Team Wellington vs Waitakere United

This was first versus last at David Farrington Park, the undefeated Team Wellington side hosting a Waitakere United team that hadn’t supped on that sweet nectar of victory since the first week of the competition. In some leagues around the world that fact alone is enough to make a game a forgone conclusion but not in the ISPS Handa Premiership, dear friends.

Team Welly were without two key players with both Ben Mata and Mario Barcia suspended for yellow card accumulation and since Justin Gulley was only fit enough to make it back onto the bench for TW that meant Alex Palezevic playing in an unpreferred (but not entirely unfamiliar) role in that back three. Sam Dewar also came into the midfield alongside Wan Gatkek. Other than that it was the same blokes that laid the beat down on the WeeNix after a terrible opening quarter of an hour. Jack-Henry Sinclair again on the bench.

In the neighbouring dugout the merry-go-round kept spinning as there were another four changes to Waitakere’s previous week’s team. Always a bunch of changes for the Waitaks. Sam Burfoot was suspended after his red card so Leon van den Hoven moved into the midfield to finally get a crack in his preferred spot in his fifth start of the campaign. Dylan Hobson took LVDH’s old role at RCB on debut while Rob Dymond dropped to the bench with Andrew Cromb fit enough to regather his spot in defence. Reggie Murati got the start at RWB. Jack Duncan also came in up top for Alex Connor-McClean. The fifth time this season that Waitakere have made at least four changes from the previous week.

Slightly different shape for the Waitaks too. Similar to how the WeeNix set up their frontline last week – to great success initially – they had Alex Greive and Jack Duncan up front but playing much wider with Dane Schnell pushing through the middle from deeper. It allowed them to attack those channels outside the TW back three while also keeping their lines in tact for the high block. It was a selective sort of press, allowing Team Welly the ball in their own half but with the midfielders of GGG and LVDH ready to pounce if they sniffed an overload. Case and point...

What that meant was very little in the way of action in the first ten mins as Team Welly knocked it around at the back along with a couple fouls slowing it down. Then... boom. Duncan playing it down the left for the Zoricich overlap. Taylor Schrijvers caught him. Penalty. Alex Greive with the honours for the second straight week and that was a 1-0 lead to Waitakere on foreign soil. Bit of a weird one with the penalty as Zorro’s touch was heavy so there was no way he was recovering that, the ball was gone, but at the same time it was a clear foul so no arguments. And where did the goal stem from? An overlapping wingback out wide through that channel beyond the edge CB, just the way it was drawn up.

Incredibly it was 2-0 on 14 mins... deja vu for Team Welly. A corner kick was only partially cleared with Hobson whipping it back in from the left and somehow it got all the way to Garriga Gibert at the far post who snuck in behind Scott Midgely to finish. His second goal in two games, same as Greive. Team Wellington conceding twice in the first fifteen minutes of each of their last two games. Y’all gotta set the alarm 15mins earlier in the morning or something.

But once again Hamish Watson was there to get them back into it. Last week he set up Sam Mason-Smith for a goal after the 0-2 handicapped start. This time he scored it himself. Andy Bevin won the free kick. Rory McKeown delivered the cross. Watto supplied the guided header. 2-1 on 18 minutes... and before long Bevin was nodding one over the crossbar which might have tied us up at twos with three quarters of the game remaining. At this rate we were looking at an 8-8 draw, imagine that.

What the WeeNix didn’t do last game was keep the pressure going. That’s where Waitakere got the boost on them because after Bevin missed that header, Zorro again got deep in possession and crossed off balance towards a beautiful spot where Jack Duncan was lurking. This after a stunner of an outside of the boot pass down the line from GGG. Duncan headed it into Midgely which had inklings of an own goal about it (hard to say if it was on target in the first place) but this league has no clue what own goals are so Duncan’s seemingly been awarded it. Which is fair enough as long as it’s consistent, right? The defender doesn’t want it after all. But damn yeah 3-1 to Waitakere on 23 minutes, bloody hell.

The hits kept coming. A couple minutes later Bevin zipped up the ball on the right wing, cut inside, slid one over from the corner of the box to where Rory McKeown was dashing in from keeper Nick Draper’s blindside and Draper chopped him down for a penalty and a yellow card. Hamish Watson placed the ball on the spot and then placed the ball in the bottom corner. 26 minutes gone and it was 3-2.

