The Premmy Files: Round 10
If the first round back after the holiday break was supposed to begin separating the Premiership contenders from the pretenders then it did a pretty solid job of that. If it was supposed to clear much else up beyond that then not so much. The Premmy table’s very clearly split in half at this point, Southern United’s defeat away to Eastern Suburbs probably established that much and if it didn’t then sixth-placed Tasman getting pistol-whipped 6-0 by fourth-placed Canterbury on telly did the rest.
We’ve got a top five fighting for four semi-final places and a bottom five all waiting for their next chance to play against Hamilton Wanderers. Except for the Tron Wands themselves – of course they’re last when they don’t get to play themselves. That puts the ladder in some tasty context for the next eight weeks, though you’d be buggered to try figure out how that top five will be shuffled.
Which is not at all what anyone expected when the break began and Auckland City were sitting clear top by two points with a game in hand, having won their previous six games in a row by a combined scoreline of 26-2. They looked untouchable. They looked unbeatable. But then, in true kiwi football fashion, they stumbled upon the one opponent that remains undefeated on these shores: the paperwork. Micah Lea’alafa had been picked in the comeback 3-1 win over Tasman before Christmas despite not having been included on the teamsheet and it was enough for NZ Football to overturn the result.
So City lost three points and, harshest of all, Ryan De Vries lost two goals towards his golden boot quest. Falls a couple behind teammate Emiliano Tade, who now has 11 after scoring against Waitakere with De Vries absent from that one (for personal reasons). Tade’s goal had given ACFC a handy first half lead but he left the game before HT with injury and things very quickly shifted. Horace James levelled it up within minutes of the resumption and then Keegan Linderbloom put the Waitaks in front from the penalty spot, cheeky handball in the box. Callum McCowatt soon scored his fourth of the season to snatch a 2-2 draw but that’s still two points dropped from ACFC. Strange circumstances but five points dropped in two games and that frontrunner spot’s up for grabs again.
Because things aren’t getting easier for City either. They host Southern next week in a should-win but remember they were pegged back by them down in Dunedin in October. Thanks to the fluke of the draw and their Club World Cup enforced postponements it’ll actually be – incredibly – their seventh home Premmy game in a row… but a good card player knows that if your hand is junk then the someone else’s is probably stacked and vice versa. Hence City have six away games out of their last eight to follow Southern and the two homers are against Team Welly and Eastern Suburbs, their main challengers and another top four hopeful. It ain’t easy… even before you consider both Joao Moreira and Daewook Kim signing with new clubs this week, each pursuing opportunities elsewhere (in Malta and Japan respectively). Well, Moreira’s departure means bugger all, he was already a free agent… but Kim’s a big loss. He'd been a key defender.
Waitakere will be a little stunk that they didn’t hold on for the win there either, those two extra points would’ve been massive as they’re now sitting fifth with the three teams immediately ahead of them all with games in hand. Somebody’s dropping points when City and Suburbs play their catch-up game so it’s still all in Chris Milicich’s team’s hands but yeah. Wins are valuable things. With only two clean sheets in ten games, Waitakere probably don’t have the creativity to match the goals they leak and at this stage you’d bet on them to finish in this fifth spot, although a draw against ACFC is something to build from. They’ve got home games against Canterbury and the WeeNix up next.
That game against Canterbury will be a cracker because, if you didn’t pay attention the first time, The Dragons annihilated Tasman 6-0 in Sunny Nelson (tm). Futa Nakamura scored a gorgeous hat-trick but the highlight of the game was Gary Ogilvie stepping up to take a penalty, missing it, almost scoring on the follow-up but getting fouled by Kieran Smith, winning another penalty, getting Smith sent off and then scoring at the second attempt. Wonderful Premmy football, love it.
But yeah, this was Canterbury at their very best. Exactly what happened to Tasman is up for debate, this was still a strong lineup for Tassie, about as strong as they can put out there, and they were completely smoked at home. Down 3-0 at the break and if the Dragons had wanted it more they coulda scored ten. Stephen Hoyle passed up a great chance at the end… mate. Good to see Nakamura in the goals as well as that lad Hoyle (who now has scored in five of his last six games).
