Gisborne girls in national success

ON THE NATIONAL STAGE: Three Gisborne players were in a title-winning Central Football regional team at the national age-group tournament that ended in Wellington on Sunday. They are (from left) Dara Mulrooney, Grace Levy and Tayla Broughton, who were in the squad who won the under-14 girls’ division. Picture by Paul Rickard

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THREE Gisborne girls were in a team who won their division of a national tournament that ended in Wellington on Sunday.

Leftback Dara Mulrooney, wide midfielder Grace Levy and attacking midfielder Tayla Broughton — all 13 — were in the Central Football squad who won all six of their round-robin games in the under-14 girls’ division of the national age-group tournament.

Teams from all seven New Zealand football federations attended the tournament, which drew 700 players, coaches and officials for five days of competition.

Girls’ games were played in under-14 and u16 divisions, while boys’ games were in u14, u15 and u16 age groups.

In all, eight Gisborne players were in Central Football teams (covering central North Island) at the tournament, the others being centreback Rubi Perano in the u16 girls’ team who finished second, striker Jimmy Somerton and midfielder Oliver Davies in the u15 boys’ team who finished fifth, and goalkeepers Regan Cameron and Jack Faulkner in the u16 boys’ team who finished fourth.

Central Football Gisborne game development officer Blake Mulrooney said the u14 girls’ team success constituted the first time a Central Football team had won an age-group title.

The Gisborne players in the girls’ u14 team arrived in Wellington at 2pm on Wednesday and had their first game, against Southern (southwards from South Canterbury), at 6.30pm that day, winning 5-1.

On Thursday, they beat Waikato/Bay of Plenty 1-0 in the morning and Northern (northwards from West Auckland and North Shore) 2-0 in the evening.

Friday was a free day. On Saturday, they beat Mainland (Canterbury, Marlborough, Nelson Bays) 2-1 in the morning and Capital (Wellington, Kapiti Coast, Hutt Valley, Wairarapa) 2-1 in the afternoon.

On Sunday morning they played the only other unbeaten team, Auckland.

“It just happened to be the last game in the round-robin, but it was like a final,” said Mulrooney, father of Dara.

In one of the most “intense” games he had seen, Central won 3-2 to clinch the title.

“A draw would have been good enough, on goal difference, but it was great for them to do it with a win.”