The Star: October 21, 2021

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The Star Thursday October 21 2021 26 SPORT Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz Resurgent club’s ‘fairytale’ season A year ago Selwyn United were in danger of being relegated from the Mainland Football premiership. The club’s resilience was tested again before a ground-breaking campaign culminated in qualification for the National League. Chris Barclay details the organisation’s steady development to a competitive force in one of the province’s fastestgrowing areas IT WASN’T a goal of the month contender, but it made Selwyn United’s year. Substitute Ollie Sims’ messy winner at Saxton Field won’t be going viral, yet the toe-poke will live long in the memory of first team players, support staff, management and fans. Take head coach and director of football Chris Brown, who thought a Luke Blackie 87thminute equaliser was scant consolation from the trip to Nelson Suburbs on October 2. “It was a crazy 30 seconds really. We managed to win the ball back. Will Fairley crossed the ball in, it bounced off two or three people and it fell to Ollie who poked it home. Everyone was off the scale in terms of happiness and excitedness,” Brown said. Sims, who was first coached by Brown as a 13-year-old, secured a place in the club’s folklore as Selwyn United claimed the Southern League’s final berth for the revamped National League by a point through a 2-1 victory. Three other clubs were in the qualification frame during a fluctuating final round, but once Christchurch United lost to Dunedin’s South City Royals with 10 minutes left on the clock in Nelson, Selwyn United somehow engineered their latest remarkable comeback. In last year’s Mainland Football premiership, Selwyn United were in danger of relegation until a 2-1 win on the final afternoon condemned Western to the second-tier championship. Making the eight-team Southern League, the prerequisite for the upcoming National League, was also left late with an 85thminute save from veteran shot – and in this case penalty – stopper Pieter-taco Bierema necessary to protect the 2-0 margin required to advance at Nomad United’s expense. Brown savours those wins, though he nominated a 4-2 premiership defeat to Cashmere Technical in May – after Selwyn United led 2-0 with eight minutes to play – as the cornerstone of this campaign, the launching pad for a six-game unbeaten sequence in the premiership. “That game was the catalyst for the boys going ‘actually we’re not far off’, we’d pushed them all the way.” Team spirit was never an issue – 95 per cent of the squad that diced with relegation in 2020 reported for pre-season training, dedication synonymous with the rise of the club covering one of Canterbury’s fastest-growing areas. An amalgamation of the Rolleston and Ellesmere clubs in 2013, Selwyn United toiled five years to gain promotion to the premiership. Brown and fellow Englishman Lee Padmore, who attended the fabled Crewe Alexandria football academy, have been involved with Selwyn United from the outset after coaching in Australia. “It’s been a rollercoaster ride but it’s been a fun one. Last year was a tough year, this one has been kind of a fairytale story,” Brown said. Now Mainland Football’s director of football, Padmore was the original head coach when the joint venture was based at Rolleston’s quaint Brookside Park. Although his career path has taken him to town, Padmore’s legacy is a fixture at Foster Park, according to Selwyn United president Stan de Rooy. “Lee was the driving force in the early years of the club, setting the tone for Selwyn’s footballing culture and playing philosophy. He had the drive to ensure players have a continuous pathway in their footballing development,” he said. Brown, a college mate of Padmore when they studied in Leeds, took the wheel of the first team in 2019, and ironically the Southern Motorway development has made life easier for the coach, and club. “The motorway has been the biggest thing. People realise you can get out (to Rolleston) and back in 10-15 minutes. Once you’re onto the motorway it’s a quick route,” Brown said. Accessibility – and National League qualification – has made the club more attractive, though Brown said the nurturing of home grown talent has been a key building block of the organisation. Former Rolleston stalwart Jamie Carrodus has racked up more than 170 appearances while at the other end of the experience spectrum the line-up that pipped Nelson Suburbs 2-1 featured a trio of 16-year-olds, who are ideally destined for professional careers. Finn Surman, Matt Sheridan and Jonny Sims have already headed north to the Wellington Phoenix academy, losses the club are content to absorb. “That’s what we’re about. If KEY VICTORY: Selwyn United players celebrate qualifying for the National League after beating Nelson Suburbs with a late Ollie Sims goal. PHOTO: DARREN BOOTH CLUB STALWARTS: Selwyn United director of football Chris Brown (left) and president Stan de Rooy reflect on a breakthrough season for the club’s first team. Selwyn