Ngongotaha AFC coach Shane Davis poses with some of the team's many winning accolades from a stellar 2016 season. PHOTO/ STEPHEN PARKER
Ngongotaha AFC coach Shane Davis poses with some of the team's many winning accolades from a stellar 2016 season. PHOTO/ STEPHEN PARKER
Rotorua Daily Post sports reporter Ruth Dacey has selected her top local team, athlete, emerging talent and highlights of 2016. She kicks things off today.
Pele, the king of football, once described the sport as "o jogo bonito", meaning - the beautiful game.
There are many broad styles of play but for me beauty in the modern game is most clearly personified through "tiki-taka" - where goals are the currency of football and maintaining possession of the ball is the defining characteristic.
And this stylish brand of pressing football and a remarkable unbeaten league campaign are just some of the reasons why I have selected Ngongotaha AFC as my top team of the year.
Ngongotaha AFC celebrate winning the WaiBOP Premier title after an unbeaten campaign. PHOTO/ FILE
Celebrating their 50th jubilee year Ngongotaha won promotion into the Northern League, the first time since the late 1990s, while also picking up the WaiBOP Premier Challenge Shield after remaining unbeaten at home - a record that started two years ago.
The Villagers' midfielder Alan Ferguson scooped the WaiBOP Premier player of the year and lethal striker Mitchell Miller took home the division's top scorer accolade - netting 51 before the playoff series where he found the back of the net another four times.
Ngongotaha coach Shane Davis said winning the second leg of the league playoffs 4-2 against Lynn Avon United was the highlight after just missing the promotion playoffs the year before.
"It was such an important game for football in Rotorua, not just our club," Davis said. "And when the final whistle sounded it was a huge relief.
"I knew they have been good enough for quite a while to play Northern League football and everyone was devastated when we didn't make it the last season.
"But they more than redeemed themselves and played with real quality and attacking style.
"That win was for the future generations - we are now in a position to create a stepping stone for young players in the area. We can offer that higher level of football and develop potential."
On their way to sealing their coveted spot, Ngongotaha, managed by Steve Towers, were crowned WaiBOP Premier champions after dropping just four points, the result of draws against Matamata and Waikato Unicol They scored an impressive 111 goals, conceding just 21.
Lethal Ngongotaha striker Mitchell Miller, pictured celebrating after scoring a late goal to give his side a 2-1 win in their first leg NRFL match, was the WaiBOP Premier top goal scorer. PHOTO/FILE
Observing from the sidelines I couldn't help but be blown away - like the majority of Ngongotaha's opposition all season - by the instinctive and dynamic way the team passed and moved the ball around, something Davis said had become "second nature" to the team.
"We've created a culture of pass and move football," he said. "It sounds simple but the team can only do this because I've trained a lot of these players since high school and so they've developed so much together as a unit. They intuitively know where each player is going to be. You can't teach that kind of play just like that, it has to be inbuilt at the club."
Loyal "orange army" Ngongotaha AFC supporters celebrating their team's promotion into Northern League football. PHOTO/ SUPPLIED
The Villagers' Northern League second division campaign is set to kick off at home against Auckland outfit Papatoetoe AFC in March.
Davis, who has much experience playing for the club he now coaches in the Northern League, said there was hard work ahead in preseason but the side was capable of "holding their own" in the new division.
"It's going to be a more physical league so we need to be ready for that. And fitness will be a huge factor. I'll be looking to get the boys in shape from the end of January with lots of road work and stamina training," he said.
"You have to supply a reserve team in this league so player depth is key but that's a positive because it means that everyone will be competing for their spot. What they do at training will really count.
"We have to go in with the right mindset and continue to play with our flair and passion. If we do that then I can see us competing and performing well. I've set the target of holding our place in the league for next season but there's no reason why we can't be beating all these teams."
