Thursday, 25 August 2011

games for 27th August

10A 9.15 am Inter Milan (GLORY) vs Rangers

10D 9.15 am Crystal Palace vs Juventus (Pheonix)

Wednesday, 24 August 2011

Forest Hill Tournament 21st August 2011

TKU Team Glory Tournament champions!!

Having struggled with scoring goals for the previous few weeks, it was a different story at Forest Hill. Perhaps the great pitch conditions and weather helped as well as nice big goals... but the girls were on fire.. As the last tournament before the nationals it was important for Glory to gain some confidence, having not yet won a tournament this season... and that they did...

Glory passed through the pool stage winning each of the three games, 2-1, 2-0, 2-0. A good tally of goals spread across the strikers and mid field players, Tara (2), Kate, Emily and Gemma all getting goals through strong team performance and passing. The solid defense created a secure platform from which to attack, hardly anything made it through to the goal keeper and they were able to quickly move the ball back into an attacking position. Full credit to Lili, Emma and Neve...

The semi-final against Bay Olymipic was a tough, close game, the 1-0 win was secured within the last minute of the game from a great goal from Gemma.

The final against Fensibles was much anticipated. Both teams nervous about the prospect of penalties, which nobody wanted. Glory started well putting a lot of presure on Fensibles defense and creating a number of opportunties which did not result in a goal. Half way through the first half, Tara came on into the striker position, just as Gemma launched a great ball from the corner into the centre of the goal area. Tara was there to volley the ball into the back of the net... what a great goal from the super-sub... That saw Glory through to the 2nd half. Gemma scored her 3rd for the day early in the 2nd half providing a comfortable margin, however Fensibles continued to attack and put pressure on the Glory defense which managed to hold out until the final whistle...

In the end a great performance by the girls throughout the tournament, ending by far the top scoring side... scoring GOALS is hopefully no longer an issue for Glory...











Thursday, 18 August 2011

Game 20th August 2011

Finally a Glory vs Pheonix head-to-head.. re-match of last weekends semi-final at TKU tournament when Pheonix took the win on penalties (again)...

10A 9.15 am Inter Milan (9th Girls) Juventus (9th Girls)

Friday, 12 August 2011

games 13th august



10C inter milan (pheonix) vs leicester


10D celtic vs juventus (glory)

Wednesday, 3 August 2011

games for 6th aug

10A inter milan (GLORY) vs tottenham

10D leicester vs juventus (PHEONIX)

Thursday, 14 July 2011

Games for 16th July

10A 9.15 am Manchester United (7th A) vs Papamoa Girls

10B 9.15 am Non-Papamoa vs Southampton

Tuesday, 14 June 2011

Ball Girls

The 9th grade girls had a 'Ball' on Sunday helping out with as Ball Girls for the TKU Womens premier team, who did not disappoint with an strong performance against Fensibles winning 3-2. TKU were dominant in the first half, but allowed Fensibles back into the game in the second. The late stages of the game were tense with many opportunties for Fensibles to secure a draw, however TKU held out to the final whistle.

As for the Ball Girls, I think Kate won on the day with most touches, strategically positioned on the sideline, although am the girls enjoyed the experience. Playing on the Number 1 pitch at half time was good fun and fizz and chips in the club rooms after the game topped a top day.



Back: Kate, Rachael, Sarah, Jamie, Sophie, Emma, Tara, Sophie
Front: McKenzie, Briar, Lili, Hannah

Thursday, 9 June 2011

Games for 2nd July

10B 9.15 am Manchester United (7th A) vs Team Pheonix (Inter Milan)

4A 9.15 am Fulham vs Team Glory (Juventus)

Thursday, 26 May 2011

Games for 28th May

10B 9.15 am Aston Villa vs Team Glory (Inter Milan (9th Girls))

5 - 1 not a great result following the success from last week.

The boys were shooting accurately from distance which are hard to stop without a goal keeper.

Sophie scored the goal from a free kick following a hand ball in the goal area.

Perhaps the success of last week lead to over confidence in the first half, the 2nd was better with many opportunities to score and only 1 goal against. Emily had a great game, earning player of the day, with a strong performance from defense while also creating opportunities through the mid field, linking with Kate and Tara. Kate had a few strong shots, but just couldn't find the target.

