The Premmy Files – Men’s Premiership, Week 5
One of the peskiest aspects of having an amateur national league is the travel between games. The teams do get stipends to help pay for that from NZ Football but the financials are only part of that yarn. There’s also the logistical side of things and that doesn’t always go to plan – particularly not with teams travelling on the day of the game. Hawke’s Bay United were supposed to be playing the Wellington Phoenix at Fraser Park kicking off at 2pm on Saturday. Not the longest away trip out there but it ended up being a bit of an Odyssey all the same as kick off was delayed half an hour and then delayed a little more as HBU got caught up in traffic...
An incident on the motorway after landing in Wellington was the problem. Hopefully not too serious for those involved and the Boys from the Bay got there eventually. When they did, there was a bit of a surprise on the cards as Chris Greatholder and Bill Robertson rolled out a back three for the first time this season. When you’ve conceded multiple goals in every game so far you might as well. Kaeden Atkins came in to make that work, with Jackson Woods and Fergus Neil now at wing-back. Cory Vickers swapped in for the absent Sam Pickering while Jorge Akers also got his first start of the season (having come off the bench in every game) in an attacking role with Gavin Hoy only on the bench.
The WeeNix weren’t as shuffley. After an impressive defensive performance last week when they shook things up they recalled captain Kurtis Mogg to play CB but he was the only alteration to that back four. Finn Surman stayed in at CB with Liam Moore dropping out, Harry Bark and Jaylen Rodwell played the fullback roles. Further forward and Ollie van Rijssel, who has mostly played LB this year, again started in midfield while Luis Toomey returned to the starters as did Riley Bidois.
George Ott was quiet last week, the towering striker, but he was in the action early this time shooting over the top after Rodwell had picked him out with a smart low ball. A positive start from both teams actually. Hawke’s Bay had a fair bit more width with those wing-backs in place and that seemed to give them more vigour and purpose to what they were trying to achieve... rather than just hitting the forwards early and asking them to figure it out. Enjoyed seeing them offer a little niggle too with Akers tripping up Adam Hillis after winning a free kick off him. The scrappier HBU can make games, the better.
The Bay were also pressing pretty intently which was making it hard for the WeeNix to get the ball moving. A few corner kicks in a row caused some danger – including a Vickers header that went straight at Paulsen in goal – while Paulsen had to be sharp to close down Kailan Gould and only concede a corner after a ball got loose in the box. Karan Mandair was covering some serious turf too. Decent start.
But whenever Ben Old got on the ball things were different. Watching him play this season, it’s clear that he’s added some muscle to his frame and the way that he’s able to hold his ground in tight areas – then turn and dash into space - is unlocking new levels in his game. All day long he was drifting into space or dropping deep to collect the ball and then turning into that same space at speed. He evaded Jackson Woods to get a shot off which landed in the mitts of Scott Morris. Soon after he drilled another sighter wide after some silky interplay between the WeeNix forwards.
Kailan Gould then had a similar attempt for HBU before Paulsen showed some courage in getting out on Akers and later punching away a Gould shot that was heading for the roof of the net (after Woods had fed Gould on the run through). Old volleyed wide after another example of some of that smooth WeeNix progressive passing play while Gould probably needed to shoot on his right boot instead of the left after Mandair had set him up. Looked like he tried to finesse it back around with the outside of his boot but it went the wrong way. Then Jesse Randall curled one over the top. Both teams needed a lesson in keeping their shots low and on target but a nicely perched game at the half.
Thing is, that’s always been the case with this HBU team. Here are their half-time scores this season...
0-0 vs Hamilton Wanderers (Lost 3-0)
0-0 vs Team Wellington (Lost 2-1)
1-0 vs Auckland City (Lost 2-1)
0-0 vs Canterbury United (Lost 3-0)
0-0 vs Wellington Phoenix (We Shall See...)
For a team that’d lost every game, they somehow had a positive goal different in first halves with zero goals conceded, zero HT deficits. That is not how these things usually go.
Ben Old kept on running and he set up Toomey for a good chance but Morris saved it. Then Paulsen pulled off a lovely stop to keep Akers from opening the scoring. There was a really tasty comparison battle between the two goalkeepers here, both still teenagers, while Ben Old vs Jesse Randall was a good one too. Everyone had picked up where they left off in the previous half but you felt the game was a tad too stretched for HBU’s liking and in the 51st minute they were cracked. Jim Hoyle was mostly able to stop Riley Bidois as he ran into the box but the ball rolled to George Ott who turned and struck to score his first goal for the WeeNix. He’d had a good game linking up with the fellas around him so good for Otty, he deserved that goal.