And maybe this wasn’t such a shock after all, Tasman’s only win since their second game was the overturned one against Auckland, which they initially lost 3-1. They’ve kept afloat with their two early wins (including a 1-0 over CB Utd) and a run of draws but their form has been slipping, losing to the Wee Nix and drawing with Hawke’s Bay before the City game. Meanwhile Canterbury have gotten better and better most weeks. The five games that Hoyle scored in? They won all five. The one he didn’t? A 2-0 loss to Team Wellington. 11-0 on aggregate over their last three. Willy Gerdsen’s lot are looking very sharp.
In this case it was Nakamura who looked a step above, though Hoyle’s holding the line well and they’re getting strong contributions from guys like Sean Liddicoat, Cory Mitchell and Aaron Spain. Coey Turipa’s playing well between the sticks. It’ll be pretty fascinating how they go against Waitaks and they’ve got Auckland City to follow that.
It was rivalry week in the Premmy, hence the Super City clash and the South Island battle and all that. Hence also why Team Wellington got to play the Wellington Phoenix Reserves, a team that seems to supply them as many players as it does the Wellington Phoenix. Never really gonna be a close one despite the WeeNix coming in four games undefeated. Team Welly scored four times in the first half - Bevin, Sinclair, Hailemariam & Fenton with the goals – and chilled their way to a 4-1 win. Liam Wood had pulled one back for the Nix. TW doing what needed to be done.
Guts to Hamilton Wanderers. They were 2-1 with ten mins left against Hawke’s Bay having come from behind after the break but they couldn’t cling on for that precious first win. Alex Palezevic made up for not scoring an earlier chance to finish with assurance in the 83rd minute to split the points (Palezevic, ordinarily a midfielder, had started this game at right back). Hosting in Napier, this was their chance to end their five-game winless streak and there’ll be regret that they couldn’t make it 2-0 when they had the chances. Ah well, at least they didn’t lose.
Yet another week without a win for H-Town, who also copped an L during the break when Michael Built transferred to Eastern Suburbs (and then scored on debut). But a closer look shows that they’re starting to figure something out, at least. Seven goals in their last four after only three in six before that. 2-2 draws against Southern and how HBU. They put a couple past Waitakere as well in a 4-2 defeat. Yet again though, they just can’t seem to defend.
One last game and it was the early one, a match that went exactly how it was scripted. Southern provided a tough scrap up north against Eastern Suburbs but Tristan Prattley scored in the first half which left the Southerners playing from behind and Built finished it off right at the end, 2-0 to Suburbs. Coulda been different if Southern had made some of that early second half pressure count.
This deals Southern a hefty blow in their semi chances, not that they were a serious candidate or anything. They were always up against it playing away without their suspended captain Conor O’Keeffe. With Sam Carmichael also suspended and Morgan Day released due to work commitments (Premmy Watch, chieftain!), Southern were a bit stretched for players. Garbhan Coughlin copped a nasty arm injury vs Suburbs too. Even still, new signings Nick Treadwell and Luke McKay will have to wait another week for their club debuts. Treadwell’s an English lower-leaguer and McKay’s a young kiwi lad from Christchurch who’s dropping by on a footy scholarship.
Remember when Southern were 2-0 up after five minutes against Wanderers in their first game of December? They went on to draw 2-2 and haven’t scored since. 355 minutes and counting.
If you go by the official result in the City-Tasman game, which we sorta have to, then another solid 2-0 win for Suburbs here makes ensures they’re still the only team to have scored in every match this season. They’ve also only once scored more than two but a couple consecutive clean sheets suggests that Danny Hay’s defensive knowledge is seeping through. They’re tied with City on point now, with a game in hand against their fellow Aucklanders to come. Team Wellington next week too. It’s money in mouth time, baby... speaking of which, Suburbs handed a debut here to Leon van den Hoven, a 17 year old lad who Danny Hay knows from the national system and who was an influential member of the Auckland City youth team that won the NYL a few weeks back. Can't say Big Danny doesn't back it up.
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