11B 9.15 am Rangers vs Team Pheonix (Juventus (9th Girls)

5 - 0

The football gods were not with us this morning. While we had a few moments of team play and some reasonable positional play we were not in the same groove as last weekend at the Fencibles Tournament. Once again the boys were able to use their greater strength and shoot from distance and we just didn't get the chances to shoot.

Unfortunately they were just too good for us and we went down 0-5 by the final whistle. The second half was much better only the one goal against and we kept our positions much better. P{layer of the day for strong defence in the midfield to Emma.

Tuesday, 24 May 2011

Fensibles Tournament 22nd May - Team Pheonix

The day dawned with brilliant sunshine and we arrived at the Point England Reserve full of hope for a great day's football. With some 60 teams between 8th grade and 12th grade it was a great day for girls football. Little were we to know that we'd be the last teams playing at the end of the day.

Team Pheonix
Sarah, Scarlett, Alisha, Sabine, McKenzie, Emma L, Rosa, Madison, Briar, Caitlin

Round 1: vs Drury United (2-0)
Our first game against Drury let us start to sort of the positions - a strategy for the day which was I think quite valuable. Our goal keepers for the first match Sarah and Alisha both kept clean sheets and went on to assist up front. A goal each for Sabine and Scarlett in each half let us take this first game of the day relatively easily. Learning areas for the game were to strengthen our thinking about the midfield with a need to focus more on our positions. We had a few occasions when were were still bunching. Good first up game (2-0 win) which gave us good confidence for the games ahead (bearing in mind that we were fortunate not to have our arch-nemesis Fencibles in our poll).


Round 2: vs FH Footy Chix (3-0)
After a short rest the girls then regrouped with Scarlett and McKenzie sharing the keeping duties. A goal in the first half to Sabine after much good passing and linkages between the girls. We were finally getting combinations together and finding space and passing in behind the defence! Great work a pleasure to watch. Second half then saw another two goals to Sarah and Caitlin. Caitlin's goal was nice to watch as the ball was chipped expertly over the goalie. Quite a resounding win over the Footy Chix from Forrest Hill - hadn't come across this team at any of our previous tournaments.

Round 3: vs Manurewa Falcons (2-0)

Manurewa Falcons were our third and final pool game and after a goalless first half two second-half goals gave the final 2-0 win. Goals to Alisha and Sabine, in another game of excellent positional play and teamwork.

Semi-final 2: Team Pheonix vs Fensibles (0-0, Pheonix win on penalties)

With the TKU Glory team coming first in their pool we were left to face off against Fencibles. As expected it was a tough game - nil-all after the 25 minutes of normal time, still that way after the golden goal extra time. There were several good opportunities, with one chance to seal it with excellent passing and teamwork, but the kick on goal went askew. So it was the nail-biting and heart palpitation generating penalty shoot-out. With Alisha in goal she kept out their first shot, and then Sabine didn't manage to get the ball through their keeper, Alisha saved again, Sarah couldn't get it in, Alisha saved again, then finally Scarlett scored. Alisha was then cleared of further duties as the rules indicated this was to be a golden goal shoot-out. After our great supporter team regained normal heart rhythms the girls were then faced with the grand final against .... TKU Glory!! Just as well Iain had arranged an away strip for the Glory team - just n case we were to meet in the final!


Final: Team Pheonix vs Team Glory (0-0, Pheonix win on penalties)

By this stage there were only a handful of games being played at Point England but by the end of the game we were indeed the last game on the field for the day.

The two TKU teams were extremely closely matched - attack and defence well matched, several rushes towards goal were kept out with good defence from Rachael, Emma and Lilli for Glory, and McKenzie, Emma for Phoenix. Again full time came and went, golden goal extra time came and went without result ..... down to shoot-out again ... still no result from the five shots from each side. By mutual agreement we shift the penalty spot 1m closer to the goal and then finally a blistering shot from Sarah into the bottom left hand corner, great shouts of joy but Alisha still had to keep out their last shot from Emily ... which she did!! After nearly 45 minutes of play the two teams were separated by only 1 goal.

Such a great day's play - between the two teams only one goal conceded - Phoenix scored 9 goals, none against.

Thanks to all the girls, their parents and our great coaching and /selection teams. It was great to see the camaraderie between the Phoenix and Glory girls and even towards other TKU girls teams as everyone cheered for each other. We appreciated the girls listening carefully to instructions at the beginning of each game (despite Wendy's voice challenge on the day).









