The Premmy Files – Men’s Premiership, Week 7
We’re back, comrades. A few weeks off to recharge the batteries and now we get to have a geeze at which players perhaps indulged too much in the holiday festivities and which dudes were up at 6am on Boxing Day to go for a run. This is always a curious time for the Premiership as there tends to be a bit of an exodus among the player ranks too with universities in America, trials in Scandinavia, Aussie state league contracts, and various other opportunities swinging around.
The Wellington Phoenix reserves are usually pretty affected by all that yet while their return saw a fair few changes to the side that lost 4-1 to Auckland City so far it’s only Henry Hamilton who’d disappeared – heading to the University of Maryland. Jaylen Rodwell and Ollie van Rijssel dropped to the bench for the first time this season. Finn Surman returned to CB alongside Kurtis Mogg. Luis Toomey dropped deeper with Adam Hillis back in. Oskar van Hattum also got his fourth start in seven games as George Ott was reverted to the subs list. Setting up in that familiar 4-2-2-2 shape.
As for their opponents, Canterbury United had slugged their way into some nice form with wins over Hawke’s Bay and Auckland City before losing to Team Wellington before Xmas. Here they kept the same back four but brought Luke Tongue and Lyle Matthysen back into the starters for Seth Clark and Eddie Wilkinson. All set for football, away we go.
Quick start to this one as both teams able to get their main attackers on the ball in good areas. Ben Old driving into the box and seeking space to shoot for the Phoenix. Garbhan Coughlan weaving his paths for the Dragons with defenders on their heels. Fine signs for an open and entertaining game but it was the WeeNix with that little bit more happening. Luke Tongue had a pop over the top before Old had a loopy header tipped high. Then twenty minutes in the breakthrough arrived... Oskar van Hattum showing some poise on the edge of the area to dummy past Cory Mitchell then his shot was charged down by Matthysen’s outstretched arm but no need to appeal for a spot kick because it deflected into the net anyway. First blood drawn by the WeeNix.
Ihaia Delaney looked for a sec like he was in behind the defence and about to lash in an equaliser but the ball didn’t sit up for him on the turf and Surman was able to get back and shut him down. Hence the Dragons had no choice but to score from the resulting corner kick instead. Inswinging delivery from set piece specialist Luke Tongue and it was actually Surman who headed it into his own net backtracking towards the goal. Cue that weird own goal vibe where the team that scored doesn’t really know how to celebrate and the team that conceded are too shell-shocked to react at all. Soon after, with the Nix still rattled, Garbhan Coughlan took an opportunistic swing on his left leg from distance and saw it come back off the crossbar. Might have been the tiniest of touches from Alex Paulsen in there too, hard to tell. But this game had changed.
A succession of Canterbury corner kicks were followed by some more Coughlan touches in the area but the WeeNix still had their outlets, in particular Ben Old who kept getting absolutely clattered trying to carry the ball forward but fair play to him because he kept on getting back up. His improved physicality has helped take his game to new levels this season, love seeing him getting into the trenches. Not that it halted the Dragons or anything as some lovely build up (the ball from Delaney was shaaaarp) led to Yuya Taguchi whacking one from just inside the box which Paulsen got down to save... although Toomey arguably shoulda given WPX the lead back in stoppage time when he placed his shot just wide after some patient (almost too patient) stuff in the penalty area. How good to have the Premiership back again, aye?
This week in ‘Dogs of the ISPS Handa Premiership’:
Towards the end of that opening half the WeeNix had finally started getting fullback Alex Clayton into some attacking areas and his mate Harry Bark extended that trend to the opposite side as the second half got underway, Ben Old threading a couple out to him in space. Problem was there were always so many red shirts in the middle of the field and the WeeNix weren’t delivering the sort of precision you need to bust that wall down. Still, at least they’d gotten back in the arm-wrestle having been on the back foot ever since scoring that goal. Tell ya what else, some of that one on one defending from Finn Surman and Kurtis Mogg was fantastic. In a match like this Nix CBs had to be aggressive and disciplined and they really were, especially Surman out there making amends for that cheeky oggie.
