Balclutha Association Football Club

02/06/2026

*Match Report: Balclutha Outback Development vs Te Anau*
*Final Score: Balclutha 3 – 1 Te Anau*

Balclutha Outback Development made the long 2-hour trip to Te Anau on Monday for a rescheduled fixture, delayed earlier due to duck-shooting commitments. After driving through thick fog, conditions cleared just in time for kickoff and the rain held off for what promised to be a physical contest.

The opening 20 minutes were a stalemate. Balclutha controlled possession despite starting with only 10 players — two teammates delayed by the fog and tough driving conditions. Olivers work rate in midfield set the tone, keeping Balclutha on the front foot while Phillips on old legs worked tirelessly alone up front against a stubborn Te Anau back line who were quick to take anything from him.

On 20 minutes, local football legend Daniel Simmons used his experience to burst into the box and was brought down, earning Balclutha a penalty. A crafty shot from Left footed god Cory Budge put Balclutha into the lead, 1-0.

At the back, Matt Simmons, Cory Budge and James Cheeseman were rock solid, shutting down Te Anau and giving them no clear looks at goal.

Balclutha began the second half still with 10 men and continued to create chances. Another heavy challenge in the box saw Cory Budge step up again to convert his second penalty and make it 2-0.

Te Anau had moments in the second half, but Balcluthas No1 Goal keeper Wakelin was in top form to keep them out. The two late-arriving players then joined, giving Balclutha a full 11. Junior *"Maradona"* began causing problems and slipped a short pass to Oliver, who finished neatly for 3-0.

Late on, Te Anau won a penalty of their own. Their keeper came out of his box to take it — a true ‘like vs like’ moment — and converted to pull one back, 3-1. The goal lifted Te Anau, but the final whistle went soon after.

*Result: Balclutha 3-1 Te Anau*

*Man of the Match: Oliver*
Relentless work rate and composure in midfield. Rarely put a foot wrong and kept Balclutha on the front foot all day.

*Special Mentions*: The defensive trio of Matt Simmons, James Cheeseman and Cory Budge were outstanding, giving Te Anau nothing clear-cut all game. Oliver Waiklin was safe in goal.

Thanks to all the players who traveled on a public holiday to get this game played.

01/06/2026

Clutha Men March On
Fixture: Winton FC vs. Andrew Haulage Balclutha AFC
Competition: Edinburgh Cup (Knockout Round)
Venue: Moores Reserve, Winton
Officials: Referee: Iain Walker
Final Score: Balclutha 4 - 1 Winton

