were a few memorable performances including our QF, SF, and Final wins in the cup, but the one we enjoyed most was the 5-0 drubbing we dished out to our long-time rivals, the Western Springs Stingers (so good!!). A special thanks to Kelly, Tim and the rest of the Ellerslie support staff for all you do to keep Ellerslie ticking and allowing us to simply turn up each Saturday to play the game we love.
Player of the Year: Seamus Ryder Sportsman of the Year: Sam O’Malley
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OVER 40’S METRO REPORT.
MENS OVER 40’s METRO
Played : 14, Win : 10 Draw: 1, Lost :3 Players : Nigel Blanchard, Stuart Cameron, Stanley Clark, Rodney Cooper, Peter Downer, Paul Grogan, Paul Hooper, Paul Sipos, Martin Jamieson, Simon Lapthorne, Callum McKaine, Scott Meikle, Johan Oosterhof, Mark Phillips, Michael Ritchie, Nick Russo, Gary Walton, Ian Wilson. Player Coach : Dave Witteveen Manager : Stewart Ritchie.
Top Goal Scorer this Simon Lapthorne = 19 This year was the first year in five years we haven’t won the league, with the average age of 52 years we are getting a bit older and slower. Most weeks was a struggle to get a full team even with all the players we had. With new and younger teams in the league this year, was just a bit hard for us to keep up, but with young Michael at the back and Scott in goal we did well to finish 2nd. We also had fourteen different goal scorers with many scoring their first goals. We played our last game against Eastern Suburbs on Madills No 1, which was like a carpet to play on and managed a very good 4- 3 win a nice way to finish our season. It is good to see the boys still supporting other teams in the club and holding up the bar. Have a good fishing season and we will see you on Thursday having a kick around as usual.
Stewart Ritchie
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Team Manager.
Player of the Year: Announced on the night Sportsman of the Year: Announced on the night Supporters Player of the Year: Announced on the night
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WOMENS REBELS
Coach: Chris Thurston Assistant coach: Tony Westmoreland Captain: Petra Wedlake The Rebels welcomed 12 new players in for the 2019 season and the possession based playing style and spirit from recent campaigns was maintained. It was a season full of high points as well as a few average ones. Overall it ended up being much like our games, periods of controlled football, moments of brilliance, a few errors and towards the end we lost some momentum but had a great time! It was great to have two Ellerslie womens teams in Div1 and massive congrats to the first team in their conquest of the Conference division and Cup. We were also stoked to see two Rebels from last year step up and be big contributors in their maiden year with the firsts. The Rebels have found a footballing style in recent years that focuses on keeping the ball on the ground and looking to hit feet as much as possible. This was backed up by a really dynamic set of midfielders that were able to work magic in tight spaces. The whole team really stuck to the playing style and were keen to improve the whole season long. Though we ended up in fourth the Rebels were always a tough opposition and beat every team in the league once (except 3Kings). The highlight match was a 4-2 win away to run away league winners Bucklands Beach.
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This year the team welcomed a number of Ellerslie legends back to the field who hadnt played recently. The Rebels provide a great opportunity for players that are keen to play in a competitive grade without being in the first/ reserve set up. The best thing about this team is an epic attitude, these are women that truly love the game, are intelligent footballers and bloody good sorts at the same time. A couple of highlights was the new players that came in absolutely adding to the Rebels approach and in true
Rebels fashion wearing the all black away kit all season long. It was an absolute pleasure to coach them and a special mention to Tony who provided his wisdom and support to the team. The team is looking forward to building on the Rebels style of play and spirit for the 2020 season.
Player of the Year: Announced on the night Sportswoman of the Year: Announced on the night
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WOMENS RED FURY 32
When I was asked to write the team report I wasn’t sure what to write. (I’m still not - it could never sum up all the hardwork the ladies have put into making this campaign better than the previous season). But what I can tell you is I have really enjoyed coaching this 2019 season for the Ellerslie Red Fury. I was blessed to have such an enthusiastic group of good humoured, ambitious, talented players go out there on a Sunday Morning and give it there all. I was also stoked they took a chance on me to Coach them and looking back they have all improved their skills and football savvy so well done everyone! New Friends and memories have been made during this season. We all balance this training and gameday commitment with our work, study, mom life and sometimes all three of these things! There were a lot of laughs and smiles shared on Sundays, rain or shine, so Fury Football has always been something the team look forward to no matter who the other team is. The result didn’t matter as much as the positive spirit we play with and the football performance the ladies gave, week after week. Our preseason was promising with 2 wins from 2 games using our makeshift 3-4-3 system so I was over the moon our training was working, but after opening the season with a loss against eventual winners Waiuku, we soon learned to play and use our 4-2-3-1/4-1-3-2/4-1-4-1 systems to make the best use of our players and squad tactics and frustrate our opponents into opening up. This lead to some close games against the top teams where we got stung with some unlucky breaks but this only made our wins that we did get more special and rewarding for all our efforts we put on the training field. There is an African Saying, “Smooth seas do not make skilful sailors” and this season has helped the players and I become more skilful by riding the waves and reaching the other side, now we are more tough and more wiser 16 games later!
