So... that whole Auckland ineligible player thing turned out to be a bigger deal than it initially had been. Despite NZ Football saying they wouldn’t be docking points because nobody actually lodged a complaint, all three teams affected then appealed and NZF decided they had no course but to uphold those appeals and dock Auckland all nine of those points. Can’t do anything because nobody complained, but those that didn’t complain can still complain? Yeah, righto.

That cast a big ugly shadow over this final week, sadly. It took Auckland entirely out of contention and it guaranteed Canterbury would make the final regardless of what happened in their final match, although Northern still had to win that game to get themselves in - otherwise Capital on their bye week would surge on past them. I already wrote a farewell message to Capital last week and some of those ladies probably already had holiday getaways planed... not so fast.

As to the punishment itself, look, you can’t say it isn’t consistent after Southern United’s men’s team was docked points for a similarly silly admin error a year ago but that doesn’t make this fair. None of the players involved (Auckland this year or Southern last year) were illegal, they just weren’t registered properly. Carelessness rather than cheating. Rules are rules and all that and mistakes will be punished. But the players aren’t responsible for admin errors yet their entire season just got defaulted, basically? New Zealand Football had no choice once the appeals came in but it’s kinda distasteful to have them sitting back and throwing the book at folks when their job should be to prevent this from happening in the first place because it’s an absolutely terrible look for the competition. Sports should be decided on the sports field by sportsfolk and not in the office by lawyers. A regrettable situation, regardless of how you reckon it was handled. So disappointing.

Let’s do that WaiBOP vs Auckland game first then because although there was nothing on the line here... jeepers this game was a bundle of entertainment. Two teams with nothing to lose going absolutely bonkers to end their seasons.

The home side kept things pretty even as Maddi Ollington was the only change to the team that went down 2-1 to Southern a week ago, which in turn was only one player different from the XI that beat Northern before that. Auckland on the other hand... huge changes. Without the final to play for this instead became a chance to mix things up. Not in the least because two of their key players, Lily Alfeld and Liz Anton, just got gigs with Perth Glory in the W-League. Two women who’ve been great this season, two women who are getting their first chance to go professional which is straight up bloody awesome. Even better because Malia Steinmentz of Northern is going with them (lil more on that situation in Flying Kiwis this week).

So with those two out it was a first start of the season for both Kate Hannay (GK) and Sophie Bradley (CB). Hannay hadn’t featured at all previously, such is the life of the backup goalie. Bradley had played three times off the bench. But they weren’t the only changes: Emma Pijnenberg and Stella Lawson also made their first starts after a handful of subs apps and Alosi Bloomfield also returned to the fold (apparently she missed the last game for futsal duties). No Ava Collins while Britney Cunningham-Lee and Maisy Dewell were only on the bench. Four first time starters for the season and five changes overall.

Very different looking AK side... but you wouldn’t know it by the way they knocked the ball around confidently from the opening whistle. Tayla O’Brien getting the chance to play through the middle was involved in heaps of that while Laney Strachan was bringing the magic tricks out. Yet WaiBOP never hesitate to get out on the break so it was a high-paced contest. More intention than execution in these stages though. It wasn’t until about 11 mins in that Rina Hirano blasted an Arisa Takeda cross over the top, the first time it felt like a goal might have been scored.

Some great work between Daisy Cleverly and O’Brien nearly led to a Hirano chance but the cross was a little too high. Instead it was WaiBOP who scored first and it was one that Kate Hannay would’ve wished wasn’t caught on camera because a gentle shot from Grace Wisnewski was dribbling towards her as she bent down to snatch it up and somehow missed it. The ball rolled over the line to the confusion of those around her who’d already turned to run back to position for the next phase of play. As it happened, that next phase of play was a kick-off. Check out everyone who didn’t even see it happen, whoopsadaisy...

There was some quality play from 16 year old Emma Pijnenburg navigating through traffic in a physical midfield. Alosi Bloomfield was keeping AK on the front foot too... but the end product wasn’t quite there. That final ball or whatever. Right up until Captain Cleverly mashed one from the edge of the area into the roof of the net. Boom. That’s one way to do it when the intricate passes aren’t sticking.

Kelli Brown had one decent shot but couldn’t pick out a corner in what was proving a frustrating half for her. Not a lot else happening for WaiBOP... and in the 42nd minute they were behind. Tayla O’Brien’s energy led to a charge down of a Serena Murrihy clearance and she dashed through, rounded the keeper, and scored. Great composure to go with the hustle to win the ball in the first place. She deserved that goal. Hannay then almost got caught out of position but Sophie Bradley covered for her. Same as how the Auckland defence recovered after Michaela Foster threatened to do something getting down that left flank (Foster was back at LB today after a few shows in midfield).

