Hamilton Wanderers versus Wellington Phoenix, that was our first kick off of the week, Porritt Stadium being the scene of the crime. What exactly the crime was, well that depends on your personal allegiances but suffice to say this game was a crazy one. Wanderers had the complete dream team available. Same starting eleven as beat Canterbury a week ago – the only change they’ve made to that XI all season was the one game Xavier Pratt missed when he failed a late fitness test and Owen Cromber started in his place. But Pratt was back the next week, no dramas.

Very different story for the WeeNix. You never quite know with these things, like Ben Old missed the start last week because he’d been unable to train while studying for his NCEA chemistry exam, but with Jaylen Rodwell sliding to right back, Finn Surman and Liam Moore coming in at CB, Harry Bark starting at left back (with Ollie van Rijssel playing in midfield) it was a very different looking defence. That could have been a tactical thing with the aim of getting more pace in there against Derek Tieku and Tommy Semmy. Could also have been pure rotation. Whatever the logic was, captain Kurtis Mogg was on the bench and so were Luis Toomey and Riley Bidois - the trio of them having each started all the opening three matches. Ben Old returned on the right wing with George Ott getting his first start for the WeeNix up front against his old team. Looking something like a 4-5-1 formation which meant heaps of protection on the wings. Incredibly, this was the first game that the WeeNix have played on grass all season.

Couple early chances on offer. A Rodwell giveaway had Mark Jones in space but Rodwell himself recovered to win the ball back. Joe Harris swung another towards the far post with dangerous intent. Then Tommy Semmy put the moves on van Rijssel to cross to Tieku and this one for sure looked like a goal to the point where it was almost a double-take moment to realise that Alex Paulsen had somehow tipped it over. Outrageous goalkeeping.

Wanderers’ physical toughness was always gonna be difficult for the WeeNix but they did have their moments. Paul Temple will have been a bit bummed to see some crucial HW tackles getting in the way alongside some relatively poor set piece deliveries or else there’d have been a fair bit more pressure on Matt Oliver’s goal. Meanwhile Brad Whitworth was having a great game at the base of midfield while Xavier Pratt, in a more advanced role, was keeping the press nice and high. Tommy Semmy cut back on his right foot but shot straight at Paulsen. Semmy then had another shot after some sharp work from Jonesy but it was blocked by Finn Surman (minor appeals for a handball there, declined).

It felt like a matter of time until the dam burst yet that’s when the WeeNix had their best spell of the game so far. Van Rijssel had a shot go wide. A Harry Bark cross caught the head of Ben Old but then clipped the outside of the opposite post and bobbled away. So close. We hadn’t seen a lot from the target man George Ott but Old was able to find those little oases of space to pick up the ball in and launch a few scintillating runs. Really enjoyable game going on in Hamilton... no idea how it was still scoreless at the break.

There was a similar flow to the second half. A little bit of a feeling out period and then Old hit Oskar van Hattum who took it around Oliver in goal but didn’t put enough power on his finish and Tino Contratti recovered to make the goal-line clearance. Van Hattum then almost got in again cutting onto his right foot but Oliver was able to defy him. This was getting proper frisky now with Harry Bark in the book for clattering Jones, who would be replaced by Jordan Lamb after while with the Tron Wands going even more aggressive for that elusive goal. Liam Moore made a great challenge on Tieku after a Josh Signey intercept... there always seemed to be one defender too many for Wanderers’ liking as they fell into the habit of trying too hard to create that perfect opportunity – lots of dribbling around the box with no shot at the end of it. And that’s saying something because there was no shortage of shots either.

The last half hour was when this game truly got wild. Derek Tieku curled one wide. Lamb had a shot blocked on the turn then Signey sliced the rebound off target from a half-volley with a clear sight of goal (a rarity here). Semmy stormed in from the right wing and drew a one-handed save from Paulsen at his near post. Comber (on as a sub) shot wide from the resulting corner kick. The WeeNix were scrambling. They were being absolutely battered... then they scored. 77th minute and Riley Bidois was played through on the direct counter. Tino Contratti did his best to haul him down as the last man (earning a post-goal yellow card) but Bidois held his balance then held his nerve to beat Oliver with his left foot. Peeling away in exhilarated celebration. What a moment.