After which we finally took a breath as Waitakere’s off ball shape regained some semblance of control, shutting down those middle areas and swarming when there was a turnover to be won. The incredible thing was they were doing this without captain Sam Burfoot. Huge, huge praise to GGG for all that. He was the key man. Watson cracked a bouncing shot narrowly off target before McKeown dragged one wide then Haris Zeb couldn’t pick out a teammate after a great run into the area and that thus took us into the big break.

When the teams re-emerged it was Jack-Henry Sinclair on for Zeb so you know that Scotty Hales was going all out for another comeback win. The first major moment of the second half being a 60 metre pass from Scott Basalaj right to where Hamish Watson wanted it... but his shot wasn’t as accurate as the pass that supplied him. Note that Team Welly were looking specifically for a direct option over the top of Waitakere’s lines. Watto then did worse when JHS served him up in a similar spot before being flagged for offside the next time. The signs were there though. Waitakere weren’t just gonna be able to sit in and hold on.

So instead they went and scored another goal. Regont Murati in the 57th minute. It came from some lovely build up before Zoricich crossed it to nobody but then suddenly Reggie arrived on the scene dashing in from the opposite flank to shake a defender and drive it into the bottom corner. What even was this game!?

On came the subs. Justin Gulley and Joao Moreira. But it was TW’s goal under threat as Murati made a persistent run then got it to Greive only he couldn’t put his shot where he wanted it to go and a deflection ended up in the hands of Basalaj. Typical for this insane game of football, then Hamish Watson completed his hatty as Mason-Smith worked with McKeown and the latter served up a super cross then a great header from Watson. That was a hat-trick for Watson going top of the Golden Boot standings with eight bangers but it was also a hat-trick of assists for Rory McKeown whose crossing these days is off the charts. He had a couple assists last week too. Five in two weeks and he coulda had several more with all that he’s creating. 66 minutes gone.

Murati had a shot saved after a sharp one-two between he and Schnell (Schnelly captaining the team in Burfoot’s absence). Greive had another one deflected into Basalaj’s hands. Van den Hoven boosted one over the top. They may have been holding on to a slight lead but Waitakere were always a threat to score another one with Team Welly overcommitting on attack (due to necessity). Draper made an excellent save from a JHS header from a McKeown dead ball delivery and again Draper was onto it to deny a rocket from Watto searching for his fourth. Watto then fouled Draper going for a high ball with McKeown expertly volleying in the rebound from 30 metres after the whistle had gone. McKeown and Sinclair swapped sides for the last five minutes... not really sure the purpose as it makes it harder for each to cross but s’pose they were desperate and just wanted to show the Waitaks something different.

Time soon ran down on an exhausting game of football and there was no comeback this time as Team Wellington’s undefeated run ends at the tenth attempt. With all their draws it never felt as impressive as it could’ve – they still haven’t won a game outside of Wellington. But a shocking result all the same as problems that they overcame last week were a step too far this time and there might have to be some hard chats at training this week... granted getting Ben Mata and Mario Barcia back next week solves many of these dramas. Hard to see them losing like this with those two in the line-up. Sinclair seems pretty much back to fitness now too while Gulley’s cameo is also a booster shot. And despite the way it ended they’ve got the most reliable attacking move in the comp right now: McKeown crossing to Watson.

A wonderful tactical victory for Paul Hobson’s Waitakere side though, led by a committed team effort in which guys like Gerard Garriga Gibert, Zac Zoricich, Nick Draper, and Alex Greive. Eight long games it had been without a win. Nearly got there last week but conceded a late one... something they avoided this time to lift themselves off the foot of the ladder. Slight concern that they apparently only win when they score four goals but hey nice work if you can get it.

Hamilton Wanderers vs Canterbury United

Whatever the hell’s been happening with Hamilton Wanderers, they needed it to stop. Winless in six having capitulated at home for a 4-1 defeat to Hawke’s Bay last week. No surprises then that Tommy Semmy came back into the starting line-up having dragged himself through half a game in that HBU game, with Jordan Lamb holding his place ahead of Mark Jones for that added directness in attack. Josh Signey was suspended after his red card so Owen Comber came into that spot... and again no Brock Messenger which has always been a crisis factor – when Messenger doesn’t play they struggle. But gotta make do, so Joe Harris had another go at CB with Dylan Morris named on the right side of defence for his first start. As for the Cantabs not a thing was changed from the team that for 75 minutes had looked so comfortable against Waitakere only to end up needing a late equaliser for a 3-3 draw after blowing a 2-0 lead. Lee Padmore trusting the fellas to repeat the dose and actually hold on this time.