Jesse Randall should probably have equalised when he was picked out in the middle but his low stroke of a shot gave Paulsen the chance to do his thing. It was another very good save but bro don’t give him the opportunity. Hit the corners. Especially when you’re 1-0 down having lost four in a row. Luis Toomey then popped one past the post as a warning.
It was still a wide open game with twenty remaining when Harry Bark went down injured and needed some extended treatment, causing a sort of timeout in the game. A pause to take stock ahead of the big push to the finish line. Except that stock-taking spell didn’t really work, instead there was a stench of sloppiness when the game resumed. But after a while it opened up again as Kaeden Atkins headed wide for HBU, then the WeeNix flicked the switch from defence to attack as Tommy Raimbault, on as a sub, had a whack after Fergus Neil hadn’t been able to cut out the switch of play and Raimbault rocked it into the top of the net for 2-0. Can’t say Hawke’s Bay hadn’t had their chances but now they were starting down the barrel of a fifth straight defeat.
Cory Vickers bombed a low header towards goal but Paulsen yet again pulled off the save. He just didn’t look like he was gonna be beaten by anything on this day. Then once again the WeeNix went immediately on the attack and scored after an HBU chance. Luis Toomey’s through ball was a thing of beauty to split the defence from inside his own half and Riley Bidois literally could not have timed his run better. It was one of those ones that looked like dead set offside in real time but freeze frame it and nah the lino saw it perfectly. Bidois then dashed through to score.
There were a few more useful moments in the final dozen minutes of this match but realistically it was over after the third goal. All the steam had gone out of it. There wasn’t a huge difference in performance between the two teams but Hawke’s Bay were a little bit worse in every area and that’s been killing them all season. They defend valiantly but don’t keep clean sheets. They have exciting attackers but they don’t score goals. It’s a pity to see Sam Mason-Smith sitting on the bench for Team Welly most weeks now whereas HBU really need a focal point forward like their old boy.
Damn but what about the performance from the WeeNix? They were superb, especially at the back where guys like Rodwell and Surman excelled. Ben Old was doing wonderful things in attack. They got strong games from all three midfielders (Hillis, van Rijssel & Toomey). George Ott was good. And even guys like Raimbault coming off the bench and adding more flavour to the gumbo. But the man of the match was Alex Paulsen who every single week looks so impressive. If he’s this good at age 18 imagine what he’ll be like in a few more years.
Waitakere United versus Hamilton Wanderers now, two of the more entertaining teams to date. Seddon Fields was the location. They’ll be a bit bummed not to have won it having led by two goals at the half, but Waitakere were a bit better in defence in the 2-2 draw against Eastern Suburbs last week so fair enough to see Zac Zorocich, Nic Milicich, and Jack Duncan all hold their places. Elsewhere Sammy Khan returned in the back three while Nic Zambrano got a first start of the season up front to make it four different strikers paired with Alex Greive through five games. The other three (Kilkolly, Connor-McClean & Redfearn) were all on the bench here. On the other side there was a very rare occurrence... Kale Herbert making a change to his starting eleven. Xavier Pratt missed the game so just like the on other time they had to change something it was Owen Comber who kept his spot warm in midfield.
With two tightly packed midfields this was gonna be a match where the fine margins would be so important with space hard to come by. The first glimpse we got of that was Dane Schnell making a clever fade behind the defence where Zambrano picked him out a few minutes in. It looked for sure like he’d score as the ball reached him but Matt Oliver made a very good save down low. Then HW figured out the best way to evade the midfield melee when Owen Comber pinged a switch over to Mark Jones in a move that ended up with a cross to Derek Tieku whose header went wide. That’s how ya do it though. Open the game up.
A bit after that Brock Messenger went direct over the top with a long ball that Tieku punted low and wide, Wanderers starting to get the wheels turning now. Owen Comber was looking confident in the middle too – a young player showing the benefits of having had a few cameos already this season to find his footing. However there wasn’t much footing going on around him, not with challenges flying in all over the show. Quite a few fouls being called and Brad Whitworth’s was an early name taken in the book.
