On Wednesday 23 August, Auckland Grammar School played Rosmini College in the final of the Premier Boys SuperCity Hockey competition.
Having suffered a disappointing 6-0 loss during their previous meeting, and with Rosmini being unbeaten this year, the team knew that they had a daunting task ahead if they were to be crowned the SuperCity champions for the second year running.
Solid preparation and a change in their defensive tactics saw AGS ‘weather the storm’ for the first periods of the game as Rosmini launched a number of attacks.
The team remained composed through these early phases and some good attacking play up the right side of the field saw them earn a number of penalty corners. These chances went begging and it wasn’t until a penalty corner for AGS in the 17th minute that they managed to score a well-worked goal through Naik.
Some resolute defence from AGS in the final minutes of the first half saw the team up 1-0 heading into the break.
AGS began the second half with the same mindset and defensive tactics that they had at the beginning of the game. Rosmini enjoyed the majority of the possession in the second half, creating a number of chances for themselves.
However, clinical saves by Seton in goal and some determined defence meant that AGS were still 1-0 ahead with only minutes remaining in the game.
Rosmini decided to sub their goalie for a field player to gain an advantage with an extra man. This paid dividends for them as they earned themselves a penalty corner right on fulltime, meaning they had one final attempt at ending the game as a draw and forcing a penalty shootout.
Again, some unwavering and staunch defence from AGS saw the team hold tight to secure the win and be crowned SuperCity Hockey Champions for the second year in a row.