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| 2010 SEASON |
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| Liston Boys vs Macleans College Boys’ 1st XI Football Team |
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| Saturday 22 May 2010 – A1 League |
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| Conditions were perfect for football and Macleans started well scoring the opening goal after fourteen minutes. Adrian Crowe made progress down the right and passed to Mitch Stone whose shot was blocked by the Liston goalkeeper but Gus de Freitas followed up to put the ball in the net. Six minutes later the scores were level when a good passing move from the Liston midfield resulted in a shot across Cameron Leader in goal and into the bottom right of the goal. |
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| Macleans then allowed Liston to control the midfield and, although there were chances at both ends, Liston took the lead just before the half-time break. A free-kick from thirty yards out swirled and dipped and dropped just under the bar. |
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| In the second half, Macleans looked like a different team, winning most of the fifty-fifty balls in the centre of the park and looking threatening going forward. After fifty-nine minutes, Mitch Stone latched onto a through ball down the middle, lost his marker and side-footed the ball past the advancing ‘keeper for the equiliser. Five minutes later Macleans took the lead when a corner from the left was met by defender Stefan Milosevic whose powerful header was too much for the Liston goalkeeper to keep out. |
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| Moe Sabri almost added a fourth after seventy-one minutes with a shot from well outside the box. The shot hit the bar and Liston goalkeeper manager to push the rebound round the post for a corner. Four minutes later, David Shin did make it 4-2 with a similar shot from twenty yards out which beat the ‘keeper high to his left. |
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| Cameron Leader did manage to save Liston’s one chance in the second half, pushing the ball onto the bar from a shot just inside the box. |
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| David Shin made it 5-2 with ten minutes remaining with a cleverly worked free-kick. Thirty yards out and close to the touchline, Rory Macleod fooled the Liston defence, running over the ball and leaving it for David who floated a high ball over the ‘keeper into the top left corner of the goal. |
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| The result leaves Macleans in second place with three wins and a draw from five matches. The next match is away at Avondale next Saturday. |
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| Kelston Boys vs Macleans College Boys’ 1st XI Football Team |
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| Saturday 15 May 2010 – A1 League |
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| The clouds were gathering over west Auckland just before kick-off and the first half was played in torrential rain. Macleans clearly didn’t relish the conditions and Kelston scored within the first three minutes, carving up the defence with some quick passing and incisive running. It was 2-0 after twenty minutes and could have been more but for some good goalkeeping by Cameron Leader. |
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| Macleans finally woke up and contained the Kelston attack for twenty minutes but two quick goals just before the half-time whistle suggested that a cricket score was in the offing. |
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| Fortunately Gus de Freitas came on for the start of the second half and the Macleans midfield looked far more solid than in the first half. The clouds cleared and there was even a hint of some sunshine. With twelve minutes of the second half gone, CC Kim swung over a corner which was solidly met with the head by Rory Macleod on the penalty spot and the Kelston ‘keeper was static as the ball hit the back of the net. |
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| Macleans did look like they wanted to salvage something from the game but the Kelston side played some fast passing football and managed to contain the lively Macleans attack for the remainder of the game. |
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| With two wins and a draw from the first four league matches, Macleans are still second in the A1 league but a win next week at home to Liston Boys is essential if they want to maintain this position. |
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| Northcote College vs Macleans College Boys’ 1st XI Football Team |
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| Saturday 8 May 2010 – A1 League |
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| After losing in the cup during the week, Macleans were keen to do well on a day ideal for passing football – a swirling wind made it difficult to control the ball in the air. |
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| The first goal came after eleven minutes when Macleans were controversially awarded a free-kick just outside the penalty area on the left. Midfielder David Shin drilled the ball into the top right corner of the net. |
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| Fifteen minutes later, CC Kim managed to beat a poorly executed off-side trap to attack down the left side. His cross to Mitch Stone in the box was blocked but CC managed to get to the rebound and hammered the ball into the bottom left of the goal from the edge of the six-yard box. |
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| Macleans then contained the Northcote attack for the remainder of the half leaving the half-time score 2-0. The second half continued in much the same manner as the first with the Northcote attack being blunted by a solid Macleans defence with goalkeeper Cameron Leader rarely troubled. With twenty minutes to go Mitch Stone sprinted through the centre of the Northcote defence and deftly finished to put Macleans 3-0 up. |
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| Northcote did get a consolation goal in the last couple of minutes; Cameron expertly managed to flick a header onto the bar but a Northcote attacker poked the ball home. A 3-1 win consolidated Macleans position in second place in the league. |