Jack Duncan was another young fella feeling fine after recent opportunities and he had a heat check from outside which... well, it wasn’t even close, but at least he had the confidence to shoot it after scoring last week. Then up the other end Tommy Semmy leapt about three metres in the air to head a Jones cross but it was still too high for him to get any control on it and Nick Draper made an easy stop, right in the bread basket for him. Crucially for the Waitaks there were also signs of Alex Greive being an influence. He blasted over the top in the 32nd minute having drifted into space as he does so well.
There was a bit of biffo from the Wanderers centre-backs after Dane Schnell left a shoulder in on Matt Oliver... but pretty soon there were handshakes and everyone was mates again (tbh I was distracted by the ball girl doing juggling tricks in the background, going round the world and everything). Tommy Semmy then thwacked a volley on his left peg that was tipped wide by Draper, woulda been a ripper, before Semmy crossed to Tieku who headed over. Despite all that the young Waitak defenders were doing a fine job of limiting Semmy despite the Papua New Guinean being in a mood for creating a ruckus. All three of their central midfielders (Burfoot, Triple G & Schnell) were working hard to support those defenders too.
And... to keep it a hundred here... that Seddon Fields turf is a mess and what should have been an open, flowing game was kinda being spoiled by the surface. The trampoline bounce combined with all the bobbles and the rubber pellet sprays meant players were needing two touches where they’d usually take one and that second touch is usually enough for a defender to recover position and close you down. Disappointing, really. But not as disappointed as Mark Jones was to be shown a yellow card late in the half...
Joe Harris had a good look from a free kick in the 52nd minute but couldn’t live up to the standard he’d set himself from dead ball situations earlier in the season. Then we had ourselves an injury break as Mark Jones got hurt... at this point you’d have gotten even odds on whether a goal or a red card would come first. Waitakere threw Angus Kilkolly on for Nic Zambrano. Hamilton produced some beautiful lead-up stuff before Harris boosted one over the top. Waitakere had Andrew Cromb not a corner over the top. We were an hour into the game now and HW would have had that scratchy feeling in the back of their minds about how similar this situation was to last week, when they were also 0-0 in a game they’d had the better chances in and then fell behind.
But in the 64th minute they banished those visions. Derek Tieku turned and ran at the defence before sliding it wide to Semmy on his left and he straight-up buried it. The form that Tommy Semmy is in there was only one outcome there. Third game in a row with a goal for The Semmy Truck.
Waitakere swapped both wing-backs in the 70th minute, Reggie Murati and Nathan Lobo coming on. Wanderers also chucked on Jordan Lamb and Dillon Morris. Tieku chopped back on the inside and curled wide at one end, then Greive had Oliver clutching the ball to his body with relief after aiming a free kick low at the near post. Some magical work from Tommy Semmy nearly led to something but he did that cross/shot thing and it went both wide of the goal and out of Tieku’s reach at the far post. Clearly this game still had another twist in it, merely a matter of who’d be providing it.
The answer: Angus Kilkolly. The ball had come over the top from a Burfoot corner to where Greive was open on the other side of the area. He lined up a shot which Kilkolly flicked on with his head (brave fella, Greive put a fair bit into that effort) and Kilkolly peeled off to stir the imaginary pot. Lil bit of confusion as to who’d be awarded the goal but NZ Football gave it to Kilkolly (fair enough) so that’s a first for the club for him.
Still five minutes plus stoppage time remaining and Jordan Lamb nearly rattled things again but he couldn’t get a shot off. Brock Messenger made sure he got amongst the yellow card frenzy with a clattering tackle that earned his fourth booking in five games – this game is gonna cause havoc for future accumulation. Also Schnell had a shot on the spin but it was cleared away. But the injury time period was largely spent treating injured fellas. Tommy Semmy landed hard and after a visit from the team doc he tried to continue but only lasted thirty seconds before Paul Clout was called for and then Sammy Khan got hurt and even more time filtered away. Tieku had a late crack past the post so it ended 1-1.
One nice thing about Seddon Fields (Premmy Files is all about balance, mate)... lotsa greenery in the background. It’s a pretty sight even if it doesn’t quite make up for the lack of natural greenery on the pitch itself. And when the wind’s blowing in the right direction you can sometimes even hear the monkeys from the zoo over that direction.
