The televised games schedule in this comp is massively flawed and skewed pretty much towards wherever is the closest to the home base studios so they don’t have to carry those expensive cameras anywhere dangerous (like the South Island)… but they got it spot on this week. Eastern Suburbs hosting Team Wellington. Both teams had only lost once and both times it was against Auckland City, so this was a big deal. Second and third on the ladder. A home semi might’ve been on the line, who knows?

Suburbs made one change from the team that beat Hamilton last week, with Dom Woolridge replaced by Campbell Strong in the midfield. Also curious to note Elijah Just playing in the front three with Mohamad Awad in the midfield trio, swapping places. Same old back four though, Kelvin Kalua remaining at right back – Suburbs have rotated right backs every two weeks so we’ll see if Kalua is the bloke to finally nail it down long term (Jack Duncan and Alex Clayton are the other two to feature). Team Wellington, they made three changes from the XI that drew with Hawke’s Bay United. Justin Gulley back in for Liam Wood, Eric Molloy with his first start of the season in place of Henry Cameron (a little surprising that one, Hank’s been great) and, best of all, Aaron Clapham in for Nate Hailemariam. Clapham getting a start after two apps off the bench, how about it?

Mate, this game was a spectacle. The first half was the best 45 minutes of footy I’ve seen all season, there was so much going on. There were goals and there was drama. There were fascinating tactical trends. There was some excellent footy between two excellent teams and with a lot potentially at stake. Eastern Suburbs are a team that likes to press forward with their front three, their midfield then carrying on the assault. But Team Welly quite cleverly filtered their play not over the press but around the press down the wings, looking to target the young fullbacks (as opposed to the young midfielders or young forwards).

For ten minutes that still culminated in Suburbs having a lot of ball and looking more likely to create something… but then Hamish Watson snatched up an errant pass and ran thirty metres, cut inside Nando Pijnaker, and whipped the ball into the bottom corner for the lead. Doing what great strikers do and turning a half chance into a goal. It only lasted a few minutes before Andre De Jong had the home team level (by the way, this was Team Welly’s first away game since October) with a nice diving finish… though most of the credit has to go to a stunning cross from Callum McCowatt.

And then with 23 mins gone it was 2-1, Scott Basalaj with a perfect long ball out to Eric Molloy, who flipped it to Andy Bevin inside, who got to the bouncing ball before Tim Payne and was clattered for a penalty. Watto slid it under Andrew Withers and had his eighth goal of the season. He’s now three clear at the top of the golden boot stocks. Honestly, he’s having a brilliant run of form. Watto’s scored more on his own than Tasman, Wellington Phoenix or Southern have scored as teams (albeit in one extra game).  

Then it was the turn of the two keepers to do some showing off, both Basalaj and Withers making a run of quality stops to keep the score as it was. Two keepers who aren’t as young as the likes of Conor Tracey or Keegan Smith who are getting plenty of games at the moment but each still in their early-mid 20s and very much on that upwards curve.

The second half wasn’t as enthralling as the first, though there was still plenty to keep you going. Andy Bevin had a really strong game just drifting into space and causing problems, while Eli Just went close a couple times. Basalaj needed to make a couple ripping saves in the last few minutes and Team Welly held on for a deserved three points.

Big victory for manager Jose Figueira whose tactical approach was crucial in the win. Suburbs still look like contenders but they’ve now lost to both the other two teams in that category so there’s work to be done. Team Welly have one more game before they depart for the Club World Cup and it’s a tough one – at home to Canterbury United next week. Win that and they’ll jet off in wonderful shape. They’ve taken 16 points from a possible 18 since losing the opener to ACFC and remain the only team to have scored multiple times in every game.

Doesn’t lift them ahead of Auckland City though, as the Navy Blues continued their quest for perfection with another comfortable win, this time over the Wellington Phoenix. And, you know, this was not a weak Welly Nix side either. After the A-League side got whupped the night before, there were heaps of spare players needing a run. So many that Calvin Harris was surprisingly left on the bench. Ollie Sail made his fourth start in a row. Reuben Way was back in there after missing his first game last week. Callan Elliot has started every week. Libby Cacace got his second reserves gig of the season. And Sarpreet Singh and Louis Fenton each got their first.

