2011 Sannazzaro Shield - Veterans win 3-2

Manakau Football Club 2011 Sannazzaro Shield Participants

Age and Experience proved to be more than a match for Youth in the Sannazzaro Shield match played to bring down the curtain on the 2011 Football season for Manakau FC as the Veterans outlasted the "kids" to win 3-2.

The players arrived at the Manakau Domain in a rather haphazard fashion, and as usual  it was mainly the "youngsters" who were late to the game, as evidenced by the pre-match photograph where experience was obviously to the fore.

A quick arrangement of the sides determined that the cutoff age for the two sides was about 31-32 years, and even then the "youngsters" were down to the bare minimum of 11 players and an empty bench.

That suited the Vets just fine and after a settling down period of play, James Wylie grabbed the only goal of the first half to give the Veterans a 1-0 halftime lead - while Vets goalkeeper Chris Georgetti saved a penalty from Atain Halley - after a dodgy refereeing decision.

In the second half the goals from Brian, and Jamie Lamplough gave the Vets a 3-0 lead before another Vets goal was ruled out - for a rather minor reason ... it was the referee who had provided the cross!

Towards the end the youngsters got a goal back via Mark Tiumalu-Faleseuga, and right at the final whistle the referee tried to balance the books awarding another dodgy, dodgy penalty which Atain this time converted.

A quick word with the referee ensured that the final whistle occured fairly shortly afterwards and the Veterans claimed the inaugural Sannazzaro Shield by a 4-2 ... ahem ... 3-2 scoreline.

Man of the Match : Vets goalkeeper Chris Georgetti

2011 Awards - Player of the Year - Paul Kulhavy

Paul Kulhavy dusted off the old football boots and got back onto the park, and #46 played a key role in the Manakau Hui Mai's midfield in 2011 - winning Player of the Year.

He wasn’t the fastest midfielder, but PK's skills lay in an ability to read the game, close off lanes, mark his man, and anticipate opposition plays, in order to make sure that Manakau dominated the centre of the pitch.

Although rarely seen in attack, PK did manage to get forward for corners and scored a couple of goals with his head when the opponents weren't looking the right way.

2011 Awards - Player of the Year - Ben Henry

Ben Henry had an outstanding football season in 2011 for Manakau FC's Hotel side and he was rewarded with the  Player of the Year shield at the recent awards night.

Ben was a fixture in the Hotel side throughout the season, and displayed an ability to strike from distance, typified by a stunning goal he scored from the edge of the penalty area against Levin at Donnelly Park in June.

A well deserved award for a top player!

2011 Awards - Players Player of the Year - Mark Tiumalu-Faleseuga

Manakau Hui-Mai had an extremely strong defensive line-up this season - and holding it all together at centre-back was Mark Tiumalu-Faleseuga who was a rock.

Solid in the air, strong in the tackle, and very quick when he needed to be, Mark simply made sure that the opposing centre-forwards had little chance of ever seeing the football during the game.

So it was no surprise that his team-mates voted Mark the Hui Mai 2011 Players Player of the Year.

2011 Awards - Players Player of the Year - Simon Ryding

Manakau Hotel's stylish centre-back Simon Ryding was the popular choice for Players' Player of the year for the division three side.

Simon started the season well with three man-of-the-match performances during May, and his efforts all over the pitch were acknowledged in the team votes for this award. 

Simon was also a regular at the post-match functions, and if even HALF of his stories about what happened on the pitch were true then Manakau may have found the new Franz Beckenbauer.

Well played Sir!

2011 Awards - Find of the Year - Chris Temperton

Chris "Crash" Temperton was outstanding in defence during 2011 and was an obvious choice for the "Find of The Year" is his debut season of football.


Crash only started playing football this year - and immediately made himself an indispensable member of the Hui Mai defensive back four with his tenacious defending and uncanny ability to pick the right time to make the tackle.

Chris also showed an ability to get forward and create goalscoring chances for his team mates, and was responsible for four assists this season.

Given the huge progress made in 2011, it would not be a surprise to see Crash take his football to the next level in 2012, and start getting his name on the scoresheet as well.

2011 Awards - Young Player of the Year - Brixton Cowie

Manakau United have a number of quality young players coming into the two sides, but BRIXTON COWIE was one player stood out as the "one to watch" for 2012.

We knew that Brixton was a bit special when he took on and actually beat Kimbal McHugo TWICE during the evening kickabouts at pre-season training - and he backed that up with some great goals in the first six games of the season.

A bad injury ended Brixton's season this year - but I'm sure that by mid-January 2012 he will be back down the park embarrassing all the old guys at practice.

2011 Awards - Best Youth Player - Murray Haughey

Outstanding youth player Murray Haughey capped off his first season of football for Manakau United FC by winning the Best Youth Player award for the division three Hotel side.


Murray's talent for the game is obvious, and as the season progressed Murray's influence on matches also grew, highlighted by a golden patch mid-season when Murray was player of the day twice in a fortnight.

If Murray can get fit enough during the off-season to allow him to play for 90 minutes then he's going to be a real handful for opposing sides in 2012.

2011 Awards - Golden Boot - Atain Halley

Atain Halley was the runaway Golden Boot for Manakau FC's  Hui Mai team in 2011 - scoring 21 league goals in 15 matches ... and a couple more goals in the HK Cup as well.


Atain scored in 13 of his 15 HK Division Two league games, and picked up three hat-tricks during the season as he showed an uncanny ability to break away from defenders and score goals at crucial times.

Atain is off to Southland next season where he will be playing for Old Boys AFC of Invercargill - and his scoring boots will be tough ones to fill for Manakau.

2011 Awards - Golden Boot - Josh Sannazzaro

Josh Sannazzaro proved to be a worthy addition to the Manakau United FC Hotel side in 2011, leading all scorers in the third division team to claim the Golden Boot.

Josh's all action style created chances upfront for both himself and his team-mates.

His first goal was a late winner at the Manakau Domain to help the Hotel side beat Waikanae Youth 6-5 back in June and he followed that up with a blistering 25 yard effort against KCU 4ths just a week later.