Coastal Spirit FC
Christchurch, New Zealand

This page contains 2008 women's first team, match reports, previews and summaries.

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2008 Women's First Team Teamtalks

Recent | 14 September 2008 | 6 September 2008 | 30 August 2008 | 26 August 2008 | 23 August 2008 | 2 August 2008 | 19 July 2008 | 12 July 2008 | 28 June 2008 | 21 June 2008 | 14 June 2008 | 2 June 2008 | 31 May 2008 | 24 May 2008 | 17 May 2008 | 13 May 2008 | 10 May 2008 | 26 April 2008 | 19 April 2008 | 12 April 2008 | 5 April 2008 | 28 March 2008

14 September 2008: Coastal Spirit 7 Avon United 0
Reta Fitzpatrick Cup Final

The final performance of the season matched the brilliant weather and clear blue skies of a perfect Christchurch day. With the thought of Reta looking over us and a promise I'd made her at her funeral, the plan was to bring that Little Blue Cup home.

The past 3 weeks has seen the guys play some great football and wrap up the WPL and in an outstanding display of skill, and composed football we added the Reta to deservedly give us the double for 2008.

At English Park in excellent conditions the objective was to move the ball around and use our skill and pace to exert pressure from the first whistle. For large parts of the game we played some of our best football of the season with terrific passing, movement and skill. We had struggled with some of the heavy sodden grounds earlier in the season not suiting our style, today the ball rolled true and we played.

In the first 45 minutes of almost total control we played Avon off the park and we were rewarded with a 2-0 lead with goals from Alana and Megan. On the run of play and opportunities created we could have (and probably should have) been in front by more. The movement and passing displayed was quality.

Emma Proctor in a non-stop ball of energy display caused all sorts of problems for Avon. Time after time she created opportunities on the right, delivering quality balls into the box or into the feet of our strikers. Emma's performance reflected all the hard work and enthusiasm she has put into the team this season both in games and on the training pitch. Emma's genuine hard work and enthusiasm is unmatched and it was very pleasing to see her performing so well in a cup final. In our efforts to exhaust Avon in the first 45, so many players lifted their intensity and were difficult to contain. A torrid first 20 set the scene for the game.

The second half call was to keep the pressure on and continue to move the Avon side around. This was followed to the letter and a further 5 goals were scored. Hannah Wong picked up a 2nd half hat trick with Emma Proctor and Poppy Binning also finding the back of the net.

Our 5th clean sheet in a row, which is something that Noran, and "Team D" can be very proud of. Noran in goal again kept her concentration throughout and was called on to make a telling save midway through the 2nd half that kept the opposition scoreless. Noran has conceded only 6 goals all season, which is a fantastic record, she has stood tall and clearly the best Keeper in our region.

Our defenders of Kirsty Palmer, Adelma Matthews, Maia Vink and Alex Hepburn are unmatched in one on one defending. They just don't get beaten, not feeling sorry for the opposition but, they certainly made life tough for the young forwards. Again their communication, understanding and positioning was outstanding and the foundations of good performances are set with their consistently good efforts every game. Kirsty rolled her ankle in a soft patch of ground in the first half and to her credit, stood strong until Isla Smith stepped in to cover. Isla was already on cloud 9 having cleaned up at the Junior Prize giving the night before being named Defender of the year overall along with Player of the Year and most promising. She has shown a maturity that will enable her to make the most of her Premier experience this season. Isla continued to set the high standard at left back and launched a few attacks with composed balls forward to feet and looked like a pro.

One huge disappointment for me (and it's my opinion) 2 of the best performed defenders in the region this season were not considered for nomination for Mainland Defender of the year. Adelma and Alex have clearly stood out and although it is nice for our young Maia to rightfully receive a nomination (and Megan who played a couple of games at left back) it is also frustrating to find out the process used to select these players. That's another story for another day.

Midfield of Stef White, Alana Ainsworth and Poppy Binning were creative in possession and applied pressure to squeeze Avon out of possession. Alana got through a ton of work and displayed tremendous skill and flair with the ball. Knowing Avon's game well and deciding on a lop-sided 4-3-3. We pushed Megan inside with Wongie and opened up the wide left for Alana to exploit. Stef and Poppy were called on to work the middle of the park out-numbered at times until our fullbacks pushed on and they were superb. All dominated their opponents and they were the catalyst for a good deal of our attacking options. Young Ashleigh Ward came on and excited the crowd with her pace, great delivery into the box that resulted in 2 of the goals and a couple of good chances for her to get on the score sheet. Remember that name; she's one for the future.

Up front Hannah Wong, Megan, Emma were always busy looking for openings and responsible for giving the Avon defence a torrid afternoon. Chances created through good work was thwarted by some safe hands from the Avon keeper and hurried shots at goal, we were thrilled however by their performance. Megan had completed some fitness work the day before with U-17's so made way for fresh legs in Alice Foote. Alice has consistently worked hard this season, she's a handful on the left and her determination creates havoc at times for the opposition.

MVP was named at the presentation to Hannah Wong for her 3 goals, she again proved she is a talented goal scorer worth her weight in gold.

Georgia Goulding (took advantage of an opening to have her operation on her ankle) and Gabby Kerdemelidis (school leadership camp) were unavailable but both have played significant contributions leading up to the final. Others to mention as key contributors are Olivia Meares and Liz Gilchrist.

So the Reta goes with the league title to give us the double which is something we had put down as a goal right back in January when we first assembled. That's 3 seasons coaching in the Premier League and 3 Doubles...that's not bad.

As an amalgamated club it has been great to see the tradition that New Brighton have in this competition be transferred over to Coastal Spirit. Especially special is the Reta Fitzpatrick Cup who we played for and who did so much for women's football with Rangers and Canterbury. To have Ric in attendance and present the trophy was also very special.

The players in the initial couple of months worked very hard at fitness and that work and effort has been rewarded with some fantastic performances especially over the business end of the season. The season has been difficult with some bad weather that has impacted on games and trainings. We continued to train twice a week, which is something that a number of women's teams don't do, but it has held us in good stead especially when the crucial games came around.

We've had to fight a number of off field battles, which has seen us strongly disagreeing with the outcomes. While these things are draining and disappointing given most of our issues were more than fair and reasonable, it is highly satisfying that while we have lost some battles we have won the war and proved that on the park week in week out we were the best and most consistent team in this region.

Thank you

• To Gareth and the club for their ongoing support during the season.
• To Jim and Lee Hawkey big thanks for their input and support.
• To Phil and Ben for giving us a voice and a face on the website.
• To the under-16 players who helped us out during the season and who hopefully got some game time in WPL that will assist their development. Isla Smith and Ashleigh Ward have played the most often from this group and their performances and efforts have been terrific and they have more than held their own at WPL level.
• To all the people who took time to come along and watch we have really appreciated the time and effort you made to do so.
• To young Rachel O'Keefe who was always at our trainings and games. It is important that young players have role models to look up to. Hopefully Rachel being around senior players who made her welcome will spur her own to continue to work hard and strive to be the best she can, the future is in the hands of our young players.

On a sad note we farewell Kirsty Palmer who is moving to Australia, Alana Ainsworth who will be in the Dunedin university environment in 2009 and Noran Abaza who has plans to move to Auckland in the New Year to play.

We will miss these players not only for their outstanding football ability and contributions they made in 08, but also for their personalities, the sense of fun they bring to the team and the genuinely nice people that they are.

We said back in January when players were running their arses off "it's all money in the bank" and if 2008 proves anything it is that you get what you deserve if you work hard at it. A bunch of really nice people did work hard and got exactly what they deserved.

Comment on team talks at the Coastal Spirit Forum | Photos by Chris Andrews: see more from the CSFC Finals Day

6 September 2008: FM Bays 0 Coastal Spirit 4
Coastal Spirit: League Champions

They say in football you get what you deserve. From January we have been fortunate to have a group of players who have been prepared to put in the time and effort to train and play hard week in and week out. Their reward was confirmed on Saturday by securing an inaugural WPL championship by 5 points (make that 8 points barring a 3-point penalty from game one that we still believe unjust) over their nearest rivals for the club in a league season that has seen as many battles off the park as on. Consistency, class, effort and endeavour have characterised the performances throughout the season.

We went into Saturday's game with Ferrymead Bays knowing a point (or a 21-nil loss) would secure the title. We spoke before the game of wanting to keep up the standards and intensity and finish off in style. A 4-0 victory against 3rd placed Ferrymead ensured an unbeaten away record in the league. While it may not have been the most stylish performance, confirmation of the title was sweet. Again, another clean sheet (our 4th in a row) laid the foundation and allowed us to exert pressure, create opportunities and in general stay in control of our own destiny.

Three first half goals to Megan Shea, Stef White and Maia Vink confirmed that the title would be ours. A goal to Kirsty Palmer midway through the 2nd half rounded off the win, which could have been greater as we created opportunities and were denied by the woodwork twice.