Not that it really helped much. City were too good, same as they have been for everybody so far. And this was with Micah Lea’alafa unavailable for the third week in a row and with Dylan Manickum, who had scored in each of the last three games, off playing futsal as he does. Jordan Vale gave them the lead in the 22nd minute, Dan Morgan made it two straight after the break and Reid Drake got one with half an hour to play for a 3-0 win. Sounds like a very typical WeeNix game, to be honest. They play some decent stuff, hold the ball quite well, but lack the cutting edge to put teams away while always being vulnerable themselves at the back. This was only the second time they’ve been kept scoreless but they’ve given up 20 goals in six games and it sucks to have to point it out every week but they won’t be competitive until they stop leaking goals. They’re the only team left without a point.

As for City, the exact opposite. Averaging one shy of three a game and with six wins outta six. Guys like Reid Drake, Yusuf Al-Kalisy and Dan Morgan have all played really well for them (Morgan’s started every game) but what’s crazy is that they’ve got Manickum and Lea’alafa ready to return any time soon, with David Browne also close to making his comeback. Not only that but Albert Riera is almost ready too and Fabrizio Tavano should be eligible again now. Those last two haven’t featured all season… the depth is scary.

Oh mate and remember all that talk the last two weeks about how Hawke’s Bay are actually a very good team who’ve just had a hard list of early fixtures? Yeah so this week they played in Napier against Waitakere United and they thrashed them 4-0. First win of the season for the Bay, get that into ya. Waitakere welcomed back Sanni Issa to start up front, who hadn’t been seen since the first game (gonna assume he was injured), but were crucially without club captain Jake Butler. That did mean a start for Oscar Browne, good on him, but nobody’s carrying the load that Butler does.

Meanwhile HBU slid Cam Lindsay into defence to fit him into the side which means Anders Eriksson had to be content with a spot on the bench. Pretty sure he’s happy enough, as he came off the bench to score the last goal… with an assist from fellow Scandinavian substitute Bjorn Christensen. Before that HBU survived a couple nervous moments to take the lead in the first half through Joseph Zupo about twenty mins in and managed to hold on at 1-0 despite some insane quantities of pace coming at them in the form of Issa, Matt Conroy and Oliver Bassett.

Then Sam Mason-Smith turned in a Sho Goto cross ten minutes into the second half before Lindsay set up SMS’s second of the afternoon and at 3-0 the Bay had this thing under control. Eriksson got his goal with five minutes left and there it was. Brett Angell will have slept through the night for the first time in two months. With Tasman and Southern to follow, it’s not impossible that HBU are back in the race for the semis by the time we hit the holiday break.

Speaking of Southern and Tasman, the two played each other in Dunedin on Sunday… and gold ol’ Southern figured out how to score goals. It wasn’t a complicated formula. All it took was getting key striker Garbhan Coughlan going, which they did ten minutes into what is officially their first home game of the season, not counting the ACFC game that got called off. They did technically go through preparation, warm-ups, and half a game that day, but yeah, this is the first home game they’ve finished.

Once Coughlan buried his goal after a lovely ball through from Abdulla Al-Kalisy they’d have fancied themselves to hold on against a team that had only scored twice in 360 minutes that weren’t against the Wellington Phoenix… but that changed when Markus Fjørtoft, back from suspension after his red card against Team Wellington, picked up two yellows in two minutes and, bloody hell, he’s presumably got a longer suspension coming now. Guts to Markus and guts to Paul O’Reilly having to deal with that. Kiernan Hughes-Mason then curled in an equaliser and Tassie had their noses up.

At least until they coughed up a penalty right on the brink of half-time. Garbhan Coughlan converted it for his second of the day. Unsurprisingly for anyone who resided in Aotearoa last weekend, it was pouring with rain in Dunners same as everywhere else at some point over the weekend. But Southern’s style of play is better suited to dealing with that and they made it 3-1 in the second half when Danny Ledwith’s corner kick was finished off by Stephen Last. That was the way it ended.

Great win for Southern playing more than an hour with a man down. They’re now back within a win of fourth place. Worth mentioning that young left back Rory Findlay held his spot in the starting team here, while Ben Deeley also earned a first start of the season. Awesome to see Coughlan scoring goals again, however don’t sleep on Abdullah Al-Kalisy who continues to be an absolute threat going forward every week. Less to say about Tassie who continue to struggle and particularly away from home (four defeats from four in road games: 3-1 to City, 2-0 to TW, 3-0 to Waitak & 3-1 to Southern). Goals in consecutive weeks for Kiernan Hughes-Mason though, that’s one to enjoy. This was a bit of fun too, Tasman getting in on the teammates thing.