We made it through the lows; Cancelled training due to weather, Byes messing up our momentum due to uneven teams in the division, The lights not always working at Liston, A boot to the head for our keeper Nicola and a Dubious penalty awarded that same day, A sprained finger for Elwynn during our Rainy clash with Clendon, losing alot of our players to illness and injuries or work commitments taking some of our normal strengths away in vital games; Losing BOTH Keepers at the SAME time for a 3 week period, being victims of some head scratching refereeing to the other extreme of some lawyer referring so we were happy to have a friend of the team Ref for us at home games (thanks Tony), We had some days where the clouds just opened and dropped buckets onto the pitch messing up our normal pass and move play style costing us points since the ball would fall onto the grass like Velcro and stick there, to bad tackles covering the ladies in mud and there were even more challenges but we just smiled and solved whatever was in front of us. We made it through the Highs too, A dog on the field trying to join in vs Metro on the “Junior field”, Melody inadvertently causing an injury to a visiting team player with a clever turn (cancel the ambulance), Our Shared lunches and after -match speeches, Our endless subs some weeks, to scraping for subs the next but everyone being happy because playing time is fair and at least we have a team to field, Our Win at Metro after drawing against them in the first round when they were unbeaten, Our Final win against Drury at home - the sweet taste of justice after the first round result and playing some of our best football of the season on the final day, Amanda getting 8 goals from 16 games in her first season as centre forward, enjoying two of our social night dinners as a team, Anna Lena being an amazing team manager, The really close team votes for Player/ Sportpeople of the year, Nicola and Tamsyn’s Amazing saves, The core supporters we had coming to each game and encouraging us (Thank you!) The team huddles and the Team hoodies Amanda organised which we all wear with pride, proud to be part of this family.
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WOMENS RED FURY 34
Thank you Tamsyn, Nicola, Natalie, Alicia, Fiona, Sian, Elwynn, Kat, Suzy, Anna (AJ), Melody, Amanda, Ruth, Lisa, Anna Lena, Lillian, Melissa and Brodie - you guys make this all worth it :) Anyway, all in all its been a transitional season growing the strength of our team. I look forward to seeing the ladies progress and reach more new heights next season. It’s only right that I finish this report like we finish our games!
3 Cheers for Ellerslie! Hip Hooray Hip Hooray Hip Hooray! 1 for the Ref? Yay! 1 for the Supporters? Yay! 1 for us? Woooooooooo!
Player of the Year: Announced on the night Sportswoman of the Year: Announced on the night
WOMENS RED FURY
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MENS OVER 40’s MUSTANGS 36
Another year done and dusted. A competitive league although there were some tough games and given that we continue to play in the over 40’s league with most of us having seen that decade go by, we now rely on our younger team mates to keep us competitive when fitness starts to fade. It’s difficult at times to catch the speedy 40-year olds and the newer couple of younger players who joined us this year (along with our existing youth retention players) have ably assisted by running their guts off each game so some of the armchair guys can get their rest and breathe back before contemplating an injection back into the game. This often seems to be around half time or fulltime. Maybe buying the manager a watch will help with his time keeping. 4 wins, 10 losses and 4 draws was our lot this season, placing 8th in the league. We were unlucky to lose several games at the start of the season when the result was determined by a solitary goal in the closing minutes. We managed a couple of great results either beating or taking points off two of the top teams. We still have that competitive edge but we all need to remind ourselves at times that we are of varied skill levels and of the reason we continue to put the boots on - the enjoyment of continuing to play the game we love with mates and enjoying the socialising and comradery that that brings.