Noran in goal dealt confidently with all her work and her reward was another clean sheet. The backline of Alex, Adelma, Maia, Kirsty and Isla were strong and organised - all displayed excellent composure and skill especially in one-on-one defending. We were determined to rotate our players and give as many as much game time as possible. We had 6 players returning from the week-long Secondary School tournament, so the emphasis was on trying to manage them whilst ensuring we performed to a consistent standard. In midfield Stef, Alana, Georgia, Poppy and Gabby all worked hard, and - as in the majority of games this season - got on top of the opposition and made opportunities for us to create pressure on the opposition.

Up front Emma, Alice, Megan and Ashleigh all caused Ferrymead problems. We had the luxury of not needing our top goal-scorer Hannah Wong for more than 15mins. The intention was to give Wongie a run, see how her legs held up and have a look at the golden boot tally but, that wasn't to be. Wongie will benefit from the reduced workload in preparation for this week's cup final.

It was a pleasure to receive the Trophy from Mainland and even nicer to personally hand it to Grant Chellew. First senior trophy for the cupboard for Coastal Spirit and something to celebrate for everyone, including our fantastic supporters. Thanks for the wine Grant, it was a challenge trying to keep the young mouths closed when the corks popped, the oldies enjoyed the bubbles.

So, trophy one locked away and Avon awaits us Sunday in the Reta final. For the players to have the opportunity to win the double is exciting. To complete it will be great for them and sets a benchmark for future seasons. Sunday looms as a big day out for the club. Good luck to Alan his team in their build up. We hope between us we can make the day a memorable one.

A final wrap up of the league season:

• We scored the most goals.
• We conceded the least.
• We were undefeated away from home and only conceded 1 goal away.
• We had 9 clean sheets in 16 games.

GLORY…GLORY….

Player of the Day:- Kirsty Palmer

Photos: Glyn Davies - M4Photography.

Comment on team talks at the Coastal Spirit Forum

26 August 2008: Reta Fitzpatrick Cup SF: Coastal Spirit 5 FM Bays 0

Finally, after the third attempt we got the game played and achieved the result we wanted. Given the amount of rain we've had and the constant training sessions on the pitch, it [Eric Adam Park / Rangers Park] was surprisingly free of surface water although it was very heavy underfoot. Thank you to Gareth and the club for the work they have put into ole girl to get it up to the condition it was in. It was fitting to play one of the last games there for Reta and she was our motivation.

Two quick goals within the first 5 minutes from Georgia Goulding and Hannah Wong set the tone and platform for a very pleasing and hard worked victory. Again we looked solid at the back, always perfect positioning and, while Ferrymead had some mobile frontrunners, for the greater part we coped extremely well.

Olivia Meares filled in admirably for Noran in goal. Her presence and distribution was good and we are appreciative that Olivia is available to assist us as and when required.

Alex Hepburn, Adelma Matthews, Kirsty Palmer and Maia Vink provided the backbone and all were strong and composed. Their consistent performances each and every game gives confidence to the rest of the team. Midway through the first half Del suffered a head wound but some quick patch-up work, gluing it together, allowed her to continue and she never flinched her responsibilities for the 60 minutes she played bandaged up. Her attitude and commitment really rubs off through the team.

Through our midfield we wanted to move the ball around and create pressure in the attacking areas which were the least cut up. We achieved this for the most part, which was great as it was very difficult to be creative in the conditions. Alana Ainsworth ran tirelessly all night and did a lot of work in pressurising Ferrymead's ball and Gabby Kerdemelidis stood up to her more experienced marker taking both the physical and verbal challenge in her stride. Emma Proctor and Georgia Goulding were at the heart of a lot of our moves and were effective both in and out of possession.

Megan Shea, back from Auckland, scored towards the end of the first half with a great left foot shot to take us in 3-0 up at the half and looks good from the additional work she's getting through with her NZ U-17 team mates. Being the target man has certainly lifted her confidence going forward and she was difficult for the Ferrymead defence to contain.

The second half started well with Megan adding her second within the first 10 minutes, which was what we asked for at half time. Megan and Hannah Wong up front put pressure on Ferrymead throughout and their contrasting styles and strengths complemented each other. A good ball forward for Hannah to jink into the box earned a penalty that Megan put away for her hat-trick.

The introduction of Alice Foote added some additional pace and, like last Saturday, Alice really battled and pressurised the opposition - creating opportunities for us to get into more scoring positions.

Again, two young players in Isla Smith and Ashleigh Ward saw premier Women's football action. They continue to fit in well and, hopefully, the experiences will assist their development. I love their enthusiasm, they're fantastic.

Ferrymead contributed to the game with their never-give-up attitude and have players who test our defence. Last night we passed that test again with flying colours.

Thank you to Lee and Jim Hawkey who gave up their time to ensure the changing rooms were clean, the guys appreciate your support every week and so do Mike, Heather and I. Last night was important to all of us.

With Reta Fitzpatrick having such huge influence within the Rangers club we are excited about the opportunity to play in the Final in her memory and attempt to get the Coastal Spirit name on the trophy in the first year of amalgamation between Rangers and New Brighton. For us it'll be the third time - so everything to play for. It was fitting that the semi-final win was manufactured on the ground that Reta would have called her second home. We'll make sure the finals day will be memorable - especially if Alan and the boys can do the business on Saturday.

Before the Reta Final there are two important league games to play. This Saturday v Western, who will buoyed by their great achievement of making the National Knock-Out Cup Final. Hopefully the game can live up to its potential and showcase the best of women's football in our region. 12.30pm at Walter Park No.1 Cuthberts. Let's hope the weather and pitch conditions allow for a good contest.

Player of the Day - for the second game running - Adelma Matthews

Del went immediately to A&E to have the 'dressing' cut from her head. As expected from the effort to glue the gash together it needed 4 stitches. She did ask for 5 though, 1 for each goal. Del will be 110% ready for Saturday!

Comment on team talks at the Coastal Spirit Forum

23 August 2008: Coastal Spirit 6 Halswell 0

One more down, 2 left to go for the league. A good performance from a hungry side that knows winning the league this year will be on the field against an opponent on a level playing field where rules are rules and they are both adhered to and governed in a fair, honest and consistent way, well that's the expectation anyway.

Finally getting to play was a pleasure for the guys who have been patient with makeshift training sessions all over the City, (thank you to Christchurch East School for the use of your Gym) and good effort by those who have worked hard on their own fitness to stay in shape to finish this season off.

Eric Adam Park (Rangers Park) was in good shape, thanks for the rollers it was a pleasure to play on today. The sacred ground was motivation to win well and the girls didn't disappoint. Halswell are always a tough opposition and although we've won comfortably against them in every encounter this season, we always respect them because they fight and have an abundance of talent.

Mike, Heather and I were pleased with the guys because we haven't played a lot of football in the past few weeks but we still looked confident on the ball and played very well for the most part, exciting the large crowd and finishing off good periods of play with 6 good goals.

The first goal came from a good ball to Emma Proctor wide on the right, easily beating her marker and delivering a perfect cross for Alana Ainsworth to climb above the defence and head home. The second was also from the right, an individual effort from Georgia Goulding - same defender turned inside out on the edge of the box and smashing the ball past the keeper on the angle. The third for the first half was the result of a battle in the box, a nice ball forward by Alex Hepburn for Alice Foote who battled and fought for possession to free the ball for Stef White to blast in from close range giving the keeper no chance. 3-0 at the half, the key to our first half performance was fitness and possession retention.

Our back four has been the best performed of the season with Maia Vink and Adelma Matthews too strong and unbeatable in the middle of the park they contained the Halswell attack well giving us complete confidence. Noran again patrolled the space behind them and cleaned up everything thrown at her with ease including an unnecessary collision with an over exuberant opponent. We haven't conceded too many and if it comes down to goal difference at the end of the season, these guys are responsible. Del was superb, aggressively attacking the ball coming onto her marker, she met every ball first which often launched our attacks. Coming forward through players saw Del wearing the brunt of typical striker challenges and she had the scars to prove it so hopefully Nick looked after that for the team. Both Alex and Kirsty Palmer played true fullback roles, had fantastic attitudes today, attacking at every opportunity and delivering good ball forward.

Stef, Alana and Gabby Kerdemelidis all had pleasing games and dominated the midfield for the most part, having no problem directing the play forward and covering the attacking prowess of the Halswell effort. Stef played another captain's knock and now constantly manages her troops from the middle of the park; she's in good form leading into the money-end of a tight season.

The second half needed to be more of the same, changing shape to take advantage of a tiring Halswell, we threw players forward. Hannah Wong came into the game not feeling well and was off colour so we used the rolling subs rule effectively. I'm not a fan of this rule at our level, coaches should be challenged to make intelligent changes, not stopping the game every 5 minutes. Today it suited us so we took advantage of that rule. Wongie showed her class scoring the 4th goal, nice play just after halftime finishing with a cross that beat the Halswell defence and cheekily helped on by Hannah on the turn across the keeper. Alana had one of her strongest games today and we talked about the goals she's scored with her head, it wasn't long before she was on the score sheet again. Georgia Goulding chipped in a perfect corner, Alana timed her run and dived to head home to the applause of an appreciative Spirit crowd. Alana secured her hat-trick not long after cleaning up on the edge off the 18 yard to drive the ball through a crowded box.