Finally we’ve got a trip to Canterbury where the Dragons hosted Hamilton Wanderers at an equally soggy English Park in a game that had enormous amounts of drama and entertainment. Right from the opening whistle, the Tron Wands (with an unchanged XI for the fourth game in a row) were immediately on the attack and that contributed to a really open and positive game despite the conditions. It was Canterbury who struck first when Tom Schwarz lobbed a perfect ball over the top after winning possession in defence and Stephen Hoyle beat the offside trap to slam in the goal only five minutes into it.

One funny aspect to this game: Stephen Hoyle was going head to head with his brother James, who plays centre-back for Hamilton. Canterbury also gave Seth Clark his second start in midfield, what with Adam Thurston suspended after his first half red card last week against Auckland City, while Aaron Spain held his place at left back with Sean Liddicoat on the right – although Liddicoat’s day was unfortunately ended prematurely following a collision with Joe Nottage about twenty minutes into it which eventually saw both players replaced (by Andreas Wilson and Joe Terry respectively). Hopefully both dudes are all goods and don’t have to miss any time. Liddicoat especially as this isn’t the first time he’s had to be replaced injured this season, same happened against Eastern Suburbs.

The Dragons settled in as the better side and made it 2-0 in the 16th minute when defender Tom Schwarz headed in from a gorgeous Gary Ogilvie cross, working a one-two from short corner routine to get a better angle on it. 2-0 was still the score as we went into the sheds, although by then what was already a niggly game had become outright feisty between the two sets of players. A sign of what was to come.

Canterbury should’ve made it three when Hoyle brilliantly found Gary Ogilvie overlapping him but Gazza’s shot was incredibly saved by Matt Oliver in goal… however Hoyle put it away at the far post from the resulting corner. Another short corner routine, by the way. Keep an eye out if you’re playing Canterbury. Hoyle’s second makes it five for the season and he’s now second on the list behind Hamish Watson. He’s also now tied with Brent Fisher for the all-time leading scorer at the club.

There was a halt soon after as the ref sent one of the Hamilton staffers packing and while they hadn’t played terribly, the Tron Wands were in danger of a meltdown. Trailing 3-0 in terrible conditions away from home with tempers flaring and only half an hour to go… nah mate, Tommy Semmy and the lads had other ideas.

Riding their luck a little in defence, Hamilton pulled one back when Rhys Ruka swung a free kick into the wind and it deceived everybody on its way inside the far post. Willy Gerdsen made an immediate change with Luke Tongue sent on for Seth Clark but Hamilton made it two in three minutes when Martin Bueno scored his first goal for five games, slipping it in after some great work down the right flank from Terry and Tieku and then some poor defence from the home side failing to clear it. Suddenly we had a game… until Derek Tieku earned his second yellow and he got to get into some warm clothes a lot earlier than expected. This after Bueno had been booked for diving, to the delight of the home crowd.

The Dragons have been a weird team this season. They conceded late to draw with Hawke’s Bay, conceded a couple early ones on the way to a loss against Eastern Suburbs, were 2-0 down against Wellington Phoenix only to win 3-2 and were 1-0 up against Auckland City on the brink of half-time, playing with ten men, only to lose 4-1. And here they were 3-0 up before incredibly only drawing 3-3. Despite the red card, Wanderers continued to play like a desperate, dominant team and the third goal, mate, it was one to savour. Martin Bueno and Tino Contratti, the latter stepping out of defence with purpose like he does, combined on the break and Bueno was fouled. The bloke then stepped up to take the free kick himself and he curled it right into the top corner like magic.

Dunno what’s up with Canterbury that they can’t put a solid ninety minutes together. Defence has been an issue with 14 goals conceded in their last five games but on this particular occasion they made it hard on their backline by trying to play so fast, so intent on getting forward on the break, that they left themselves exposed. At 3-0 up they should’ve slowed it down and tried to kill the game and then hopefully grab another goal or two by letting Hamilton make the mistakes. That’s not what happened though. Even after the equaliser, Hamilton still looked more likely to score and an injury time red card to Jordan Shaw – HW ending with nine men – didn’t make a difference as this one ended in a draw. A result which crucially keeps Hamilton in fourth place ahead of the Cantabs. Gonna be rough on Hamilton playing against Auckland City next week with two starters suspended though.

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