national threepeat for under 17s

Birkenhead United AFC and Three Kings United are the 2015 Auckland City FC U-17 youth tournament winners following victory in their respective finals at Seddon Fields in Auckland on Sunday afternoon.

The manner of victory in both finals couldn’t have been more different with Three Kings United running out clear winners 2-0 over Coastal Spirit in an entertaining women’s final. Compared to Birkenhead United winning 5-3 on penalties after a tense and physical goalless draw vs Onehunga Sports in the men’s final.

The women’s final the outcome looked clear from the very beginning with Three Kings United dominating from the outset with the deadlock being broken in the 25th minute of the first half with golden boot winner Hannah Blake scoring from the penalty spot to put the Aucklanders 1-0 ahead of their Christchurch opponents a lead which they held going into the half time break.

The second half was more of the same with Three Kings being awarded a penalty early in the second half when Coastal Spirit player Rebecca Lake bought down a Three Kings United attacker which Hannah Blake missed the resulting spot kick.

The game was put beyond reasonable doubt in the 52nd minute of the game when Three Kings doubled their lead. Whilst Coastal Spirit fought to make a comeback it was too little too late and it was the team from Mount Roskill who went on to lift the Ivy Vela Cup for the second time in three years.

If the women’s final was fairly emphatic the men’s final was the complete opposite with Birkenhead United coming out on top 5-3 on penalties after a tense and fairly aggressive goalless draw.

In a fairly even game both teams had their share of chances with the team from the North Shore having the best chances of taking the advantage in the match.

The first opportunity coming in the very first minute of the match when a mucked up clearance from the Onehunga Sports goalkeeper found a Birkenhead player luckily for him no damage was done and the score remained level.

Sarpreet Singh had his fair share of chances for Onehunga Sports heading wide in the 22nd minute and from a free kick which flew over the cross bar during extra time.

0-0 was how it stayed until the end of regulation time so we went to an extra ten minutes to decide who lifted the Arthur Egan Cup for men’s champion. This extra time period went quickly with no one being able to take the opportunities so the game went to a penalty shoot out to decide where the championship was going.

First stepped up Sarpreet Singh whose attempt was saved by the Birkenhead keeper, then each side found the back of the net until it was 2-1 to Birkenhead then William Gillingham stepped up to put the ball over the cross bar which proved to be decisive as Birkenhead didn’t miss and therefore took the Championship and became the third different side to win within three years.

Youth Football Development Trust chairman Greg Fahey was delighted by the way the tournament ran and reiterated his thoughts that this tournament had cemented it’s reputation as an event that is crucial to youth development in New Zealand and beyond he said “The event seems to have cemented itself as a really important part of youth development in New Zealand and the addition of and international team has added to the experience of the 36 teams from around the country”

Auckland City FC U-17 youth tournament Award Winners:

Arthur Egan Men’s Championship: Champions: Birkenhead United AFC Runners Up: Onehunga Sports Third Place: Napier City Rovers Fourth Place: UNSS (New Caledonia) Keryn Jordan Men’s Golden Boot: Josh ADAMS (Napier City Rovers) Ivan Vicelich Men’s MVP: Logan BENSEMAN (Napier City Rovers) Dairy Products NZ Men’s Plate Sponsored by Chesters Plumbing: Lower Hutt City AFC BNZ Partners Men’s Bowl Sponsored by Chesters Plumbing: Cashmere Technical

Ivy Vela Women’s Championship:

Champions: Three Kings United Runners Up: Coastal Spirit. Third Place: Cashmere Technical Fourth Place: Forrest Hill Milford AFC Marinovich Family Women’s Golden Boot: Hannah BLAKE (Three Kings United) Roy Cox Memorial Women’s MVP: Mikayla GRAY (Dunedin Technical) White Gold Women’s Plate Sponsored by Chesters Plumbing: Glenfield Rovers Nutreet Equine Women’s Bowl Sponsored by Chesters Plumbing: Western Springs AFC

Story by Auckland City FC