HIBS 1st XI

Results

Warm-up One 29/3/2010 vs. Upper Hutt College at HIBS, 3-0 win. N. Canton, W Brunton and J. Finch goals.

Warm-up Two 31/3/2010 vs. St. Patrick’s College Silverstream at St. Pats, 2-0 win. N. Barry and J. Finch goals.  

Premier Youth Grading Game One 24/4/2010 vs. Scots College at HIBS, 3-1 win. J. Finch, K. Mildenhall and J. Houpt (pen) goals. Man of the Match S. Chan.

Game one of the season was played in balmy conditions on the number one field at HIBS. HIBS made an impressive start as the home team, hitting the back of the net twice through Josh Finch and Kurt Mildenhall inside the first five minutes. Both goals were the product of excellent build-up work in the midfield, and were well taken from outside of the penalty box. Scots fought their way back in  to the game and were taking the game to HIBS up to half time with keeper Matt Clarke making a good scrambling save to help the team stay on top. HIBS came out strongly again and were awarded a penalty after building pressure in the opposition half. James Houpt calmly dispatched the shot to put the game out of Scots reach. A defensive blunder late in the game allowed them to pull a goal back, but all in all it was a good start to the season for HIBS.

Premier Youth Grading Game Two 1/5/2010 vs. Rongotai College at Rongotai, 2-1 win. T. Hall-Jones 2 goals. Man of the Match M. Austin.

HIBS travelled to Rongotai for the second game of the season. Rongotai had been playing well in the Chatham Cup competition and were expected to be tough opponents. Indeed, they had several chances in the opening minutes but the HIBS defence managed to hold firm. Matt Austin, playing his first full game for the First XI, and Kurt Mildenhall combined well on the right flank to close down the threat. HIBS looked strongest during the set piece and took the lead through a corner. Josh Finch took the kick which found Olly Bennett who flicked the ball on to Taylor Hall-Jones who headed in at the back post. HIBS went into the half-time break looking the better team, but Rongotai responded brilliantly, taking the game to the opposition and building the pressure that eventually led to their goal which was a well-taken shot from outside the box. Matt Clarke then made two crucial saves to keep HIBS in the game as the Rongotai midfield started to dominate. With ten minutes to go, forward James Houpt put in a fantastic effort to chase a long ball down into the corner. From there HIBS were awarded a corner which saw Josh Finch find Taylor Hall-Jones unmarked at the back post to head home for his second. HIBS then pulled together to hold out for the remainder of the game and take away their first win over Rongotai in four years.  

Interschool Friendly 6/5/2010 vs. Scots College at HIBS, 3-0 loss.

Premier Youth Grading Game Three 8/5/2010 vs. Upper Hutt College at HIBS, 5-1 win. J. Finch 3 goals, K. Mildenhall goal, one own goal. Man of the Match J. Finch.

After the mid-week loss to Scots the team were excited about the chance to get back to winning ways. Josh Finch settled the nerves quickly, receiving a smooth back-heel from Taylor Hall-Jones and depositing the ball in the bottom left corner leaving the keeper with no chance. Upper Hutt responded with vigour, holding HIBS in the midfield up until just before half time, when Hall-Jones and Finch combined again to give HIBS their second goal. A perfectly weighted pass from Hall-Jones found Finch who broke through and beat the keeper one-on-one. After half time, HIBS started the stronger, putting a lot of pressure down the right wing which resulted in three goals. First, Kurt Mildenhall made a run towards bye-line before passing inside to James Houpt. Houpt flicked the ball on to Hall-Jones who laid the ball into the path on the oncoming Finch who then buried his third - a real team goal. Mildenhall was rewarded soon afterwards when he caught the Upper Hutt keeper napping and sweetly lobed the ball gently over his head and into the top left corner. Finally, a dangerous corner from Finch which dipped on the back post found a defender’s head and he unluckily powered the ball into the back of his own net. To their credit Upper Hutt did not give up the fight, and they were rewarded with a penalty after a bad bounce saw the ball hit Ryan Jackson’s arm inside the box. This was a good team win, built on the back of some strong midfield play from Nathan Canton and Hall-Jones, both of whom deserve a special mention.