Anyway another booming effort from the Wanderers spine as they stay undefeated and therefore stay top of the table after five weeks. Kale Herbert will be demanding his fellas maybe score a few more early goals – only three of ten goals have come in second halves – to make things more comfortable but can’t argue too much with that league position. Fingers crossed Semmy is all good because he’s been potentially the best player in the comp so far and definitely the one with the most entertainment value. Meanwhile that’s three draws in a row for Waitakere. Nick Draper and Andrew Cromb were again very good. Sam Burfoot is a perennial all-star (to borrow the NBA terminology). And they got Alex Greive back in the goal involvements too, which has been crucial to their best performances so far. They need to start winning again soon but the three games they’ve drawn have been against the three top teams on the ladder as it stands so another one of those ‘can’t complain’ ones. If they can win away to Hawke’s Bay next week then they’ll be in a useful place heading into the holiday hiatus.
Next up Eastern Suburbs hosted Team Wellington at Madills Farm and mate this one was a guaranteed belter with these two teams lining each other up. Suburbs welcomed Tyler Lissette back into the team, starting at CB alongside Christian Gray, after he missed the last three games (a fourth different CB partnership for Subs). Dan Edwards also started in midfield while Ryan Feutz was back for his second start in the forward line. Team Welly gave Haris Zeb a club debut at right wingback with Justin Gulley slipping back into the central three. Wan Gatkek also replaced Alex Palezevic after his impressive effort off the bench last week. Scott Basalaj returned after missing the last two games with a minor injury. Otherwise as per for the TeeDubs – including the outstanding attacking duo of Joao Moreira and Hamish Watson, who between them had scored TW’s last five goals.
It was a bit surprising that Ben Mata had been left on the bench after a really strong game against Auckland City a week ago but he ended up playing 88 minutes anyway because basically the first thing Taylor Schrijvers did here was to get injured and it didn’t take long to see he wouldn’t be able to continue. Gotta hope it’s nothing too serious as TW are already without Jack-Henry Sinclair for the majority of the season and Schrijvers has been nothing short of excellent so far. But yeah, very early substitution from the TeeDubs.
Pretty soon we were into the proper football as Adam Thomas embarked on a lung-buster up the right flank and earned a corner which ended with Reid Drake volleying wide at the far post. Then Team Welly tried to get it going with Watto and Nati Hailemariam linking and Haris Zeb took an opportunistic stab at goal that Danyon Drake popped over. Wan Gatkek also launched wide. Really heavy headwind blowing towards the Eastern Suburbs goal by the way, affecting the build-up play of both teams. Watson and Moreira both had early sighters that were well off target... still adjusting to that breeze maybe.
Suburbs settled into a little possession after that but struggled to work the ball out of their half against the wind and a well organised Welly side. A couple awkward moments from Danyon Drake dealing with the wind, such as a free kick that bounced off his knee as he tried to grab it and another cross he rushed out to punch yet missed. But nothing much to speak of as the clock ticked over half an hour.
It was worth the wait though because some nice play from the TeeDubs working the ball across the field with purpose led to Mario Barcia lining up a bolt up from distance and his first time shot absolutely flew inside the post. Nobody ever accused Mario Barcia of shying away from a golazo now and then. His first of the season, finally one of them TeeDubs fellas using the wind to full advantage (all they needed next was earth, fire, water, and love and Captain Planet would show up, ha).
After which ES had a solid spell yet the end product remained elusive. Ben Mata and Tyler Lissette both scooped up yellow cards as fouls kept breaking things up, with Mata unlucky to escape a second yellow when he caught Thurston and left him needing treatment on an ankle. So it was probably fitting that when Suburbs eventually got one to stick it was from an Adam Thurston free kick and, phwoar, imagine scoring from here...
Not joking either. Fifth of the season for Thurston and there have been some classics in amongst them. He’s scored 10 in 12 games all up in his time at Suburbs. What an outstanding player and two superb goals in this game as we hit the sheds all tied up at one-apiece... though not before Team Welly had one last foray into the area with Moreira and Thurston getting tangled up on the end of a Rory McKeown long throw and that led to some loud words being exchanged amidst pointed fingers. The ref ducked away to talk to his assistant, then returned and whipped out an early Christmas gift from his back pocket for both Joao Moreira and Adam Thomas, neither of whom were happy to get something other than what they’d asked Santa for...