Friday, 20 May 2011

Fensibles Tournament 22nd May - Team Glory

The 2011 Fensibles tournament provided to be a completed different experience from last years windy, wet adventure. Point England reserve was at its best with clear blue skies and flat, ripple free waters.

Great to be able to enjoy a winter sport in such fine conditions.

The much anticipated first all girls tournament of the year did not disappoint...

Team Glory
Gemma, Emily, Emma H, Sophie, Annika, Tara, Lili, Rachael, Neve

Round 1: vs Fensibles (0-0)
Fensibles proved, as expected to be a tough start to the tournament. Both teams failing to put points on the scoreboard. The large pitch and small goals set to challenge the girls for the remaining tournament.

Round 2: vs Waitakere Hawks (2-0)
Team Glory started well, with a solid defence, fast pace through the mid field and great attacking form. Super sub Emily came on part way through the first half and with almost the first touch of the game, lined up a strike from the left wing and found the top corner. Glory maintained the lead till the 2nd half when Gemma provided a similar strike from the right wing, beating the keeper to provide a comfortable 2-0 lead, maintained until the final whistle.

Round 3: vs Western Springs Go Girls (2-0)
With memories of Western Spring from last year we knew this would be a tough match, they looked strong and confident from the start, but Team Glory proved to fast and skillful for them. Team work, positional awareness and working the wings proved too much for the Go Girls.

Lili and Emma protected the goal throughout, while creating opportunities using their speed to open up the wings by-passing the midfield to keep pressure on their goal area. Annika and Sophie both found the net providing another 2-0 victory.

Team Glory secured top of the table position with 2 wins and a draw, while Fensibles finished 2nd managing 1 win and 2 draws.

Semi-final 1: Team Glory vs Forest Hill (1-0) Tiredness was beginning to set in, but Team Glory proved once again too much for the opposition. Again the defence was solid, with Lili, Emma, Emily and Neve preventing any shots at goal and creating a great platform to attack from. There were a number of opportunities throughout this game. Tired legs may have impacted accuracy, but Annika found the net for her 2nd of the day, which was enough to secure the win and a finals position.

Final: Team Pheonix vs Team Glory (0-0) Pheonix won on penalties

With the changes to the teams and introduction of new blood it has been difficult to access how evenly matched these two teams are. Results from the 8th grade games on Saturday have been mixed and hard to draw any conclusions.

This first match up of the year, in the final was a great climax to a fantastic day of football. It certainly did not disappoint. Everyone of the girls put all of their remaining energy into this close game, through the 2 halfs and extra time.

It was a shame to have to decide the game on penalties, but it could have continued well into the evening waiting for a golden goal.

I lost count of the number of penalty kicks taken, while the other teams waiting patiently for prize giving.

Sarah from Pheonix finally found the back of the net, from a well stuck and accurate shot to the corner, Glory could not match it and had to settle for 2nd place, while everyone probably believed first-equal would have been a better result.

One concellation for Team Glory was it was the only goal scored against them through 125 minutes of football played, thanks to their outstanding defensive efforts.







Thursday, 12 May 2011

Games for 21st May (postponed from 14th)

I DONT'T believe IT... beautiful blue skies but football cancelled.... boo hoo!
- Same time and place next week (21st May)

5 9.15 am Liverpool vs Team Pheonix (Inter Milan)

11C 9.15 am Crystal Palace vs Team Glory (Juventus)

Crystal Palace 0 - 8 Team Glory.

Team Glory had a strong performance with lots of goals which is great pre-tournament preparation. Kate got a hat trick in the first half with Gemma and Claudia getting one each. 2nd half goals came from Tara, Emily and Sophie.

Once again the defence created a solid foundation for attack, with great use of space on the wings.

The TEAM is really working well together allowing individuals to show off their skills..

Neve got Player of the Day for great commitment in the 2nd half chasing the ball and creating opportunities.

Wednesday, 4 May 2011

Games for 7th May 2011

6 9.15 am Man United vs Team Glory (Inter Milan)

Man United 1 - Team Glory 3

The tournament last week must have helped the team, the structure and passing was great. Some great clearances from defense, through midfield helped create lots of opportunities for goals. Sophie started the scoring with Annika and Claudia both coming in from the wings to add to the impressive score line. A solid midfield and flawless defense kept the boys away from the goal. Their one goal was from a corner kick finished with a great header.. always good to see at this level...

