Thursday 8 May 2025
Our First XI Football team have kicked off their season with a narrow 3-2 loss to Takapuna High School. It was a hard-fought match, and credit to Takapuna - they showed a bit more sharpness in the first half. Their coach mentioned they’re coming off the back of an eight-week preseason, including a training trip to Australia, which certainly showed early on in the game.
After going 1-0 down, we responded quickly. Jayden Wang (Year 12, Peart) pressed high, won the ball off their defender, and calmly finished to level it up to 1-1 at half time. The second half swung in our favour but Takapuna scored with their first shot of the half, continuing an all-too-familiar pattern. A tough own goal put them 3-1 up with 15 minutes to go, but the boys kept pushing. Christian Balle (Year 13, St John’s) scored his first ever goal for the First XI, but we couldn’t quite find the equaliser.
Considering the squad has only had three sessions and one match under new head coach Zach Haydon, this was a really positive showing, a huge step in the right direction and a great foundation to build on.
Thank you to Jamie Jensen and the ground staff - the pitch was immaculate - and also to our amazing catering team.