Young Isla Smith and Ashley Ward have been 2 players that have impressed the girls for their age and today they were given another opportunity to gain experience in the Premier League. Isla came on for Maia and she showed a composure about her that disguises her age, she's such a good defender, she calmly dealt with anything coming on to her and played some very mature passes forward - she slotted into the back line comfortably. Ash excited us and the girls with her last outing, her pace and determination will see her go along way, she latched onto a through ball with 3 defenders around her and was unlucky not to get on the score sheet. Ash was a handful for the fullback and contributed to our ability to camp in the attacking third and see the game out.

Deciding on a player of the day today was difficult, every player impressed and played with heart, we know how important these last games are and the Reta on Tuesday night has special meaning for us so a good performance was important going into that.

Alana's 3 goals were all class, she ran herself into the ground again today as she always does. Maia, Kirsty and Alex had strong defensive and attacking games from the back. Stef was a fantastic captain again today. Emma and Alice run all day and gave us an edge going forward. Gabby kept the middle of the park tidy and disrupted the opposition's play. Wongie can still score even when she's ill. Noran was safe and composed. Georgia Goulding had one her best games across the park, she's an exciting player and she's in form at the right time of the season, she always has a fantastic positive attitude and lifts the team. Ash and Isla's energy and enthusiasm kept us focused to the end ……….but today, Adelma Matthews was outstanding. Every week Del puts her body on the line for the guys and she fights for the team for 90 minutes. Today she proved again just how hard it is to get past her and her performance shaped the performance of the team.

We're as ready as we'll ever be and looking forward to Tuesday night at Eric Adam Park against Ferrymead, for the Reta, Megan Shea is coming home for this and there is every intention, we'll bring cup football attitudes to the park to bring this one home.

Comment on team talks at the Coastal Spirit Forum

2 August 2008: Coastal Spirit 1 Western 1

The top of the table clash today saw us share the points in an all-in effort from both sides. Despite the rainfall and wintry conditions throughout the week, the pitch itself wasn't too bad with no surface water but it was very, very heavy. The game itself gave the good sized crowd their monies' worth because it had it all.

Coming off our last outing against Ferrymead where missed chances proved costly, the message today was to be more clinical in front of goal. It seems to be our Achilles' heel, where we comfortably dominate large periods of play, create scoring opportunities but fail to finish, today was no exception.

It was heart-warming to see the effort put in by every single player in the heavy conditions. Western showed a confidence early on, but the strategy today to play direct and utilise the inform Megan Shea up front, saw the guys create a number of chances that we should have put away. Easy chances in the first 15 minutes fell to Megan, Georgia Goulding and Hannah Wong and it was Wongie in the 19th min that latched onto a perfectly weighted through ball from Alex Hepburn to slip it confidently past the keeper. Our back line was solid in the mud and thwarted any attempts from Western, matching their shape in midfield with Stef White, Alana Ainsworth, Georgia and Gabby Kerdemelidis seemingly hungrier in tackle, we felt comfortable in the 1-on-1 battles and certainly in applying far more pressure to the usually composed Western defence. Megan easily beat defenders, creating scoring chances and taking the attention away from Wongie which saw her cheeky runs to get on the ball and often getting in behind the defence, jinking past her markers. Disappointingly, a few players were guilty of a number of shots straight to the keeper, resulting in no reward for the effort.

The dynamic of the game was changed through an altercation between Poppy Binning and Leigh Alexander at the 40th minute, which forced the referee to take the only option available, to send both from the field after punches were exchanged. Both players would have regretted the actions; I'm sure as, although the game was fierce at times and 3 further yellows, it wasn't a reflection of the good football played by both teams in difficult conditions.

Having to adjust quickly to the loss of our fullback, Gabby in midfield stood down for the team to allow the changes to be made at the back. The rest of the game was one of working hard for each other and playing with heart and that's what the team gave us. Kirsty Palmer comfortably slipped into the position she has thrived at this year, giving us security in defence and an attacking option going forward. Adelma Matthews gave her normal 110% and again inspired the players around her. Maia Vink and Del have been the outstanding centre backs this season and today was no exception. A number of times today, Maia showed her skill as a defender - not being beaten 1-on-1 and good delivery forward finding Megan to launch our attacks. Alex Hepburn impressed again and worked hard against the quick attack.

Stef White was outstanding as leader, she constantly engaged her players at every opportunity and ran herself into the ground - she stepped up and encouraged the best from her team. Both Alana and Georgia gave a good showing and covered some distance around the field. We were pleased with the battles won in midfield and the quality ball forward. It would be interesting to know the distance covered by our midfield today and their superior fitness saw them finish strong. We're still unsure how the experienced Karen Almond found herself goal-side of our usually organised defence and still onside, but that was the only scoring chance Western had for the day and she showed her experience to guide the ball home to make it 1-1 against the run of play.

We still had time to win it and continued to create chances. Wongie had a strong game and the reality of how much work she got through against a much bigger defence showed after her warm down; the outstanding young player that she is Wongie showed her skill in heavy conditions and her ability to threaten at every opportunity. Georgia found herself in scoring positions in the last 15, as did Wongie and desperate defending by Western kept them in it.

Noran didn't have a lot to do, in terms of shot saving, but was called on to collect many misdirected through balls and comfortably defended a number of set plays and corners. Noran's distribution assisted our attacking plan and her encouragement is vital in the big games such as it was today.

Obviously the game plan changed after the 40 minute mark and I'm grateful to players that stepped up to do things out of the ordinary today with the circumstances forcing us to make an adjustment. Emma Proctor and Alice Foote were called on to work hard late in the game to force the winner then to secure the point and were a credit to our effort. Both lifted the intensity of the game when they came on and from the sideline we felt the winner was only a matter of time - the clock won that battle. We haven't had much luck this year on or off the park, so determined to change that next week against Ferrymead.

Thank you to the supporters that encouraged the guys to the end, your support is vital to see this season out. We're still in the driving seat and would love to see you again next week.

Our player of the day today took some thought because everyone played with Coastal Spirit heart, including Stef White who was an outstanding leader on and off the ball and our back line who continue to be solid, but Megan Shea showed what she is going to be asked to do in Auckland at the end of October for NZ in the World Cup. She was aggressive, explosive and very difficult to defend in the air, players running off her will reap rewards. Megan is really coming into some form and her attitude to hard work is preparing her well.

Player of the Day: Megan Shea.

Comment on team talks at the Coastal Spirit Forum

19 July 2008: Coastal Spirit 0 Ferrymead Bays 2

We went into our 3rd meeting this season with Ferrymead Bays buoyed by a much-improved effort in last week's win over Halswell.

Unfortunately we let ourselves down with a disappointing performance, which resulted in us getting out of the game what we deserved, and that was nothing.

Ferrymead came in with some good recent form; they battled hard and deserved their win on the back of 2 very well taken goals.

We had 4 players away from our last game but in reality we still had more than enough talented players on the park that should have allowed us to get a result. Throughout the 1st half we created enough opportunities to take control of the game. However, a combination of scrambling defence, good goalkeeping and lacklustre finishing, meant we went in trailing by one goal.

The message was to be patient and play with more control and accuracy, especially in the attacking third in the 2nd half. Whilst we created further opportunities through the 2nd half, we were unable to convert any. As often happens, you pay dearly for not taking your opportunities and Ferrymead secured their deserved win 10 mins from time.

We had a good crowd in attendance today and we appreciate the support we get. Unfortunately for the Coastal Spirit supporters we need to do better to continue to earn that support. Hopefully this is a wake up call for all of us. The loss certainly adds some real bite and interest into the final month of the league. We have Ferrymead to play again in the league as well as a Reta Fitzpatrick semi final so we do get the opportunity to turn the tables. Western twice more in the league as well means that the title race is still very much in our own hands so that is the one positive to come out of the game.

We had Olivia Meares, standing in as goalkeeper, for Noran. Olivia did well and it is great to know that we can call on such a good back up as required.

Poppy Binning was our player of the day for a hard-working, industrious performance in midfield.

We have a bye next week then into the first of our two matches against Western at Bexley on August 2. A lot of thought and work to do between now and then.

Comment on team talks at the Coastal Spirit Forum

12 July 2008: Halswell 0 Coastal Spirit 4

Following the past few weeks of playing in difficult unpleasant conditions, it was good to finally play in some better weather. The improved conditions also saw our play improve as well. We went in determined to maintain our momentum in the league against a Halswell side that has steadily improved throughout the season.

We got off to the ideal start, with Hannah Wong scoring in the 3rd minute. This seemed to settle us and we played the match with more confidence than we had displayed in the past few games.

Additional, 1st half goals to Liz Gilchrist and Alana Ainsworth saw us go in at 3-0 at half time. We dominated territory and possession, and had numerous good phases of play.

