Gisborne Thistle women win Braybrook Cup football final

YMCA Gisborne Thistle won the Braybrook Cup women's knockout final on Sunday. Back (from left) are Lucy McDiarmid, Kaitlyn Priest, Mya Carrington, Natalie Land, Lee Smith (coach), Aliyah Lardelli, Jade McVey, Bridie Morrison, Summer Feisst and Sheree Smith. Front: Melody Lamb, Toni Frere, Naiya Powley, Frankie Gooding, Taylor Carrington and Leah Koretz. Absent: Ruth Fletcher, who was unavailable for the final.

Two teams new to local women’s football this season contested the Braybrook Cup final on Sunday and put on a show.

YMCA Thistle – comprised largely of Gisborne Girls’ High School players who had come off a week of secondary school sports tournaments – beat Smash Palace Shockers 1-0 at Childers Road Reserve.

Shockers also had a strong school link. The players who got together to form the team had links to Campion College teams whose crowning glory had been an Eastern League/Braybrook Cup/Grant Jarvis Tournament treble in 2022.

The entertainment put on for an appreciative crowd lived up to the pedigree of both sides.

Thistle midfielder Natalie Land broke the deadlock in the 61st minute with a 25-metre belter of a free-kick that Shockers goalkeeper Grace Levy could only palm into the roof of the net.

Four minutes later, Shockers coach Phil Allan threw the dice and shifted Levy – already one of the outstanding performers in the match – up the field in search of an equaliser. Right-back Macayla Boyce held the fort in goal.

Levy and speedy right-winger Toni Arnold held Shockers’ best hopes of scoring but they were well marked by centre-back Bridie Morrison and left-back Naiya Powley. Frankie Gooding, Kaitlyn Priest, Summer Feisst and goalkeeper Taylor Carrington also played their part in a well-organised defensive unit for the Jags.

Morrison and Land shared the Thistle player-of-the-day honours.

Shockers’ chances took a hit when hard-working midfielder Emily Graham limped from the field midway through the second half. She limped back on late in the game, but it was a brave effort destined to fail ... she could hardly jog, let alone sprint.

Shivaun Gunn and Jasmine Monteith also put in good shifts in Shockers’ midfield, while Bree Allan, Neve Loffler, Sharnae Hall and Macayla Boyce had their hands full with Thistle attackers Mya Carrington, Aliyah Lardelli and Jade McVey.

The midfield was keenly contested, with Thistle’s Land, Lucy McDiarmid and Toni Frere going toe to toe with their opponents.

Shockers played with good team spirit and flashes of individual brilliance; Thistle had the togetherness of a team that had just had a hard week and they were well organised, especially at the back, where they needed to be.

Both sides hit the bar in the first half and, though they had good chances to score, a goal from a set-piece was a fitting way to separate two well-matched teams.

Chris Niven, refereeing his second big game of the weekend, needed to show the yellow card only once on Sunday – to Shockers defender Allan, who took the shortest route to the ball when chasing back, bumping off an attacker on the way.

Rolling subs were in effect. Matchday squads were –

Thistle: Taylor Carrington, Mya Carrington, Kaitlyn Priest, Frankie Gooding, Lucy McDiarmid, Aliyah Lardelli, Naiya Powley, Jade McVey, Toni Frere, Bridie Morrison, Natalie Land, Summer Feisst, Melody Lamb, Leah Koretz, Sheree Smith.

Shockers: Grace Levy, Sharnaye Hall, Macayla Boyce, Bree Allan, Neve Loffler, Laura Simpson, Shivaun Gunn, Emily Graham, Jasmine Monteith, Toni Arnold, Jayde Neal, Zoe Watts, Hannah Symonds, Dana Kingsbeer.

High School Old Boys Eels clinch Chris Moore Cup

Two second-half goals won the Chris Moore Cup for C & G Plumbing High School Old Boys Eels at Childers Road Reserve on Saturday.

They beat Versatile Thistle 2-0 to win the knockout cup traditionally contested by Eastern League men’s second-division teams.

In the 50th minute, HSOB left-back Trent Donnelly scored with a long-range shot that held up in the wind and dropped under the bar.

Right-winger Robert Fitzpatrick gave HSOB breathing space in the 85th minute, scoring with a deft finish.

For HSOB, goalkeeper Eru Rawiri was the man of the match, while right-back Jayden Goldsmith, centre-backs Jeremy Ion and Josh van Wyk, striker Adriaan van den Worm and utility players Jack Holden and Kelly Humphries were outstanding.

For Thistle, left-winger Jo McDonald, centre-back/winger Mohammed Ali and goalkeeper Danny Crofton did well.