The Premmy Files – Women’s Premiership Week One
Hey check it out, National League footy’s begun. The Women’s Premiership swinging around the bend with goals a-plenty and even a cheeky upset result. The whole lot of it was broadcast live on Sky Sport Next’s YouTube channel too... to differing degrees of success but no need to dwell on that here (I wrote a chunk about that in our most recent email newsletter instead). Although... two of the three streams appear to have disappeared from that channel now a few days later which is a bit of a pain in the arse for writing recaps but so it goes. I’d like to be able to keep on writing specific Women’s Prem round-ups same as the Men’s Premmy Files ones but yeah full disclosure there’s not enough time in the day to do what’s already on the football agenda so we’ll see how it goes, maybe incorporate it into the Premmy Files stuff somehow. Or later in the week write-ups like this. Dunno.
So first up we had the defending champs Canterbury Pride catching the bus down to Dunedin to face Southern United on the artificial turf at Logan Park. Not a huge fan of artificial surfaces being used for top level football (at least not as the first option) but it was a lot better than one of the other pitches used so we’ll let that one roll out for a goal kick instead. The weather was good, the players were fit and ready... National League football had finally arrived.
The Cantabs had six players starting here who also started the Grand Final ten and a half months ago plus two more starters who were on the bench that day. Nice continuity for Alanna Gunn’s lot, especially considering that amongst the changes were the returning Annalie Longo – probably the best player in the comp this season as she has been most years during the Pride’s dominance – as well as FFDP midfielder Amelia Abbott.
Southern, meanwhile, picked a pretty typical side themselves. They set up in what looked like a 4-5-1 shape, hoping to get that extra body in the midfield to shield the daunting Pride attackers from pushing forwards, with the biggest selection note being that FFDP keeper (and new signing) Blair Currie won the starter’s gloves ahead of Tessa Nicol. That and Macey Fraser in the midfield, of course. She signed from Canterbury this season in a move probably to give her a bit more of a spotlight in the game plan. Fraser’s one of the more exciting midfielders in this country right now and with Southern she’ll get to truly pull the strings. Great scoop for SU... you could almost call it a swap deal since Mikaela Hunt went the other way, setting up in that Canterbury defence against her old team in week one.
Early doors and it was kinda sloppy. A slow start to the game by both teams, call it rustiness. Southern actually looked a little more likely at first with Ruby Anderson showing some pace on the break... just a few pesky offside flags holding her back. But then the Cantabs took the lead through a Tahlia Roome own goal and from there the Pride settled in and took control. Gabi Rennie was a constant threat up top. Lara Wall was pushing forward from fullback with purpose. Honestly they should have scored a few more but a that sloppiness remained at least in the attacking third. That and Blair Currie with some top shelf saves.
Not sure why, she didn’t seem to be hobbling, but Annalie Longo was subbed off in the first half. Nicola Dominikovich took her place... it had to have been an injury so hopefully it was only precautionary. They didn’t really miss a beat without her though. Eventually they’d get a deserved second as Lara Wall put one away on 60-odd mins and then as the game went on Britney-Lee Nicholson, who was the Pride’s top scorer last season, bagged herself a double... one of which a little bit of a howler from the otherwise excellent Currie.
No surprises that the Cantabs were too good. They’re deep in a dynasty with back to back championships, three in the last four years, five in the last seven years, and seven consecutive grand final appearances. You’d assume they get a bit sharper with their finishing with this game under their belts (and even then they still scored four goals) and with Mikaela Hunt’s passing range from the back (she set up one of the goals with a ball over the top) and how well that midfield was chugging along it was ominous viewing for the rest of the league. Still setting the bar. Special mention for Tahlia Herman-Watt who was absolutely brilliant in the second half waxing defenders from the right wing.
Ah but there was one more funky moment... and it happened at the other end. With three minutes to go and a clean sheet in the making, the Pride subbed off goalie Una Foyle and gave Annie Foote a run out. Foyle went 87 minutes without conceding... Foote leaked one after only a couple minutes as Samantha Murrell buried a scrappy one – Murrell being one of the many players in this comp who’ve returned from uni in America due to the pandemic, raising the standard of the league. The goal wasn’t Foote’s fault at all but a bit of a weird one all the same. Canterbury Pride won it 4-1.
Southern do have the best mascot though, fair play...