Alana Ainsworth scored her second goal early in the 2nd half and, again, we controlled play. Halswell worked hard and threatened occasionally with quick breaks, but we managed to snuff out anything they threw at us. We again showed growing confidence as the match went on, which is something we need to take forward into our coming matches. We hit the woodwork 3 times in the 2nd half and forced the Halswell keeper into a couple of excellent saves. Again everyone performed well. Our backline of Kirsty, Del, Maia and Alex were our foundation and Noran behind them dealt confidently when called into action.

In midfield we were strong today: Stef again leading by example; Alana looking to push forward and being rewarded with 2 goals. Our American import, Callan, got through a ton of work, displayed some good touches, and was strong and forceful on the ball. She had a fine shot well saved by the keeper towards the end, which would have capped off a memorable final match for us. Callan heads home later in the week. It has been fantastic having her in NZ and she fitted in perfectly into the squad. (Watch out for her recorded entry into Coastal Spirit Idol).

Up front, Hannah, Liz, Emma and Georgia made Halswell work hard. They created opportunities for our midfielders and full backs to push-on, by their movement and holding up the ball.

We had three U-16 players on the sideline that all got game time - that is good for their development. The most pleasing thing is that when all 3 were on together, we did not see any drop off in the quality, which is fantastic because they replaced 3 well-performed, experienced players. So, well-done Isla Smith, Ashleigh Ward and Mollie Cairns.

Our player of the day, selected by Jim Hawkey, was Hannah Wong for her excellent work up front.

Another important match next week v Ferrymead, who are another team with an improving record. We will need to be at our best as they come into the game with some recent good form. It will be good to get back home at Bexley for the first time since Queen's Birthday Monday. Hopefully the weather is good, and we can match it with another good performance and result.

Finally, well done to Alan and the men's 1st team. Unfortunately the result wasn't what you would have wanted. However, given you came back from 3-down, battled, worked, and showed tremendous fight and character at the end of the day, that 1 point could be highly significant come the end of the season.

Comment on team talks at the Coastal Spirit Forum

28 June 2008: NZ Cup R2: Western 2 Coastal Spirit 0

Sometimes in football you get the feeling that some days, no matter what you do, you won't get the reward for the effort that gets put in.

While the result of a 2 - 0 loss to Western is disappointing, even more disappointing was the lack of respect given to the women's game today from Mainland Football and Western AFC. Mainland Football has repeatedly expressed their determination to treat Premier Women's Football as the equal of the Premier Men's game. That's a joke!

To have the game shunted off the No.1 pitch at Walter Park at the 11th hour (even the Referee didn't know) and the appalling conditions that Western as a club provided was an outrage. Having no changing facilities for a NZ Cup game, in the conditions of the day, was absolutely disgraceful. We shared a shed with Technical Men's 2nds who (thanks guys) were very patient. Understanding Tech's frustration, we ended up walking out and enduring the atrocious conditions 45 minutes prior to kickoff. Where were the Western Women, not at the same park as us to prepare, and what does this look like to the onlooker. No.1 was prepared with ropes and dugouts, No. 2 was not. If this was a Men's Chatham Cup or MPL game, then there is no way this would have been allowed to happen.

Mainland Football needs to take ownership in getting these things right because, as things are at the moment, it is making a mockery of the women's game. Seems some clubs have more 'luck' than others - and it's time to challenge the decision makers and question the competency.

It's disappointing to be treated by Western AFC with so much disrespect, when we as a club provide everything (and then some) to ensure visiting teams are treated equally.

So far as the game was concerned, our performance was one of not really deserving a spot into the quarter finals. Again, like last week, the effort and endeavour of our players as individuals was not in question. The quality and teamwork was often not up to the necessary level that we expect. The early exchanges were quite even with both sides coming to terms with the conditions. Our instinct to try and play dry-weather football in our own half caused us some problems, with Western pressurising and closing down quickly. Western went ahead after 30 mins with a curiously awarded indirect free kick which was hit past the wall into the top corner.

Cohesion up front was difficult and we wasted a lot of possession with aimless passing. When options were available to play simple balls, or open and change the direction of play, we didn't take them. The message at half time was to be patient, look to get the ball out of the middle quickly and, similar to last week, the feeling was we would settle. We were better in the second half at doing this and we did create some pressure, but were unable to come up with the equaliser. Stef White led by example today in difficult conditions. As she always does, she impresses with her never-give-up attitude. Adelma Mathews, again from the back, sets a strong foundation and her leadership has contributed to the confidence that Maia Vink is playing with at present.

The introduction of Alice Foote and Callan Elswick added some spark and we started to get on top with half an hour to go. Despite all the efforts, we couldn't convert our possession into a goal.

Western's 2nd came 10 mins from time with another curiously awarded wide free kick awarded by the linesman, when the ref was 2 metres away. The ball floated in at the far post and Noran was bundled into the goal a second before the ball arrived. However, as it happens on this sort of a day, all protests fell on deaf ears.

End of the day, it was a disappointing 2 -0 loss in a game that we should have done better in.

Our defence again played well with all the back four of Maia Vink, Del Matthews, Alex Hepburn and Megan Shea standing up to everything that Western threw at us. Noran in goal had a relatively quiet afternoon, apart form the goals she didn't have a significant save to make.

If there's a silver lining, and my Mum always said there always is one, it's that we will be more determined to not lose sight of the important League title and the Reta. The possibility of playing against the best in Auckland where 99.9% of our International players play their club football will have to wait until next year.

Player of the day: Maia Vink, for her outstanding tackling, heading and distribution.

Next weekend sees us again matched up against Western in the League. It's a clear expectation that this game will be played on No.1, similar to every other home game the Western women have played this season until today.

NZ Cup next round
All the above aside, Western (the players) are representing our region now in the Cup. We wish the girls all the best against the Dunedin side, hopefully they'll be in Christchurch and we can support them to the Semi's.

Comment on team talks at the Coastal Spirit Forum

21 June 2008: Avon 0 Coastal Spirit 3

Avon, for the 5th time this season, same fight, same battle field, been there 3 times. Today was one of staying focused and not taking the result for granted based on the previous matches.

Today we dominated possession and territory against a side that again seemed intent on defending and destroying our flow. Avon has the ability to get in the way and compete for everything which they did for the first half, frustrating both players and coaches alike. Constant pressure resulted in a number of superbly taken corners by Maia Vink. These saw numerous near misses, with Callan Elswick going close on two occasions with her head; the keeper making good saves to keep the ball out from Hannah Wong; and a stinging free kick taken quickly from Maia. Alice Foote used her pace down the left and drove a ball across the face of goal, missing Georgia Goulding's run by an inch. Our midfield led by Stef White, worked hard to open the play, move the ball and create space. However, the bumpy ground and the efforts of the opposition to spoil rewarded them with a scoreless first half.

I don't remember the last time I've let go at half time and today (covering the tender ears of Isla Smith) they received a serve. We couldn't fault the individual efforts of the first half but collectively we did not play together as a cohesive unit and it wasn't good enough. I'm the first to praise the guys when they play well and will always be the first to pull them back on track when they don't play to their potential regardless of the opposition, conditions or circumstances.

From the second half kickoff, after a rousing huddle lead by the enthusiastic determination of each other, Coastal Spirit was on the way back. Inspired by Adelma Matthews, Maia Vink and the explosive overlapping runs of Alex Hepburn, we started to open up Avon with better penetrating ball forward. A number of shots on target forced saves from the keeper including a sizzler from Georgia Goulding from 25 metres and Avon were saved by the posts, in similar fashion to last week, from Liz Gilchrist and Emma Proctor.

The drought was broken by the ever present head of Alana Ainsworth. She's almost good for a headed goal a game now and is certainly making this a strength of her game, even being closely marked. With the goal came relief. Until the ball went into the net, the day felt like one of missed opportunities and absolutely no luck with the bounce of the ball. Callan Elswick opened up her account on debut after a great shot by Emma Proctor hit the keeper in the chest with so much force it bounced back to the feet of America, who calmly slotted the ball making it 2. The third goal followed a string of attacks and better delivery into the box, which had been lacking in the first half. The back line was again composed and safe, having time to launch forward movements. Maia laid a cheeky ball in front of Adelma and started her off on a run, beating the first player, Del's touch took her wider and she out paced the Avon defence, crossed a teasing ball into the box to win a corner. From the resulting corner, Megan Shea picked out the hovering Georgia Goulding who thumped the ball into the top far corner. Isla Smith came on to gain another Premier cap and was again composed at left back.

3 - 0. A win but a tough battle against ourselves and something we need to be able to deal with far quicker than we did. With Halswell taking the points from the Western game, it's obvious that teams are closing the gap. We were pleased with the attitude and commitment to lift together in the 2nd half and we're confident we've all learnt a valuable lesson today. As a staff, we appreciate that Avon pushed us again to test the character and spirit of our players. They will continue to test others, don't be surprised if Avon get rewarded by good results before this season is done.

2 important games in the next 2 weeks, both against Western. NZ Cup knockout next week at Walter Park and then an important league clash the following week.