Shades of this one, right?

This was the first time all season that Wanderers had been trailing in a game. Now the home side was even more desperate than they already had been and Paulsen made a great save to keep Lamb from levelling – Lamb had a very useful cameo in this one. Wanderers won corner after corner, with Contratti blocked after Messenger had set him up. Then Contratti had another effort saved. There were five minutes to be added on as Jordan Lamb slipped his way into the penalty area only to shoot into the side-netting.

And then... drama. Long ball swung over from the right wing and Henry Hamilton gave Tino Contratti a nudge in the back at the far post. Honestly there was very little in it... but the ref pointed to the spot. Didn’t really need to touch him at all, to be fair. Tommy Semmy capped another frightening performance by converting from the penalty spot. All game long it’d felt like a Wanderers penalty waiting to happen thanks to the storming efforts of Semmy and company and when they eventually got one it wasn’t at all like how it was supposed to happen.

There was still enough time for Wanderers to try sneak a chaotic winner as Paulsen awkwardly parried away a Derek Tieku shot... but 1-1 was the way it ended. Wanderers remain undefeated after throwing the kitchen sink and more at the WeeNix in that second half. That ensured they’d stay top of the table regardless of whatever else happened in the other games. Yet another example of late drama in a Premiership game this season.

The WeeNix will be gutted by that. They’ve done the late goal thing themselves so they know what the other side of the equation is like, but having defended so immensely for so long it’ll feel like they let this one slip. With the weight of shots they allowed it might’ve been 4-1 on an unluckier day so can’t exactly say Hamilton didn’t deserve anything from the game, but that’s not what you think about back in the changing sheds when you’ve leaked an injury time penalty. Still, all them changes at the back and they mostly worked, plus they were still able to create plenty things of their own throughout the match. All in all that’s a promising effort against the league leaders. Another impressive game from Alex Paulsen too, goddamn.

Hawke’s Bay United versus Canterbury United at Bluewater Stadium in Napier. Another fine grassy surface. These were the two bottom teams, each without a point to their name, but at least somebody was gonna take something outta this one. Neither has been as bad as their record suggests, they each just took a little while longer to get going than a few other teams. Always gonna be an issue for some teams given the circumstances of the league this season.

When you’re losing games, you switch things up. You try to find different ways of playing and hope that alters your luck. The Dragons were all about that ‘change your look, change your life’ mentality as they switched to a back four here – Andrew Storer and Tom Schwarz in the middle with Sam Field on the left and Sean Liddicoat on the right. That allowed Lyle Matthysen to play in a more advanced role and he was involved in a couple early sighters for them. It also allowed them to pick both Seth Clark and Yuya Taguchi in support of Garbhan Coughlan and a recalled Ihaia Delaney who split duties up front. Not a lot different for HBU though. Karan Mandair came back into the midfield for Cory Vickers but that was it.

Hawke’s Bay have pace to hit on the break or from the wings but Canterbury were able to guard those outlets with pressure on the ball higher up the field and it was obvious from the start how having that extra midfielder unlocked a more intricate style of play. More movement and short passing compared to the route one stuff we’d seen earlier in the season from the Dragons. It was a ball in to Coughlan’s feet in the box that allowed him to turn and shoot about a dozen minutes in for the first proper save of the match, Scott Morris tipping it over the top.

The risk of that is obviously the increased space around their defence and thus the added likelihood of Jesse Randall of Kailan Gould getting one on one with a defender. A few times Randall seemed to get into good positions but it broke down around him with Tom Schwarz reading the play very well at the back for CU. Hence it was the Dragons looking much better in possession whereas Hawke’s Bay had trouble keeping the ball, partly thanks to impatience and partly thanks to being outnumbered. Karan Mandair did do a couple nice things defensively but there was often too much eagerness to push the pass from all them HBU fellas.