The match kicked off at 3:00 PM under a bright Winton sky, immediately settling into a tight, cagey affair. While Balclutha initially struggled to find the back of the net, they undoubtedly looked the sharper side, carving out the better of the early chances.
Clutha played some sophisticated football in the opening stanza, utilizing sharp passing triangles to manufacture space. The build-up play was clever and inclusive, beautifully involving both the wide and defensive players. In particular, Cory Budge and Awen Wallace were instrumental in the wide areas, constantly stretching the Winton defense and creating pockets of space to exploit.
While Balclutha occasionally fell into the trap of attempting ambitious, aerial balls directly into the blinding sun, it was their short, accurate passing and quick off-the-ball movement that yielded the best results. Persistence paid off late in the half when Matthew Simmonds broke the deadlock, showcasing his trademark excellent finishing to send Balclutha into the halftime sheds with a well-deserved 1-0 lead.
With a deep bench at their disposal, Balclutha utilized heavy squad rotation in the second half. While the constant changes naturally caused some structural disruption, the team adapted brilliantly. The adversity sparked a wave of positive communication on the field, with the players working cohesively as a unit to maintain their grip on the match.
In the engine room, Oliver put on a midfield clinic. He displayed superb dribbling to cut through Winton’s lines, proving his class by consistently releasing the ball to a teammate at the perfect moment before over-committing.
Meanwhile, the young duo of Toby Deverson and Jackson Savage put in a massive shift. They battled relentlessly all afternoon against a physical Winton side that wasn't shy about using their size advantage against the youngsters. Ultimately, youth and agility triumphed over size. Savage’s work rate was rewarded with a flurry of second-half chances; he clinically buried two of them to earn a brilliant brace (and Player of the Day), effectively steadying the ship and putting the game out of Winton's reach.
Not to be outdone, Arwen Wallace’s relentless ambition and tireless work rate were rewarded with a moment of pure, unadulterated comedic gold. Striking from distance, Wallace watched as his shot hit a rogue divot right in front of the Winton goalkeeper. In a sequence straight out of a cartoon, the ball took a wicked, physics-defying bounce, leaping clean over the stranded keeper's head and trickling into the net - leaving the shot-stopper questioning the universe while the Clutha bench erupted in laughter.
Cruising at 4-0, a momentary lapse in concentration from the Balclutha defense gifted Winton a half-chance. The Winton attacker took it beautifully, unleashing a perfectly placed, looping shot over the Clutha keeper - who, up until that point, had enjoyed a comfortable afternoon under only moderate pressure. Whether the strike was pure Premier League class or simply Lady Luck smiling on the hosts, the world will never know.
There was no time for a Winton comeback, however, as the final whistle blew shortly after.
It was a fantastic afternoon of cup football, played in excellent spirits by both sides and expertly refereed by Iain Walker. With a comprehensive 4-1 victory on the road, Balclutha secures their spot in the next round of the Edinburgh Cup.

24/05/2026

Leishman Funeral Services Women’s side showed plenty of heart and determination in today’s clash against Otago University 3rds, putting in a gritty performance despite facing a strong opposition lineup.

The team worked hard from the opening whistle, showing good composure through the midfield and some strong defensive moments throughout the match. Communication and teamwork continued to improve as the game went on, with players supporting each other and refusing to drop their heads under pressure.

Unfortunately, regular goalkeeper Trinity had to sit out the match due to circumstances beyond her control, but was proud to support the girls and her stand in goal keeper Karen who had an exceptional game considering she was thrown in the deep end, and praised the team for their effort and determination throughout the game.

With little to no substitutes available, the squad dug deep and continued to give everything they had right until the final whistle. Lauren earned match of the day honours after playing her heart out and showing incredible determination across the field. Fiona also clocked up huge minutes once again, continuing to put in the hard work and commitment she consistently brings to the team each week.

The defensive line stood firm for much of the match, while the midfield battled hard to create opportunities moving forward. Although the result 4-0 did not fully reflect the effort shown on the field, the side continues to grow in confidence and chemistry each week.

The players’ resilience, attitude, and willingness to work for one another remain a huge positive heading deeper into the season. The team would also like to thank supporters who came along to cheer from the sidelines — your encouragement means a lot to the girls each week.💪⚽️

21/05/2026

21/05/2026

Your sporting fixtures for this weekend, come along and support your local team!

17/05/2026

Match report:

Andrew Haulage Balclutha vs Waihopai

A delay was caused due to a full carpark at the Balclutha showgrounds, wild scenes indeed!
As fans flocked to the rugby fields, some could argue the best entertainment was on the football pitch this weekend.
Once the match kicked off it was the home team on the front foot from the get go. Winning a corner in the first minute, Cory Budge whipped a dangerous ball in, which was met by Matt Simmonds to put the ball into the goal. Simmonds would go on to score another 2 and wrap up a first half hattrick.
Within 8 minutes Clutha were 3-0 up, the aim now was to not get complacent and continue to play the football that had put them in this position. Captain Rod Deverson along with Danny Simmonds ensured the tempo never dropped and kept the ball inside the Waihopai half of the pitch.
As half time was closing in, Toby Deverson crossed a ball to the back post which looked like it was just going over Tekitanga Matang. In the blink of an eye he flung himself into the air and smashed the ball into the goal. Another one for the highlight reel he keeps producing this season.
A rampant Clutha went into the half leading 7-0. More of the same was the message and that's exactly what they did. Picking up from where they left off, the home team dominated possession and utilized the full width of the pitch. Moving the ball quickly through the midfield and wings paid off as they scored another 7 goals in the 2nd half.
Instant impact off the pine saw Jackson Savage score with his first touch of the game. At full time it was 14-0 to men in red.
Scorers: Tekitanga Matang x 5, Matt Simmonds x 3, Gordon Edwards x 2, Cory Budge x 1, Jackson Savage x 2 and Kit McKinney x1
Hats off to the Waihopai team who travelled from Invercargill with 10 men and gave 100% for the full 90 minutes.
Gordon Edwards picked up man of the match for his tireless work in the middle and creating goal scoring opportunities.
The next match is against Queen's Park on the turf in Invercagill at 5:00pm next Saturday