Player of the Day went to Sophie, for opening the scoring and holding her position well as striker being there when the ball came through from the wings and midfield.

Great to get Glory's first win in Platinum....


10c 9.15 am Team Pheonix (Juventus) vs Wigan

Team Pheonix 3 - Wigan 2

The weather had made the ground somewhat challenging especially in that far corner of Keith Hay Park. At 9.15am we were waiting around and thinking that the Wigan boys might have got scared off by playing the mighty Phoenix … but they were just late – presumably getting in a little last minute practise. It turned out that we could get a more even match (7 v 7) by lending them a couple of our players, so with the epitome of sportspersonship Caitlin and Alisha volunteered to help out. This could have been quite damaging for Team Phoenix because they were two of the better players for Wigan!!

As Iain reports for the Glory team, our recent tournament practise had geared us up well for better positional play and team structure. When the girls got passes strung together and crosses into the centre forward striker, we were “on fire”.

Our goals came from Lucy (well done for what I think is your first goal of the season), Sarah, and unfortunately for Wigan - an own goal. There was even a goal from Caitlin (for Wigan) which came from some good interchanges. Final score 3 – 2 (we might even take Caitlin’s goal in account and say Phoenix girls scored 4 goals during the match!)

Player of the Day for Lucy – good team contribution and for the goal (icing on the cake!)

Sunday, 1 May 2011

Papakura Tournament report

8th Grade Mixed / 9th Grade Girls Tournament hosted by Papakura...

Great first tournament for the season - even the rain stayed away although constantly threatened to dampen the occasion.

Team Pheonix: Scarlet, Alisha, Sabine, Madison, McKenzie, Sarah, Rosa, Lucy, Briar

0 - 0: vs Fensibles
0 - 4: vs Eastern Suburbs
1 -0 : vs Papakura Chelsea

0 -6 : Plate Semi-final vs Papakura Celtic

Team Glory: Tara, Kate, Gemma, Emily, Rachael, Lili, Emma, Neve, Georgia, Claudia

0 - 1: vs Papakura
2 - 1: vs Tornadoes (Gemma scored both goals)
0 - 0: vs Jaguas

0 - 1: Bowl Semi-final vs Western Springs Spitefire

Wednesday, 13 April 2011

Games for 16th April 2011

6 9.15 am Chelsea vs Team Pheonix (Inter Milan)


11D 9.15 am Newcastle vs Team Glory (Juventus)

Newcastle 0 - 4 Team Glory

Unfortunately Newcastle were short of players so Rachael and Lili started the game with Newcastle, Rachael switching back part way through the first half and Lili swapping with Kate in the 2nd half to keep equal numbers.

The distruption to players and wet conditions did nothing to dampen the performance. Team Glory are really starting to gel as a team, with all players becoming comfortable with their perferred positions and understanding their role and that of their team mates. I think substituting through the same positions is also helping to maintain some consistency.

This was a great all round performance. The defense continues to work well providing a solid base for the team to attack from, the wing, mid and striker combinations are coming together nicely, with effective attacking lines using the wings and passing through the centre.

It was also great to see some strong and effective shots from distance - with some more work on accuracy the goal counts show grow through the season.

Gemma (x2), Sophie and Claudia scored the goals.

Kate received player of the day for a great 1st half for Team Glory, volunteering to play for newcastle in the 2nd and then showing the boys how to play.. she played striker, winger and defence throughout the 2nd half, saving 2 goals on the line only to celebrate with her when Gemma scored her 2nd.

Wednesday, 6 April 2011

Games for 9th April 2011

6 9.15 am Arsenal vs Inter Milan (Team Glory)

Arsenal 5 - 1 Team Glory (Inter Milan)

These Platinum boys can score from all sorts of angles... hopefully the girls will take note...

First half has a struggle, some great defensive efforts but difficult to get the ball through the mid field and into Arsenals half. Still need work on clearing the ball from the goal area and shifting it up field. Good effort though faced with a tough opposition.

The Second half was a different story, much more attacking opportunities with Sophie, Gemma and Kate playing key roles in attack. Near misses by both Sophie and Gemma, while Kate managed to find the target with what is becoming her signature shot from distance.

