The Premmy Files – Week 5
The resurgence of Waitakere United has been one of the most pleasant storylines of the first month of this season. A really young team, continuing on the trend from the second half of last season, who were able to dispatch the WeeNix and Tasman early doors and then grind out results against a couple of last time’s semi-finalists after that (maybe shoulda beaten 10-man Eastern Suburbs last week but no dramas). Alex Connor-McLean and Dane Schnell have been bringing a bit of drive and creativity with their goals, Sam Burfoot’s been a star in the midfield... though the biggest difference between what we saw from the youth revolution after the holiday break last season compared to this time has been the back three of Luke Searle, Flynn O’Brien, and Robert Tipelu. All three of them in their early twenties, all three of them locking it down. Only three goals conceded in their first four games. Doing the business right there.
But at a sweltering Seddon Fields (national league games on artificial turfs are lame, whatever happened to good old fashioned green, green grass?) they came up against a Southern United team that have had zero trouble scoring goals. They’ve hit the back of the net in every game so far, including four in each of their wins. They’ve also got an extremely well settled team through the spine going back a couple years now – boosted lately with Conor O’Keeffe sliding into midfield alongside Danny Ledwith (with Santeri Kuivalainen at right back).
Both teams had early chances, Joel Stevens setting one up for Cam McKenzie which he scuffed and Dane Schnell doing the same for Nic Zambrano who wasn’t quite able to get his shot on target. Zambrano then had to be subbed off early following a head knock, always a concerning one, and his replacement Ryan Cain had the ball in the net soon after but the offside flag made one of several early appearances. There was no flag in the 28th minute though. A few of the Waitak defenders (and plenty of fans) were begging for one but Garbhan Coughlan timed his run just perfectly to get in behind the defence and then thump the ball home with an excellent strike on the bounce from outside the box, one on one with Nick Draper in goal.
The initial stages had been pretty even but Southern have had a sneaky little habit of turning one goal into two and three minutes later Abdullah Al-Kalisy took a quick free kick, picking out the run of Joel Stevens before the defence was quite set, and Stevo laid it beautifully across to the far post where Cam McKenzie tapped it in. And then as if that wasn’t enough, Southern capped off a ten minute blitz when Joel Stevens scored what might well be the goal of the season when it’s all said and done. Not even joking, this fella bloody lobbed one in from halfway! Picked the ball up in midfield with a bit of space to drive into, took a peek up, saw Draper off his line, and went ping. Drapes had no chance so the only question was whether it’d drop in time and yeah no worries on that front, pal. It was incredible.
Paul Hobson had to change something after that and Ryan Cain was the unlucky fella as Andrew Abba was chucked into the mix. It’s rare that you see a substitute substituted. It’s even rarer when it happens in the first half of a game. But Abba made a nice little difference dropping between the lines and getting the ball at his feet, looking to link up with teammates. Sure enough the Waitaks got themselves back in the game after the break, a free kick curled in by Lachie McIsaac took a bounce in the box and snuck in as Liam Little misjudged it. Dane Schnell might have gotten a touch on the way through, though the free kick was already heading on target (albeit accidentally) and it was eventually credited as an own goal. So no idea what happened there.
But if that was supposed to spark a comeback, it didn’t. Almost immediately Southern went down the other end and Joel Stevens found himself running at defenders once more. It looked like he’d taken it too far to the right but then he unleashed a beauty of a strike for his second of the day and he celebrated with some acrobatics, giving it a bit of the old cartwheel/backflip combo. Ten out of ten from the judges.
(Just a reminder that Joel Stevens scored a blinder last week too, the fella’s all box office at the mo’)
That sort of spoiled the final 35 minutes as Southern, playing for an away victory, slowed the game down and looked to hold possession at the back. Waitakere showed some enterprise, particularly through left wingback McIsaac, but Liam Little was good enough to stop anything that came his way. Then, about 83 minutes into things, a soft handball up the other end was called, nothing in it but those ones always seemed to be called these days, and Stevens stepped up to complete his hatty. Fourth man to bag a three-for this season after Myer Bevan, Dylan Sacramento, and Blake Driehuis. There was enough time for Jack Duncan to come on off the bench and round the keeper after being gifted the ball by the Southern Defence, taking his chance nicely to make it 5-2. But that was that. A first defeat of the campaign for Waitakere and another high scoring victory for Southern, largely decided by that triple-banger spell in the first half where the quality of finishing was the real difference. Southern able to create goals out of next to nothing and in the process continuing to set up a beautiful season of Premiership footy.
There were three 2pm kickoffs on Sunday, all unfolding simultaneously with a constant flutter of goals. Hamilton Wanderers were first to strike as they sought to get on the rebound after losing their last two games by a combined score of 9-0. Ricki Herbert wasn’t pissing around after the events of those previous weeks, making the huge call of dropping Tommy Semmy to the bench (and Blake Weston also found himself amongst the subs having previously started every game so far). Amongst the incoming changes, you’ll note HW youth team grad Raheem Hunter who played quite a bit the season before last but has had injury trouble since so lovely to see him back.