United is hoping a team will join next year’s women’s premiership. PHOTOS: GEOFF SLOAN & KAREN CASEY they’ve got better things to go to we actually want to make that happen and push them on to that,” said de Rooy, who estimated 90 per cent of the clubs players were aged under-19. Selwyn’s population boom should at least ensure the club regenerates its player stocks, from the ground up. “There’s so much building going on. We’ll probably find the number of six to 10-year-olds coming through will be quite high,” Brown said. Membership revolves around the 1200 mark; de Rooy expects that number to jump by 200 or so in three years. The club fields more than 90 teams, from First Kicks Football to the Masters side that headed to Blenheim for a tournament last week. Hopefully, a team will join next year’s women’s premiership. “The prediction is with current growth we’d be looking at 110 teams in 2028,” de Rooy said. Bigger isn’t necessarily better – superclub Cashmere Technical can beg to differ – so de Rooy was wary about expansion with the Foster Park headquarters at capacity in spite of sporting 15 grounds. The club lost one of six floodlit pitches to hockey, but as compensation the district council will turn the No 1 field from grass to artificial turf. A playing surface able to handle an increased workload is an off-field triumph for a club which also has hubs in Darfield, West Melton, Leeston and Lincoln. The artificial turf installation is on track for next season, other goals have been fulfilled ahead of schedule. “We wanted to be a solid (premiership) team and not in the relegation zone all the time so we’ve actually reached the National League a lot earlier than we thought we would,” de Rooy said. “We just wanted to keep improving and keep building a stable, well-recognised club within Canterbury that performs well and the first team is only a small portion of our club, we need to remember our youngsters and all the other teams. “Our club is always based on growing our own talent,” he said, pinning dominant centre-back Mitchell Cockburn as a poster boy for that process.’’ However, making the National League, which is scheduled to start next month providing four Auckland clubs are able to participate, could create a selection quandary. “If we get players approaching us we’re going to have to be very balanced,” de Rooy said. “The one thing we don’t want to do as a club is end up with an environment where the younger players coming through that are striving to work hard to get into that first team are then getting getting pipped at the post by people just walking in, people that may not be committed to the club, they just want to play for a team that’s doing well.” Sponsors, meanwhile, are welcome to state their case. “We’re talking to another big sponsor that approached us after we made the National League. It’s an area we really need to push because in Selwyn we can only get grant money from pubs that have pokies, and there’s not many in the area,” de Rooy said. “That’s where the teams in town have a big advantage over us and of course you’ve got clubs like Cash-Tech and Halswell that have got money from way back. “I’m not saying they’re sitting on pots of gold but they’ve got that infrastructure from way back, they’ve got old members that have got their own businesses that are potentially funding some of that stuff. “As a fledgling club, it’s an area we need to pick up on. What value can we give to them? “Certainly the National League gives them a little bit. Ollie’s goal might have great ramifications down the track.”
Thursday October 21 2021 The Star SPORTS NEWS Brought to you by Curtains Blinds Shutters 99 Sawyers Arms Rd 03 365 4666 or 0800 836 587 www.venluree.co.nz Super tiebreakers needed to split players BURWOOD PARK marked their return to Tennis Canterbury’s premier men’s grade with a tight victory over the new Bishopdale-Te Kura Hagley combination while last year’s runners-up laid down an early marker. Two of the matches between Burwood Park and Bishopdale- • By Chris Barclay PROMISING Canterbury United Pride footballers Kate Taylor and Zoe McMeeken have signed with the Wellington Phoenix for its inaugural A-League women’s squad. Taylor and McMeeken – both 17-year-old defenders – played for the Pride in the 2020 ISPS Handa Women’s Premiership, as the side captured its third successive championship in impressive fashion. They join another Cantabrian in the Phoenix squad, Lily Alfeld. Alfeld, who has been playing for Perth Glory was signed last week. Phoenix head coach Gemma Lewis said the addition of two promising youngsters in Taylor and McMeeken highlights the development aspect of this year’s squad. “Zoe and Kate join the team as two of our youngest players, so this will be a learning year for them – and others in the squad – as they transition into the professional football space for the first time,” she said. “This will be a great experience for these girls, both on and off the field; we’re looking forward to their contribution next season – it’s a great feeling to be able to give Kiwi young