Six-a-side opens Coast football
The West Coast Senior Football season kicked off on Saturday at Arthur Fong with the annual 6-a-side tournament.
The women’s competition kicked off in blustery conditions, with a pool of five teams. The early rounds were very close and competitive, but eventually the Dragons White and the Goblins started to pull away from the rest. Both these teams eventually both topped the pool, even on points and goal difference, with Dragons White taking the top spot virtue of goals scored. Dragons White saw off fourth placed Dragons Green 3-0 in the first semi-final, with the Goblins beating third place Comets 2-0 in the other semi. Up until the final the Goblins had managed to keep five consecutive clean sheets, but Dragons White managed to keep their momentum going, winning 3-1 to take the trophy.
Dragons White. Back Row: Coach Josh Larsen, Rebecca Prattley, Shannon Gordon, Shelley Larsen, Hetty Jenkins, Caitlin Calhoun, Belle Boyle. Front Row: Laura Harris, Amelia How
The men’s competition had eight teams competing in two pools of four. Pool A was very close, with Grey United A taking the top spot in the last game, due to their two wins, and Marist Lads pipping the Buller High Team into second place. In Pool B, it went down to the last round to determine who went through, with Westland United and Grey United B finally taking the top two spots to progress. This set up a Grey United A versus Grey United B semi-final, with a closely fought 1-0 win going to the A team. Marist Lads had a convincing 3-0 win over Westland United in the other semi-final. The final was incredibly close, with Marist Lads taking a 1-0 win over Grey United A.
Marist Lads. Back Row: Alister Wells, Scott Ainsley, Kye Thomson, Juan Lawrence, Edsel Taylor, Sunil Naidu, Josh Larsen. Front Row: Josh Furze, David Lowe, Zeb Ferstere-Gawith
Both competitions were exhibitions of the high quality of football on the West Coast and an indication of a close and exciting season ahead. With last year’s winners of the main championships, Paroa and the Comets, both failing to make major impacts in their respective 6-a-sides, it suggests that the early season momentum lies with the Dragons and Marist. Both teams clearly have solid squads, plenty of talent and a drive to get their names on more trophies.