And can I just say what a gorgeous day it was in Hamilton...

Looks like Bob Ross painted it. Far too hot for football though.

‘Twas a patient beginning from both sides as the Dragons set their deep line in concrete looking to be very cautious as to when they’d break those lines while Wanderers had no choice but to over-correct some of the messiness at the back in the last few weeks, especially in that HBU game. However seven minutes in we got our first glimpse of Tommy Semmy in a 1v1 situation. Canterbury got across to cover him but Dylan Morris skipped past on the overlap to whip in a cross that was cleared yet good intent both from HW in trying to get back to isolating Semmy in those favourable match-ups and also from Morris getting forward from RB.

Wanderers couldn’t help but concede some silly fouls though. There were a few of them within crossing range and considering how poor they were defending set pieces last week that can only have been infuriating for Kale Herbert. Garbhan Coughlan has that tendency, to be fair, he must be one of the most fouled players in this competition. At least HW managed to avoid the preposterousness of past times in scrambling away those chances, and also to unleash Derek Tieku on the break only for Danny Knight to close him down... either this game was gonna be a low-scoring draw or a 5-4 win in either direction.

As it happens, Canterbury are rather decent from attacking set pieces with all their height and strength so fair to say they remained a threat any time they could knock a dead ball into the mixer and HW kept having dramas trying to clear their lines. But they were also creating plenty themselves. Knight made a nice stop to deny Tino Contratti spinning for a second phase shot which was as close as either team had come so far. Couldn’t call it an end to end contest... it was more like the two sides took it in turns to have little spells. Pulsating rather than persistent - all these free kicks from two very chippy teams having a lot to do with that by breaking up the play. One of those free kicks was right in Joe Harris territory... except he put it wide.

But 41 minutes in a goal snuck past the guards. Adam Davidson hoofed a switch across to Semmy who shaped up on Sam Field once again, getting around him to the line where he chipped back across towards Xavier Pratt at the near post. His flick on took a huge deflection off Andrew Storer which might have even been an own goal but Derek Tieku who was there on the line to put a final touch on it for good luck. Absolutely hoovering it up for the stats, you love to see it. That is some fine strikersmanship from a man who knows which side of the toast the nutella is supposed to go on.

Coughlan nearly set up an equaliser immediately but Ihaia Delaney couldn’t quite reach it at the back post. Thus did the first half reach a conclusion... by the way this was the first lead that Hamilton Wanderers had held since the 86th minute against Waitakere United back on 12 December. Four full games have been completed in that time.

The niggle got amplified in the second spell. Coughlan and Davidson both took unnecessarily rough shots and neither bench was too happy and the fouls led to a continuation of that slow tempo. George King did a few sneaky things, though his best shot probably would have been better off as a cross. Luke Tongue also put an effort over the top. Meanwhile Tommy Semmy was looking so much fitter than a week ago, Wanderers had desperately missed his extra outlet while he was injured and with him back it was shades of weeks 1-3 again with those direct switches of play to his feet just like the one that led to the goal. Only shades, though. The Dragons are a notoriously tough team to bust. Jordan Lamb threw a few shoulders to set up Semmy but it was a poor shot from him getting way underneath it.

With twenty mins to go, Andrew Storer put a header over the top. Too close to the goal-line, ironically. Couldn’t keep it down. Then came the subs as Wanderers gave season debuts to Lewis Read and Philip Paul (as well as Mark Jones getting to stretch his legs), while for the Cantabs it was the usual duo of Eddie Wilkinson and JJ Richards. There still wasn’t any kind of flow going on but for Wanderers that was fine, it was keeping the Dragons from mustering a comeback. Tino Contratti was having a supreme game – gotta give credit to the Tron Wands for a faaaaaaar better defensive showing. It was head tennis or nothing for Canterbury on attack and so far that needle was leaning towards nothing despite the best energies of Garbhan Coughlan.

Then, in the third minute of stoppage time, Jake Richards scored from here...

An amazing goal in a match which didn’t feel like it had the capacity for anything of the sort but absolute heartbreak for the Tron Wands. There was still time for Tommy Semmy to get up the other end and have a shot blocked but nah too late. Deflating for the home side as their barren run without a win is extended from a situation where they probably felt they’d earned three points but another of those not-quite-clearances caught up with them and then a moment of brilliance did the rest. It’s unlucky. Nine times out of ten JJR wouldn’t have scored from there and it would’ve been a relieving 1-0 win. The good news is that other results mean Wanderers remain in the top four with four games still to play and if they can tuck away the shellshock of that equaliser then there were some genuinely promising aspects to this game that they can build upon. Especially if Brock Messenger can return soon. But that’s easier said than done.