Player of Day - Stef White

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14 June 2008: NZ Cup: Avon 0 Coastal Spirit 4

Last time we played at Avonhead the pitch was perfect, today it looked overused. It was heavy, bumpy and rough through the middle. It made it hard going for both sides but didn't affect, too much, our strategy for the game. The objective today was obviously to win, the goal-count didn't matter, which was just as well - even though 4 nice goals were scored, a hatful of opportunities were squandered.

Training during the week had been very pleasing for Mike, Heather and I, with the guys really lifting the intensity and tempo to set us up for today. This is the fourth meeting with Avon and we know them well now. Had we been more clinical in front of the goal, the guys would have been better rewarded for the effort.

Hannah Wong is the most exciting young player in the region right now. Carrying a knock and asked to do the simple things today, Wongie showed her class scoring a hat trick in the first 18 minutes. Her thumping header from a pinpoint Maia Vink corner and her jinking run, finished with a left foot drive bent into the far corner, were as good as you'll see.

Across the back today, we were solid. The combination of Maia and Adelma proved too strong for any Avon attack and, as always, gave us the foundation to push players on. Maia's set play delivery of corners and free kicks were outstanding and continually put Avon under pressure. Alex Hepburn's overlapping runs and smart passing gave us good options going forward and her defensive work caught the eye of our number 1 supporter Jim Hawkey (who was tasked with choosing Player of the Day today). That's 2 in a row for Alex who consistently performs; she continues to impress us with every game. Kirsty Palmer played wide on the left in the first half. Her skilful touches on the ball today stood out on the bumpy ground and she linked up well with Wongie and Emma Proctor to make it a hard day at the office for the Avon defence. Emma Proctor was the energiser bunny today getting through a heap of work for 93 minutes. She gave us 110%. Hitting the post and crossbar, making the keeper work hard, Emma deserved better than she got for her effort. Noran did have to make a save; but, again composed and experienced, she was never really tested. Decision making was sound with good distribution, kicks from her hands were always threatening and contributed to another good performance.

While we dominated possession for the first half and went in at the break 3-nil up, the message for the second half was to continue to press, apply pressure and play basic football out of the middle of a heavy park. Our midfielders today of Stef White, Poppy Binning and Alana Ainsworth - our fantastic engine room - impressed the good-sized crowd with the work-rate and creative play. Making changes at half time saw Georgia Goulding come on for the injured Poppy, Kirsty moved to left fullback with enthusiastic Alice Foote coming on wide on the left.

We were pleased with the domination, patience and opportunities created in the second half. The only goal of the half was a trademark finish from the head of Alana Ainsworth. Maia picked her out with another perfect corner and Alana's header hit the back of the net before the keeper moved. As we opened up play, moving the ball wide at every opportunity down both sides of the park, Georgia started a string of shots hitting the metalwork with a 25-metre drive that followed with Emma, Wongie and Alice all rattling either the posts or crossbar after fine work by all the units linking up through the thirds.

Today everyone stood up, composure and patience are vital in games that can be affected by the ground and a battling opposition. Our leaders, especially Stef and Adelma, showed their true value - not just to our team but to Women's football in general - through their attitudes and constant encouragement, their efforts and work ethic on and off the field, which makes us, as a staff, very proud.

Player of the day: Alex Hepburn

America
Look out next week for Callan Elswick from the USA. Callan arrived a week ago and was unable to play in the NZ Cup today (needs to play 2 games for the club first). She survived training sessions during the week and impressed her new team mates. Callan made herself at home immediately and has settled in well, she's picked up the nickname of America and, to Mike's delight, is struggling to understand rugby, netball and cricket.

Our Mascot:
We've inherited a team mascot in Rachel O'Keefe. Rachel started staying behind after her trainings with Steve Ager's young team, collecting our wayward balls and picking up cones for me. During the week, Rachel ended up in a bib, in a grid, with balls playing for Orange team and, by the Thursday session, she was in the transition drill and testing Noran with some impressive shooting. Today, Rachel experienced the dressing room and even did some of the warm up. For the women's section to move forward and grow, we need more of this: young players showing the passion and enthusiasm - and mentors taking the time to share their skills and knowledge to develop them for the club.

Next week we're at home playing Avon for the third time consecutively!!

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2 June 2008: Coastal Spirit 3 Avon 1

"Farewell Reta and thank you for everything"

Queen's Birthday saw the end of an era in the passing of Reta Fitzpatrick. An amazing woman and a fighter for everything we have as women playing in a predominantly Male sport in a predominantly Rugby region. Reta was my very first Manageress in 1979 playing for Canterbury and the following years with Rangers. That little blue cup needs to be replaced now with the Reta Fitzpatrick Memorial Cup, it needs to be bigger and it needs to be more spectacular for the Woman that she was.

A minute silence started the game today that was dedicated to Reta, we had every intention of getting the result we needed and with so much football over the past few weeks, it was important to see it through without too much bother. As it turned out it wasn't too much bother, dominating possession and territory, the play was as expected with Avon working tirelessly to disrupt our flow and it was against the run of play that they went ahead after a lapse in concentration and an eager chase by their little striker who took her chance well.

It was what the game needed for the team to step up and finish off phases of play that seemingly petered out without shots on goal and hacked away by a determined Avon defence. The keeper didn't have too many saves to make with most shots driven straight at her and a lack of clinical finishing on our part. Avon's lead was short lived with another strike by Georgia Goulding a minute later lifting spirits on the back of her hattrick on Saturday. The second goal came from Megan Shea from the edge of the box where everyone stood and watched as she calmly side footed the ball through a wall of players after a corner wasn't cleared. Alana Ainsworth wasn't meant to play today after her brilliant gutsy half marathon yesterday in 1 hour 46, but as determined as she is, she made it difficult to leave her out of the action. Up 2-1 at the half, we didn't do too much wrong in the first half so all credit to the opposition for making us work. Unfortunately, missed chances are the difference between good and great, although we didn't look like giving anything away, we know how quickly a game can change.

Liz Gilchrist came on and caused problems with her speed on the left beating her marker easily and within the first 15 minutes of the second half we had created more scoring chances than the whole first half with Alice Foote and Georgia both going close and Liz having shots almost at will. Alana was always there or thereabouts, hungry for the ball in and around the box and really made the defence work to desperately hack the ball away. Poppy had slipped into midfield with Alana and Gabby and they all took the opportunity to test the keeper and force a number of good saves, tipping half a dozen shots over the bar and being in the right place to collect a number of shots on target that didn't need her to move. The 3rd goal came from a corner which always pleases us. Georgia's corners were superb today and with the big girls at the far post nodding the ball down for Gabby to smash home from the edge of the box. 3 - 1 and a betting man would have expected the flood gates to open.

It wasn't to be, even though both fullbacks Alex Hepburn and Maia Vink consistently pushed forward and good ball was delivered into the box, the ball was kept out of the goal. It was a pleasing second half and one of total dominance over Avon who, to their credit, didn't give up.

A Premier debut for Chloe Jones from our U-16 squad was another successful introduction for one of our young players coming on at left back, pushing some nice balls down the line and comfortably dealing with her opposite. This weekend has been one of pleasing performances with the young and not so young giving us encouragement for our female teams as Coastal Spirit grows with each weekend. Still on track and a lot of football to come.

Player of the day: Alex Hepburn

NB:
Megan Shea and Victoria Esson have been selected in the final 25 for the NZ-U17 squad to play in the World Cup at the end of October. The final 21 won't be named until end of July, but we are very confident that both players will be sporting the fern with pride and flying the Coastal Spirit flag. Both players will be looking to move to Auckland for the remaining months to train full time with the squad and prepare for what will be an amazing experience. To compensate the loss of Megan and Vic we've been working through a process to introduce Callan Elswick, an American player with pace and skill, who will add another dimension to our squad and further assist to mentor our young players while she's here.

Comment on team talks at the Coastal Spirit Forum

31 May 2008: Coastal Spirit 4 Halswell 1

With us having 4 players away in Auckland at a NZ U-17 camp and our leading scorer Hannah Wong away with basketball commitments, today was always going to be a battle against an improving Halswell side.

To emerge as 4-1 winners was satisfying and a testament to the depth and ability within the squad. We were assisted today with 4 U-16 players: Mollie Cairns, Jenna Dockerty, Ashleigh Ward and Isla Smith, who all saw game time together and all showed that the club has great depth coming through with our young players. Alice Bunce from our Women's 2nd team also came on and did a great job for us in the 2nd half, doing the simple basic things which allowed us to control the game for long periods.

After a disjointed 1st half that was scoreless at the break, we talked about keeping to the basics, holding on to the ball and playing to our strengths out wide.

We exerted pressure early and went 3 -0 ahead within 15 mins, with goals to Georgia (2) and another fine header from Alana. The final 20 to 30 mins were played out with four 14-year olds and Alice Bunce whose entrance into the game was greeted with the loudest cheer of the season.

A goal to Halswell against the run of play had the potential to cause us a few anxious moments, but we re-grouped and Georgia was rewarded with her hatrick inside the last few minutes.