Yet for the most part HBU were able to handle what Canterbury threw back at them. Half an hour in it looked like Coughlan was gonna score as Matthysen sent him through... but Morris made a good low save with his foot. He then needed his left hand after 33 mins as Seth Clark lined one up from distance. Brewing as another quality showing from the rookie Bay keeper. Meanwhile Danny Knight didn’t really have much to do at all other than stroking a few goal kicks but nonetheless we were still even at the break.

The first goal was always gonna be massive in a game like this between two teams a lil shy on confidence after three defeats in a row and it was the Dragons who seemed to have a better idea of how they were gonna strike. Seven minutes into the second half they did exactly that. Garbhan Coughlan held off a defender to pick up a throw in on the right, fed it down the line to where Sean Liddicoat was overlapping, and his low cross to the near post was turned in by Ihaia Delaney. There it was.

It was clear that Canterbury had made a point of getting their fullbacks further forward in the second half. Sam Field and Sean Liddicoat each had multiple moments getting in behind the defence. It was also clear that Lyle Matthysen had been wasted playing in a wing-back role before now, that dude’s far too talented an attacker to be playing that far away from goal. Hawke’s Bay did have a few half chances to get back on level terms, Kailan Gould cutting in on his left foot in particular. But then in the 68th minute Garbhan Coughlan took a pop from the left edge of the area and curled it into the top corner. A few minutes after that Field managed to cut one back to Taguchi on the second attempt and the Japanese forward, by far the most involved he’s been in a game to date, gave it a whack past Scott Morris to make it 3-0.

Uncharted terrain for the Dragons, who hadn’t held a lead all season and now were three goals up. Painfully familiar for the Bay on the other hand. Substitute George King had a late chance to make it four after Matthysen had set him up but Jackson Woods made a good block. No dramas, three goals and a clean sheet was more than enough.

HBU will feel like they should have done better with a few of the shots they did have but Canterbury generally had numbers back in defence to make it hard for them. Cory Mitchell did a good job shielding that backline. All the forwards chipped in off the ball (Taguchi and Coughlan especially). Lee Padmore had a plan for this game and it worked perfectly... meanwhile it’s back to the drawing board for The Bay as they sink to a lonely last on the table. In a game where their counter-attacking preferences weren’t really available, they didn’t have it in them to create things with more patience and therefore struggled to drop an anchor in this game. Never stopped scrapping away but the scoreboard didn’t lie.

Later that same Sunday afternoon it was Eastern Suburbs hosting Waitakere United at Madills Farm... a remarkable thing because all four games this week were held on natural grass surfaces as indeed all national league games ought to be. Suburbs have looked superb the last couple weeks and Hoani Edwards wasn’t about to do anything to the formula here. Campbell Strong came in for Dan Edwards for a bit more of a defensive mind against a team with plenty of midfield prowess. Kelvin Kalua also replaced Alex Solomons at centre back.

But after conceding six goals in the last two games Waitakere were a bit more ruthless. Both wingbacks were on the bench (Murati & Lobo) with Jack Duncan and Zac Zoricich called up in their place. Sammy Khan also found himself on the bench with Leon van den Hoven sliding back into the defence alongside Andrew Cromb and Nic Milicich (making his season debut – yes, Zorocich and Milicich are both the sons of) while Gerard Garriga Gibert returned to the starters in midfield. Josh Redfearn was also rewarded for his late equaliser last week with a start up from with neither Angus Kilkolly nor Alex Connor-McClean in the squad at all. East Auckland versus West Auckland, away we go.