We had a couple of games where you felt like you were playing a game of bull rush, being knocked down, run over and scored against. It is testament to the guys that we never gave up and the games where we felt the best were at times the narrow loses and especially the narrow wins. There is nothing like winning against the odds and those are the games we all fondly remember, including into the next season. Goals were a little hard to come by this year, 23 in total I believe with Ian P on top for another season (a regular top dog is IP). There will be plenty of challengers for next season, yet the older heads up front are still living the dream and performing. One golden hat trick this year to Paul with some real fine finishing way above the Over 40’s pay grade. A squad of 23 would typically seem large but we need the numbers as with frequent injuries and members regularly migrating on vacation we can go from a selection choice of 20 or scraping a team together. (I can recall a time when members planned their holidays outside of the season!). Such a large squad does pose some difficulty at times with selection when all members
are available, however there is generally good buy in with the guys on ‘who sits in or out ‘to ensure this process runs well. A highlight of the season, apart from the football when in one game we counted up to 15 passes before the ball went to the opposition (or was that out for a throw in at halfway – huge ground made from kick-off) was the annual curry night at Al’s… long may this continue and for that to happen we must keep playing. The applications for retirement terminated at the end of July, so see everyone back for 2020. Congratulations to our “Player of the Year” and “Sportsman of the Year” winners. Selected by all your mates and a well deserving set of guys for sure. End of season four day team trip this year to Dunedin, a new destination for the team which is surprising given that these trips have been happening every year since 1994. A nice road trip from Christchurch via the McKenzie Country then on to Oamaru and after to Moeraki for lunch at Fleurs awaits us. A friendly has been organised at Dunedin with the opposition putting up a Trophy for the winner. They must have read our season’s results and are banking on keeping the wood. Looking forward to it and see you all at training on Thursday. Ian & Bruce
Player of the Year: Matt Smith Sportsman of the Year: Len Nelson Alan Opperman
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MENS IGUANAS
No report Submitted
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MENS DECPTIVELY SLOW
"Sometimes there are the conditions for winning. Sometimes not." - Maurizio Sarri.
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A flurry of late transfer window activity saw our squad up to 20 players for the 2019 Div 4 campaign. Most of last year's squad re-signed and a handful of fresh faces for good measure. And after a mixed pre-season, the first game of the season couldn't come round quickly enough. In spite of a sluggish start in our first league game, we put pre-season behind us with a win and backed that up with a 'W' for the first 5 weeks. In fact, we managed to remain unbeaten for all of the first round of games. Our first of our 2 losses came away to a tough Clendon side, with the other against the eventual league winners on a bad day at the office. We rounded off the season in style with a 4-1 win, but had to rely on other results going in our favour. Unfortunately, Lady Luck wasn't wearing an Ellerslie kit that Saturday. We didn't throw the league away; we didn't choke. We were simply bettered by 1 point. There were goals galore, some tidy football and sharp passing, resolute defending, magical saves, late goals; a testament to our resilience, and, a solid foundation we can build on to hopefully go one better next season.
In the numbers ... - P16 W10 D4 L2 - Goals scored 60 (most in the league) - Goals conceded 32 Top scorers: Sean Cunneen (17), Sven Exeter (13) and Darrell 'Daz' Hannah (9) Squad: Blair Gilbert, Brad Colebourne, Brendan Kerwick, Chris Pollard, Dan Hefferan, Darrell Hannah, Eli Elkington, Ivan Atkins, Matt Wall, Nick Botica, Paul Buckle, Paul Currie, Paul McGivern, Rob Hayden, Sam Dallimore, Scott Jones, Sean Cunneen, Stu Nimmo, Stu Taylor, Sven Exeter.
Special thanks: As always, Tim, Kelly and team for all the hard work behind the scenes that make for a seamless season. Outstanding. To the lads: Thanks for another memorable year - on and off the pitch. You make the admin worthwhile. Let's do it all again next season!
Player of the Year: Ivan Atkins
Sportsman of the Year: Dan Hefferan
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MENS KFCFC
2019 was a year of big change for KFCFC and very nearly didn't happen after a number of injuries and retirements from last season. Over the summer, the “hierarchy� finally made a war chest available to management and 10 new quality players were signed up. It only took a handful of games for things to start clicking on the pitch and for a really strong team sprit to grow. By the end of the season, we had all learnt how to play on Quique-time! After a very strong pre-season, we started the league well and stayed near the top and right in the title hunt all the way through the season. Unfortunately a string of four draws in a row on the run in and more than our fair share of bad luck (and questionable refereeing decisions!) cost us, as we finished in third place and only 3 points off the top spot. Every single player brought a different set of skills to the team and made huge contributions throughout the season.
The character of the team was also immense and we were never out of a game. Countless times we went into halftime level or down and after really positive words at the break, we would come out and steam roll the opposition in the second half. A huge thank you to all the guys for their effort and commitment this season. It was one of the best squads we have had in years, both in terms of talent and team spirit. No doubt we will come back stronger and better next year - hopefully a couple of those draws will be turned into wins and the lads will get the winners' medals that they deserve!