All our players worked hard and it was pleasing to come away with maximum points, whilst at the same time exposing 5 new players to the womens premier league. We are sure the experience they got will be valuable in their development.

Georgia Goulding, for her tireless work and hat trick, was player of the day.

We have some important games coming up over the next few weeks and, with the gap closing and no easy games, it is important that we approach each game with a determination and desire to get maximum points.

Another league game on Queen's Birthday Monday v Avon is followed with a bye on June 7 then it's Avon again in the NZ Women's Knock Out Cup on June 14.

Somewhere along the line Mainland will also probably slot in a Reta Fitzpatrick semi final v Ferrymead Bays. Our performances in May have set us up in a position to push on in the league, the NZ Women's Cup and the Reta Fitzpatrick Cup .Hopefully the hard work and effort that has gone in over the past month will continue, the performance levels will increase and if we approach each game in a positive way, then our destiny is completely within our own hands.

Player of the day: Georgia Goulding

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24 May 2008: FM Bays 1 Coastal Spirit 5

Still quietly elated by the victory over Western during the week, Mike and I returned from Sydney knowing the girls were about to play their 5th game in 15 days, that's a game every 3 days!! Heather had expertly gathered the troops together and ignited a team unity that saw the girls outplay Western and overturn the result from the weekend with pleasing passion.

Today a couple of injuries and Stef White missing from our engine room, saw a change of formation and another adjustment to best utilise the players' strengths. The first half was one of missed opportunities that saw numerous chances being created by good ball forward. Aggressive running by Hannah Wong and Alice Foote up front forced saves from the keeper and hit the cross bar on a couple of occasions. Both Liz Gilchrist and Emma Proctor created problems for the Ferrymead fullbacks. Impressive play from both Alana Ainsworth and Georgia Goulding in the centre of the park saw them dominate for the most part. A welcomed return for Georgia who showed no evidence of the injury that has kept her sidelined for a number of games now. We forced numerous corners from good saves by the keeper and desperate clearances with the young Ferrymead defence struggling to contain our attack without their leader Ruth Bourke. Although it was 0-0 at half time, there was a sense of confidence for the half time talk and a need to be patient. A couple of changes at half time with Victoria Esson coming into the centre back role with Adelma for some physical practice and Gabby Kerdemelidis making our midfield 3 difficult for Ferrymead to defend against.

We've been pleased with the players' ability to adjust quickly. We changed our shape to start the second half and the first goal came a minute into the half with Megan Shea slotting a penalty with confidence amidst pressure from the sideline. Hannah Wong added the second not long after with a striker's goal - getting a foot to a cross after some good work down the right by Liz and Alana. The little dynamo got on the score sheet again about 15 minutes later. Ferrymead had a good spell with Claire working the defence hard and getting the best out of Adelma and Alex Hepburn, who both consistently perform very well for us. Noran Abaza, who is always composed in our goal, spotted Hannah 1-on-1 at halfway and launched her perfectly placed punt for Hannah to outpace her marker and calmly side-foot the ball past the keeper giving her no chance. 3-0 and the guys still looked far fitter than our opposites. With rolling subs seemingly happening every 5 minutes from Ferrymead, it was becoming a stop-start affair and highlights the need to address this 'ruling' for a Premier League. Ferrymead's goal came from an unfortunate handball call in the box that Claire made no mistake with. 3-1 at the 60 and our power call made sure we didn't lose focus or intensity - being a lesson learnt from the Saturday before. The guys showed good character to brush it off and it was only a matter of time they created our 4th goal.

Megan Shea delivered the ball, a well taken corner, for Alana to get up and power it into the net from about the penalty spot. Pleasing and just reward for another huge effort from Alana and an area of frustration for us to date is the number of corners we force that we don't convert, so great all round goal.

We continued to play our game, contesting everything and some strong tackling in midfield from Gabby, Alana and Georgia wearing their opposites down and creating an acre of space for Kirsty (who played at right full back today - answering the call to play out of position), to add her name to the score sheet - collecting the ball on half way, taking 1 touch forward and striking the ball to catch the keeper off her line, only able to tip the ball into the net.

We're really pleased with the result, really pleased with the guys' effort and just thrilled that they can back up good performances for the many supporters that follow our team now. It's a pleasure to hear the positive support from our sideline and certainly make us proud to be Coastal Spirit.

The side was captained well by Adelma today who gives 110% every outing and collectively we played attacking positive football with 2 more goals to Hannah sees her really pushing for the Golden Boot for 2008.

Player of the day, today again, was young Alana Ainsworth who had run a half marathon on Thursday in 1hr 48, a great effort and one she's looking to beat again in a week's time. Alana goes close to running that distance every game, her mental application makes her a very determined young player.

A double header over Queen's Birthday weekend will be another test against Halswell at Bexley on the Saturday and Avon on Monday, (venue still not confirmed yet) no doubt Mainland will let us know before Monday. [Mainland now report the Avon match is at Bexley - ed]. Both sides have upset Ferrymead and Western and you never know who they'll bring to play so looking forward to the weekend.

For those who didn't see me waving the Coastal Spirit flag at the State of Origin on Wednesday night, it was the blue one!!

Victoria Esson, Alana Ainsworth and Hannah Wong.

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17 May 2008: Coastal Spirit 2 Western 3

It's always very disappointing to lose, even more so when you dominate the game for long periods and go 2 goals up.

We did that today, sometimes you get away with those periods of a game where you switch off. Today we were punished. We went to sleep for 15 minutes and allowed Western to score 2 quick goals against the run of play to get themselves into a position to fight for the winner.

That's football and for 75 minutes we followed on from Tuesday's effort and put Western under pressure especially at the back. Hannah was man marked, obviously Western thought she would be a threat. Hannah's goal came from a great ball in from the left with Liz Gilchrist easily beating her marker crossing over the keeper covering her near post for Hannah to pounce on the ball after it came back off the far post.

Western's style is physical when the game is tight and we fell into the trap of playing too many short passes through their crowded midfield. Although it looked good at times, it played into their hands and was a good lesson today. Our second goal came from the left foot of Megan Shea - from a free kick 30 metres out that the keeper should have held. 2-nil and looking like we're comfortably on top.

Never-say-die Western, who have gotten out of jail a couple of times already this year, probably only had 3 chances - took them all. First from a corner to the far post, punched out by Noran, only to find Leah on the edge of the box to first-time the ball back past the packed goal mouth and into the goal. The second came a few minutes later, with Rachel's self-confessed mis-hit cross wrong-footing Noran and creeping inside the near post. Western's third goal was yet another lesson. A free kick 30 metres out saw the entire team assume Kelly was going to strike at the goal as she always does. While we were organising ourselves, the free kick was taken quickly to Julia who pushed a ball for Rachel to shoot uncontested. Catching Noran still organising her defensive line, it was disappointing to say the least.

The last 10 minutes was hectic with the guys forcing passes and frustrated by a determined Western.

Players to impress today were Alana Ainsworth who just loves the hard work, she battled in the midfield and deserves the player of the day. Maia, Alex and Del were solid at the back and will be gutted their efforts didn't amount to more - the goals conceded weren't from open play. Gabby made excellent decisions today and opened the game up with good ball out wide.

Today was a disappointing result, with the 3 points there for the taking. The only redeeming features are that we get another crack at them on Tuesday and again twice more in the league.

Player of the Day - Alana Ainsworth

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13 May 2008: NZ Cup: Halswell 1 Coastal Spirit 5

Preliminary Round, English Park

In complete contrast to Saturday, tonight at English Park the guys played some of the best football you'll see in this region. Absolutely content with the result and some fantastic goals and just as important, very, very pleased with the performance. Tonight we didn't talk about winning prior to kick off - there was no need to get the guys amped to play - tonight was about putting a performance together that we are capable of. If we did that, then the result would come. Halswell are starting to get their side sorted and brought a good game. Macca makes a huge difference to their team in the middle of the park and they sent a message 30 seconds into the game, cracking the ball against the crossbar as if to warn us they meant business. From then on, the guys didn't take a backward step.

It was difficult to pick a player of the day for this game, with everyone contributing but 14 year old Hannah Wong is all class for such a young player. 4 goals tonight from Hannah was very exciting. Finishing off some very good movements, as good strikers should, Hannah's first goal deserved the goal of the game. The turn on the edge of the box to beat her marker and the drive across the keeper was superb. The second came from a familiar movement down the left that opened up Halswell all night, seeing Megan Shea collect a great ball from Alex Hepburn down the left flank, drive the ball across the box and Hannah power the ball into the net first time. Megan added the third 2 minutes from half time and topped off one of the best 45 minutes we've played. Our midfield 3 were just fantastic, Gabby directing the ball wide on every occasion, with Stef and Alana having their normal influence on the game through their persistent hard work. They impress every game with their effort and never say die attitudes. Alana was unlucky not to score, collecting the ball a number of times just outside the box only to be beaten by the post, the keeper and Halswell throwing themselves into tackles. Kirsty Palmer went close, after another great run down the left from Megan found Kirsty on the far post and her powerful header bounced off the crossbar. A strong game from Poppy at right back thwarted any Halswell attack down the right and Del and Maia are really starting to form a strong pairing in the middle of our defence. Organised and good communication from the pair, consistently starting our attacks with good balls wide and forward, our shape at the back for the most part was safe. Very pleased with Maia's composure tonight, for 92 minutes she remained focused and was unlucky on a couple of runs forward, seeing her shots go close.