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| Botany Downs College vs Macleans College Boys’ 1st XI Football Team |
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| Tuesday 4 May 2010 – Knock-out Cup |
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| This was a 3pm kick-off at the request of the referee who thought extra time and penalties might be possibilities. |
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| After five minutes, Macleans were already one down although Max Kinzel scored two in the following twenty minutes. Botany equalised just before half-time. |
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| The second half was a tight affair but Macleans thought they’d edged it with a characteristic one-on-one goal from Mitch Stone mid-way through the second half. With just three minutes to go, the Botany striker ran down the centre of the Macleans half and latched onto a long ball to poke it into the net. The linesman flagged for offside but the referee awarded the goal. The score remained at 3-3 at the end of 90 minutes. |
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| This was little consolation to Macleans who were soon 5-3 down in extra time, the second of which was a penalty for handball. Macleans did manage to score in the second half of extra time, Max getting another one for his hat-trick but it was all in vane; botany scored their sixth a couple of minutes later and macleans were out of the cup in the first round to lower league opposition for the fourth time in as many years. |
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| Glendowie College vs Macleans College Boys’ 1st XI Football Team |
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| Thursday 29 April 2010 |
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| With a 4pm kick-off, the weather conditions were perfect for football although the pitch resembled a paddock. |
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| The first half started competitively and both sides found it difficult to create any clear-cut openings. With twenty four minutes gone, Macleans conceded a free-kick on the edge of the area which was eventually cleared upfield to a Glendowie defender. Under pressure, his backpass eluded the Glendowie goalkeeper and Mitch Stone chased the ball down to prod it over the line for a 1-0 lead to Macleans. The lead was doubled a minute later when a low corner to the near post was flicked in by midfielder David Shin. The score remained at 2-0 at the interval. |
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| From the start of the second half, Macleans were under continued pressure and held out defensively for over twenty minutes until a good move down the right allowed a Glendowie striker a shot across Cameron in goal and made it 2-1. Ten minutes later the scores were level when the ball struck the hand of a macleans defender and this time Cameron could not save the resulting penalty. |
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| With fifteen minutes left, Mitch Stone broke down the right wing and sent over a tantalising cross which Gus de Freitas couldn’t quite knock in. |
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| Macleans did appear to snatch a winner with three minutes left when, from a free-kick from the right, Rory Macleod headed on and Mike Fahey headed home. To the surprise of both sets of players, the supporters and the linesman, the referee ruled it out for offside. |
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| The match ended 2-2 which was probably a fair result. |
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| Onehunga High School vs Macleans College Boys’ 1st XI Football Team |
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| Saturday 24 April 2010 |
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| The boys kicked off the new season in the A1 league with a convincing win over Onehunga on Saturday. The match was played under brilliant sunshine but with a swirling wind. |
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| Macleans went ahead after 3 minutes when a teasing cross from the left was put into the Onehunga goal by an Onehunga defender. Macleans increased their lead ten minutes later when international student Maximilian Kinzel turned and whacked the ball into the top corner from all of twenty-five yards. |
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| Busy striker Mitchel Stone earned a penalty when he was through onto the goalkeeper and hacked down from behind; Rory Macleod dispatched the penalty. Onehunga pulled one back just before the half-time interval when a free-kick was flicked in from the edge of the six yard box. |
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| Onehunga were reduced to ten men immediately before the whistle when a defender was given a red for a dangerous tackle on Rory. |
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| After the interval Onehunga had a chance to make it 3-2 when the referee gave them a penalty after a handball in the area. Goalkeeper Cameron Leader made a great save diving high to his right to deflect the ball over for a corner. Soon afterwards Mitchel Stone made it 4-1 when he raced through down the inside-right channel and finished superbly, shooting across the goalkeeper into the bottom left corner. |
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| Macleans were reduced to ten men when Caleb Pillay was sent off for a kick at a player on the ground. |
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| Maximilian Kinzel scored his second from a well-executed passing move with twenty minutes to go. David Shin might have scored a sixth when his shot was spilled by the ‘keeper but the referee deemed that the whole of the ball had not crossed the line. Similarly central defender Stefan Milosevic met a corner from the left with an excellent header which the ’keeper clawed back from partly over the line. |
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| Onehunga did get a second when a hanging corner was prodded home from a yard out but the win was rounded off when international student Gus De Freitas closed down on the ‘keeper from the inside-left channel and neatly finished to leave the final score 6-2. |
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| 2009 Season - Match Reports and Photos |