Canterbury went to the bench first bringing on George King and it was King who put one on Tom Schwarz’s head from a free kick but the header was off target. Just before that Coughlan had skipped a challenge and shot at the near post only for Paulsen to parry it away. Delaney also scooped one well over the top. Midway through the stanza and that parity that the WeeNix seemed to have found had crumbled away again... until Adam Hillis of all people hit a rocket which Danny Knight acrobatically palmed over.
With twenty mins left Paul Temple swapped out both WeeNix fullbacks with Jaylen Rodwell and Ollie van Rijssel entering the contest. At the same time Simon Chretien got his first app of the season for CU (same deal for Caleb Cottom who came on with ten mins remaining). It took a superb diving block from Cory Mitchell to stop Riley Bidois from converting a sweet move from Old and Rodwell down the right. Some of that passing play from the WeeNix was pure quality... but yeah the end product simply wasn’t there. The closest they got was a Tommy Raimbault ball over the top to OVH but his volley was touched wide by Knight. Heads in hands all over the place. Raimbault himself had a shot right before time expired but of course Tom Schwarz was there to block it.
Ah well, it started wild but ended up with the two sides cancelling each other out for a relatively tame 1-1 draw. Doesn’t do much for the table but neither side should be too bummed out by that. Poor Ben Old will be picking sprigs out of his shinpads for days to come after all the fouls he found himself on the wrong end of (although the only player booked all game: Ben Old), while Finn Surman was great apart from that one rather crucial error. Van Hattum and Raimbault had some moments too. For the other lot it was another commanding defensive shield from the triangle of Andrew Storer, Tom Schwarz & Cory Mitchell and the young fellas on the WeeNix couldn’t break them down. Gotta be encouraged seeing Garbhan Coughlan with his fingerprints (bootprints) everywhere as well even if this wasn’t a game where it quite happened for him. A draw was a fair result... this was one of those ‘soon forgotten’ games of footy.
Unlike Hamilton Wanderers versus Team Wellington which on paper was for sure the best matchup of week seven. Two teams entrenched in the top four, each with title credentials when on their best form although Wanderers had slumped into the New Year’s Gap with three winless games in a row. All the usuals in the Tron Wands line-up with nine of their starters having started every single game – the only change from the loss to Eastern Suburbs being Jordan Lamb getting the start with Tommy Semmy out hurt (he limped off early in that ES game).
Team Wellington’s side, on the other hand, served up their best performance so far in beating Canterbury Utd in week six (although curiously they haven’t won a single game outside of Wellington) and their eleven was full of intrigue. Still without Joao Moreira thanks to suspension but they finally regained the services of Andy Bevin after he’d missed four games through injury. Haris Zeb retained his spot at RWB. Taylor Schrijvers was back in the XI after sitting out the last game. No Justin Gulley or Nati Hailemariam in the squad... but there was a first start for Sam Dewar in midfield (who lifted the Central League trophy as captain of Miramar Rangers a few months back).
Also: RIP to Hamish Watson’s mullet but fair play to Watto for the charitable spirit.
Early doors and it was a fast-paced game between two physical teams that manifested itself in a flurry of fouls and overly-ambitious passing giveaways. A stricter ref coulda dished out at least a couple yellow cards inside the first quarter of an hour alone. As for genuine attempts at goal... that was different story. A few sneaky crosses that were dealt with by the likes of Schrivers or Contratti and that was that honestly pretty much as close as either team came until Xavier Pratt hit a simple low one at Scott Basalaj in the 28th minute.
Seriously, it was like every time the ball got into an attacking third there was a whistle. Often for a foul, occasionally for an offside. Every now and then someone managed to sneak in a corner kick but two very physical defensive units were bossing things. If you didn’t stay down injured at least once then you weren’t playing. Even Hamish Watson had some pain inflicted upon him (barrelled by the keeper after beating him to a bouncing ball, his header dribbling wide although Tino Contratti had it covered anyway). Usually it’s the other way around with Watto.
A flicked-on defensive header from Scott Midgley had his keeper scrambling. Then Haris Zeb flexed some skills in winning a corner - his duel with Adam Davidson was a fun one with two speedy youngsters going head to head and Zeb arguably getting the better of it. Andy Bevin dragged a shot wide after that corner which was a rarity as he struggled to find any space to work his magic in (and both teams were bypassing the midfield too much) but soon after that he snuck around the back of Brock Messenger to get another shot away which Matty Oliver denied.