Both these teams like to load the midfield and get their wide defenders high up the park so it made sense that the opening moments here felt like the early stages of a boxing bout where you’re just throwing little jabs to get a handle on your opponent. Though Waitakere probably shoulda scored on eight mins when some sharp work by Danyon Drake with the ball at his feet wasn’t enough to get Suburbs out of pressure and it ended with Jack Duncan open at the far post volleying straight at Drake. But then Dunc made amends in the 14th minute. Again pushing all the way forward as Dane Schnell sliced a pot-shot on the perimeter and there was Duncan collecting the loose ball to nudge it past Drake for the early lead.

Suburbs’ quest to respond took place through the work of Stephen Hoyle. First he put Strong through but Nick Draper was able to close him down before he could get a shot past him. Soon after he had a shot himself that was blocked as he drifted across the goal. Then he slipped Reid Drake in only for the offside flag to pop up. A no-look reverse pass to Sean Bright in the box earned a corner. Nothing tangible on the end product but more than Subs had offered prior to the goal.

We had ourselves a midfield battle for a lot of this first half. Kingsley Sinclair shot just over after a corner kick for Suburbs and other than that there were heaps of example of clever passing triangles but not a lot that stretched either defence. Until, that is, the 40th minute when GGG slipped a quick ball to Dane Schnell on the run in a rare case where the Suburbs defensive midfielders were caught out of position and Schnelly fed Redfearn peeling wide. Redfearn probably had about a ball or two’s width to aim at towards the far post given the angle he was shooting from but he picked out that gap to make it 2-0 to Waitakere.

Drake made a good low save to gather a Duncan header at the far post, Triple G sending one over the top on the cross. Thurston and Hoyle each had halfies down the other end. Then Drake again had to be sharp to push a Redfearn volley over the crossbar. Pretty fascinating game as we hit the sheds for half-time.

There were two changes by Suburbs at the break with Dan Edwards replacing Campbell Strong, who had played alright in that half but down two goals they needed Edwards to bring them some more attacking punch outta midfield. Ryan Feutz also replaced Kingsley Sinclair. And you know what? It took them all of 146 seconds to get back into it. Adam Thurston with a crack from range and with the form that dude’s been in of course he curled it inside the post for his fourth goal in three games. Towards the end of the last half Thurston had been forced to drift around searching for ways to get involved as his left wing role was squeezed out of focus by Waitakere. That led him into those central areas which was where he picked up that ball (from Hoyle, of course) and did the business.

The same bloke hit the crossbar in the 54th minute, unleashing from even further out this time. Then after a cheeky nutmeg in the box by Adam Thomas it was Ryan Feutz who seemed destined to score with the keeper out of position but he couldn’t hit the target and collapsed with head in hands at the reality of it all. Sometimes life’ll get ya like that.

Eastern Suburbs were well on top of this game by now and relying on a reshuffled defence is not how Waitakere fans would prefer it. But Andrew Cromb (the one ever-present defender for WU) and Nic Milicich in particular were having very good games and Sam Burfoot was around to ensure that they were always able to string a few passes together when the opportunity was on. And with Alex Grieve lurking there’s gonna be chances. He played a magical reverse pass to Schnell on 63 mins but Drake was able to get a foot on the shot to deny Schnell. Van den Hoven then got a header on target from the corner but it was cleared away. Reggie Murati later came off the bench and lashed one across the face of goal. Defs not one-way traffic, Waitakere responding well to conceding with a strong spell of their own.

But then 77 minutes played and Suburbs did one of those Suburbs moves where it’s quick passing and movement and all that lovely football we love to see. Edge of the area and Reid Drake pushed it to Edwards and kept running past him as Edwards went around the corner to Hoyle who flicked it in behind to Feutz and he was shadowed instantly by Nick Draper and his big gloves but the ball bounced back off him and hit Sammy Khan on the hand. Sammy Khan who had literally just come on as a sub about a minute earlier. There were arguments. It was accidental. But he basically volleyballed the thing out for a corner so gotta call it. Stephen Hoyle buried it into the back stanchion (which for half a second made it look like it’d missed) despite Draper guessing the right way and it was 2-2 after 78 mins.