Auckland made a change at half-time, Aaron McFarland taking off 16 year old Stella Lawson and bringing on Britney Cunningham-Lee, Lawson having had some good moments as well as some rough ones dealing with the physicality of them Waikato girls. All good experience. WaiBOP also made two changes at HT with Lily Muspratt & Caitlyn Byrne replacing Murrihy & McConnell... and the subs kept coming the rest of the way, what with this being the last game of the season and all.

The goals kept coming too. 57th minute and O’Brien was unselfish in squaring a ball over to Rina Hirano who scored her sixth of the season to draw her level with Kaley Ward at the top of the Golden Boot standings. Then a few minutes later Hirano returned the favour beating Ryley Godbold to the ball, turning to take the goalie out of the play, and sliding it across to O’Brien who picked her spot between defenders for her second of the afternoon. Auckland now up 4-1 with half an hour remaining and looking like they could lean back and take the scenic route to victory.

But of course if things always worked out the way they were planned then Auckland wouldn’t have been stripped of nine points. After Alosi Bloomfield was subbed things got a tad slippery for Auckland and the likes of Brown, Foster, and Wisnewski were able to get into the game again. Even still, 4-1 up with a little over ten minutes left you’d be forgiven for thinking you’re safe. If Michaela Foster should curl one in directly from a corner kick, using the wind to sneak it in at the back post, then that’s a shame but you’re still two goals up. Then if Foster should do the same thing from the other wide with her other foot this time (incredible skill, wowee), which Chelsea Elliott getting the final touch, then at least you’re still winning with only a couple more minutes on the clock... right?

Nope. There were still five minutes of injury time to get through and in the fourth of them Stella Neems ran through after Bradley and Philpot got in each other’s way and then when Hannay seemed to have it covered rushing out the ball squeezed underneath her and Neems ran it over the line. Scenes, mate. Scenes.

In fairness to Auckland, they had a decent shout for a penalty while it was 4-2 when O’Brien got knocked over. They also had chances to score a fifth that would have definitely put them in the clear. Cleverly with a long shot. Cunningham-Lee with a super run into the area. Then even after they conceded the leveller they still went down the other end and rattled the crossbar through Petra Buyck. 4-4 was the way it ended though, an astounding game of football and a fitting way for WaiBOP to end their chaotic season (on the pitch, in contrast to their opponents). WaiBOP’s results were all over the place – undefeated against teams based north of them and winless against teams due south. Auckland probably would have closed it out if they’d truly had to, they only ran the subs as they did because the stakes weren’t there. Ava Collins out injured was a loss, while there’s no way they concede four if Liz Anton and Lily Alfeld were both there. But mate it made for a wonderful late season spectacle.

We’ll save the big game ‘til last for the sake of suspense and do Central versus Southern next. The good news for Central being that after their goalkeeping conundrums of last week Brooke Bennett was fit to start so Mikaela Boxall was able to play up front where let’s just say she’s a lot more comfortable (although fair play, she did alright as the emergency keeper vs Northern). The backline was as per but Eve Barry and Grace Smith got starts, for Smith it was her first of the campaign. No Flo MacIntyre after she went off hurt last week. Their opponents were celebrating their first win of the season after holding off WaiBOP in Dunedin in week six so Ignacio Sande saw no reason to change anything at all... except for his goalkeeper. Tessa Nicol got the go here which meant that she and Blair Currie split the games right down the middle, three starts apiece.

Boxall was unable to control a volley after Charlotte Lancaster lobbed in a cross from deep, good movement but a tough one to get on target. Elsewhere Central managed to get defenders in the right areas to cut out the danger first as Amy Hislop drew Bennett out of goal and beat her down the baseline to cross and then soon after as Herman-Watt found space to shoot. It was definitely one of those games where two teams who’ve prioritised defence struggle to shake things up, defenders winning most of the battles, and it felt like maybe whichever playmaker out of Macey Fraser and Aniela Jensen could get it going might be what decided this clash.

There was a fair bit of concern in the 23rd minute as Georgie Furnell came off second best in a challenge with Tessa Nicol, who’d rushed out to hack a loose ball to safety. Furnell stayed down and Mikaela Boxall, who was closest to the collision, was immediately over there to check on her (and actually stayed with Furnell for the entire time as the medics did their work). A broken ankle was the fear and it took a full fifteen minutes before the game could resume as the stretcher came out and they ended up backing a car onto the pitch to take her to hospital. Really awful way for Furnell’s season to end, she’d been one of the younger ones given a chance with Central this year (aged 15 when the season started) and had shown some genuine promise on the right wing there. Best of luck to her with the recovery. Minor set backs to major comebacks and all that. Natalie Olson came on in her place.