Hannah's hat-trick was assisted by Megan again, this time from a corner, dropping the ball at Hannah's feet to volley it past the keeper at close range. We continued to push the ball around and put together a number of wall passes, making the football nice to watch. Pushing forward at every opportunity we still needed to be aware of the direct game. Halswell was playing hacking the ball out of defence and replacement striker Erin pounced on a back pass to get some reward for her normal aggressive running. 4-1 at that stage. Hannah battled for her last goal. Even though she had been man marked for the game, she managed to cause the defence some problems. Stef was rested just after half time, with some big games coming up. Liz Gilchrist continued to apply the pressure down the left, with Poppy moving into the midfield. Emma Proctor and Alice Foote finished the game off with their normal enthusiastic contribution and continued to make life difficult for the Halswell defence who struggled to string any passes together.

Alex Hepburn was impressive playing both full back positions, her delivery into the channels, overlapping runs and quality crosses into the box sees her as our player of the day tonight -even though we were super impressed and proud of the 4 goals by Hannah Wong.

Mike, Heather and I were very happy staff tonight, with the effort, their attitude and a blimmin good result against a Halswell side that has improved immensely from our last outing.

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10 May 2008: Avon 0 Coastal Spirit 6

Avon have been the most improved side this season, having credible results against Western and Ferrymead, so a good performance was needed from the guys after the bye last weekend. Avonhead Park was in perfect condition for our style of game and we knew Avon would bring their defensive attitudes to try and spoil that for us.

3 goals each half were reward for the dominance we had throughout the game. Even though Avon tried to disrupt our flow, we were too strong across the park and, based on the amount of possession and opportunities we created, we could have easily come away with double figures again.

First-half goals saw: Kirsty credited with a corner being forced in; Hannah on the score sheet again from close range; and a trademark 30-metre screamer from Megan Shea had us on top and in control at the break. Not too much to write home about in the first half with Avon content to sit back and spoil. It was frustrating for guys to play against and even more so to watch. Del, Maia, Alex and Megan were extremely safe and composed across the back. They patiently looked to play the ball forward, with most of the game seeing them around halfway and controlling the point of attack with some nice interplay.

Gabby, Stef, Alana and Poppy in the second half again controlled the midfield well. They worked hard off the ball to find the spaces and created opportunities for our strikers. Our midfield's ability to move the ball and then get it out to Kirsty, Alice and Liz kept Avon pinned in their own half for long periods which went to plan for the most part.

The second half was more of the same but, with Avon starting to tire, scoring chances increased. Alana was rewarded with a goal for another hard working performance - as was Stef. Having won the ball just over halfway, Stef went on a run, beating a couple of players and striking the ball from about 25 metres out. The keeper was beaten by the pace of the ball and the team celebrated a great goal from our popular Captain. The last goal of the game came from some nice footwork from Alice in the box collecting a clumsy challenge - resulting in a penalty. The big frame of Megan Shea strolled up to the penalty spot and calmly slotted it to make it 6. Pleasing is another clean sheet for Noran, our 4th in 5 games this season and we've scored 31 goals.

Very happy with the result but there's still a lot of work to do on our performance, especially on finishing and being more clinical in front of the goal. We make things difficult for ourselves at times and are lucky to have so many positive influences on the field to keep the energy levels up and the focus on trying to play.

We have some tough games coming up over the next 3 weeks starting with Halswell on Tuesday night at English Park in the NZ Women's Cup. 2 games in 4 days against Western follow, so we at least were forced to work hard today to create our chances and prepare for the upcoming challenges.

Player of the Day: Gabby Kerdemelidis.

Comment on team talks at the Coastal Spirit Forum

26 April 2008: Halswell 0 Coastal Spirit 7

A welcomed return to the Spirit for Megan, Vic and myself [Rowena Fulham] from Canberra for the match up with an old foe in Halswell at Halswell. As a Premier side, we were all disappointed to be relegated to the worst pitch (#3) in terms of quality and size available at the Domain.

Knowing the Halswell attitude would be one of fight on the tiny pitch, the first half unfolded as expected. We had a very high percentage of possession but were not able to break down the packed defence of Halswell. It took patience and team work to remain focused and wear them down.

Despite a little frustration with some refereeing decisions, we finally broke the deadlock with a nicely weighted free kick to Georgia who finally defied the offside trap and calmly slotted the ball past the advancing keeper. Alana Ainsworth has been threatening to get on the score sheet leading into this game, with 2 strong games previous. She out-climbed the Halswell defence and headed home the first of her 3 from the edge of the box. Alana got through a power of work in the midfield, with Stef and Gabby, against probably one of the hardest working opposition players in Amanda Scott for Halswell, however it was always going to be a game to be won.

Up 2-nil at half time and needing to calm things down a little with Halswell destroying a lot of nice movements, we were after more quality and control from the guys. We got that for the most part of the second half, where composure and quality ball forward was rewarded with 5 second-half goals. Alana completed her hat-trick, out jumping the yeti, Megan, to get up to a beautifully taken corner by Maia Vink, and then got on the end of a Liz Gilchrist corner to force the ball home for 3. Hannah Wong increased her goal tally for the season with 2 more clinically taken goals after beating defenders easily and placing the ball into the goal like a seasoned player. Megan Shea showed her class with a coolly taken penalty - despite the best efforts of the referee to put her off. Megan played well today off the back of a successful NZ U-17 tour and looked relaxed in her work.

Little Emma Proctor had a job to do today, stepping into the right back role in the absence of a number of players and impressed with her positive forward play and tireless effort. Alex and Maia again showed their composure at the back and their understanding of each others' game saw them in control - calmly supported by the confident figure in our goal of Noran. With Halswell reverting to every-ball-a-long-one, Noran was for the most part untested, but still needed to be on song for us to record our 3rd clean sheet of the season. The running of Alice, Hannah, Georgia and Liz caused Halswell some problems and the support of our midfield kept the opposition camped in their own half for long periods.

Overall we're happy with the 7-0 win however, we're frustrated that a lack of respect shown by our hosts by moving the game off #1 to a substandard pitch and a construction site as a changing room. We felt our players deserved better and will certainly treat them with more respect when they visit Bexley.

Unfortunately, as Mainland only has 5 teams in the Premier League, we have a bye next week. However it's important that we keep the players working hard and not lose sight of the goal!!!

Our next game is 3rd May against Avon - who have proven to be the most improved team over the past 3 weeks and we will have our full contingent of players back and available.

Player of the day: Emma Proctor
Goal scorers: Georgia Goulding, Alana Ainsworth (3), Hannah Wong (2), Megan Shea.

Comment on team talks at the Coastal Spirit Forum

19 April 2008: Coastal Spirit 8 F Bays 2

In difficult windy conditions, the first half performance at Bexley against Ferrymead Bays was almost as good as it gets.

For around 35 mins we were in complete control aided by outstanding performances from our midfield of Stef White, Gabby Kerdemelidis and Alana Ainsworth.

Their sterling efforts created numerous opportunities for our mobile strikers, which were gleefully taken.

Liz Gilchrist, Georgia Goulding, Hannah Wong and Emma Proctor proved handfuls for the Ferrymead defence. We worked on movement of players in training during the week and that work paid dividends.

We have encouraged our fullbacks to try and get forward to give us additional attacking options and Maia Vink and Kirsty Palmer carried out this role to perfection. Maia got her name on the score sheet after a far post run into the six-yard box.

Olivia Meares started in goal and apart from a couple of raids from Ferrymead she was not really tested. Our centre backs of Del Matthews and Alex Hepburn kept a tight rein on the Ferrymead Strikers and delivered quality balls out of the back to set up our offence.

Turning around into the strong wind 7 goals up, the biggest challenge was always going to be to replicate the 1st half performance. Unfortunately we didn't quite manage to, however we still did dominate possession and created numerous opportunities to add to our goal tally.

Ferrymead responded with a couple of long range free kicks and while we missed an early second half penalty, Hannah Wong completed her 2nd hat trick of the season, beating a couple of players, rounding the keeper and rolling the ball into an empty net.

Overall, a highly satisfying day with all players contributing to some real quality play, especially in the 1st half.

Our Midfield of Alana, Stef and Gabby were the catalyst of the dominating performance.

Hannah Wong (3) Georgia Goulding (2) Alex Hepburn, Stef White, Maia Vink were the goalscorers.

This week we look forward to two U-17 players (Megan and Victoria) returning from Australia, along with the coach (Rowena) Offsetting this is that there are a couple unavailable as we look to tackle Halswell at Halswell Domain at 12.30 on Saturday.