How about Jake Richards though? Dude’s scored three goals this season. One was a 90th minute winner against Auckland City. One was a 75th minute winner against Eastern Suburbs. One was a 93rd minute equaliser against Hamilton Wanderers. The man ONLY scores LATE BANGERS.

And just quietly with 12 points on the board, only one behind HW, the Dragons are very much in the hunt for the semis in fifth place. Granted they do still have to face Auckland City and Team Wellington again... but they already beat one of those jokers. Three of their remaining games are at home too. Them Dragons got dark horse potential.

Hawke’s Bay United vs Auckland City

Hawke’s Bay United weren’t about to change a thing as they hosted the defending champs at Bluewater Stadium in Napier. A brilliant performance last week in Hamilton earned them a 4-1 victory and 10 points from a possible 12 (after losing five in a row to start the season). Best scoring game of the term. Quality at both ends. No need to reach for the dusters whatsoever – an unchanged eleven walking out for HBU.

Auckland City had also taken 10 points from a possible 12 these last four rounds though they were always gonna make one change as Mario Ilich returned from suspension (Albert Riera dropping out) and they added one more for good luck with Dre Vollenhoven getting his first Premiership start in place of Dylan Manickum. We’ve talked about that dude before, really talented forward who scored the late, late goal which clinched the 2019 NYL title for ACFC. He’s come up the ranks, now was his chance to run out there from the opening whistle. Note that Kayne Vincent was on the bench for the first time since he signed.

Last time these two played it was a backs to the wall clinic by HBU until Manickum broke some hearts with a 92nd minute winner as City came from behind for a 2-1 triumph. Different yarns these days as both teams have settled into some proper form – the two form teams in the comp over the last four weeks. But some things don’t ever change so it was ACFC with a lot of ball, knocking it around patiently, as this game got underway without a lot of early shots to speak of. A few tasty runs from the likes of Rogerson and Awad while HBU did manage to whip in a deep cross or two just to ask a few questions. Kaltack had a header off target while Rogerson had one saved low by Scott Morris. The Hawke’s Bay defence was mostly able to repel what was being thrown at them... but the City midfield ensured things kept on coming back.

Mo Awad dinked one wide as Morris rushed onto him following a low curled in behind the lines from Alfie Rogers. That was in the 25th min, closest we’d come to a goal yet. He had another crack soon after which Bill Roberston blocked on the stretch. Rogerson drilled one from a tight angle that took a touch wide. It was getting to be one way traffic so no shockers when Auckland City took the lead on 31 minutes: Rogerson ran deep on the right, waited long enough to draw in some support, then slid it across to Deandre Vollenhoven for his first Premiership goal in his first Premiership start. Easy finish but the positioning was perfect.

If that was supposed to signal a walkover, it didn’t because straight away Kaeden Atkins bombed one deep and Cam Brown and Brian Kaltack got mixed up and both left it behind for Karan Mandair then in trying to recover his position Kaltack couldn’t help but foul him. The shirt tug didn’t help his cause either. That’s a yellow for Kaltack... and a penalty for HBU. Hugo Delhommelle scooped up the ball no doubt with recollections of the lovely panenka spot kick he converted against Team Wellington. This one, well...

Yup, saved by Cameron Brown. Really excellent save although geeeeenerally speaking you can’t be wasting those chances against Auckland City. Some slick work between Mandair, Achol & Akers seemed to open up space for Jorge Akers to shoot straight after but Adam Mitchell made a sliding block and City cleared their lines. That took us back to regularly scheduled programming... but HBU got through the half without any further concession thanks to Scott Morris plucking an Awad shot from range out of the air, Atkins making a top challenge in the box on Rogerson, Jim Hoyle blocking Vollenhoven, and Robertson doing all sorts of everything.

While it remained 1-0 there was always the chance of a Hawke’s Bay runaway equaliser. Unfortunately for them though they caught ACFC on a very good day. This was ACFC at their sexy best, really getting that ball flying around with purpose and speed. Ali and Awad in particular were just superb and when they’ve got runners around them it’s constant damage. It took until the 61st minute for the second to go in but it was always coming. Cam Howieson with the delivery after a short corner and Brian Kaltack slammed it down off his noggin for his second in two games.

