WELLINGTON OLYMPIC vs SELYWN UNITED

It was wet, it was windy, it was Wellington. Summer season footy at its slipperiest as Central League champs Wellington Olympic hosted the underdogs of the South Central Series in Selwyn United. Olympic off the back of a strong second half performance in a win against the WeeNix while Selwyn battled hard against Cashmere Tech only to fade as the game went on and eventually concede a winner in stoppage time. Pencil in those contrasting second half efforts in week one for a potential factor in this contest.

On a grey afternoon, Wellington Olympic ramped things up from last week with a few changes. Gianni Bouzoukis came in to start up top after scoring off the bench vs WP, as did Harry Chote, while Tor Davenport-Petersen also slid back into the starting team. No Justin Gulley or Nati Hailemariam in the squad (although Alex Palezevic did pop up on the subs list) while Jared Cunniff dropped to the bench. Another start in goal for Toby Hunt with Scott Basalaj still absent – Hunt didn’t play a minute in the Central League (Basalaj was their top appearance maker so that adds up) but the youngster’s gotten both starts here as part of a trend of the Wellington clubs going with rookie glovemen. As for Selwyn United... just the one change as regular right back Luke Pritchard came in for Troy Pennycuick.

Olympic emphasised a quick start with Kailan Gould and Jack-Henry Sinclair (all goods after getting subbed off hurt a week ago) popping up in some enticing pockets. But the conditions were horrid and required a bit of adjustment. At one point it was so windy that Rory McKeown had to give it the ol’ Charlie Brown just so that the ball would stay still long enough for Sinclair to hit a free kick.

Selwyn United are a really well-drilled team. Don’t have the recognisable names of other teams in this competition but jeez they know what they’re doing, huge credit to their coach Chris Brown. Olympic may have had a lot more ball but creating openings was tricky, that Selwyn unit forcing a bit of sloppiness. Plus they never back out of a fifty-fifty challenge, leading to some crunching tackles and a fair few free kicks. Some body-on-the-line blocks too. Pieter-Taco Bierema did well to hold onto a Gould shot after Tor Davenport-Petersen had won the ball in the midfield. Lukas Halikias was swinging in a few crosses. Then there was an even better save from Bierema against Bouzoukis after one of Olympic’s better moves.

Heading back the other way we nearly had a classic goal to reminisce upon for years to come as Selwyn’s Jamie Carrodus figured that on a windy day such as this he’d have a pop from inside his own half. Toby Hunt was able to scramble back and tip it over the crossbar, not to be deceived. Rate the audacity though. Mere minutes later Carrodus smacked a cross into the mixer that pumped into the bar... this was not a comfortable day for goalkeepers.

It wasn’t much longer before Wellington Olympic took the lead. Sinclair with a super ball down the channel for McKeown who squared it to Gould for the simple finish. Yet another National League assist for Rory McKeown. However that lead didn’t last too long. Selwyn got back at it with the swirling crosses, which Toby Hunt acquitted himself with pretty against... but the more of the game Selwyn were able to play up that end the more likely they were to make something happen. That something, in the 40th min, was a poor pass across the backline from Jaga Scott-Greenfield. Luke McKay read it like a bestselling novel and then was able to squeeze past TDP and blast in a half-volleyed cracker for 1-1.

One dumb moment from Olympic. They knew that Selwyn were set up to try and pounce on their build-up play. To be fair, other than that instance they’d been really good at passing through the pressure. And then instantly exploiting the space in behind the press – Sinclair getting into some great areas with space to run into. Halikias almost snuck another goal in for WO after a lovely first touch but nah all even at the break.

As Wellington Olympic made the downhill trek from the changing rooms for the second half they brought on Jared Cunniff for Bouzoukis up front. Curious move but worth mentioning that pencilled in second half factor from earlier again. And Olympic’s strong second half last week was largely without a major impact from JHS, who was way more involved here. Sinclair played a gorgeous double one-two with Gould and then Cunniff to get through the defensive line but his shot was saved by Bierema... a common occurrence in this match. Fella was smacking shot after shot. Bierema tipped one wide. Oliver Cosgrove got a block on another. The next he struck off target. One of them days, s’pose.

Olympic were well now on top but in the 62nd they almost fell behind. Carrodus getting into the area and freeing Calum Murdoch to get to the by-line but the shot from McKay was deflected wide by McKeown getting over to help out. A frisky old game we had here. Davenport-Petersen fired over the top via a deflection. Yet you did kinda get the impression that Selwyn were fading, their midfielders now getting jumped in possession which wasn’t hardly happening in the first half. That finally caught up with them on 69’. Tor Davenport-Petersen with the initial shot which was saved but Kailan Gould followed up for his second of the day.

It then got worse for Selwyn as their captain Jayden Booth, a very solid holding midfielder, limped off hurt and their middle was exposed even more. A short corner kick from JHS on 77’ gave Gould the ball in a bit of space and he struck it into the top corner. Beauty of a goal. Make that a hat-trick for the one they call The Bulldog. And that wasn’t all. Things got disjointed as both teams made a flurry of subs but one of those substitutes was Alex Palezevic who crushed one home from the edge of the area after a JHS cross had only been part-cleared. Not the bloke you wanna see those clearance landing with. 85 minutes gone and it was 4-1.

Would’ve been five but for a great block from Jack Allatt after Joshua Araapa-Preston took too long to get a strike away following more excellence from Sinclair. Plus there was a defensive touch that came back off the post after Cunniff held the ball up well. No need to see one of those go in at that stage. Would have been good to see Sinclair bang in one of what must’ve been at least ten shots on the day but so it goes. Still a huge influence from him. From Kailan Gould too. Davenport-Petersen seems to really tie that midfield together as well, while their backline gave very little away apart from that one silly goal. They already should’ve been favourites as the Central League champs but they definitely are now after scoring eight times in two matches without even playing their best eleven yet.

CASHMERE TECHNICAL vs WESTERN SUBURBS

Not so long ago (although it feels like it was) these two teams met in the Chatham Cup semi-finals with Cashmere Tech advancing thanks to a Yuya Taguchi goal in the 88th minute of a really competitive match. Here they met again with the Techies making two changes to the team that beat Selwyn United 1-0 (with an even later winner than in that cup game). One was Sam Field coming in for JJ Richards at left-back and the other was Yuya Taguchi coming in for Danny Boys on the left side of midfield. Two lefties, which Tom Schwarz said pre-game was a matter of targetting who they thought was Wests best player: “the right back”. Alex Clayton is his given name. Clayton had a great game in that Chatham Cup match and was very good against Miramar Rangers a week ago too. Dude’s getting a reputation.

Western Suburbs made two changes. Birhanu Taye was obviously suspended after his red card so Ollie van Rijssel moved into the front three with Robi Sabo taking his fullback spot. The other change was Otto Ingham starting in ten role with Wan Gatkek dropping into central midfield. Helps to have versatile players, aye? It also helps to have well-drilled technically capable players as Wests got things underway tallying up the pass count with a lot of possession. Cashy hardly even touching the ball in those first ten mins, although when they did they were able to flex a bit of a threat with Garbhan Coughlan and Yuya Taguchi involved. Mostly, though, it was about sliding side to side at the back and ensuring Western Suburbs could only play in front of them.

Not a heap of chances. Van Rijssel had a shot blocked. Both teams had some sneaky set pieces. Declyn Tindall sliced a volley after some nice Coughlan work. Coughers himself tried to slam in a volley that was deflected wide otherwise it might’ve burnt a hole in the net. It seemed that Cashmere’s size on set pieces was a rare match-up between these two contrasting teams which didn’t cancel out.

Should mention that Tech were a little more conservative than they had been against Selwyn, deeper midfield and wingers tracking back and Coughlan being dragged wide in cover, things like that. Soak it up then hit ‘em hard on the break or from set pieces, that was the plan. Especially the set pieces thing. Luke Tongue smashed a free kick just wide. A couple deep volleys from Declan Tyndall and Alex Ballard. Both teams also mustered last ditch tackles in the box. Very little in the way of clear shooting opportunities but an engrossing game all the same as we hit the sheds for HT.

The calibre of defending on show here was intimidating. Nonetheless, the second half did begin to offer more attacking sparks. Coughlan with a powerful low drive and Sam Field with a top block on Ihaia Delaney’s follow up after Field’s initial block had nearly ended up as an own goal. Then a Ben Stroud header was hacked off the line (and somehow over the bar too) by Ballard.

Quick yarn for Western Suburbs keeper Kees Sims here, you sorta expect an Ole Academy keeper to be good with his feet but the composure stepping through the pressure here leading to the pinpoint 50 metre pass to a teammate is some tantalising goalkeeping imagery...

Not to mention the save he made moments later tipping a Coughlan set piece onto the bar when it had been on a missile trajectory for the top corner. Get you a goalie who can do both, aye?

This was by now a fast-paced game with both teams seeking to hit in transition. Sprints all over the show which also meant the tackles had to fly in even harder. Heaps of fouls but also heaps of quick free kicks. Lyle Matthysen came on for Cashmere, having sat out last week’s game. Coughlan had a shot cutting in from the right which Sims was able to catch. The scoreboard clock at English Park may have frozen at 51:36 but there was no halt in the football happenings... all a matter of whether we’d see a breakthrough or not as we ticked over the 70-minute mark.

And again as we passed 80 minutes (by which time the scoreboard clock was moving again, albeit nearly twenty minutes behind). Wests had a flurry of corner kicks. Coughlan had a couple shots from range. Stroud headed over the top. 85 gone and still no splitting them. Cashmere Tech had probably nudged the better of the second half but by this point the younger legs of Wests were forcing the issue. Then, in the 89th minute, Wan Gatkek did something kinda special...

That first touch. The stepover to send a strong defender in Andrew Storer down the road for an ice cream. It was going to take something out of the ordinary to force a winner in this game and that’s what happened. Gatkek had been a little quieter this week in a deeper position but that’s what he can do. Scintillating.

There was still time for a CT penalty shout to be declined and for Taguchi to lash one over the bar. But no time for much else. It took an 88th minute strike to separate these two teams in the Chatham Cup semi and an 89th minute strike in the South Central Series. Hell of a win for Wests away from home, especially after the disappointment of seeing last week’s result slip away from them after a first half red card. Stroud and Faber were quality at the back. Ihaia Delaney toiled hard for little reward (the result was reward enough) at centre forward against so many of his old Canterbury United bros. Oskar Hough and Wan Gatkek were very good in midfield, love how Gatkek clearly has a heap of tekkers but doesn’t seek to pull out the tricks as his first option. Plus the obligatory Kees Sims adoration here too.

As for Cashmere Tech... you know, you win some at the death, you lose some at the death. Rather have a win and a loss (aka 3 points) than two draws (aka 2 points) at this stage. They didn’t really deserve to lose after a supreme defensive effort for so much of this game, and no lack of shots up the other end either... yet an abundance of shots didn’t lead to an abundance of goals last week and it was similar areas here so maybe one to brainstorm on the whiteboard after training over the next few days. Tech were pretty strong across the board but do wanna give a specific shout out to their two U20s players Declan Tyndall and Alex Ballard who do not look out of place one bit.

MIRAMAR RANGERS vs WELLINGTON PHOENIX

Finally it was our obligatory Wellington Derby. There’s one every week, four teams from the capital competing and everything (against two teams from Christchurch... guts to all the other regions). Miramar Rangers made three changes from the win over Wests, opting to rest arguably their three best players against the WeeNix kids: Taylor Schrijvers, Andy Bevin, and Ollie Whyte all stepping out (Bevin and Whyte were on the bench) though they did have more than capable replacements in Scott Midgley, Hugo Delhommelle, and Joao Moreira. Jeepers, the depth at some of these clubs, mate.

Three changes also for the WeeNix. Finn Surman returned in central defence after sitting out week one. Probably their best CB in the current squad so a healthy injection into the side there, while his namesake Fin Conchie got his first National League start in the midfield (allowing Manny Achol to play further forward) and there was also a debut between the sticks for Alby Kelly-Heald as he swapped in for Henry Gray. Alby’s brother Lukas was on the bench, he’s a left-sided outfield player. Guessing they must be twins given how they’re the exact same age (16yo). Chris Greenacre with a clear mandate to blood the youngsters in this South Central Series based on the first two matches.

David Farrington Park was the venue, looking picturesque with the sun shining brightly (unlike the Olympic-Selwyn game across town a day earlier). The only game in the men’s or women’s comp played on lush, green, natural grass this weekend. Delightful.

A sloppy Zac Jones pass nearly caused some dramas early on but Sam Dewar got back in cover. It was then Oskar van Hattum who had the first proper shot, firing a little wide after Kaelin Nguyen had picked him out. The WeeNix starting with big energy as they usually do, pressing high and looking to play quick. Meanwhile Sam Mason-Smith wasn’t far off a touch on the end of an Aaron Spain overlap cross and Delhommelle whipped a free kick over the bar after a snowballing run from Midgley had earned the foul. Miramar were making a point of switching play and working the wide areas.

Van Hattum had another crack from the perimeter but it was straight at Jones. Thus the first major moment of this game came 15 minutes in when Manny Achol dashed into the area where Aaron Spain clipped his ankles trying to get goalside and that, dear friends, was given as a penalty. Minimal contact but minimal is still something. Oskar van Hattum buried it from the spot for his third goal of the nascent season.

