Schimmel's hat-trick helps Kamo to Choat Cup victory

A hat-trick  by Steve Schimmel led Kamo to victory in the Stafford Choat Memorial Cup final against Onerahi for the fourth year in a row on Saturday.
 The final was  frustrating  for both teams - each side threw away plenty of chances to score, while Shane Stanners, in goal for Kamo, and Onerahi's keeper Grant Short were kept busy making  impressive saves.
The teams battled  for the first 25 minutes before North Force player Schimmel scored from a brilliant header, setting Kamo up for a 1-0 halftime lead.
Onerahi coach Dave Alabaster  said his men did not execute their game plan in the initial half. "During the first half we were below par - our midfielders were sitting too deep," he said.
Fellow North Force forward Scott Burgess came looking for the ball from up front on several occasions when Onerahi struggled to get it to him. However, on the few occasions he did touch it, he was dangerous.
After the break Kamo continued  to dominate in the midfield and, after they missed two clear shots, Schimmel fired another one to extend their lead to 2-0. But Burgess  stole the ball  and hoofed  it into goal to close the gap.
Kamo quickly restarted play and forced a penalty  that Schimmel slammed into the bottom left corner to go ahead 3-1.
With only a minute left in the game, Burgess replied, scoring his second goal of the day, tightening the girth to 3-2. But it was too little too late  and Kamo added more silverware to their collection this season after winning the Northland Premier League, the Dave Wilson Challenge Trophy, Northland Premier Knockout and the Maurice Gibson Memorial Cup.
"In the second half we showed we could play just as well and that they were as vulnerable as anyone else," Alabaster said.
He commended Connor Brown for his efforts up front and said if the team had been as committed as he was  the outcome  might have been different.
The cup victory was a meaningful one for Kamo coach Russell Baddeley and his team. "It's our fourth time in a row to win the Stafford Choat trophy and Kamo like to win this one if we can as Stafford [Choat] was a Kamo player," Baddeley said.
A gifted player for Kamo, Choat drowned at Mimiwhangata 35 years ago when he was 18 years old. To honour him, Choat's mother Sina and late father Rodney donated the cup and since then Northland footballers have competed for it.
"It was a pretty close game  but I think Kamo was largely on top and, heading into halftime, we were up 1-0 but it could've been more," Baddeley said. "Both sides had many chances. We had a few  chances which would have made things easier - but it was a win in the end.
"Our player of the day was Shane Stanners in goal - he made some brilliant saves there," he said.