They thought they had a third two minutes later as Howieson guided a clever ball to the back stick where Rogerson’s initial attempt was saved fantastically by Morris but the follow-up seemed to squeeze in. At least Rogerson sure thought so... he peeled off celebrating before being told the game hadn’t stopped. The lino didn’t wanna hear his pleas either. So... officially that makes it two fantastic saves. It looked like it’d crossed the line at first but fair play the slow-mo replay showed that Mozz had regathered it off the post (think it woulda been an own goal had it gone in). Top work by the fella.

HBU had a useful period after that where Delhommelle had a try from distance and then much closer was Pickering poking Akers into a one on one situation but he stabbed it past the post, couldn’t get it on target and that spell soon faded with Morris saving well off Awad... who finally got his more than deserved goal skipping through in the 77th minute on the feed from Howieson and the dinked finish over the goalie was a chef’s kiss in action...

Kayne Vincent came on for a debut just before that. His first act was to win a corner then soon after he set up Rogerson who somehow missed the target but it was great work by Vincent showing some serious strength on the ball up top which is an element that perhaps City didn’t previously have. He could yet be an extremely valuable option late in games. Like this game for example. Vincent shrugged off Bill Robertson on the run on 87 minutes with utter disrespect to a league legend and then his dish towards Rogerson was cut off but it fell to Yousif Ali who crushed it into the roof of the net. Taking no chances there... and another more than deserved goal.

Lock it in as a 4-0 win for Auckland City who leap back into first place thanks to Team Welly’s defeat. Rogerson was desperate to get on the scoresheet and he missed one final chance at the very end, so it goes. Can’t complain after an unstoppable performance across the board. From Brown’s penalty save to the efforts of both CBs (one of whom scored, while this was as good as Mitchell has played all campaign). Andy Blake was outstanding on the right. The entire midfield served it up, there was quality off the bench. But Ali and Awad were the stars of the afternoon. With Team Wellington on the cards next week, ACFC could hardly be hitting that old rivalry up in better form.

Don’t think HBU need to worry about losing that five-game unbeaten streak though, this was a rough arvo but there’s still a sturdiness about this side that’s developed over that streak which is clearly not a fluke. In a season as bonkers as this they’re still very much in the hunt for the semis – Coaches Chris & Bill woulda loved seeing Scotty Morris making plenty of stops (even if he still conceded four) while Robertson himself was immense in defence (with the exception of nemesis Kayne Vincent). Auckland City are the only team who can throw this much at you so it’s safe to write this one off.

Eastern Suburbs vs Wellington Phoenix

One more game to get to and it’s the Ole Academy Invitational... aka Subs against the WeeNix (I counted six Ole alums in the starting line-ups with another three playing off the bench, large numbers). Suburbs had a mini-slump of late with three winless games, although a late leveller against Auckland City will have felt more like a win, while the WeeNix are just battling away as they do albeit they were coming off a terrible second half in a 5-2 loss to Team Welly. Suburbs made one change to their team as Adam Thomas reverted to right back and Josh Rogerson came into defensive midfield again. No Adam Thurston or Stephen Hoyle again. For the Phoenix Reserves we were talking an unchanged back four but with Adam Hillis returning to the midfield and George Ott getting the start instead of Oskar van Hattum. Showtime.

It was instantly clear that Eastern Suburbs were going to be buzzing in numbers to try and win the ball high up the park against the youngsters and Ryan Feutz wasted no time in dragging a ball across to Reid Drake who was a bit annoyed with himself not to do better. Then in the third minute Finn Surman took a heavy touch and lost the ball on the edge of his own area. He clipped Kingsley Sinclair on the back of the heel trying to recover and a whistle rang out.

That, ladies and gents, was the final moment of normalcy in this game because inexplicably a red card emerged being waved in Surman’s direction. It was not a good challenge... but it also wasn’t a malicious one and he wasn’t the last man. Sinclair could have taken a shot but could you say ‘goal-scoring opportunity’ from the edge of the box like that? Not really, not with cover defenders in place. No choice but to call that a very poor decision and one which instantly rocked this game off its axis.

Alex Paulsen saved the free kick attempt but then two minutes later there was a penalty. Adam Hillis tried to shield a loose ball out for a goal kick and Christian Gray bounced off him. There was not a lot in this one either but s’pose you could say Hillis was running into the contact rather than simply holding his ground. Anyway this one didn’t matter because the top goalkeeping prospect in Aotearoa went and did this...

