JUNIOR SPORT - Northland soccer lads left to lament wasted opportunities

Northland under-12 soccer players were left ruing what might have been after completing the Weir-Rosebowl competition last week at North Harbour Stadium.
A gutsy Northland side finished seventh overall but might have done a lot better if they had taken their chances in the pool games.
The tone was set with a close 1-2 defeat by a good Waikato-Bay of Plenty A side in their opening match. Northland then faced the Waikato-BOP C team and surprisingly lost 2-3. The team then performed to their potential by beating North Harbour B 1-0 and Auckland Strikers 2-0.
"All of our matches were close apart from one game when we came up against Auckland Spurs, who were a very good side," coach Scott Burgess said.
It was their only big loss, 1-6, and the Spurs went all the way to the final.
"A lot of our guys just seemed to be just a half yard off the pace in those close ones," Burgess said.
The coach said Charl Compaan, David Collins and goalkeeper Cameron Randle all had stand-out tournaments but, as a whole, the team had performed well, going on to win the playoff for seventh and eighth - ironically against the Waikato-BOP B team - 2-1.
Burgess said it still ranked as a good performance against some talented teams and he was already looking forward to next year.
"The next generation of talent coming through looks pretty good and we should do as well again or perhaps even better," he said.
A Far North team also competed at the tournament, finishing last in the other pool, Pool A. They put in a good effort against a useful Waitakere side with 1-1 draw. The team had to face some very good sides in the pool but, like Northland, they acquitted themselves well against the odds and just lost the match for ninth and tenth by a single goal, 1-2.
The overall competition was won by North Harbour, who beat Auckland Spurs 2-1 in the final.
The Northland girls' Weir-Rosewell team had a tough time of it at their tournament, finishing last in their group but Burgess said they performed admirably.
"They started quite well but, in the end, ran out of bodies, with too many people getting injured," Burgess said.
The Northland side started off with a 1-1 draw against North Harbour B but after two hefty losses to Auckland Diamonds and Waikato B, they earned another draw against Waitakere in the first round of the plate competition. Their final match was a 0-1 loss to Harbour B.