Always rate an early goal from an underdog to spice a game up. The penalty was pretty soft but that was the way the game was being called... Achol himself was booked after 20 mins for nothing much, then straight afterwards had what looked like a good tackle on the press whistled up too. Delhommelle got booked for a chopper on Toomey as well although that one was less debatable.

Miramar didn’t flinch. High pressing teams tend to tire as the halves go on so Miramar just kept plugging away. Owen Barnett was looking tricky. Moreira had an athletic attempt. Kelly-Heald spilled a corner trying to claim through traffic but it didn’t quite open up for Moreira. Shoulda been 2-0 on 28 mins though as some tenacious stuff from Luis Toomey led to van Hattum rounding Jones but as he tried to place that ball into the empty net along came Scott Midgley, who’d been beaten by the flight of the initial cross, to slide in and deflect the ball away off the post.

We went from here...

To here...

The value of that clearance shone through three mins later when Isaac Hughes wasn’t able to make a convincing clearance in the opposite penalty area and the ball fell gently at the feet of Moreira who was never gonna miss from that range. Meat and potatoes for that bloke. Stink for Hughes who had otherwise started this season quite impressively despite his youth but those costly individual errors always seem to be part of the learning curve for WeeNix defenders when it comes to the National League.

It was still 1-1 as the teams hit the sheds but it wasn’t 1-1 for very long after they came back out. Oskar van Hattum had an early crack cleaning up after a corner kick, that shot was deflected wide. However the next goal went the other way. Started with a bit of a harsh free kick given against Hughes who argued he’d won the ball when Moreira came in late over him. Probably right too. But again the tendency in this game was towards strict refereeing so Delhommelle dinked it into the box. Moreira picked up the clearance and sent in a cross of his own from the right... and Jorge Akers leapt up to score with a fine header. Surman aside, this is not a Phoenix team with a heap of height at the back so a cross as good as Moreira’s was always gonna spell danger. Chuck in the hops from Akers and Miramar Rangers were in front.

Moreira came close to setting up another with some sharp work getting in off the right, while Flynn O’Brien shoulda done better with a header from a corner. Then Haris Zeb and Sam Mason-Smith combined on the right and SMS lifted a cross in a little behind the run of Joao Moreira but damn he made up for that with the diving header. Angling the ball inside the post. Pretty work from the Portuguese striker. 58 mins gone and Rangers now led 3-1. SIIUUUUU!

The WeeNix made a couple subs: Owen Barton-Ginger on for Nguyen up front while twinsy Lukas Kelly-Heald came on for Hughes and went to left-back with Adam Supyk stepping into the middle. Jackson Manuel also replaced Fin Conchie soon after. Those changes seemed to steady them at a time when their passing had gotten rather sloppy and soon a great tackle and run and feed from Achol allowed Toomey to get a shot away that was well saved down low by Zac Jones (once a WeeNix lad himself), who also denied OVH as he unleashed one after getting on the end of a Henry Hamilton long ball a little later.

Yet there was nothing Jones could do as Hamilton ducked under Delhommelle to slide a ball over to OVH beating the offside trap. The form that fella’s in, no surprises that he blasted a worm-burner past Jones for his second of the arvo and fourth of the season. Early frontrunner in the golden boot stakes along with Kailan Gould. How about it? Gotta say OVH has been heavily involved in these two games like he’s never before been at this level. He’s been the big man on campus so far. 3-2 after 74 mins... a close finish on hand.

Ollie Whyte came on for MR, as did Nathan Simes. Both had shots off target from good looks. Rangers seemed to have weathered the storm at the back until Achol got around the defensive line only for Toomey’s effort on the cut-back to be scooped high – a great chance spurned with only a few minutes remaining. The best one they’d muster. Miramar Rangers getting outta there with the win that they expected but a 3-2 result was a lot feistier than they’d banked on.

Joao Moreira with two goals and an assist. Showing them all how it’s done. The size and experience of he and Sam Mason-Smith was a challenge slightly beyond the WeeNix on this afternoon, although they’ll be pleased with the quantity of chances they were able to create themselves. Oskar van Hattum looking sharp. Manny Achol and Luis Toomey making things happen. Results are not the main focus for the Wellington Phoenix reserves as they blood the generation beyond the next generation with nothing really at stake. On the other hand Miramar should be backing themselves to win this thing... and we’ll get a major indication of where they’re at with that quest when they host Wellington Olympic next week.

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