And yeah, the Tron Wands wasted zero seconds in making things happen and it was German import Thilo Wilke putting one away in the second minute for his first Premiership goal. Wanderers signed some pretty useful sounding imports leading into the term but names like Rodrigo Santana Morais and JC Mack haven’t been heard from as of yet (actually, Mack scored for the NYL side this week), however Wilke has started every game. As has Derek Tieku, a much more familiar face for Hamiltonians, and he was in the right place at the right time to make it 2-0 inside ten minutes.
The WeeNix also lost by several to nil last week but that 3-0 scoreline against Auckland City was a bit misleading. They didn’t have much going forwards yet they were only 1-0 down with ten to play and this was with a pretty inexperienced team... more inexperienced than usual. Here they welcomed back captain Sam Sutton to the midfield, while A-Leaguers Walter Scott, Callan Elliot, and Te Atawhai Hudson-Wihongi returned to the lineup. A first start for Tauranga product Riley Bidois too. Also playing was a sneaky acquisition they grabbed from Tasman, Ahmed Othman, who was one of Tassie’s better players last campaign. Within five minutes of Hamilton’s second goal, Othman was finishing of a slick counter attacking move to get the WeeNix back into it.
An injury to Xavier Pratt meant an early introduction for Tommy Semmy off the bench and he did curl a free kick narrowly past the near post at one point, but the Tron Wands have been their own worst enemies a few too many times lately and a silly challenge in the box gave Sam Sutton the chance to score from the spot and take this game into the half at an even pair each. Suttie buried it, of course.
Just as Othman did ten minutes or so into the second half, again from the penalty spot and again from a reckless bit of Wanderers defending, tapping in after Sutton’s kick had come back off the post. This only minutes after Jordan Lamb had put the ball in the net for HW only for the offside flag to deny him. Wanderers had also had to replace an injured Jamie Wilkinson late in the first half and clearly their depth was being tested a bit much, particularly at the back where there’s been way too much chopping and changing, injuries a dominant part of that, and it’s leading to big problems. Steve Sprowson popped in a fourth for the WeeNix near the end and it was 4-2 at the chirping of the final whistle.
Hamilton Wanderers were 2-0 up and they lost 4-2. To the last remaining winless team this season. They’ve conceded 18 goals in five games and that includes a clean sheet in their win over Eastern Suburbs (which stands out more and more each week, like a hippie at a barbershop). Wanderers are last after this result. Scary flashbacks to the old days. Fair bit of work to do for Ricki and the team.
Great effort by the WeeNix though. They came back from 2-0 down to win here and a few weeks ago they only lost 4-3 to Hawke’s Bay having trailed 4-0. Last season they didn’t start scoring consistent goals and winning games until after the holiday break but this time around they’ve got a bit more Premiership experience in that squad and Paul Temple’s fellas are delivering from the get go... although they’ve still conceded multiple goals in all five games. Sorta comes with the territory of being a youth team in a senior comp, s’pose.
Hawke’s Bay United and Eastern Suburbs played out a cracker in Napier (this really was a belter week for goals and dramatic action in the Premiership). Stephen Hoyle has made an immediate impact for Suburbs, as you’d expect for a player of his proven quality. He scored on his starting debut in a 4-2 win over Southern and here in his third start he bagged a brace within quarter of an hour to get us started. But there was plenty more to come, don’t you worry.
Suburbs basically rolled with their top choice eleven with the exception of Martin Bueno who was suspended after his red card a week ago... so the goal-scoring hero of week one, Jake Mechell, was back in amongst the starters. Tony Readings hasn’t been doing much shuffling. Seven dudes in this team have started all five games while three more have started four. Not as consistent as the Greatholder/Robertson combo however, who had named the same team in four straight games... but weren’t able to make it five as Jorge Akers was preferred at left-wingback here. Which turned out to be rather brilliant because it was Akers who scored the goal that made it 2-1 going into the sheds for HT.
Both teams had their chances in the sweaty Napier heat and goalies Reuben Parker and Danyon Drake had a lot to do. Akers dished one to Ahinga Selemani early in the second half which the Canadian/America lad wasn’t able to finish... but he did finally get HBU back on level pegging in the 65th minute and, after Michael Built brought down Ihaia Delaney in the penalty area, Selemani scored the spot kick to have the home side in the lead with only a dozen or so minutes remaining. Ah but there was even more drama to come. Christian Gray spoiled the vibe for the home fans when he broke free and scored from a corner kick in the 84th and that’s the way it ended, each of these two sides with their second straight draw.
Top work from Selemani, who now has four goals for the season to be tied for third on the ol’ standings. Also throw ‘em up for Liam Shackleton who made his debut as a sub late on in the game. Both teams will feel like they let this one slip, having each held leads, but it’s a solid point for each at the same time. There’s only one undefeated team in this comp and the middle table could be about to get even chunkier with talk of Southern possible losing the points from their 4-0 opening win over Tasman thanks to some ridiculous administrative error that had absolutely no bearing on the game whatsoever... but who even knows with NZ Football? Apparently Cameron McKenzie and Cody Brook were technically ineligible because a spreadsheet confirming squads was submitted late or something. The ODT know what’s up, as per usual. Point being that deducting points would be way over the top but if it happens then the table shakes up even more and teams like HBU and ES consistently ticking over points is pretty important.