17/05/2026

Match report:

Outback Welding & Engineering vs Te Anau

On Saturday the Balclutha Development team took on top of the table Te Anau. The red machine didn't get off to the best of starts with Te Anau's long ball and physicality up front paying dividends with 2 goals within 20 minutes.
This sparked the Clutha lads into life and after sustained pressure at the right end of the pitch Toby Deverson delivered a pin point accurate corner on to the noggin of Oliver Wakelin to pull one back.
The Clutha midfield was building in confidence, with Marc Philips surging forward and creating space for attackers to run into. Which is exactly what Deverson did. First to a lose ball in the Te Anau backline he burst through putting himself 1 on 1 with the keeper and rolling a composed finish into the bottom right corner.
The visitors scored another before the break to make it 3-2 at halftime.
Tokitebwa Takoto had a busy 45 minutes, and kept his team in the contest with some superb goalkeeping.
The 2nd half was a stalemate for the first 25 minutes with both teams cautious not to concede a goal.
The time came when Clutha had to throw men forward and look for and equalizer. This ultimately left space at the back for Te Anau to attack and they scored 2 quick fire goals to give themselves some breathing room on the scoreboard.
Awen Wallace powered a free kick around the wall and through the keeper late on but it would prove to be a consolation as the match finished 5-3.
A valiant effort from the men in red, however credit must go to Te Anau as they played the full 90 minutes with 10 men and put out a very strong performance.
Man of the match was Toby Deverson for his hard graft in the middle and threat in the attacking third.
The next match is against Thistle FC at Turnbull Thomson park 1:00pm.

16/05/2026

Leishman Funeral Services Women’s team versed DCR Development squad at Culling Park in perfect football conditions with the bare 11players taking the field they knew they had a battle on their hands.

Leishman Funeral Services women started strongly keeping the play in their half for the first 10 minutes, unfortunately DCR women broke though the defence and scored. The Leishman girls kept their heads up but DCR girls scored a second time. Keeping their composure in front of the goal, just before halftime they struck again with a screamer of a goal not even our brilliant goalkeeper Trinity could save putting DCR girls in control heading into the second half.

After the restart BAFC women come back onto the pitch with determination,
Lauren and Olivia played well together up front Stacey, Palmmy, Beth and Waniya had some good combinations in the midfield our defence line Aida, Kelsie, Brier and Petra played a solid game as usual, Goal keeper Trinity delivered another standout performance, saving an impressive 33 strikes on goal. .Unfortunately near the end of the game we were down to 10 players with Brier coming off injured.

Leishman girls refused to back down and with a squad of 10 kept pushing forward but unfortunately couldn’t get the ball into the back of the net. DCR girls scored 1 goal in the second half to make it 4-0 at the final whistle .

Player of the match: Aida Begg - a strong game in defence

14/05/2026

Come on down on Saturday afternoon and watch both mens teams play at the showgrounds Kick offs at 1pm and 3pm or if your in Dunedin why not check out the Ladies game at 2:45pm at Culling Park.

14/05/2026

The Ladies team travel to Dunedin this weekend while both Mens teams play at home. Come support your local teams this weekend.