Our challenge is to keep the momentum going which sees us still unbeaten and scoring freely with 18 goals in 3 matches.

Comment on team talks at the Coastal Spirit Forum

12 April 2008: Western 0 Coastal Spirit 0

by Rowena Fulham and Mike Fulham, Women's First Team Co-Coaches

In a week that saw us battle Mainland Football over rules, regulations and inconsistencies within their decision making, it was good to finally have Saturday arrive which let us focus on actually playing the game.

On paper the league looks to have 3 or 4 teams that will be competitive with each other. The clash with Western demonstrated this.

We went in with 4 of our contracted players away so it was a great opportunity to test the depth of our squad.

We also brought in former regular New Brighton player Steph Hughes to give us fullback cover. Steph who is away overseas in May played out the whole game and contributed greatly to a very stable defensive performance. Other than one good second half save from Noran Abaza our defence were pretty comfortable with what Western threw at us. Del Matthews and Alex Hepburn in the middle produced their normal rock solid games while Kirsty Palmer in an unaccustomed left back role fitted in like she has played there full time. On the run of opportunities created we could have, and should have won this game. Hannah Wong in her 2nd senior match caused all her markers trouble and we were well served by the efforts of Georgia Goulding, Alice Foote and Emma Proctor.

With more games together we will continue to cause problems for most defences in this league.

The midfield tussle was keenly contested and saw us have periods on top. Again with more games together as a team we will achieve better understandings and the skills we posses will create space and opportunities for our strikers.

In hindsight while comfortable with a draw this was a game that we had more than enough opportunities to take 3 points. Given that we will face similar tight situations in upcoming matches it is vital that we do take our chances, continue to be solid and structured at the back, and start picking up points. Good signs are that the players are positive, are working well in training and are determined to meet and beat the challenges ahead.

The next testing challenges we are looking forward to happens next Saturday when we host Ferrymead Bays at Bexley.

Comment on team talks at the Coastal Spirit Forum

5 April 2008: Coastal Spirit 10 Avon 0

[Mainland have since deemed that both teams fielded an ineligible player and Mainland have declared that both teams lost the match 3-0]

by Rowena Fulham, Women's First Team Co-Coach

Pre-season over and the welcomed first league game under our belt. Expectations have been high over the past few weeks while we prepared for today and the outcome was more than pleasing. Handing out the gear this morning set the foundation for the game with players pulling the shirt on for the first time, we wanted today to be one to remember the guys didn't disappoint.

We started the game playing an orthodox 4-4-2 to settle the nerves and have a look at Avon. Having total confidence in our back 4 after the first 5 minutes we were comfortable pushing on and utilising the strength we have in the squad of quality out wide and very good delivery into the box.

The first goal for Coastal Spirit was a gem, confidently driven past the keeper by Emma Proctor in the 15th minute, after some good work down the left by Megan Shea and Kirsty Palmer. Hannah Wong added to the score in the 19th being rewarded for her composure and her ability to hold the ball up while having to contend with 2 physical centre backs. Avon seemed to adjust to 5 across the back, and clever running by Hannah and Alice Foote into the channels created by Kirsty and Emma saw some very good attacking football played down each side of the pitch. Both Megan and Maia Vink had strong games at fullback and Megan scored her first in the 24th. A set play 30 metres out and Megan was tempted. Left footed and one of the best set piece players I know she made no mistake. 3-0. 2 minutes later saw Emma on the end of another piercing ball forward for her second. Not being too troubled by Avon's wide midfielders allowed Megan to score her second, again from distance, with the keeper being beaten by the pace of the ball and movement in front of her.

Poppy Binning and Gabby Kerdemelidis were strong in centre midfield, they both outplayed their opposites - not allowing them play and creating some good phases going forward. Poppy was unlucky not to score, finding herself in the box on a couple of occasions - and Gabby, I thought, was outstanding in her distribution, spreading the ball both sides of the pitch and battling hard on defence. Avon had no answer for us going forward and anything they played forward was cleaned up by Adelma Matthews and Alex Hepburn at half way. This combination is growing stronger every game, winning every ball in the air, challenging the opposition's 1 touch and confidently recycling the ball to keep us camped in the opposition half. Liz Gilchrist came on and made an instant impact with her pace, causing problems for Avon's defence and delivering the ball into the box creating chances.

Emma sealed her hat trick at the 37th mark, she worked tirelessly on transition and was a real handful for Avon's left back getting around her opposite and getting a good cross in creating chances, 6-0. The first half was sealed with a second for Hannah after she collected the ball off Liz, then jinked and jived past 4 defenders before poking the ball past the keeper to the applause of the large crowd watching 7-0.

At half time we talked about finishing the job off and not being satisfied with goals. We have some big games to play in the next 3 weeks and needed to make sure everyone pushed themselves into their red zone to ensure our fitness will be something our opposition needs to contend with.

Georgia Goulding was going to sit this one out with Stef White - both 'resting'. However, George took the field and added another dimension to the shape, and we changed things around a little and took the opportunity to try things. Again we were camped in Avon's half and needed to be more disciplined in moving the ball wide to create space however Avon was happy to defend in numbers.

A number of shots on goal were certainly enjoyed by the supporters on the deck and 7 mins into the 2nd half; a 30mtr screamer by Megan Shea for her hat trick was impressive. The game took on an inevitable feel with some very good play across the park. Yet another great ball delivered into the box saw probably the smallest player on field out-jump the keeper and head the ball into an empty net for Hannah's hat trick. Mike and I enjoyed the composure shown by our defence today, the control by our midfield and the excitement of our attacking players. To finish the scoring, Hannah Wong's skill was too much for the young Avon defence seeing her bungled over in the box; the resulting penalty was calmly slotted by Megan. 10-0. Noran Abaza in goal didn't have much to do except 2 clumsy late 'collisions' with Avon's striker chasing back passes. Victoria Esson had success today with the U19 Boys securing a draw against the fancied Ferrymead, well done Vic!

Player of day - Selected by Rangers stalwart - Jim Hawkey
Adelma Matthews

Goal Scorers
Megan Shea 4
Emma Proctor 3
Hannah Wong 3

The next couple of weeks sees our NZ U-17 players away in Canberra. Although we felt this warranted these games to be deferred, Mainland thought otherwise and have made a 'rule' that no games will deferred this season. So game on, we have every confidence in our squad to do the job and look forward to next week.

Thank you to our supporters, you were fantastic and vocal which is exactly what we like - you were fantastic and thanks to boys for getting the ground ready.

Thanks to Gareth and Steve for making us look like a professional outfit today with our kit - we're officially here, we are Coastal Spirit.

Comment on team talks at the Coastal Spirit Forum

28 March 2008

by Rowena Fulham, Women's First Team Co-Coach

2008 is a season of opportunity. Not very often in your lifetime do you get the chance to be the first players to wear a Club shirt and create a legacy. As we prepare for the season, we also prepare for the typical distractions surrounding our very first year as Coastal Spirit. Word on the street is we'll be the team to beat - one thing for sure is they've got that right.

There were a number of factors that contributed to Mike and I taking on the challenge to coach this season: we both have history with Rangers and New Brighton as far back as 1976 when Mike played in the National League for New Brighton; and we met while playing at Rangers together in 1980. We're excited about the prospects of this team and the commitment players have already shown to wear the Spirit on our shirts and drive the passion for both past clubs on the field. It's more than a privilege to be associated to the Premier Women's team. We're responsible for guiding these players along their journey by strengthening the bond between them as players, showing pride in the shirt and have a fighting Spirit to be the best. We're well on the way to achieving our goals one hurdle at a time.

Building the foundation with this squad started back in January with our conditioning pre-season training. We're pleased with our progress so far, with a good balance of players mainly from New Brighton, Rangers, Auckland and the former PDA squad. It's a young squad, maybe yes, but with a lot of experience playing at a higher level.

I've got to say the players have been amazing and it wasn't hard to ignite the desire for the brand. We are Coastal Spirit, embracing the passion that still burns in the hearts of former players of both clubs only doubled, now stronger. Games kick off at 12:30pm on Saturdays and our home ground is Bexley 1, if this changes, watch this space. We'd love your support and look forward to seeing you on the sideline.

Coastal Spirit - Captained by the legendary Stef White, Vice-Captain Adelma Matthews. Squad: Noran Abaza, Victoria Esson, Poppy Binning, Maia Vink, Alex Hepburn, Megan Shea, Alana Ainsworth, Gabby Kerdemelidis, Kirsty Palmer, Georgia Goulding, Alice Foote, Liz Gilchrist, Emma Proctor, Hannah Wong. Sally Chetwin (injured).

Glory, Glory Coastal Spirit

Comment on team talks at the Coastal Spirit Forum

This page updated: 2 April 2009. Coastal Spirit FC website developed and maintained in 2008-2009 by Ben McNabb and Phil Clayton.
Despite the .co.nz domain, Coastal Spirit FC is a non-profit organisation and the Coastal Spirit website is a non-commercial site. 

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