Next up we had Northern Lights hosting Capital at a drought-stricken McFetridge Park. At least it looked that way on the camera... how we’ve got National League teams playing on a pitch that looks like the Saharan Desert just beggar’s belief. Absolute shambles and completely unfair on the players. I get that there are water restrictions in Auckland at the moment but seriously, there was nowhere better they coulda played? We had the same dramas in a few of the Men’s Prem games last season too – Eastern Suburbs player on some real bunsen burners.
On a proper pitch there’s a case to say that Northern woulda won by four clear goals. With a starting team highlighted by recent internationals in Emma Rolston, Nicole Stratford and Malia Steinmetz as well as the recently retired Emma Kete to go with fellow FFDP folks like Mackenzie Barry, Saskia Vosper, and Rene Wasi (as well as a few more on the bench... no team has more FFDP players than Northern which is no shocker given their proximity), Northern looked dominant from the get go. All that was missing was a goal as the irrepressible front trio of Wasi/Rolston/Kete couldn’t seem to get a shot on target and when they did there was Georgia Candy in goal having a blinder.
Eventually the goal did arrive. It was a messy one compared to some of the smooth moves they’d worked earlier but it was a much-needed boost just a couple minutes before the break. Chloe Knott got the goal, her strike thumped in off the crossbar with only a few centimetres to spare, the lino upholding the decision.
Both teams rolled out the subs throughout the second half, each making one at the half and neither letting up from there. Teams can use five substitutions this season so get used to that. For Northern that meant getting another trio of FFDP players in Arabella Maynard, Aneka Mittendorff, and Ava Pritchard all out there (Maynard and Mittendorff amongst 11 members of the 2018 U17 World Cup squad to get minutes in week one)... but maybe all those changes had a disruptive effect instead because despite the game flowing in the same direction the Lights just couldn’t seem to buy a goal. So many chances... and then this...
Capital with a beauty of a smash-and-grab, Kaley Ward scoring right near the end after a defensive mix-up and Northern will be absolutely stewing over their bye week now having dropped a couple points they never should have droped. Huge credit to the Capital defence for clinging in there. They had plenty of luck with the amount of shots off target but they battled away... and this was a Capital defence missing their star player in Anna Green. Georgia Candy is another one of those 2018 U17s and she was surely the form keeper of week one. Gotta love getting a wonky result in straight up to put some spice into the competition.
There was nothing wonky about Auckland versus Central at Riverside Park apart from the scoreline. Central were the easy-beats last year and it looks similar this time around as a few key players like Aniela Jensen and Mikaela Boxall are being complimented by a very young squad, several of them still U17 eligible, and against a star-studded Auckland side they were never in the contest. Auckland didn’t have the services of Daisy Cleverly or Sarah Morton for this one but they did have Paige Satchell to run a few rings and the Japanese pair of Rina Hirano and Arisa Takeda were simply a step above... adding a rare supply of international flair to a league that even in non-pandemic times is usually overwhelmingly domestic.
Hirano put Auckland up in the fourth minute. Takeda scored in the 11th minute and Casey Berrier struck straight after in the 12th minute to make it 3-0 already. Then Hirano scored her second and 21 minutes into the contest it was already 4-0 and the points were in the bag. Satchell made it five, five minutes before HT... then in first half stoppage time Jana Niedermayr picked up her second yellow card and as if things weren’t already bad enough now Central were down to ten women the rest of the way. From the penalty spot, Ava Collins made sure it was 6-0 as the oranges were passed around. A few real quality goals in there too.
Fair play to Central though, they definitely improved in the second half. The pressure was off but that doesn’t take away from how well they steadied the ship despite having one less player. Except then they gave away another penalty and this time Maisy Dewell scored it, before Liz Anton whacked one in and it was eight. Central got a bit of reward for their perseverance in injury time when Georgie Furnell got them on the board... however Auckland still had time to score a ninth through Ella Russ. 9-1 to the Aucklanders... a real statement result as they seek to crack the top two having missed out on the grand final a year ago.
Couldn’t hardly have asked for a better start than that although clearly they’ll have a tougher test up next when they’re away to Canterbury United. Get a result there and they’re definitely in the title hunt – it’s been two years since anyone other than Northern won away to the Cantabs. Along with that game we’ve also got Central vs WaiBOP which could well be the game that decides the wooden spoon even at this early stage (although we haven’t seen WaiBOP yet, they could yet surprise us). Meanwhile Capital hosts Southern in another very even match-up... don’t think we’ll get any 9-1s next week, mate.
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