It was expected to be an exciting Friday night and the Connetics Secondary School Premier (SS) semi finals sure didn’t disappoint, with late goals, plenty of drama and a huge upset.
The girls final will be a replay of the 2018 edition, and repeat of the South Island Premiership final from a few weeks ago as Christchurch Girls High School and St. Margaret’s College both came out on top.
Girls High continued their unbeaten record in the competition this year with an intense 3-1 victory over Villa Maria College, confirming their spot in the final for the second time in the past three seasons.
Villa Maria will rue a missed stroke with about 10 minutes left in the game that could have got them back on level terms, but Girls High closed out the game well and are now only one win away from an unbeaten championship.
Not for the first time this year, St. Margaret’s College defied all odds as they beat Rangi Ruru to continue a run of more than 20 consecutive Canterbury Secondary School finals. Having being beaten on three separate occasions this year by Rangi, St. Margaret’s turning the tables when it counted to win 3-0.
Niamh McKenzie scored a crucial goal just before halftime from a penalty corner, before Isabella House doubled the lead in the third quarter. The third goal was scored into an empty net by McKenzie, with Rangi Ruru pulling their goalkeeper late in the game.
St. Bede’s College booked their ticket to the big dance for the second straight year as they got past St. Andrew’s College 3-1, George Baker and Charlie Morrison putting on a masterclass for the Covid restricted 100 spectators in attendance.
The match was relatively even throughout the first half, with St. Andrew’s College hitting the lead in the first quarter, before Bede’s equalised in the second stanza. Two goals in the third quarter gave Bede’s the ascendancy, and with Baker and Morrison controlling things they were able to close out the match.
Christ’s College won through to their seventh final in the nine years the competition has ben running as they beat rivals Christchurch Boys 1-0, with the winning goal coming from the stick of Josh Erasmus with only six minutes left in the match.
Opportunities were limited throughout the match, with only one penalty corner awarded all game, but it was Christ’s who came up clutch when it counted to deny Boys High a first ever finals appearance.
Burnside High and St. Andrew’s College shared fifth place in the girls competition as they drew 3-3 in an entertaining draw, while Timaru Boys beat Shirley Boys for fifth in the boys competition 3-1.
Boys Results:
St. Bede’s College 3 (George Robins, Finlay Neale, Will Pattinson), St. Andrew’s College 1 (Adam Redway)
Christ’s College 1 (Josh Erasmus), Christchurch BHS 0
Timaru BHS 3 (Nick Stephenson, Sean Rhodes, Kai Smith), Shirley BHS 1
Girls Results:
St. Margaret’s College 3 (Niamh McKenzie 2, Isabella House) Rangi Ruru GS 0
Christchurch GHS 3 (Emily Bowden, Sophie Williamson, Katie Garret), Villa Maria College (Ameila Barrett)
Burnisde HS 3, St. Andrew’s College 3