Hard to say exactly what happened there. Could have been words spoken, could have been the initial pushing and shoving. Moreira and Thomas argued their cases all the way off the pitch - in fact Moreira was still pleading as the players left the park for half-time a minute or two later. What it meant though was 10 vs 10 for the second half with that heavy breeze now in Eastern Suburbs’ favour.
Dan Edwards dropped into right back as Suburbs knocked the ball around confidently to begin the second half, although seven minutes into it Kelvin Kalua was summoned to play there instead, a more natural option, and in a brave move from Hoani Edwards it was Adam Thurston whom he replaced. In fairness, Thurston did have that ankle knock in the first half so might’ve been an injury-based decision.
Team Welly coped with the ten men thing better. Quite a few times Suburbs had things break down because there wasn’t a player in the area a guy thought there would be, a well drilled team suddenly without the options they’re used to. Team Welly instead just let Justin Gulley push forward as an extra man and that made a genuine difference. A few times he charged into the area seeking a cross or cut-back and on 63 minutes... damn. Gulls really shoulda scored. Danyon Drake fumbled one right to him and he did still have a defender to beat but other than that it was an open goal... and Gulley hit it over the top from about eight yards. Evidence for the prosecution, your honour...
Cool to see Owen Barnett get an extended run for his second TW appearance. He replaced Hailemariam with 27 minutes to play – making this quite a young TeeDubs line-up with Ben Mata, Haris Zeb & Wan Gatkek also out there. The relative veteran Hamish Watson was always hustling at the top and he earned a corner that Ben Mata then lobbed over the top off his head. Not as bad as the Gulley miss but one that he should have done better with.
That makes it sound like Team Welly were in full control but Subs were actually throwing more at them than it appeared. It’s just that they weren’t getting much room in those attacking areas thanks to some strong defending. Ben Mata in particular was wrestling his way through challenges with impressive poise in a heavyweight clash with Stephen Hoyle that was worth the price of admission alone. At one stage Hoyle had a shot which Kalua nearly diverted in but it was blocked. Reid Drake got on the rebound but his shot was was blocked too. Tthen Team Welly broke forward on the counter and a Watto cross to sub Sam Mason-Smith didn’t quite sit up and his attempt was also blocked. End to end action with the defenders winning the arm-wrestle... about sums it up. Mark it as a 1-1 draw, dude.
Team Welly probably should’ve won it on the basis of some of their chances but once the red cards flew out it kinda spoiled what both teams had to offer going forward, instead making sure not to concede was the first priority. Still, the draw doesn’t hurt either team. A third draw in a row for Team Wellington who remain undefeated. Second draw in a row for Eastern Suburbs who haven’t lost since the first game. Might yet get two more match-ups between this pairing this season. Special shout out to Mario Barcia too who has somehow managed to be booked in four consecutive matches - only Brock Messenger has as many cards.
One more game to go and it was Canterbury United hosting Auckland City in the televised game. Wasn’t expecting the Cantabs to revert to a back three after how well they did last time but Auckland City are a very specific threat so it did make sense. That meant Lyle Matthysen had to dip into left wing-back... annoying in theory however in practice it was irrelevant because Matthysen was involved in a constant bait and switch with the rest of the Dragons’ front four (Seth Clark & Yuya Taguchi as CAMs with Ihaia Delaney & Garbhan Coughlan at striker). Lee Padmore had them playing a fluid press where whoever was closest to the ball rushed up and somebody else automatically stepped over to cover them so those five guys were rotating incessantly.
And it was working sweetly. Making City work for their rewards at the back where things weren’t what they normally are. Brian Kaltack was out suspended which meant that Alfie Rogers played at CB with Adam Mitchell while Yousif Ali was picked at right back in a surprise, with Jordan Vale on the left. The usual trio in midfield but Mohamed Awad got a starting debut for ACFC in the front three.
Cam Howieson hit a free kick into the wall near the start but other than that the first ten minutes was ACFC with 75% of possession and very little else. Eventually Dylan Manickum hit Logan Rogerson with a slick pass but Rog’s shot was off target. Then it was the Dragons’ turn as Coughlan had a shot blocked before Adam Mitchell accidentally blocked Tom Schwarz on the line from the corner kick. 25 minutes into the game and still the action was at a minimum though. City flirting, the Cantabs denying. At least there were no cards yet which after what happened with Auckland City last week would have been a big relief. In fact there were no cards in this entire match. Good job.