After an extended break like that the players would be forgiven if they were a little tentative when things restarted but that wasn’t the case, both teams winning free kicks on the edge of the area. Boxall curled hers over the top for Central. Fraser had hers blocked before Renee Bacon smashed one across the face of goal. Then a whole lot more midfield duelling... before we got into those fifteen added-on minutes. Thus when Rose Morton put a beautiful ball over the top for Renee Bacon to run onto for Southern, who took a touch it didn’t look like she had time to take with Grace van Lienen closing her down but then squeezed a shot away anyway that beat Bennett in goal and nestled inside the far post, it was the 54th minute of the game but still the first half. 45+9 would be the official way of scoring it, I s’pose.

And that was barely halfway into the stoppage time spell because then in the 45+11th minute Aniela Jensen fed a smart ball through to Boxall from the left edge and Boxall was as clinical as they come taking one touch to draw in the goalie and a second touch to nudge it past her to make it 1-1.

The second half (winding the clock back to 45 mins) carried on like most of the first half had, with a lot of spirited footy but not too many clear chances to speak of. Boxall had one about 53 mins in when Jensen again slipped her through but she didn’t quite pick out the corner with her finish and Nicol made a good stop. But there was no stopping Jensen’s shot a couple minutes later. Jensen was turning up the heat with some sharp touches and she straight stormed her way into the penalty area, leaving defenders in her dust, before lashing a shot across an outstretched Nicol for a wonderful goal. Central with only their fourth goal of the season but all four of them have given them leads.

Unfortunately for them and the rest of the faithful there at Massey Uni... that lead lasted two minutes before Hannah Mackay-Wright stepped up from defence to win the ball and launched it long towards Hislop. Jana Niedermayr got a foot in to disrupt her but a strong shoulder from Hislop allowed the Southern striker to win it back and she finished well through the crowd to make it 2-2. Still anybody’s game though.

Nicol was switched-on to smother the ball at Boxall’s feet. Bacon tapped in from a Chelsea Whitaker shot that’d been dragged but she was offside. Kaitlyn Watts hacked away a loose ball in the six yard box with Hislop lurking. Then Macey Fraser reminded everybody of her class with a quick touch to evade a defender and then a wicked shot that swerved and ducked and gave Brooke Bennett no chance as it sailed in. Fraser’s celebration from that belter of a goal: half a jump and then head down and back to position for the kick-off. All business as usual for her.

That left Central with about twenty minutes plus change to find an equaliser. Problem was that Southern were mostly restricting them to shots from distance. A lovely bit of play from Abby Rankin put Olson into the area but her shot hit the side-netting and that ended up being their last golden moment. Southern managed things smoothly, keeping the ball down the other end in the dying stages. In fact it was Hislop and Tahlia Roome who seemed more likely to score.

But in the end three goals was enough for the Southerners, who close their season with two straight victories to lift them up to fourth on the ladder with the late surge. Central finish last without a proper win to their name but they did get a 3-0 default win out of their 9-1 loss to Auckland because of the ineligibility thing so they actually only end up last by virtue of having scored fewer goals than Auckland (equal points, equal goal difference). Eh, final standings don’t really matter this season outside of the top two considering the off-field stuff has absolutely ravaged the table. It looks like a half finished painting that a kid brought home from school. All the colours are in the wrong place and the drawings are warped... but you’re duty bound to stick it on the fridge anyway. If there’s another ineligibility scandal next season I vote we take to the streets in protest. Ruins everything for everybody.

That Aniela Jensen versus Macey Fraser duel was worth the metaphorical price of admission. Jensen was as good as she’s been all season, finally with a bit of space to get everything linked up and showing some sublime skill in the process. But Fraser’s supreme winning goal was the difference on the day. Gotta applaud the way that Central continued to get better with every game as the season progressed (even if the results didn’t always reflect that). Lots of young players with lots of promise in that group. Southern could probably say the same thing about themselves too. I reckon I’ll do a team of the season thing later in the week or next week and both these teams have a few candidates despite the eight (/nine) combined losses.

Ah yes which brings us to the big one. Canterbury Pride versus Northern Lights. The Pride had already booked top spot and thus grand final hosting duties but a win or draw against Northern here would mean they didn’t have to play a team that’d just beaten them in that final. Capital were sitting at home, crowded around the telly, praying for the Cantabs to turn up so they could have a crack at them in Christchurch – a repeat of the 2016 final which was the last time Capital made it to the big dance.

Only one change for Canterbury, a good sign they were taking this seriously. That was Emma Clarke replacing Mikaela Hunt who’d left the last game at half-time. Otherwise they had nine players who’d started all six matches (and Hunt would have made it ten had she been available) and that’s with Annalie Longo on the bench as well, who isn’t flying over to Melbourne for the W-League until after the Premiership term is complete. Northern on the other hand were without Malia Steinmetz who had been so good for them – she’s in Aussie quarantine after zipping off to Perth Glory. Rose Luxton played in her place, while Aneka Mittendorff came back into the defence which meant Mackenzie Barry slid out to right back with Nicole Stratford’s goal scoring blast last week earning a promotion to the right wing. Sammi Tawharu started up front. Arabella Maynard was on the bench. Anna Leat with a second start in goal.

Northern’s task didn’t actually change after Auckland lost their points, they had to win before the admin drama and had to win after it. Sure enough they started this game with all the intensity you’d expect from a team with their season on the line and they should really have scored a few mins in when a ball fell conveniently to Tawharu in the area but while she struck it pretty well it went just past the post. Juuuust past the post. An early goal would have really rustled some feathers.

Saskia Vosper made a huge challenge to keep Gabi Rennie from dashing though on goal. Then Rennie showed some smoking pace down the right wing and her cross eventually ended up with Tahlia Herman-Watt whose shot clipped the top of the crossbar on its way out. The Pride making sure everybody knew they weren’t merely counting down the days until next week. After those ones though... the game sorta settled into a tense tactical duel between two teams forcing each other to work extremely hard for any space. Maybe a little lack of precision at times too, as is often the case in the big games.

Don’t think Ben Bate would’ve been too upset with that though, his team keeping it very close away from home. Gotta snatch one of those inevitable chances is all and Liz Savage had one about 34 mins in on the snapshot and Una Foyle made a good low save... can’t keep letting those moments escape them much longer. Not with the Pride also upping their threats of a goal late in the half. Emma Clarke wasn’t far away as she spun on a Whitney Hepburn nod-down but Anna Leat was wise to to it. All even stevens at the half. The press of Northern (led by Chloe Knott) and the quality of Canterbury’s centre-backs (Kate Taylor & Rebecca Lake) so far cancelling each other out.

The Pride had a shout for handball within seconds of the second-half kick-off and they so nearly scored soon after as Rennie popped a gentle one around the corner for Britney-Lee Nicholson but Lily Jervis got a foot in at an essential time. Rennie was involved in most of the Pride’s best stuff going forward. Her movement across the line was great and 51 mins in she orchestrated one perfectly to get in behind the defence... only to slide the ball wide, clipping the outside of the post on its way out. Rennie hit the turf with exasperation. Nicholson coulda done better when she dashed onto a loose pass too, although Leat was there even if her unexpected touch had been better.

Nicole Stratford was always a handful despite playing out of her regular position. She got in behind on the right but with nobody to square it to she shot from the angle and Foyle made the stop. Didn’t have a teammate in position for the opportunistic second effort either. Chloe Knott then had a shot blocked and quarter of an hour into the 2H the Lights were having their best spell for a while. At which point Alanna Gunn went ahead and subbed on Annalie Longo. Trump card, on the table.

It was getting stretched and frantic now, a draw wasn’t good enough for Northern. Liz Savage was hooning forward on the counter attack, Tawharu with a bunch of clever touches as she held the ball up trying to spark something. On came Tahlia Green and Arabella Maynard. Possession was dead even. Not long left... enter Lily Bray. Only just on as a sub for Canterbury and with ten mins to play she was there in the right place at the right time to thump in the opening goal of the game after a corner kick-inspired goal mouth scramble. Take them however they come. Canterbury Pride up 1-0.

That left Northern on the brink so they had no choice but to go all out attack with two goals needed if they were gonna extend their season. But the Pride defence was just so good. Kate Taylor was serving up a masterclass. And with numbers forward they were always gonna leave themselves exposed on the counter so in the 86th minute Nicholson served up Annalie Longo on the run and obviously she was gonna score from a one on one situation. She’s Annalie Longo after all. Hadn’t been involved in the first goal but her impact since coming on had been huge, weaving things together in the attacking third with touch and tempo. No shocker as she scored the second and with that Northern were cooked. Not coming back from there. Cut to Wellington where the celebrations would have been even louder than they were in Christchurch. It’ll be Canterbury versus Capital in the grand final on Sunday. 2-0 to Canterbury Pride.

So the threepeat dreams live on, the Pride will be huge favourites at home against a team they beat 4-0 away just two weeks ago. Northern left to watch from home... they’ve shown moments of brilliance this season – specifically the 4-1 win over Auckland – but their final place didn’t slip away at English Park, they’d already left themselves vulnerable by drawing with Capital in week one and especially by losing to WaiBOP in week five. Didn’t quite bring the consistency. Maybe a bit too much rotation in those attacking areas from game to game as well, the six-match season not really doing them any favours. Ah well, so it goes. Next year there’ll be four clubs from Auckland and the Waikato competing in the Premiership instead of Northern, Auckland, and WaiBOP. The end of an era... as an era of dominance from the Canterbury Pride seeks to continue next week in the final.

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