players like Zoe and Kate an opportunity to grow.” While many of her groundbreaking teammates are venturing into the unknown, Alfeld is acutely aware of the challenges that await. The experienced goalkeeper wasn’t wearing kid gloves when relishing the prospect of New Zealand finally joining the W- League after Football Federation Australia relented after initially blocking the expansion club. Alfeld secured a last-minute deal with Perth Glory after the Phoenix’s hopes were dashed last season, with the quality of the competition proving an eyeopener for the 26-year-old from Lincoln. Glory endured a tough campaign, finishing bottom of the Te Kura Hagley needed a super tiebreaker to determine a winner before Burwood Park secured a 4-2 margin. Elmwood and Burnside Park – the other newcomer to the competition – could not be separated by any measure, with the matches, sets, games and points all level. nine-team league, and although they finished with a -25 goal differential, Alfeld was still named the players’ player of the year. “It was a step up to what we see in New Zealand. We (Perth) had an inexperienced team, it’s going to be quite similar to what we’re going to face with the Phoenix,” she said. “It will be tough, our backs will be against the wall, but it’s an exciting challenge.” Alfeld was the first squad member to be unveiled last Friday, more are expected this week. “It’s been in the pipeline for a few months, it was all just a waiting game to see if it was going to come to fruition,” said Alfeld, who has been working remotely for an Auckland law firm since returning from Western Australia. The Phoenix’s admission was a relief given the FFA thwarted the club’s plans last season, fearing their involvement would allow New Zealand internationals to benefit from high quality competition leading into the “A straight draw is quite astonishing,” said Tennis Canterbury’s competitions co-ordinator Tom Paine. In the other opening round clash, last year’s runners-up Country Mid Canterbury indicated they will mount a serious challenge to champions Cashmere by thrashing a rebuilding transtasman rivals jointly hosting the 2023 World Cup. “I think we all got to the point where we thought this might never happen so everyone’s stoked. It’s such great timing with women’s football getting a bit of momentum with the World Cup coming,” Alfeld said. “It’ll be great for young girls Waimairi – the 2019 winners – by five matches to one. Cashmere had a bye last weekend and open their defence next Saturday against Bishopdale-Te Kura Hagley as there are no games over Labour weekend. In the six-team women’s competition former Waimairi standouts Joelene Feneon and Phoenix signs up two more promising Canty players TALENT: Zoe McMeeken, playing here for Coastal Spirit, has just signed for the Phoenix squad. Left – Lily Alfeld knows all about how tough the W-League is after the goalkeeper joined the Perth Glory last season. to see there is a pathway within New Zealand to play professionally.” The Phoenix will be based in Wollongong, where the men’s team were headquartered during the A-League, with Alfeld heading across next month ahead of the season-opener in December. her daughter Jade ensured the title-holder’s defence got off to a ragged start as Burnside Park- Bishopdale alliance cruised to a 6-0 triumph. Te Kura-Hagley recorded the same margin against newcomers Kaiapoi while Cashmere beat Elmwood 4-2, with four matches needing a super tiebreaker. Road racing cyclist joins high-profile US team RISING talent Henrietta Christie’s road cycling career continues on an upward trajectory with the 19-year-old Cantabrian joining ambitious US team, Rally Cycling. A specialist climber, Christie has switched from Italian outfit BePink after signing a two-year deal through to 2023. Christie, the current under-23 New Zealand national time trial champion, recently competed in the elite women’s road race world Henrietta Christie championships in Belgium and the inaugural Paris-Roubaix Femmes. She also won the youth classification at the hilly Tour de l’Ardèche. “Rally Cycling can help me progress with my career, and I can’t wait to build some strong foundations within the team,” Christie said. “I love pushing myself to the limits. My aspirations are to get stronger every day and aim to get on a UCI Women’s WorldTour podium next year.” Rally Cycling has applied to upgrade to the top-tier Women’s WorldTeam status next season, which would grant the team automatic invitations to the highest level one-day and stages race on the Women’s WorldTour calendar. Christie’s talent caught the eye of Christchurch-born cycling Olympian Joanne Kiesanowski, Rally Cycling’s women’s team director. “Henrietta showed a lot of progression after only a few months in Europe,” said Kiesanowski, who represented New Zealand at the Athens, Beijing and London Olympics. Christie, who joined BePink in May, started focusing on cycling as a 12-year-old. She is among 13 New Zealand women cycling professionally in the US or Europe.
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