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Player of the Year: Announced on the night
Sportsman of the Year: Announced on the night
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MENS PONY RESERVES
2019 was full of close high scoring encounters for the Pony Reserves team. We had some tense games in a very level competition. We ended up mid table in the competition but feel like we could have won every game along the way. It's fair to say that our prowess up front made us a tough team to come up against. Over the course of the league campaign we netted 35 goals at over 2 per game. Goes to show that we could play some attractive attacking football and the focus next year should simply be our defensive work. With Andy, James and Matt banging in goals consistently we were always a threatening team.
We have had a fantastic group of players come together this year and make the season as enjoyable as it comes. We had a lot of injuries this year which was the only downside with the team often needing to find players for games on the weekend. It's a testament to the club that we were always able to field a strong team and put up a good fight in every game, in particular some big shout outs to Steve in goal who trained with the champs and was always happy to fill in week in and out. I know the team will be even stronger next year with more practice under the belt and through the players playing longer together with each other. It was great to be able to manage the side and it was an enjoyable season for everyone involved our only wish was for the season to keep going for longer. Player of the Year: Announced on the night
Sportsman of the Year: Announced on the night
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MENS BUSINESS TIME
It felt like a really short and broken season. A lot of byes and teams pulling out left us struggling to get momentum.
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Then losing 4 players to injury in the early games left us underperforming. A lacklustre season with age catching up to us all. Some good wins, some average games and only one or two great games. A potential change in division next year and a bit of fresh blood in the team will do us wonders for 2020. We will be back with a vengeance (and probably some zimmer frames at this rate...) Player of the Year: Tom Hadley Sportsman of the Year: Stephen McFarland
Player of the Year: Connor Bryce Sportsman of the Year: Kasper Alete-Freeman
MENS BLACK PONIES
No report submitted
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MENS BARONS
Tough first half of the season with good performances. just to many technical mistakes.
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Second half was much improved with more team cohesion, less mistakes and better understanding of how we need to play, the season would have been better if it was not cut short by AFF. We started the year with 6 or 7 new players so it was going to be tough to get results but I am happy with how we finished and it looks promising for next year.
Player of the Year: Matthew Poole Sportsman of the Year: Adam Hughes
Week by week, we climbed the ladder to a final record of 7W 2D 7L with a goal differential of 0 (45 goals for and 45 goals against). Although the football was not pretty, the supporters were always treated to an absolute goal-fest. We liken ourselves to the Vodafone Warriors when it comes to winning the silverware, next year is our year. Overall, a great season with the lads, 4/5 Soccerballs.
Player of the Year: Daniel Ferguson Sportsman of the Year: Alan Burton
MENS SHICKSY
After a rough start to the season with a few losses and being below the 'Bye' on the ladder, the Shicksy knew they had to turn the season around.
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UPDATE ON NEW CLUBROOMS/AMENITIES PROJECT Some time has passed since we announced the above project to our membership, so an update is now appropriate. It is fantastic to be able to confirm a number of milestones that have been reached over the last 6 months as we move forward in making this proposed community asset a reality : We received Resource Consent approval from Auckland Council in early July 2019, so all planning issues are now resolved. Membership support through the Donations portal on our website has been building. The Clubs would like to thank all of you who have made a financial commitment to date in support of our efforts. A number of major applications for financial support have been made to third parties, including NZ Lotteries, New Zealand Community Trust (NZCT) and Foundation North. Recently, we received confirmation from NZCT of a significant grant of $300,000 towards the project’s construction. With positive comments coming from other funding organizations, we are hopeful of receiving further support over the balance of 2019. The Clubs are now in a position to progress into Developed Design, in order to better inform the Construction budget. We will be doing this over the next 6-8 weeks , with a view to then starting discussions with a selected Main Building Contractor(s) . The feedback we are getting from the above funding partners is that they are potentially willing to fund the specific construction costs of any capital works project, but not the professional consultancy design costs. As a consequence, the onus is really on us to raise the monies required to complete all documentation to get us through to Building Consent stage.
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With both the verbal, and tangible support we have already received, this project WILL be built (either in its full, or bare shell format), and so we ask again for the membership to dig into your pockets, and make a financial donation to help us get to this further design milestone. We continue to need your help in producing this wonderful asset for our membership, and the wider community. These are exciting times for the project. We look forward to receiving
your further support, and to keeping you informed of more good news as it comes to hand. If you have any queries, please contact me on markw@location.co.nz, or 021 941 139. Regards Mark Weipers
President Ellerslie AFC Inc.
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ELLERSLIE AFC