Those were signs that this game was finally opening up... and following yet another injury break (Rory McKeown this time) we were finally blessed with a goal. Obviously it was gonna take something special to crack the stalemate but luckily Team Wellington have a fella who specialises in scoring special goals: Mario Barcia. A useful attacking venture was repelled by the Wanderers defence but Haris Zeb recovered the ball and knocked it back to Barcia who curled that little bastard perfectly into the top corner from range. It was a thoroughly beautiful goal on an afternoon which had otherwise been way more brawn than beauty.
And on a milestone day for him, no less...
Conceding like that seemed to light a spark for the home side and Xavier Pratt went close with a low drive before Derek Tieku held off Ben Mata from a throw in and the ball caught Mata on the hand. Penalty to HW. Pretty soft but it definitely hit him where it’s not supposed to hit him. Unlucky more than anything. Tieku stepped up to take it and naturally he smashed it in sending Basalaj the wrong way. Then he almost ran the wrong way himself, scooping up the ball to run back to the half before remembering there was a ball boy behind the goal holding up a spare #20 Wanderers jersey just like the one on his back. The ball boy even stepped forward to offer it to him as the ball went in. So Tieku circled back around, held up the spare jersey, and then ran back to halfway again. Gotta rate the creativity for the celebration but sadly the execution was lacking. But it’s Derek Tieku so he’ll get heaps of practice to get it right. That was his league-leading sixth goal of the campaign. He’s also one of three Wanderers players to have taken penalties this season (Semmy scored one, Pratt missed one).
Happy to report that the second half began with much more tangible attacking quality than the first half did and that was all down to Team Wellington. Rory McKeown stormed into the penalty area on the end of a Messenger header but Oliver made a very good stop down low. That fella didn’t have a chance soon after as Haris Zeb struck a deflected shot that left him flat-footed but the ball came back down off the crossbar. Then Mata put a diving header just wide at the back post from a corner.
Wanderers survived that and soon enough were offering their own threats, like when Jordan Lamb slipped a clever ball in for Tieku which Basalaj charged down and then Lamb’s follow up shot was kicked wide by Bas. Schrijvers made a super tackle on Tieku. Barcia hacked a Davidson shot off the line. Then a sloppy header allowed Bevin to sneak in and it looked for all money like he’d score except Oliver made another solid stop. Not really a day for the diving screamers but regardless this was turning out to be a huge showcase for the respective goalkeepers. Basalaj got his palms stung by a Joe Harris shot after a free kick swung into the area. Then probably the best of the bunch as Jordan Lamb utterly mashed one that Basalaj tipped over the top in a mid-air stretch.
At which point the defenders regained control. Ben Mata get a header on target from a free kick but Oliver saved it comfortably and there was one amazing chance for Derek Tieku to win it as he ran onto a Brock Messenger chip over the top but in trying to lob Basalaj on the bounce he put it well wide. If he’d backed himself with a more traditional kinda finish he might’ve scored. Into stoppage time now where Schrijvers well and truly earned himself a yellow card for a rugby tackle on Owen Comber just to put the icing on the cake of an extremely physical contest. But 1-1 was the way it ended.
That’s the third draw in four for Wanderers but they played pretty well, they won’t be too annoyed by that. A point against the TeeDubs is always a goodie. They could use a few more options when they get into those attacking areas but remember that they were without Tommy Semmy so obviously there were gonna be some ramifications. Defensively they were excellent, Tino Contratti was superb.
Same deal for the TeeDubs back three and of course they remain undefeated thanks to this result. Nice to see Aaron Spain make his first appearance of the season off the bench and in the second half Andy Bevin started to find his feet again, plus Moreira returns in two weeks as well. Team Welly have drawn more than they’ve won but three of those four draws were against the other teams in the top four so for the most part they’ve beaten the teams they should beat.
Hey so you remember that thing about players disappearing in the second half of Premiership seasons? Here’s one for ya...
Bright has been nothing short of superb as a holding midfielder for Eastern Suburbs so no surprises to see there’s interest from overseas. If he goes good in his trial he’ll be playing alongside his compatriots and fellow Ole Academy alums Eli Just, Dalton Wilkins & Callum McCowatt – all of whom were champs with Eastern Suburbs a couple years back.
Unfortunately for Eastern Suburbs they were also dealing with the absences of Stephen Hoyle and Adam Thurston as well as Adam Thomas who is still suspended (Hoyle was on the bench at least, working his way back from illness but not fit enough for ninety mins) so it was a pretty different looking side to the one that drew with Wanderers before the holidays. Stafford Dowling came in at right back for his first start with Kelvin Kalua sliding to the left. Dan Edwards moved back into midfield to take Bright’s spot. Ryan Feutz held his place in the front three after a great performance last time but he was joined by a much younger pair of mates as Otto Ingham and Jake Mechell each got starts – between those two and Dowling that’s three starters who had previously each only played once off the bench this campaign.
Hawke’s Bay were also dealing with a key player missing. Only the one but considering that Jesse Randall had scored all four of their goals through the first six weeks... yeah that’s a tricky one to overcome. However they did have French import Hugo Delhomelle back having been injured since week one, he slotted into midfield with Karan Mandair playing further forward as a number ten. Ahmed Othman also got the unfamiliar role of right wingback as HBU kept their back three in tact although Jim Hoyle was out so Fergus Neil dropped into the trio alongside Bill Robertson and Kaeden Atkins. So neither of the Hoyle Bros started. Had they both been fit then they might have even captained against each other... oh well.
Straight away you could tell that Suburbs were missing that guile of Thurston and that focal point of Hoyle. And you wouldn’t necessarily think to say it about an 18 year old rookie but not having Sean Bright was equally as big a miss for how he links everything up from the base of midfield. There was some decent movement but against a HBU defence which is never shy to launch into a challenge it was the same as a lot of these week seven games where early chances were at a bare minimum.
Finally Reid Drake popped one goalwards at the far post which Scott Morris pushed away sharply in the 17th minute of the match. Just for a second it looked like he was gonna score but nope. Drake then combined with Feutz a couple mins later but he fired his shot off target from the perimeter and on 25 mins Feutz cut in after linking with Kalua and he drew a save outta Morris with a low shot on the run. Suburbs apparently grabbing a bit of control whereas HBU had barely managed an open shot.
Granted that’s regular service for The Bay. They don’t create a lot of chances but they defend sturdily and try to capitalise on the rare ones... it merely remained to be seen who other than Jesse Randall could actually supply that opportunism. Gavin Hoy had their first genuine chance in the 38th min as he beat the offside trap running onto a Mandair pass but just as he was lining up his shot Christian Gray stepped across him to shut it down. A reminder of what Hawke’s Bay could do – a lot of their goals have come through Randall’s pace in behind and Hoy and Akers are definitely no slouches either.
Suburbs responded with Kalua steaming down that left flank, waxing a defender, and firing a close range cross into the six yard box where Jake Mechell met it almost on the goal-line but he couldn’t get the contact on it as Fergus Neil charged him down. Strong defending there and it was all even at the half.
Hawke’s Bay launched themselves into the second half with good energy and it was only about six minutes before Stephen Hoyle was summoned by Hoani Edwards, replacing Mechell up front. Before he could do anything though Stafford Dowling got a yellow for a sliding challenge that caught Karan Mandair (and also a lot of the ball, albeit in the wrong order) just outside the area. Gavin Hoy lined up the free kick... and old mate Gavinho curled it past Danyon Drake’s long arms and inside the left-hand upright. See, that’s the game-breaking moment that the Bay were playing for.
That goal was sweet but their second goal, in the 64th minute, was even better. Karan Mandair shimmying through traffic and spreading the ball wide to Sam Pickering who cut it into the stride of Hoy on the inside and Gavin Hoy ripped a shot away before his window of space closed up, a shot that flew into the netting giving Danyon Drake no hope. How were Hawke’s Bay gonna score goals without Jesse Randall? Exactly like that, amigo. Amazing bit of football from those fellas.
And a very large hole for Eastern Suburbs to find themselves in with less than half an hour remaining. This a team that had not lost since week one, against a team that hadn’t won until their very last match. Yet they got themselves back in it pretty quickly because only six minutes later Reid Drake chipped a cross back into the area which nobody attacked and thanks to the spin off his left boot mixed with the Madills Farm breeze – a toxic combination if ever there was one – that ball bounced and spun and swung into the goal like Trent Boult with a shiny new Kookaburra. Not the kind of sloppy goal you’d expect HBU to concede but there you go.
Twenty more minutes to find an equaliser... and to hope Gavin Hoy kept getting flagged offside on his counter attacking runs in behind because at least one of those was pretty close. Stephen Hoyle held off Bill Robertson in the box and then fired a shot on target which Morris gathered at the second attempt – didn’t quite place it where he’d have wanted. Hoyle then blasted over the top after Kalua picked him out. Reid Drake curled a shot high. Can’t say there weren’t chances. But Hawke’s Bay have blown a couple results late on and they’ve learned from those mistakes. Winning headers, winning free kicks, slowing the game down in the other half. All those things. Despite some nervous intakes of breath as Suburbs won four consecutive corner kicks in stoppage time they survived for a huge upset win, 2-1 the final score.
Suburbs would’ve gone top with a win. Instead they drop two spots to fourth. Things will be different for them when they get a fully fit Hoyle and Thurston back though, nothing to panic about there apart from the disappointment of an under par performance on this specific day. Hoyle’s presence clearly made a difference towards the end so if they’d put one of those earlier ones away in the first half then they might have been chasing a win there and different story. Ryan Feutz continues to make defenders slip and slide. And Christian Gray is steadily becoming one of the better CBs in this league. They’ll be fine.
Mate but Hawke’s Bay... two wins in a row and they’re suddenly only one point back in last place having been six points adrift two gameweeks ago. They deserve it too after some bad beats in those first five matches. Plus Gavin Hoy got a double! Exactly what this team needed, one of their more experienced attackers stepping up when needed with a couple super goals. They might not score often but phwoar when they do Hawke’s Bay United score some genuine beauties. Their ratio of goals to golazos is the best in the comp. Hugo Delhomelle seemed to offer them a bit more structure in midfield. Fergus Neil was fantastic at the back, with Kaeden Atkins going pretty good too. Ahmed Othman held his own as a wingback. And Karan Mandair continues to impress, this time in a more attacking situation (heavily involved in both goals). It doesn’t get easier from here with the next three games for HBU being: Team Wellington (H), Hamilton Wanderers (A) & Auckland City (H). But better to face them now with a bit of confidence than a month ago when they couldn’t help but keep losing.
This is cool too...
Bringing us to the final game of the Premiership’s 2021 return and it was Waitakere United hosting Auckland City at the rotten turf of Seddon Fields. An artificial surface on which the ball doesn’t even roll flat? Yup, that’s the one. Makes you wonder for all the changes coming to this competition next season and all the chat about how to better develop future footballers at this level in Aotearoa... maybe the best thing anyone could do is actually to invest in proper grass playing surfaces and training facilities? Get players coming through who trust their touch, who have confidence to play the ball in tight areas, that kinda thing?
You wanna know what current players and coaches think about it, just look at the unanimous disgust directed at that pitch in the replies to Piney’s tweet here...
(Worth adding that there are plenty more crap surfaces around the league that NZF allows games to be played on as well. This one is fast becoming the worst – those turfs require way more maintenance than people seem to realise and the technology moves quickly making them swiftly out of date. Personal opinion: there’s no reason why a summer league in Aotearoa should have any artificial surfaces whatsoever. This ain’t Scandinavia in the snow. This is lush, green New Zealand. Then again plenty of the grass ones look awful too... this is what I mean about prioritising the playing surfaces)
Waitakere haven’t actually won since the first week of the season. They’re clearly a better team than that but silly mistakes and inconsistencies have cost them hence they would have been very relieved to have Sam Burfoot back while Angus Kilkolly started for the first time since game two. Alex Greive is still hanging around too. Also coming in were Leon van den Hoven at RCB and Zac Zoricich at LWB. On the other side Jose Figuiera was able to name an unchanged XI for the first time this season. Still missing a few fellas with minor niggles, Tom Doyle and Mario Bilen for example, while Emiliano Tade’s doctor’s note seems to keep being renewed... but City were excellent in beating the WeeNix 4-1 before Christmas so no dramas whatsoever with the blokes they had. Jordan Vale made his 50th appearance for the club.
It took a few minutes for the teams to settle into the game, the surface no doubt to blame for that (as well as the holidays), with Yousif Ali Al-Kalisy showing some early signs for ACFC. However Waitakere entered with a plan to keep things nice and tidy – clearly they spent the week preparing ways to limit this Navy Blues attack. They might wanna keep working on that though because soon enough City figured out a route that hadn’t been fenced off: nobody could keep up with Logan Rogerson’s runs in behind. 11th minute of the match and he did exactly that with his cross deflecting into a pocket of space occupied by Mohamed Awad and Mo did the rest. Clever positioning from Awad being in the right place at the right time, goals in consecutive games for him now.
The worst thing you can do against Auckland City is concede an early goal, they’re not the kind of team that lets you get away with that. Awad was bubbling around everywhere and soon after scoring he almost had a hat-trick as first he rattled one off the underside of the crossbar and then literally seconds later he smacked the post with a curling shot. Poor chap could only smile at his bad luck there. Check out how close the first shot came to crossing the line...
Soon enough Ali and Dylan Manickum combined on the edge of the area with Rogerson once again getting in from the left and he squeezed it past Nick Draper for 2-0 – this game was already getting away from the home side. Rogerson almost won a penalty when Cam Howieson lobbed him in but the contact probably wasn’t enough and the shout was waved off, then Mario Ilich put Rogerson in again with a sumptuous ball but Draper smothered the shot. A lovely move and a lovely save. You get the idea about Logan Rogerson though... would’ve love to see a heat map because he was shredding the turf in that channel between wingback and centreback and angling back towards goal. Rogerson would have had another assist if he’d been able to pick out Awad with a cross, then Awad and Ali mixed it up with Draper doing his thing to keep the scoreline from getting any worse. This was sizzling Auckland City football. Picking up where they left off against the WeeNix and just absolutely running the show.
Jack Duncan replaced Nic Milicich at the half with Waitakere shifting to more of a 4-2-3-1 formation... something like that anyway. But Cam Howieson swiftly made it 3-0 instead with some utterly gorgeous skills just outside the box leading to a shot which... well the shot was a bit lucky, he kinda shanked it and there might’ve been a deflection in there, but it beat Draper for Howie’s second of the season. This was probably the best he’s played all term and he didn’t let up there with the tricks either. Bloke was a thrilling showman the rest of the way (there’s a fine line between showman and show-off and that line is determined by which team you’re supporting).
There was a weird moment when Ali skipped past a couple defenders and was fouled, then Awad picked up the ball with advantage being played and he ran away to score... only to be called back for being offside. Except if he’s offside then there can’t be an advantage, right? Strange. Rogerson had a header tipped onto the crossbar by Draper from an Alfie Rogers cross. Then the subs started rolling with Deandre Vollenhoven getting another run around while there was a debut for 19yo Aidan Carey who previously captained ACFC’s youth team. Honestly, they were in cruise control by the end of it. It was practically a training run. Waitakere barely threatened all day and were probably begging for the final whistle with twenty to go whereas Auckland City... don’t look now but they’ve only gone and leap-frogged up to the top of the table.
Weren’t they having a really bad season a while back? Yeah they were, by City standards anyway, but everybody’s so inconsistent this year that two wins in a row can change everything. Fantastic performances from all the attacking players but especially Mo Awad who was incredible. Logan Rogerson was a bit wasteful as sometimes tends to be but that doesn’t matter one little bit when you can be that involved in that many moments. Miss one, no dramas, score the next. Cam Howieson too, damn. He was impressive. As were Mario Ilich and Yousif Ali.
Shan’t say anything about Waitakere. They weren’t up to much but should have a better match-up against the WeeNix next week as the league enters the back half with everyone having played everyone once now. I mean, Waitakere lost 4-1 to the WeeNix last time but that was a weird game with some late goals and anyway it can’t be worse than what they just dealt with. That’s the TV game on Sunday at 4pm. Three hours earlier Hawke’s Bay kick off against Team Wellington while a day earlier there are very tasty contests between Auckland City & Hamilton Wanderers (2pm Sat) and Canterbury United & Eastern Suburbs (3.30pm Sat). We’re at the halfway point of the season now people. It’s all downhill from here.
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