Team Wellington versus Canterbury United. The Dragons visiting on a three game unbeaten streak but without quite completely clicking yet while Team Welly started the season wonderfully with a big win over the Tron Wands and a draw away to Auckland City but getting just one point from consecutive games against the WeeNix and Tasman was a concern. As was Calum Ferguson’s opening goal for the Cantabs, the Canadian with his first Premiership goal in his fifth game, though he’s been a key presence up top each week (including an assist last time). But no need to panic because almost immediately Jack-Henry Sinclair put on his blue suede shoes and went shimmying and shuffling through the defence to score. And before long Rory McKeown had thumped one in from distance and Team Welly were in front.
Curiously both teams made half-time subs, with the prodigy Marko Stamenic given a national league debut in place of Ollie Whyte in midfield for the TeeDubs and Sam Field replacing Tom Scott for the Dragons. Matt Garbett would also get a run later on for Team Welly, two of the next gen Ole Academy lads bursting on through. No more goals in this one though, despite plenty of chances. Scott Basalaj and Danny Knight were at their best with the gloves and 2-1 was the final score. A much needed win for Team Welly ahead of their grand final rematch away to Eastern Suburbs in a week while Canterbury United have the daunting task of hosting Auckland City.
That’s Undefeated Auckland City to you and I, as they took care of Tasman 2-1. But tell you what they had to work for it. Similar to last week with the WeeNix playing compact and tidy against these fellas, Tasman chose a bit of the old flat 4-5-1 to set up in when out of possession. Jesse Randall running around up top looking to pounce on the counter and Jama Boss pushing up from the wing in support. No Jean-Philippe Saiko after he scored from the penalty spot last week, while Facu Barbero was only on the bench. Ricky Muir was in midfield again next to the enforcer Cory Vickers. But there wasn’t much for those folks to do with the ball, to be fair, meaning that it was up to Fox Slotemaker and Cory Brown in defence to run the show for Tassie and you’d better believe they did. Two excellent central defenders doing everything it took to keep this one nice and close.
Auckland City meanwhile were without Logan Rogerson who was out with a niggle which drew Dylan Manickum back into the starters, while Brian Kaltack also returned against his old team. It was David Browne who was running things for ACFC but against a packed defence the ball got stuck at his feet a little too often, to the frustrations of his teammates. It was only when the wingbacks finally started getting the ball in attack that City began to make genuine inroads. Andrew Blake on the left and Jordan Vale on the right. Mario Ilich and Cam Howieson flexing some serious passing range to get them involved too, and Howieson benefited from that as he made a sharp late run into the box to nod in the first goal from a Jordan Vale cross deep-ish into the opening half.
Myer Bevan then extended that lead early in the second half with a cheeky panenka penalty kick (is there any other kind?). They’re always risky but for ACFC it ain’t no thing – this was the fifth penalty they’d been awarded in the last four games so if ya miss one for being a smartarse, just gotta wait patiently for the next to come along. Cory Vickers had dragged down David Browne and while the Tasman defence were pretty furious, the telly replays didn’t exactly acquit him. Vickers brought a real physical presence to the game which did plenty to slow ACFC down but that’s the risk you take with that approach.
Following that, the rain started falling. Also ACFC started taking more advantage of a stretched field with Bevan and the wingbacks finding more space to do their things within. Andrew Blake rocked one off the crossbar at one point, while Bevan had a couple half chances that didn’t quite work out. And Vale was bloody excellent all game out on the right there. Yet it was Jama Boss who scored the next goal, getting through on the break to make it 2-1 with quarter of an hour to go having teased a similar one moments earlier. Which, by the way, is the first goal from open play Tasman have scored all season. Only took them 434 minutes.
City probably should have scored a couple more for all the possession they had but it just shows that even the top team in the league is still ironing out the creases early in this season. The back three was pretty strong here, especially Adam Mitchell who came to the party with some crunching tackles in the second half as well as stepping up nicely in possession all game. And shout outs are in order for Angel Berlanga who became ACFC’s all time leader in appearances with number 204. But up front the combinations are still forming and the absence of Rogerson was clearly noted too. It’s a work in progress but it’s slowly coming together. This was easily the best the wingbacks have looked in this formation, and remember how important those positions always were to Jose Figueira’s Team Wellington sides.
But full credit to Tasman. They looked lost two weeks ago but with Cory Brown coming in alongside Fox Slotemaker they’ve kept a clean sheet in a win over Team Welly and have now run Auckland City surprisingly close in front of the Sky telly cameras. With the WeeNix and Hamilton Wanderers on the cards over the next two weeks, Jess Ibrom’s team could launch themselves up the ladder if they can repeat the level of performance we’ve seen the last two weeks.
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