Tawa AFC premier men?s team
After convincingly defeating Palmerston North?s Red Socks on their home ground, Tawa AFC premier men?s team are eying up a place in the central league. Tawa beat the Red Socks 1-0 and now know if they are in for a tough battle against the central leagues lowest placed team, Wellington United. ?We are aiming for the central league,? says Tawa AFC president Mike Wood. The side has been playing consistently for the last four years and have been placed second for the past three. They ?dominated? the Red Socks with a fast style of play that has ensured their continuing top performances. ?The Red Socks are not a bad team, but once we settled down we took control,? says Mr Wood. He says the club has been buoyed by keeping the same players for the past four years, and by having a ?good cross-section?. They have a 16 year-old, and a three sets of brothers in the ?family based? side. ?They play a nice brand of football. ?They move quickly and don?t hold onto the ball for long periods, they don?t like to let the other side settle down,? says Mr Wood. The team has trained ?very hard, and are very fit? for the season, and also employed a fitness coach for the first time this year. Despite the terrible weather experienced throughout the season, the team has rallied around Captain Stephen Romijn to produce a stellar performance. Mr Wood says Wellington United is ?not a mug team? and will prove difficult to topple. For more information visit www.tawasoccer.co.nz After languishing second last at the beginning of the season the North Wellington AFC senior men?s team finished with a flurry and placed a respectable sixth in the Capital One division. Senior men?s team coach Mike Parrott says losing their keeper and player of the year Jeff Crosby for the final match was critical. ?In the last game we could have come in fourth, which would have been a good way to finish after a slow start. ?Our keeper was given a concussion in the game before the last, and the guy who did it was given a red card,? says Mr Parrott. The team also lost out by having their top goal scorer and young player of the year Josh Blandford miss the beginning of the season. He returned to score nine goals from 10 games for the side. The team looks forward to receiving another youthful injection of Onslow College players next year. ?Next year we will look to intensify our game with an element of steel and play more assuredly in defence,? says Mr Parrott.
