Nail-biting time for coach

WHAT A FEELING: Wairarapa College players celebrate their Hulme Cup success over Western Heights in Rotorua.

Don't ask Wairarapa College girls first XI football coach Dave Wright to reflect on his team's 1-0 win over Western Heights in the final of the Maurice Hulme Cup satellite tournament in Rotorua last Friday ... well at least the last 58 minutes of the hour-long assignment anyway.

Wright admits from the time Ellie McWilliams put his side 1-0 up in only the second minute of the match the rest of it was pretty much a blur.

"It had to be the longest 58 minutes of my life. I can hardly remember anything which went on. The nerves were all over the place.

"I so desperately wanted the girls to win. They probably weren't the flashest team there but they were the gutsiest, they fought so hard for each other."

Wright said the depth of talent in his side was a major factor in their success with first-string players able to be rested without the worry of the team performance being adversely affected.

"The whole squad did their bit. The commitment from every single player was first class," Wright said. "It was good to know you could go to the bench and rely on them to do a good job."

Wairarapa College qualified for the quarter-finals by coming second in their pool after wins over Aquinas (3-1), Rutherford (6-0) and Mt Roskill (2-0), a 4-4 draw with Waikato Diocesan and a 3-4 loss to Hastings Girls.

The end scoreline of 2-1 in their favour didn't do justice to the dominance they had over Taradale in the quarters with Taradale's goal coming close to full-time.

It was a different story in the semifinal with Trident. The scores were level at 0-0 at the end of ordinary time and they were still tied at 4-4 after a penalty shoot-out involving the standard five shots each. That took the game into a sudden death shoot-out and it was McWilliams who slotted the shot before Wairarapa College goalkeeper Emma Kruszona pulled off a save which sealed the win for her side.

The final with Western Heights was an even affair, with McWilliams scoring that early goal and Wairarapa College staving off some desperate opposition attacks.

Stacey Cottle's stoic defence was an individual highlight for Wairarapa College through the tournament as was the goal-scoring exploits of Annie Jones who finished with nine goals. And their success was the perfect send-off for two Year 13 players, skipper Melissa Hansen and Alexia Wales, who were playing their last games for the college. They were part of the Wairarapa College squad which had been eliminated by eventual winners Pakuranga in a semifinal penalty shoot-out the previous year.

Wairarapa College last won the Hulme Cup in 2008 and their latest victory gives them the right to lock horns with the top 32 schools in the country at premier level.

Wright says he would like to see Wairarapa College take up that challenge, particularly now there are plans afoot to turn the No 1 ground at Memorial Park into an artificial field, to be used by the rugby and football fraternities.

"That will be huge for football at all levels, the better the surface you have to train on the better you can prepare," Wright said. "To me, it's a no-brainer, we really need it to happen, the sooner the better."