Emma and Rachael kept it solid at the back with notable assistance from Emily and Kate, constantly putting Arsenal under pressure on attack forcing many mistakes resulting in goal kicks rather than goals.

Player of the Day went to Rachael for a strong and committed performance in Defense and some great work on the ball to clear it up the wings.


13B 9.15 am Juventus (Team Pheonix) vs Leicester (7th B)

Team Pheonix 3 - 0 Leicester

Team Phoenix playing as Juventus in the 8th Gold Grade once again faced a 7th Grade Boys team Leicester.

After last week’s disappointing first half the girls played their first half this week with much more team work. One of the features of our girls playing the junior grade is that strange feature that when the opposition starts to play as a bunch, our girls tend to mirror this. However when Phoenix started to spread across the field and string passes together, the goals started to appear.

The Perry girls both Sabine and Alisha had brilliant games, assisted ably through the midfield by Lucy and Caitlin. As soon as Alisha got the ball she was around the Leicester defenders and goal-bound.

Player of the Day: Alisha for goals, energy and commitment.

Wednesday, 30 March 2011

Games for 2nd April 2011

10B 9.15am Manchester United (7th A) v Inter Milan (Team Phoenix)


Manchester United 3 v 1 Inter Milan

The Inter Milan team showed a bit of rustiness against a well-organised and well coached Manchester United 7th Grade Development squad. Three goals in the first half really affected got the girl’s morale and it took until the latter part of the first half to get our heads up.

The boys were able to shoot strongly from quite some distance out from the goal – a feature we were ready for.

Their three goals in the first half (0-3) were a blow but we pulled things together and got a slightly stronger defensive combination in the second half and won the second half 1-0.


13B 9.15am Juventus (Team Glory) v Tottenham


Juventus 4 - 1 Tottenham

Juventus were just too strong for this Gold Boys team, from the start the girls dominated possession and territory, however were slow to start the scoring.
Emily scored in the first half, Kate and Emma scored in the 2nd, with Emma getting 2.

There were a few misses opportunities, so there is definitely a need to improve shooting ability, however there was some great passing, dribbling and team work.

I switched 4 subs for the 2nd half, so to be fair Juventus did have the added advantage of fresh legs, this could prove useful, particularly in the Platinum grade games.

Player of the day was close, with both Kate and Claudia playing well for the full game, Claudia received it based some fantastic individual skills with the ball, as well as passing.


See 8th Grade Pitch Layout

Development Teams

We have attempting to maintain similar playing combinations as last years South Africa and Slovenia, while also matching groups from their 9th grade teams, and keeping balance. Which is clearly a challenge and may result in some player movement during the season, which may also be required to try out some other players as they develop through the 9th grade.

To avoid (or perhaps increase) confusion with the rotation of games playing as Inter Milan and Juventus, we want to introduce yet another team name for each of the teams.

Team Phoenix and Team Glory, taken from the AUS/NZ A-League.

To get started the team selection is:
Team Phoenix:
  • McKenzie
  • Sarah
  • Alisha
  • Sabine
  • Madison
  • Lucy
  • Rosa
  • Scarlett
  • Emma L
  • Caitlin
Team Glory:
  • Kate
  • Emma H
  • Sohpie
  • Claudia
  • Tara
  • Rachael
  • Lili
  • Annika
  • Emily
  • Gemma

Development game format

The format for the development teams this year will be to play down in the 8th grade, with games starting at 9:15.

Their are 2 team places in the 8th grade league.

Inter Milan in Platinum. Juventus in Gold.

This has previously been used to challenge an A and B team, however this year we would like to go with 2 equal strength teams, rotating them through the Platinum and Gold games to provide a mixture of challenges.

Following the 8th grade games, the development teams will split up for their 9th grade team games at 10:00.

Count down to the 2011 football season

Following a great showing at the pre-season training on Sunday it seems all the girls are looking forward to another season on the football pitch. Only a few days to go and we're off again. The 9th grade is a big year for our girls, working towards the TKU Nationals at the beginning of October.

We now have 20 girls available in the squad.

Mackenzie, Kate, Rosa, Emma H, Tara, Lucy, Sarah, Lili, Alisha,
Annika, Sabine, Emily, Madison, Gemma, Scarlett, Rachael, Claudia, Emma L

Unfortunately Briar is unable to join the squad due to injury.