Premier Youth Grading Game Four 15/5/2010 vs. St. Patrick’s College Wellington at HIBS, 2-1 loss. T. Hall-Jones goal. Man of the Match N. Canton

This gamed shaped to be the most important of the season so far, with a win guaranteeing progression to the top Wellington grade. Things were not to be, however, despite a wonderful start. Within the first two minutes HIBS worked their way up to the St. Pat’s goal and were rewarded with a corner which saw the Finch/Hall-Jones combination provide again with Hall-Jones nodding in at the back post. The following ten minutes saw HIBS maintain possession well and the game looked beyond the opposition. Despite this, they managed to pick up a corner following some good work up the left flank, and their tall central defender rose to head in past Matt Clarke. St. Pat’s took the game by the scruff following their first goal, as HIBS began to make hard work of it. It became clear that St. Pat’s wanted the victory more, and 10 mins after half time deserved to go ahead through the same central defender. HIBS threw everything in over the dying minutes but could not pull a goal back. Nathan Canton had a strong game in the middle of the park and worked hard to inspire his team mates.

Interschool Friendly 18/5/2010 vs. Rathkeale College at Rathkeale, 5-1 win. J. Houpt two goals (one pen), J. Finch, T Hall-Jones, N. Barry goals.

Premier Youth Grading Game Five 22/5/2010 vs. Wellington College at Wellington College, 5-1 loss. M. Grenfell goal.

HIBS went into this match needing at least a point to secure a place in the top Wellington grade, but as it turned out other results went out way so earlier performances saw us through. The game started well, with HIBS matching Wellington College for commitment. HIBS even managed to open the scoring, with a clearance from the back finding Olly Bennett on the right who beat his man and crossed for Matt Grenfell who slotted in at the back post for his first goal for the First XI. College continued to struggle to find a way into the game until a defensive lapse just before half time resulted in a goal. After half time College began to assert themselves, scoring first through a free kick and then from three throw-ins. Despite this St. Patrick’s College town went down to Rongotai College and HIBS progressed into the top six in Wellington on goal difference.

Premier Youth Championship Game One 29/5/2010 vs. St. Patrick’s College Silverstream, 5-0 loss.

Having secured their place in the Championship, HIBS went into this match reflecting on their warm-up performance against St. Patrick’s and believing that a result was possible. Taylor Hall-Jones and Nathan Canton led from the front, inspiring the team over the initial 20 minutes, during which Hall-Jones had a shot saved off the goal post. Despite the good start, St. Patrick’s scored against the run of the play after some poor defending in the HIBS goal box. From there they ran away with the game, scoring a further four goals as HIBS failed to match the intensity and passion shown by the home team.

Premier Youth Championship Game Two 5/6/2010 vs. Tawa College, 3-1 loss. N. Canton goal.

Going into the long weekend, the team was in need of a result against Tawa if they were to push for a place at the National Football Tournament in Napier. Despite this added motivation, the team did not start well and were punished twice early in the game. The team fought back through a Nathan Canton goal, but left too much to do. Tawa killed off the game with their third goal leaving HIBS to ponder what could have been.

Premier Youth Championship Game Three 12/6/2010 vs. Wellington College, 5-0 loss.

Always a challenging fixture, HIBS were up for the game at Wellington College and fought hard during the early stages to get a toe-hold against a very big team. Nathan Canton and Will Brunton played well in the centre of defence, but as Wellington College began to take control of the midfield the defence was left with a lot of work to do. Although they scored three times in the first half, this was not a fair reflection of the effort put in by the HIBS boys. Taylor Hall-Jones had a number of chances and was ably supported by Nick Barry who worked hard to keep HIBS in the match. During the second half the team again fought hard, but were undone by two superb individual efforts.

Premier Youth Championship Game Four 19/6/2010 vs. Paraparaumu College, 1-1 draw, J. Houpt (pen) goal.

After some heavy defeats, HIBS went into this match with a determined attitude. Evenly matched throughout the game, a draw was a fair result, although HIBS could have pinched a win in the dying minutes. Early in the game HIBS put a lot of pressure on by passing out to the flanks and putting regular crosses in. James Houpt also worked hard by dropping deep to collect the ball from the midfield. The pressure resulted in a penalty for hand ball which Houpt coolly dispatched. Paraparaumu fought back through their speedy front two, and caught the HIBS defence napping to make the score 1 all. It then became a battle of attrition, with neither team able to string together a sustained period of pressure. Both had their opportunities with Paraparaumu coming closest having a goal disallowed for kicking the ball out of the keepers hands. With everybody tiring, Nathan Canton had a strong finish along with Matt Clarke, the two of them keeping HIBS in the game. Houpt and Josh Finch combined for the final chance of the game, which was flashed just wide.