NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Sport / Football

Soccer: Another Armstrong aims high

By Terry Maddaford
10 Aug, 2007 05:00 PM5 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Bridgette Armstrong, 14, with Tess at her Waitoki home. Photo / Martin Sykes

Bridgette Armstrong, 14, with Tess at her Waitoki home. Photo / Martin Sykes

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

KEY POINTS:

Showing all the naivety one might expect from a 14-year-old, Bridgette Armstrong admits she did not have a clue what her father, Ron, had achieved as one of the best soccer players to pull on a New Zealand shirt.

The question arose because the wide-eyed youngster has the
chance to join her father as a winner of a major New Zealand soccer knockout competition if her Glenfield Rovers team get through tomorrow's home Knockout Cup semifinal against Western (Christchurch).

While it is unlikely Bridgette will have recovered sufficiently from a foot stress fracture to play tomorrow, she will be sideline cheering her team-mates on in the hope they can win through to the August 25 final.

Her father will then be able to call on the experience of such an occasion to calm any pre-match nerves should she get that opportunity.

As a member of the all-powerful Mt Wellington club, Ron Armstrong fashioned a second-to-none record in the Chatham Cup - the male equivalent of the Knockout Cup.

Armstrong played in seven finals, many under his mercurial father Ken as coach, between 1972-1983 and again in 1990, winning five times.

He was also involved in a ninth as a coach but came up short when Mt Wellington lost the 1996 final to Waitakere City in Napier.

Bridgette admits she was not aware of what her father had achieved but, nevertheless, admits the chance to play in such a final is the most exciting thing she has had to look forward to in her fledgling career. "He hasn't really told me what he did in football," said Bridgette this week.

The Long Bay College pupil has dabbled in a number of sports including rugby, volleyball and touch and, away from school, eventing - when she and her horse stay in shape.

"I've been riding horses as long as I can remember," she says fondly. "But my horse is injured at the moment and could be out for another year."

How about falls? "I've lost count of that," she says.

But it is in football where she seems most likely to make her mark.

Her proud dad admits she can play off both feet. "Better than me in that respect," said Armstrong, who made his mark as possibly the best left back [Bridgette's preferred position] to play for New Zealand.

But, just as quickly, he insists there has been no pressure from him or wife Jenny - who played under him when he coached the Mt Wellington premier women in 1983-84 and was good enough to play for Auckland.

"She has been kicking a ball for as long as I can remember," said Armstrong. "She has always played with her older sister Nicole and her brothers Richard [who plays for the Glenfield Rovers under-19 side] and C J, who plays for Albany."

It was not until the past couple of seasons she has played in all-female teams after first kicking a ball as a 5-year-old [and for many years thereafter in boys' midget teams].

Provided she recovers from her injuries - she has also had to recover from a broken hand and has had stitches in her knee - Bridgette has a chance of making the New Zealand team for next year's Fifa World Under-17 World Cup here. Should she make that there would be no prouder father than Ron Armstrong.

He turned his back on the very real chance he could have had to join his Mt Wellington team-mates Brian Turner, Ricki Herbert, Glenn Dods, Glen Adam and Billy McClure at the 1982 World Cup finals in Spain, opting to put his job before football.

"I have two big regrets," says Armstrong. "In 1982, it was my call to put my job before football. And, before that when I was at Aston Villa, I was too honest when I was given the opportunity to play with George Best.

"I was asked to go to Stockport where he was playing but I told them that I was going on holiday and did not think it was fair to join them for only two or three games."

Back to the Chatham Cup, Armstrong has clear memories.

"In my first final, in 1972, I scored twice from the spot but we finished up drawing 4-4 with Christchurch United, we drew the replay 1-1 and I scored another penalty in the second replay but we lost 2-1," said Armstrong.

"In 1990, I scored a penalty which I thought had won it but Christchurch United came back to level it 3-3. I then missed from the spot in the shootout and we lost 4-2 on penalties."

One thing is certain. Bridgette Armstrong will not be high on the list if Glenfield are taken to such a decider but, if that situation arose, who would ever bet against an Armstrong coming up short?

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from Football

Football

Football star faces probe into dwarf entertainers at 18th birthday

New Zealand

Napier City Rovers face crucial match in bid for top-tier football

Premium
Auckland FC

In Alex Paulsen's shadow: Meet Auckland FC's first-equal signing, who's yet to debut


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Football

Football star faces probe into dwarf entertainers at 18th birthday
Football

Football star faces probe into dwarf entertainers at 18th birthday

Lamine Yamal is under investigation for hiring entertainers with dwarfism.

15 Jul 06:35 PM
Napier City Rovers face crucial match in bid for top-tier football
New Zealand

Napier City Rovers face crucial match in bid for top-tier football

15 Jul 05:00 PM
Premium
Premium
In Alex Paulsen's shadow: Meet Auckland FC's first-equal signing, who's yet to debut
Auckland FC

In Alex Paulsen's shadow: Meet Auckland FC's first-equal signing, who's yet to debut

15 Jul 03:01 AM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP