One last round of fixtures before the end of this mental old year and it began with a bit of Auckland City, fresh off the upset defeat in Canterbury, searching for their absent form with the Wellington Phoenix coming to town. City had won both previous games at Kiwitea Street this season – their only two wins which qualifies that ground for Safe Haven status. Here they were chuffed to have Brian Kaltack back from suspension and he was technically the only change... but with Kaltack there it meant Alfie Rogers at a familiar left back, Jordan Vale across to right back, and Yousif Ali Al-Kalisy in his preferred attacking midfield role. Who should miss out therefore? Albert Riera. Unfortunate for him but also kinda necessary to get Ali in as a more advanced option to get the balance tilting towards the attack.

The WeeNix reverted to the back four that began game one against Team Wellington. Alex Clayton, Jaylen Rodwell, Kurtis Mogg, and Ollie van Rijssel. Clayton has only played once off the bench since then. Must be the ACFC/TW special formation. No Adam Hillis in midfield, Luis Toomey dropping deeper, while Finn Surman has impressed in defence lately but he was across town playing for Lower Hutt City at the U17s tourney hosted by Western Springs. Tom Raimbault also came back into the group.

Whether it was the return of Kaltack to that back four, whether it was the more attacking balance to the midfield, whether it was the way that the WeeNix chose to approach the game... Auckland City looked more positive from the outset as they worked the ball around with enthusiasm in the Phoenix half. Heaps of possession as usual but with a bit of purpose all of a sudden. Dylan Manickum threw in a beauty of a dummy to turn behind the defence but Alex Clayton was able to recover. Manickum did manage to get a shot off in the tenth minute after Mohamed Awad had picked him out but that shot was off target.

Crucially they were getting Jordan Vale involved after a few weeks in which he’d been kinda marginalised by the way the team had been playing. He and Awad were spinning some webs on that right side. One slight issue however: they were up against the form keeper of the competition. Dunno if you saw NZF’s Saves of the Week thing for last round but let’s just say that Alex Paulsen featured prominently...

You can bet he’ll be featuring prominently this week too. Around quarter of an hour in, ACFC began to see a few rewards for their approach. First it was Adam Mitchell hovering in the other penalty area and he whacked a low strike towards the bottom corner only for Paulsen to drop and push it wide. Then Vale drifted into the middle for a cut-back except Paulsen managed to get in the way again. And on the rebound Logan Rogerson’s shot was too close to AP and there was another save. Gonna keep on saying this until it stops being true: it’s outrageous how Alex Paulsen seems to get better and better with Every. Single. Week.

Boosted by not being behind when by rights they should have been, the WeeNix then had a decent spell where even though they didn’t create anything too tangible they did at least ensure the game was played a bit more in the City half. Then when Awad had a crack from range, Paulsen made an easy save. And when Rogerson showed some searing pace down the left to get in behind, Paulsen again denied him low at his near post. Rogerson of course once wore that WeeNix jersey in a previous life’s incarnation and it’s probably fair to say that his finishing sometimes let him down in those days. As good as he’s become now... he’d already had two really good chances where he should have at least demanded more of AP. Perhaps that’s why the next time he got in that position, after throwing step-overs on Ollie van Rijssel, he chose to cross instead of shoot... but the ball narrowly evaded Mo Awad six yards out.

Ten mins before the interval the WeeNix came as close as they had yet when George Ott and Riley Bidois combined with Biddy giving Cam Brown his first proper save to make. Didn’t quite get the contact on the shot he’d have wanted and a fairly comfortable one for Browny. After which it was back to regularly scheduled programming as Vale crossed to Awad and Paulsen AGAIN got a glove to it. Insane goalkeeping from the WeeNix glovesman.

So of course the WeeNix then went and scored. Every time Paulsen made one of those amazing saves it was like Popeye slugging down a tin of spinach. One minute before that HT whistle it was Rodwell stepping out of defence and it was Ott dropping back to show an option and it was Raimbault running off of Ott’s side and it was Bidois dashing in behind where Raimbault’s magical little pass intersected his run and Yung Biddy sorta ghosted the ball through Brown as he dove to save it and it ended up in the middle of the goal for 1-0. Not even sure what Jose Figuiera is supposed to say in that situation... he’s already given this exact speech about 3-4 times this season. At least this time it was a goalkeeper with Matrix-level agility shutting them out and not their own underpar performance.

Oskar van Hattum replaced Ott at the half and OVH was immediately into the action, slipping at one point when Raimbault had put him into a good area but then doing great to hold off Alfie Rogers to get onto a Toomey ball, however Cam Brown got a leg to his shot to keep the scoreline as it was. Van Hattum lashed another one across goal after carrying the ball at pace into the City penalty box on the break. That gap between midfield and defence was proving a handy one for the WeeNix forwards to get on the ball. Ben Old had been living there all afternoon – the flipside of Ali > Riera... but a necessary risk for Auckland City.

Kurtis Mogg made a sliding challenge to block Awad and then leapt up with a roar, slamming his fist against his chest. This is Sparta. But the resistance only lasted until Auckland City equalised in the 58th minute. Awad won a corner dribbling along the by-line and then ended up with that ball again after some scrappiness from the delivery. He chipped it back in, more scrappiness, and Manickum swung a leg and the ball looped inside the far post. Not a clean hit but under the circumstances it probably felt like a Puskas Award contender.

Eight minutes later Manickum got his second and Auckland City were in the lead. Vale rushed up to intercept the ball from right back and gave it to Yousif Ali. His ball forward caught a defender or two hesitating, probably because of Awad’s presence as he psyched them out with the double-fake dummy, and the ball made it through to Manickum with only Paulsen to beat and Manickum delivered the required tidy finish.

Figueira made a double sub with thirteen minutes remaining, Deandre Vollenhoven on for his second Premiership appearance and Albert Riera on for his 86th (to go with dozens more in Champions League & Club World Cup action). A 38 year old and... dunno how old DV is, he’d be 19 or 20 probs. Bit of a contrast between the two... and Vollenhoven nearly scored after Manickum tackled Henry Hamilton trying to play the ball out from the back. Vollo’s sliding attempt going wide. But he did set up the goal that clinched the result. 87th minute and he was too quick for Liam Moore who lost his footing and Vollenhoven drew in Rodwell and squared to Rogerson, whose first touch wasn’t good but he was still quick enough to get a toe on it before Paulsen could stop him (and inadvertently gave Paulsen a kick in the ribs for his efforts – the life of a goalkeeper, aye?). Looked like it was sneaking wide initially but then it didn’t so no worries. Get in there.

The right at the very end some smooth work from Rogerson on the left allowed him to dish to Awad and he stroked it in for a fourth goal in stoppage time. He deserved that one, Awad had been undercover excellent. Each of the front three were very good, actually. All got goals too. That’s nice. City hadn’t scored more than twice in a match all season prior to this game so them fellas might even be allowed an extra couple kumara with their Christmas meals as a reward after a 4-1 victory.

A game of two halves? Not exactly. The WeeNix’s goal had come against the run of play and arguably they did more in that second half albeit without a goal to show for it. Old hit some lovely passes. A few crosses not quite landing. They were always pestering away, just couldn’t quite release the pressure valve often enough... the last couple goals weren’t really reflective but that’s what good teams will do to ya. Meanwhile City didn’t need some drastic improvement from one half to the next, they were effective from minute 1 to minute 90+ with the only difference being their finishing was better in the second stanza. This result keeps City’s perfect home record in tact as the league hits the holiday period. Easily their most convincing performance so far. Imagine what they’ll be like when Emiliano Tade’s healthy.

Simultaneous to that one, Team Wellington battled away against Canterbury United at David Farrington Park. The TeeDubs on the back of three straight draws and they recalled Ben Mata (who basically played the whole game last week anyway after Taylor Schrijvers was injured early) while Sam Mason-Smith came in for the suspended Joao Moreira but otherwise it was a mirror image of the draw with Eastern Suburbs. Still no Andy Bevin but there’s hope he’ll be fit again in the New Year. The Cantabs on the other hand had a winning streak. Two victories in a row. It was back to a back four here though, not extending Team Welly the same courtesies they did Auckland City last time which meant they could pick another midfielder and it was Eddie Wilkinson who got that task. Lyle Matthysen not in the squad. That was the only personnel change.

Plenty of lingering confidence for the Cantabs as this one got underway, Garbhan Coughlan and Eddie Wilkinson both unleashing shots from well outside the box (neither of any threat). And they probably shoulda done better when Taguchi and Wilkinson tried to work a shot off a turnover but Ben Mata cleared the danger, same as he did when Sean Liddicoat beat a couple defenders to get to the by-line and tried to hit Ihaia Delaney. Team Welly meanwhile were knocking the ball around with assurance but were still trying to figure out how they were gonna break down the red wall that Auckland City had so much trouble with last round.

Ben Mata went into the book on 25 minutes for clattering Delaney, not far from the exact spot (in a similar time of the game) to where Brian Kaltack picked up the second yellow that ended his afternoon for Auckland City the previous time that Team Wellington played at this ground. Coughlan didn’t wait much longer before running at Mata in the area, daring him to dive in, but Scott Midgley had no risk of a second yellow so he slid in to keep the ball from reaching Delaney in the middle of the goal. Fantastic challenge... the Cantabs with every reason to feel like they were on top in this contest but the Team Welly defenders weren’t giving up an inch, a really strong start from Midgley in particular. Except for the time they did give up a few inches when Coughlan volleyed a bouncing ball unmarked on the edge of the box half an hour in... but Scott Basalaj saved that one.

Haris Zeb began doing a few sneaky things down the right flank, beating defenders and whatnot, and it was that incision that finally sparked Team Welly. Rory McKeown put in a few sharp crosses from the other side. Wan Gatkek was having another good game in the middle. The pressure on their defence had eased up now and the tug of war had been dragged further into Canterbury’s half. Still, it felt like we’d probably be scoreless at the half because the TeeDubs hadn’t really done anything especially threatening with that extra attacking presence. But that’s what The Flying Mullet is for (as Piney dubbed him on comms). A few mins before the half and Hamish Watson threw his body in on Yuya Taguchi to win the ball. Probably should’ve been a foul but so it goes. Cory Mitchell then got shoved off as he tried to stop Watto and the mullet was looking particularly aerodynamic as he munted his foot through the ball to laser it into the bottom corner, Danny Knight not even moving. The man literally left bodies in his wake...

Fair shout for a free kick, maybe even two fair shouts, but also gotta shout out the sheer determined tenacity of Hamish Watson to win the ball and the power and placement to score. Must’ve been a hammer blow to Lee Padmore though because he made two changes at HT. Off came Wilkinson and Liddicoat, on came George King and Luke Tongue. Granted that might’ve been injury enforced as Wilkinson had gone down hurt midway through the first half while Liddicoat... he’s started every game so far and it wasn’t a change in formation (Tongue playing RB when he came on) so no reason to remove one of your better players unless he’s hurt, surely? Must’ve been hurt.

It only took two minutes for Team Wellington to double the lead. Nati Hailemariam with a low cross from out on the right and Sam Mason-Smith just managed to get a big toe on it with the ball sneaking over the line for his first of the season. Neither Hailemariam nor SMS had been as involved in the opening 45 as Scott Hales would have liked to see so an ideal response from those lads. TeeDubs scoring just before and just after the break, suddenly a game that they’d began second best in was fully in their control.

That might not have been the case for long had Garbhan Coughlan not headed a Seth Clark cross over the top in the 50th minute. But he did so it was soon back to the office for Professor Watson. Barging folks over and even laying down some heat check step-overs. He had a great chance for a second which Knight was able to close down and deny. Sam Field made an excellent block on him later too after Watto had let the ball run across goal waiting for room to strike. It must be the power of the mullet, aye? He’s always been a very physical player but not sure I’ve ever seen him quite embrace his ruggedness as he did here. Long may it continue, he was thrillingly obnoxious.

But the Dragons had their chances throughout. A run of corner kicks caused some worries while Taguchi curled one wide. Then in the 73rd minute an errant Basalaj pass went straight to Jake Richards who slid it across for Taguchi and the fella ought to have done better from there than he did, Basalaj making a diving stop before Coughlan shot over on the second effort. But a similar giveaway by Danny Knight in the 76th broke things. Rory McKeown pushing all the way up in the box with typically industrious energy and he stuck a heel out which parried the ball to Hamish Watson and the big fella showed a little patience in picking out his spot for 3-0.

And yet still the Dragons went at them, Richards hitting the post after he’d placed his shot past Basalaj – as close as they’d come all day. King belted a couple long ones directly at Scotty B, as did Luke Tongue angling in from the right. A stink moment for Team Welly with ten to play as Scott Midgley, arguably their best performer along with Watto, had to limp off injured... though that also turned into a beautiful moment as Liam Wood replaced him to mark his return from a long injury lay-off. It wasn’t that long ago that Wood was one of the shining lights in the WeeNix academy so this was a great sight...

There was also a debut off the bench for Sam Dewar – another in a wave of fresh TeeDubs players in 2020 joining the likes of Mata, Gatkek, Zeb & Barnett. Eventually the Cantabs did get a goal as George King ran onto a clever ball from Coughlan and slotted past Basalaj. There were a few more injury time minutes to get through after that in which Coughlan got Basalaj stretching again with another save but 3-1 was the way it ended. Same story as with Auckland City, it wasn’t like the Cantabs played poorly or anything (and doubt they’ll be too bummed out... they were playing with house money after beating Auckland City) but this was comfortably the most commanding that Team Welly has played. Watto was huge for them. Midgley, McKeown, Basalaj and all the midfielders also impressing. Guess who just went top for Christmas?

Hawke’s Bay United had lost every game scoring just two goals and conceding 13. Yet somehow they’ve been sort of impressive, a battling team who’ve been unlucky on more than a couple occasions. Short on attacking prowess perhaps but the table is misleading – this team have never been easy beats. Here they hosted Waitakere United at Bluewater Stadium in Napier who are another confusing team. They looked absolutely fantastic in beating Canterbury 4-0 in week one but haven’t actually won again since. They hit this game up with three draws in a row. Both teams desperate for a result leading into the holidays.

Two changes for HBU from the side that got run over by the WeeNix a week ago. Gavin Hoy started in place of Kailan Gould as the scrap to figure out their best options up front. Gould has offered some impressive skill but his finishing has let him down and in Hoy they’ve got a less direct player but someone who can manipulate defenders with his off-ball movement. Then the other change was Jarrod McKechnie earning his first national league start. Yet another Ole Academy representative, that lot producing national leaguers like Kane Williamson scores runs... prominently and copiously.

On the other side Waitakere were without Sam Burfoot in midfield which meant that Dane Schell dropped back into his spot while Alex Greive filled in Schnell’s spot. Alex Connor-McClean and Josh Redfearn started up front (with Angus Kilkolly on the bench). The back three was the same as last week but Reggie Murati and Nathan Lobo came back in at wing-back. Some different looks in there for those guys.

Right from kick off Hawk’es Bay were threatening to get Hoy and Randall linking up. Quite easy to see that The Bay were up for this, tackles flying in with a few fouls conceded and leading the way was Karan Mandair. The 20 year old local fella has started 5/6 matches and usually he’s had someone like Hugo Delhomelle (who hasn’t featured since going off injured in week one) or Cory Vickers with him for some veteran presence. But with the team changing shape and with Jarrod McKechnie getting the game that meant only two midfielders with Mandair the veteran leader of the two. And he was playing like it, diving into everything. Even flexing some long range passing ability too. He missed a couple of those passes but ten minutes in he slung one deep over the top for Jesse Randall to run on to and there was hardly a defender in sight as he let the ball sit up for him before side-footing a volley past Nick Draper for the early lead. Randall seeking to make it a celebration in his final game before jetting off for Northern Kentucky University.

Randall was back at it soon after, gassing down that left wing but his square ball to Jorge Akers was off target – Akers could have gotten closer for a better angle too. But then Greive, who had already slid around a tackle and fired a shot narrowly over the top right at the beginning, slammed another one high after fine work from Nathan Lobo... funky to see Lobo and Jackson Woods on opposite sides here having been NYL teammates for Auckland City last year. Greive was looking like Waitakere’s best prospect and there was a spell where he just kept swinging free kicks into the box and Bill Robertson kept winning headers. Then HBU almost got a second when Gavin Hoy dished for Akers at the far post but the ball was achingly out of his reach.

Waitakere began to push things after half an hour yet finding room to shoot wasn’t easy. Hawke’s Bay got a shot in the arm last week when they switched to a back three, to start with anyway, and here that formation worked even better against a team with a similar shape. Waitakere’s front two were getting smothered and their wing-backs weren’t quite holding their shape which was allowing Randall space to stretch the Waitak defence – with Mandair very clearly working under the direction to get Randall the ball early and often.

Gavin Hoy went close from a free kick but Draper was there to stop it, just as he was with a lovely double save off the resulting corner to stop Hoyle and then Hoy. At the other end Alex Greive still felt most likely to do something for WU and he shot just wide with a slight deflection in the 38th minute after picking up the ball with room to run. Fergus Neil later blocked a Gerard Garriga GIbert shot on the line. It was corner kick after corner kick for Waitakere to close the half but HBU didn’t have any dramas with that. They’d rather defend set pieces with their size at the back than the open play stuff. 1-0 at HT and incredibly this winless HBU team still hasn’t conceded a first half goal this campaign.

Sam Pickering replaced McKechnie when the teams came back out, probably a reflection Hawke’s Bay needing to maintain their physicality in the midfield and with McKechnie already on a yellow card he had to be sacrificed. Waitakere wasted no time in getting back on the front foot as Greive slalom-ed his way into the area only for Scott Morris to make a strong one-handed save at his near post. After which it was HBU’s turn for a useful five minute spell but they came up against the same issues of limited space to shoot and average finishing when... at least it’s not as annoying when you’re already leading. Angus Kilkolly was brought on in the 55th minute to help things for WU. Murati then charged into the area and tonked one low which Robertson blocked and Morris gathered up at the second attempt. Waitakere looked decent when those wing-backs could attack things from those side angles, turning the Bay defenders around. Robbo then showed off some of that corner kick prowess at the other end with a header just past the post.

There was no doubt that Waitakere were worthy of a goal or two but as Alex Greive dragged a shot across goal on a running volley it was getting harder to see where those goals might come from. It didn’t help that the game was getting a bit stop-start either with Gavin Hoy and Shuaib Khan both needing treatment after possible head knocks and Nathan Lobo was subbed off with cramping. It’s not as if Hawke’s Bay were playing flawless footy either, they got very lucky with a few bounces in the box while they were far from clinical getting out on the counter attack. But they were scrapping hard and then, in the 84th minute, they put it away. Akers with a sharp pass into space for Randall who dashed onto it and then looked up, spotting Draper off his line, and quite sensationally chipped him from about 30 metres. Look upon his work yonder and despair...

Jesse Randall, mate. His fourth goal of the season... also Hawke’s Bay’s fourth goal of the season. Gonna be awkward for them when they get back underway next year and he’s gone and they don’t have a single goal-scorer in their entire squad. It’s not just the goals he’s scored but the quality of some of those goals. He’ll do wonders at NKU.

Hawke’s Bay closed it out the rest of the way... in fact they had a chance or two to add a third (but none that fell to Randall so shoulda known they wouldn’t score). A 2-0 victory to carry into the break, finally getting their first points of the season at the sixth attempt. Bill Robertson and Jim Hoyle were superb. Karan Mandair did great, especially first half. And of course Jesse Randall offering the cutting edge when they needed it. Hard not to feel pleased for a team that’s had some bad beats this year... first national league clean sheet for Scotty Morris too.

Not even sure what to say about Waitakere... you get the feeling that they’re still working on combinations having used 19 different starting players across six games. Sam Burfoot’s controlling presence was an enormous miss here as well. That’s now five games in a row without a win for them and it could be an uphill slog if they lose Alex Greive should he return to the States (he was an NKU fella too – Stu Riddle doing his bit for the culture by recruiting kiwis). Seem to recall some mention of that eventuality but we’ll see how it goes when we all get back from holiday. Quite a few players could be off come the New Year with USA college programmes getting back into it... the WeeNix usually lose a few blokes. Henry Hamilton is one who’s signed on with Maryland, for example.

Last but absolutely not least it was the lovely Porritt Stadium where Hamilton Wanderers faced Eastern Suburbs in what had the potential to be one of the tastiest entertainment packages of the entire season. Two positive teams with very high technical levels but the firmness and directness of Wanderers contrasting with the off-ball movement and quick passing interplay of Suburbs. Been fizzing for this game all week.

Nothing unexpected at all about Wanderers’ XI. All the usuals including Xavier Pratt returning from missing the previous match – the other ten starters still having started every game so far. Suburbs were a little different though. They were without the services of captain Adam Thomas after his red card last week – a straight red too so presumably that’ll be a multiple week absence. Without him Kelvin Kalua came back in at right back while Dan Edwards was a surprise pick on the left side of defence. Edwards had slid into right back last week (until Kalua came on) after the red card and with Robi Sabo on the bench you’d assume that was a tactical tweak to deal with Tommy Semmy’s physicality (speed as well as strength). That meant Campbell Strong also came back into the side while Ryan Feutz held his spot in the front three.

The two top scorers coming into this round were both on show: Adam Thurston (5) & Derek Tieku (4). But these were also the two teams who had conceded the fewest goals. So naturally having said all that... only five minutes into the game Ryan Feutz spun on a Stephen Hoyle touch across and whacked in the opening goal. A first Premiership strike for the young fella out of Ole Academy. Bit of a shock to the home crowd – Wanderers hadn’t conceded a goal earlier than first half stoppage time all season and they’ve only spent 13 minutes trailing all season.

It was a very handy start from Eastern Suburbs as they were getting their fullbacks amongst it on attack and allowing their wingers to float and drift. It was all looking pretty nice for them. But while this game was unfolding itself to us there were little signs that neither Adam Thurston or Tommy Semmy were a hundred percent. Semmy had come off injured last week with a knock to his knee so it was a bit of a gamble picking him in the first place, the tilter being that he would have a few weeks to recover afterwards. But that gamble went bust about 17 minutes into things when Semmy tried to run onto a Mark Jones ball down the right sideline and he pulled up in a limp straight away and called for the change. Not good... and equally bad was Adam Thurston dropping to the deck in the same injury break and he had to be swapped out too. So the best attacking player for each team subbed off inside twenty minutes... goddammit.

Kingsley Sinclair came on for Suburbs while if there was a positive for HW it was that Jordan Lamb would get 70 minutes to work on his stepovers and to try add to the goal he scored against Canterbury a few weeks back. Lamb has been the first man off the bench for Wanderers in every single game, this by far the biggest cameo he’s had this year. And even without Tommy Semmy the home side still had Derek Tieku’s excellent movement and anticipation up front and in the 21st minute he latched onto a sharp ball from Mark Jones which split the Suburbs defence through the middle and Tieku slotted it. Back on even terms... in this game as well as in the Golden Boot ranks, Tieku back level with Thurston on five bangers apiece.

With both teams on the scoreboard that gave them the freedom to dish up the game we’d been hoping for. Eastern Suburbs had a really sharp spell around that half hour zone with Reid Drake shooting over the top and Stevie Hoyle putting in a scary low cross that evaded everyone. Then Drake poked wide at the near post from a Feutz delivery before Suburbs got another one to stick, Kelvin Kalua intercepting a ball on halfway and dashing forward to slip it to Feutz on the edge of the area and Feutz’s first time shot curled beyond Matt Oliver to restore the lead for the Lilywhites.

Wanderers responded with a few deep crosses from their fullbacks which didn’t quite hit the target, the Suburbs press making it tricky for them to work the ball into better areas to spring their attacks from. Josh Signey had a shot from distance too as the half edged towards a close... but then Oliver had to dive to keep out a Campbell Strong shot which lived up to his last name. Would have been a brilliant goal. Suburbs leading 2-1 as the players dispersed back to the sheds.

Bit of a fascinating one from Kale Herbert at the break as he made a big tweak to the formation, shifting into a 3-5-2 shape (or some variation thereof). Joe Harris wemt into the back three with Davidson and Jones out wide. Pratt and Signey able to get well forward from midfield in support of Tieku and Lamb with Whitworth holding. It also meant the back three, Messenger in particular, could step forward in possession and the result was pretty immediately clear as Wanderers forced the game into the Suburbs half. Jones was heavily active down that right side... though it took about ten minutes before Jordan Lamb swung his leg at a bouncer which Danyon Drake made a good save from.

Endearing Premmy Moment: Joe Harris using the rope fencing as a slingshot for a long throw...

It was so much better from Hamilton Ws but as we ticked over an hour they still trailed by a goal. And all the while Suburbs were more than capable of running at them on the break. Ryan Feutz especially, who was gunning for that hat-trick (and also, on one occasion, gunning for Brock Messenger’s shinpads as he was yellowed for a bad challenge). This was as confident as Feutz has looked as a national league player. Love to see it.

Unfortunately Kelvin Kalua then joined the list of casualties from this game. Already made the point but worth repeating it’s a good thing they’ve got the next two weekends off. Kalua had been battling through some damage he sustained in the first half so Stafford Dowling replaced him – up against the team he had a breakout campaign with two seasons ago but we haven’t really seen him at this level since he left Wanderers. Also eventually Robi Sabo came on for Campbell Strong and Dan Edwards went into midfield.

A Jordan Lamb cross landed on top of the crossbar via Christian Gray’s head. Then from the HW corner Mark Jones volleyed over the top when the ball found him with a bit of space at the far post. In the 72nd minute Xavier Pratt had a crack on the run-up that was deflected for an easy Drake save. A handful of quite handy corner deliveries too, including one that Owen Comber (on as a sub) headed over with ten to play. But 2-1 it remained as Comber took a snapshot at the near post and Danyon Drake shoved it clear. Then again as Contratti headed just wide.

Reminiscent of the game against the Wellington Phoenix two weeks ago and those shades continues when Wanderers earned a very lucky penalty. Owen Comber had made a great impact running at defenders and he didn’t give up as it looked like Sabo had tackled him, recovering to square the ball into danger where Signey’s shot was blocked by Tyler Lissette in his chest... only for an inexplicable penalty to be awarded for handball. Lissette tried to argue his case as the ref stood there with the yellow card held in his face for about 15 full seconds.

Not that it mattered, Danyon Drake saved Pratt’s spottie and with only five minutes left it remained 2-1.

Still Wanderers threw all they could at the Lilywhites. When those five minutes were done there were five more minutes added on. Ryan Feutz nearly put the game out of reach first when he got around the edge and squared to Hoyle but he was mobbed with his back to goal before he could get his shot off from six yards. Wanderers were in desperation mode now. Josh Signey had a shot blocked. Then more good work from Comber led to a Davidson shot but he didn’t catch it cleanly. It was absolutely frantic, heart-racing stuff. But Eastern Suburbs held on for a 2-1 win that lifts them ahead of Wanderers on goal difference into second place. Probably need a cold glass of water after all that.

The undefeated start ends for Hamilton Wanderers. They missed the game-breaking nature of Tommy Semmy and they also missed a penalty. Didn’t make full use of the other chances they created and that’s what happens. There was some bad luck in there too but you can’t say this wasn’t coming. They only just snatched a draw against the WeeNix not long ago. Conceded late to draw with Waitakere last week. Wanderers a little too wasteful these last three games and it finally caught up with them. So it goes, they remain in a very envious position as 2020 comes to a close.

As are Eastern Suburbs. Unlucky to lose to Auckland City in week one and since then they’re undefeated including a draw against Team Welly and a win against Hamilton. This is a team with title credentials, don’t even doubt it. They had to absolutely cling to this one at the end and they showed that they can win them that way too. Danyon Drake came up trumps with a wonderful performance. Ryan Feutz added a fresh dimension to their play even without Adam Thurston out there – probably gotta say man of the match for Feutz given how it turned out. Also their defence has some newfound stability since Tyler Lissette returned from injury to partner Christian Gray. In fact Suburbs might be the happiest of all the Premiership clubs with how the first six rounds have panned out for them.

And now... we get a couple weeks off. Take a trip to the beach. Read a few books. Work on the ol’ tan. Go for some long walks through nature. Just get away from it all for a while. Whatever it is that helps you relax in the wonderful summer months, treat yourself. You deserve it. The Premmy Files will be waiting as good as ever when you get back.

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