Eltham reigns supreme at the Duff Rose Bowl

ELTHAM AFC Premiers made history on Saturday, winning the Duff Rose Bowl for the first time with a 2-1 extra time victory against Moturoa.
Eltham started the stronger of the two sides in a tight contest, and scored the first goal with a well-taken strike from man of the match, Cory Jacobsen at the second time of asking.
A rash challenge from Clint Hill after the break resulted in a harsh red card that left Eltham struggling to match Moturoa's crisp midfield for the rest of the match, and from the resulting free kick Dylan Coutts' deflected shot beat goalkeeper Simon Oliver at his far post.
Moturoa seemed to have the momentum for the remaining thirty minutes, applying constant pressure to Eltham's backline, but were lacking a killer strike in front of goal, and were taken into extra time.
Nerves were apparent in both teams' players in the added thirty minutes with chances created and missed at both ends. However, it was Philip Oliver who kept his cool midway through the first period of extra time, slamming home from close range after the ball fell to his feet from a cross.
Moturoa didn't give up and were unfortunate not to equalise, with a shot hitting the upright and rolling across goal; but the pressure began to show and they too had a player sent from the field for a second yellow.
Eltham ground the final few minutes out and were fully deserving of their win of a trophy equivilant to the FA Cup in Taranaki. It was also their first appearance in the final. They got there the hard way, having to go extra time in not only the quarterfinals where they beat Woodleigh 3-2, but the semi-finals also, defeating a much fancied New Plymouth Rangers side, 2-1.
A proud day for the club was enjoyed long into the night by a fantastic and noisy group of supporters who made the trip up.

Eltham soccer youth champions

2009 has proven to be a good year for the Eltham Soccer Club, not only did their Premier Senior team win the Duff Rose Bowl knockout competition, but their youth team also won the Taranaki Youth League.
It had been about five years since Eltham fielded a youth team, but some hard work by Troy Savage over the summer months enabled the club to put together a squad; their expectations weren't high, they just wanted to be competitive.
The team was held together by strikers Cory Jacobsen and Tim Stanners, with Aaron Linton and Tom Ferguson anchoring the defence. Along with Kieran Watt, Jason Southey, Ryk Ferguson and Kyle Bates in the midfield, the team had a solid and creative feel to it.
The first game was nervously anticipated and the team was drawn to play Spotswood Falcons. Any apprehension was blown away as they went on to beat that team 8-0. With ever-increasing confidence, Eltham proceeded through to the top eight of the championship round.
The championship round then opened with emphatic wins over New Plymouth Girls' High School and Francis Douglas Memorial College, going onto then grind out a win over a vastly improved Spotswood Falcons.
Next up were competition favourites Spotswood Condors who went on to beat Eltham, 4-2. Eltham then finished the competition with wins over New Plymouth Boys High School, Moturoa and Hawera.
The Moturoa game was a defining moment for the team as Moturoa had beaten them twice in previous rounds, but the Eltham side showed how much they had improved by beating Moturoa 1-0 and taking out the championship.
Thanks must go to the players for their commitment and effort throughout the year. Also thanks to coach Troy Savage and Manager Val Mekalick for keeping the players focussed for the whole season.