Which gave us a thrilling last quarter of an hour or so (including injury time) as both teams pushed relentlessly for a winner. Ryan Feutz couldn’t get his shot on target drifting across the area. Adam Thurston was closed down by Nick Draper in a great position for the big chest save. Waitakere had a flurry of corner kicks. Khan had a shot pushed wide. Both goalkeepers were excellent in this game, by the way. Otto Ingham had one saved on the counter attack as Suburbs sliced through Waitakere deep into stoppage time and Draper’s save there proved to be the final act of the match. 2-2 the final score. Decent point for both sides. Breathe out now.

Bringing us to the televised game which was Team Wellington against Auckland City at David Farrington Park, one of the last times we’ll ever see these two great rivals going head to head. With the changes coming to the Premiership next season these two clubs will effectively disappear from existence at the end of the season. Team Wellington will mostly merge back into Miramar Rangers. Auckland City will mostly merge back into Central United. But the super clubs that have dominated the local landscape over the last 15 or so years will be no more. (And yes I will write about all that... but to be perfectly honest I’m still trying to get my head around what I think about it).

Hugely curious to see Auckland City line up in a back four. Pretty sure that’d be the first time that’s happened since Jose Figueira took over... possibly a trick against his old club or it could simply be that they’re running out of central defenders. No Tom Doyle or Mario Bilen in this squad. Adam Mitchell and Brian Kaltack started at CB, Alfie Rogers and Jordan Vale at fullback. Andy Blake played further forward in an attacking role while, crucially, Logan Rogerson was back from injury to start at striker. As for Team Welly they were exactly the same as last week except with Alex Palezevic instead of Wan Gatkek. No Andy Bevin for the TeeDubs again.

The early impressions of the ACFC back four was that it was a shambles. The spacing looked about like you’d expect it to having only had one week to work on it though they did still have a midfield trio of Mario Ilich, Albert Riera & Cam Howieson so they weren’t too exposed. Bit rude of the ref to manage to book a centre back from each team before there’d even been a shot in anger... it wasn’t until the 11th minute when this one finally caught a spark. That was when Logan Rogerson figured he’d have a pop from distance and the shot hit Mario Barcia on the head and looped up over Keegan Smith (Scott Basalaj still working back from injury) and into the net. Not a good look for Smithy but it’s not as if he could have expected that one to scoop him like that. One of those remarkable fluke goals... but it only happened because Rogerson was willing to play direct and with confidence, already bringing an edge to ACFC that they’d almost entirely lacked the last two weeks.

Dylan Manickum shoulda scored straight after. Rogerson had faked a run to distract the defender and Riera picked out Manickum instead, who was rushed on by Keegan Smith way out of his area but Manickum took it too casually and tried to slide it past him rather than rounding him for a sitter. The ball dribbled wide. Then Riera put a brilliant ball over to Rogerson but he shanked the shot for an easy save. Good signs from City, all things considered.

In the 21st minute a ball we had ourselves one of those situations that force eyes to expand to popping levels of openness. A loose ball with Hamish Watson and Brian Kaltack both dashing towards it. Heavyweight clash right there and sure enough a pair of shoulders crashed into each other in an almighty collision. But Kaltack was a little late on the challenge. Watto was quick to point that out to the referee, who obliged by showing Kaltack his second yellow card. A reminder we were only 21 minutes into the match. Two yellows already. Not a lot of leniency there you’ve gotta say... both were acceptable yellows but they’d also have been acceptable non-yellows so for ACFC to have to play 69 minutes with ten men was kinda rough.

Then again... maybe not. Because they scored immediately after, Rogerson played through by Howieson and he slotted it for 2-0. Didn’t he bloody love it too? Absolute insanity in this one. Another example of the difference that Rogerson made to this team and that second goal allowed them to settle into game management mode despite the numerical disadvantage... Alfie Rogers going into CB and Andrew Blake dropping back, no need to make a sub. To be honest the home side only really created one obvious chance in that first half and it was Nati Hailemariam but Cameron Brown made a super save and City kept things tidy for a 2-0 lead at the half. City were playing better with ten men, lol.

