It was fast and fiercely fought footy on display at the recent North Harbour Futsal tournaments for both the girls and boys teams. Teamwork and quick precision passing are key features of the indoor game of Futsal, with even the most skilled football players finding it challenging to adjust. Despite the limited training time our Northcross players adapted well and enjoyed the challenge, going up against some very experienced opposition teams.
The NX Girls had a fun and busy day of futsal. The Y8 girls kicked off with a solid win and ended up topping the pool with a win and a draw. Unfortunately we were beaten in the semi by a strong MBIS team but recovered quickly to take out the 3rd place game. Our Y7 girls had a 100% winning record and zero goals conceded heading into their semi final. In the semi final the girls dominated the game but just couldn’t find the net and this continued as they lost in the penalty shootout. The girls bounced back with a huge win to take out 3rd place.
Perseverance and keeping a positive attitude were key elements for our Futsal Boys Teams. The Y8 team got into their grove in pool games scoring over 15 goals and topping their pool. Having progressed to the semi finals they met a very in-form Northcote team. Northcross had the promising start with a few opportunities to score but some great goal keeping prevented us from making most of the chances. Unfortunately the opposition were able to capitalise on their chances, winning the semi and sending NX to a 3rd and 4th playoff against a tricky Albany Junior team. The game was to be one of the most amazing fight backs in NX football history. Due to injuries, changes in formation and some excellent attacking play by Albany the NX team were down 3-0. The NX players never gave up the fight with Daniel Pringle firing in a shot that spurred the resurgence. The team work and determination were key with Morgan Wainhouse providing the finishing touches and scoring 3 more goals! NX winning 4-3 and finishing 3rd overall.
Two Y7 NX teams competed in the Y7 Boys tournament with our Team 1 in a very tough pool, losing the first game 1-0 due to a penalty. They dominated play but were denied an equalising goal and also first place in the pool and therefore unable to progress to the semi finals, despite very convincing wins against the other pool teams. Team 2 did extremely well, also unlucky not to take out first spot in their pool with a couple of very close games and like Team 1 finished 2nd in their pool. Final results were Team 1 7th and Team 2 6th with players maintaining positive attitudes throughout and gaining some great Futsal experience.