Sean Liddicoat got through on the right in the 32nd minute. Matthysen had fed him in but Liddy chose to cross instead of shoot and it was the makeshift defender Yousif Ali who made the biggest play of the game so far in recovering to end the move. City were definitely a better prospect with Rogerson and Awad both out there compared to some of their earlier games... but the tempo wasn’t where it needed to be. The Canterbury defenders were playing excellently, shrinking any hint of space, and City were falling into that trap of theirs where they’re almost too patient. Gotta ramp up the intensity... to be honest having all three of those star midfielders isn’t really the best balance either. Cam Howieson gets involved with a lot of good things in attack but maybe it needs to be Mario Ilich or Albert Riera rather than both? Eh, those are decisions for Jose Figueira to make. No injury time at the end of the half and no complaints about that whatsoever.
Taguchi had the first pop of the second half but didn’t get any power behind it. Ali had a hopeful shout for a penalty. Then City got a hint of how they might burst the dam when Ali got way forward on the overlap and forced a good save outta Danny Knight. Bit more aggression and some extra risk in letting Ali and Vale get forward where they’re at their best, you know? Rogerson and Ali then combined to win a corner. Awad flicked one on to nobody from the near post. Andrew Storer nearly handballed but the ref figured natural position and all that. Little signs that City were turning the screws now. Rogerson smacked one to Manickum but it was saved. Really well saved, actually. Awad then twisted one wide. Less than quarter of an hour left to find a winner.
Mario Ilich had been sublime in midfield keeping that unfamiliar defence shielded and he got back well to deny Taguchi when it seemed like he was gonna break the line. In search of that evasive goal Figuiera threw on Deandre Vollenhoven for a debut, a young South African striker who is very much unwelcome in Hamilton after his brilliant 94th minute winner sealed the 2019 NYL title for City in the final game of the season. Wanderers had already wrapped up their own closer and were seconds away from the silverware when news of that goal came through. Massive drama. Could he do the same thing here? Well, he wasn’t about to die wondering as he unleashed about four shots in the space of a few minutes (all either blocked or saved). Abdul Khalifa also got a run off the bench for a City debut having played for the Dragons last season. Good yarns all around.
Then came the ultimate rope-a-dope moment. The snatch-and-grab. In and out with the jewels before anyone even realised the alarms had been disabled and the cameras blacked out. The 89th minute of the match and Coughlan sent Eddie Wilkinson through with a super ball off the outside of his boot. Wilko had his effort blocked by Alfie Rogers but the ball fell back to Wilkinson who squared it for Richards and boom. JJ with the winner. There were still four minutes of stoppage time to traverse but the Cantabs defence went into anywhere-goes mode to see that through. Rogerson did have a late header on target but no worries with the save there. Safe to say that Figuiera will be suggesting some finishing training this week.
It had been 12 years since the Dragons last beat Auckland City in Christchurch – and here they got it done at the last possible opportunity. Just an immense defensive performance from them. Storer and Schwarz and Field at the back. So strong and so organised. Schwarz especially. And a huge shout out to Cory Mitchell whose work as a defensive midfielder here would be easy to sleep on but consider the midfield he was up against and this clean sheet was very hard earned. Two wins in a row for the Cantabs. Steady improvements every week for those guys.
Ah but Auckland City... that’s five games played and only two won. They’re sitting outside the top four as things stand (although the WeeNix are ineligible for the playoffs so they’d still make it... hope they fix that rule in the new format next year, what’s the point of them not being allowed to win? It’s stupid). Two wins from two in home games so that’s all good but they’ve drawn one and lost two on their travels. Winless, in other words. They really need the three points next week with the break coming straight after.
That’s the first game of week six, Auckland City hosting the Wellington Phoenix. The WeeNix are in some quality form at the mo’ but as we’ve established ACFC are a different prospect at Kiwitea Street. That’s at 1.30pm on Saturday and half an hour later in Wellywood it’s Team Wellington hoping to end this three-game streak of draws against a Canterbury United team that ended a three-game streak of losses with a couple wins. On Sunday at 1pm Hawke’s Bay host Waitakere United with only one win in ten combined games between the pair (granted Waitakere have lost once, HBU have lost five times). Then the telly game at 4pm is an absolute beaut as Hamilton Wanderers welcome Eastern Suburbs down State Highway 1. All the ingredients for a classic dish in that one.
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