The other day in the cricket, Kraigg Brathwaite and John Campbell (not that one) did amazingly for the West Indies to bat out most of the final session of the second day of the cricket Test without losing a wicket. They then came back out the next day and the team crumbled to be bowled out for 138. This wasn’t exactly the same but if there’s one thing that’ll be chewing Figueira up inside it’s the first ten minutes after the half when City were just a tad slack, caught on the backfoot, and undid a lot of that great work after the red card. Five minutes in there was a phantom foul called on Adam Mitchell who’d bumped into Nati Hailemariam. Similar to the one in the Wanderers game and the exact same result. Joao Moreira took the spottie and scored against his old team to keep up his hot streak – that’s now three games in a row in which he’s scored. Team Welly comeback mode initiated.

Interesting too because Hamish Watson took their penalty last week and scored but they swapped duties here. Scott Hales then had to sub off his captain Barcia with the fella already on a final warning (although Kaltack didn’t get one of those, hmm) and unbelievably Logan Rogerson again scored immediately after a setback... but it was unbelievable for a reason. Dude was offside, didn’t count. Then in the 54th minute Hamish Watson shaped up on Mitchell, went in then went out again, unleashed a shot, and boom it was 2-2. Nice assist from substitute Wan Gatkek too, who had a sharp forty-odd minutes out there.

Full credit to City, they could have shut up shop to try and secure that point which was potentially slipping away but instead they brought on Yousif Ali for Riera in a positive move that signalled they still wanted to win this. Heaps of defending to do in the meantime, however. Ben Mata headed one narrowly past the post off a Rory McKeown free kick for TW, who then thought they’d gone ahead when Moreira headed one back to Hailemariam but there was an offside or something in there, not really sure. Sorta looked like it might’ve come off a City defender but whatever.

Time for some Classic Handy Prem now, as Ben Mata lost his boot and Hamish Watson picked it up to deliver back to him, then ended up winning the ball with the fella’s boot still in hand. Hilarious yarns.

Rogerson understandably started cramping up with twenty to play and was replaced by Mohamed Awad... but City seemed more and more unable to get anything going in attack once Rogerson left the park. Elsewhere Ben Mata kept on being targeted at the far post from those TW set pieces, too big to guard (and having an excellent game too, just quietly), while some of those low crosses were causing carnage. Yet City got bodies in the box and scrambled well. The last major chance came when Brown pushed away a McKeown shot and the rebound fell to Taylor Schrijvers but he put it over the bar. Auckland City then patiently iced the stoppage time period and were able to fly back north with a 2-2 draw.

Not the ideal result for either team. Team Welly will be happy to stay undefeated but this was a missed opportunity for them, unable to get the win against a team that played more than three quarter of the game with ten men. Fair to say that the TeeDubs haven’t been anywhere near their best yet so to be sitting second on the ladder ain’t too bad. Auckland City should be fairly satisfied with a point given the early red card, those things always cause pre-game expectations to be incinerated, and being away from home with a few injuries also affects proceedings. Rogerson’s return was huge. Especially with Emiliano Tade a chance to miss the rest of the calendar year. They do now have a big problem at centre-back though as Kaltack had been holding that crew together and now he’s suspended for next game.

Speaking of next week, the Phoenix Reserves will be hoping for three points as they host a Hawke’s Bay United dreaming of exactly the same thing. That’s a slippery game for both sides. Then Waitakere United host Hamilton Wanderers in a match-up that ought to produce plenty of goals. Those two are on Saturday, while Sunday offers us a fantastic game between Eastern Suburbs and Team Wellington as second plays third. Finally Canterbury United look to build on this week’s sweet victory as Auckland City come to town, perhaps a touch vulnerable with those injuries and suspensions. The Dragons will be hoping so, at least.

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