Maaaate. That kept events even but it didn’t solve the deeper issue of having to hold out with ten men against Suburbs on the road. Tom Raimbault dropped deeper with Ott alone up front, while Hillis dropped into the backline to preserve the back four. No substitutions yet. But now Suburbs were knocking the ball about with ease in swift possession. Ryan Feutz may have missed that spottie but he was all over this game while Dan Edwards was getting in all the right areas. Kurtis Mogg made a crucial block to deny Edwards while Feutz curled one over the bar. Then they combined as Feutz crossed for Eddie about 8 yards out yet he headed it into Paulsen’s bread basket.

There were hints of a counter attacking outlet through Riley Bidois (who has looked very sharp playing on the wing in recent weeks) but down the other end it was getting frisky. Sinclair had a shot blocked before Edwards was denied by an incredible right-footed stretch by Paulsen. Best open play save of the week. Feutz posted one to the far post where Sinclair scored... only he was offside. Jaiden van der Heijden had a pop from way out which dropped onto the crossbar – that’s one way to react when the oppo starts sitting deep and standing off you. Then Edwards shot over again and honestly if he could keep his shots down then he’d have had a hat-trick in the first half. Feutz and Mechell both had further attempts foiled. Hoani Edwards would have been begging for some Stevie Hoyle to supply some finishing touch because that was all that was letting his side down.

But in the 36th minute they finally got there. Feutz with the cross, Mechell with the size to leap into the header over Kurtis Mogg (who is the biggest of the WeeNix defenders) and there you go. First of the season for the big fella who himself is only 22yo. After the goal it was more of the same thing only with a frightening calmness about Suburbs now that they had the breakthrough. Edwards walloped another one over (keep it down, bro!). The Lilywhites in complete control yet it remained 1-0 going into the half.

Luis Toomey was sacrificed for Jaylen Rodwell at HT, a proper defender coming on with Hillis moving back into the middle. Unlucky for the in-form Toomz but this was one of them days. The WeeNix reverted to a more direct approach and they did have speed up front. Not to mention the threat of Benjamin Old, the ex-golfing prodigy turned Premiership breakout star. Yet Old was having an extremely quiet game by his standards and when he finally got involved it was for the wrong reason as Dan Edwards picked out Kingsley Sinclair sprinting through and Ben Old nudged him off the ball for the foul.

If this game had already long abandoned the realms of normality before then this was where it entered Bad Acid Trip mode. Not only was a red card astoundingly produced for what again was not even a last man tackle, if it was a foul at all, but the ref sent off the wrong lad! Ollie van Rijssel was shown the card instead and after some extended confusion he eventually took one for the team to keep their best player out there (big ups for the awareness). Old wears #10 while OVR wears #18 so that’s probably where the mix-up stemmed from but it had all gotten farcical by this point.

You’ll notice that I never mention referees’ names in the Premmy Files... that’s because I can’t stand the pile-ons that those lads and lasses are subjected to. It’s a really hard job and the way that officials are treated in this country is horrid. No wonder there’s a shortage. So yeah I’m not gonna go through and pick out any patterns with certain refs or reputations or any of that. Suffice to say that this game was ruined by poor officiating, and that poor officiating has been a trend across the league in recent weeks. NZ Football can re-jig the entire league to try and promote “better pathways” for young players and all that but the two best things that can be done in order to develop stronger, more skilful, well-rounded, confident generations of footballers through this competition are:

1. Investing in facilities so that every team has a top-quality grass field to play on

2. Developing a much better standard of officiating

Both of those things would improve the flow of games, allow players to express themselves, let youngsters who are good enough for this level to be protected and flourish, plus they’d also boost the standard of games for fans and broadcasters. You can’t work backwards to grow a garden, you need to plant seeds and provide the right environment for nature to do its thing.

The rest of the game was a mockery. Ryan Feutz scored a ripper of a direct free kick to make it 2-0 immediately after OVR gapped it and his side still had 35 more minutes to go against nine men. Dan Edwards finally kept one down in the 62nd min and that was three, Mechell with the assist. Reid Drake then scored a stunner in the 64th having nutmegged Rodwell and then picked out the bottom corner. Such a classy goal. But you could tell when Stafford Dowling megged Bidois and Biddy just grabbed at his shirt and hauled him down that the WeeNix didn’t wanna be there any more.

Ryan Feutz patiently drifted past a couple challenges and then boomed in the fifth in the 73rd. By now Suburbs had two central defenders back and everybody else on attack. It was overwhelming. In the 86th minute Feutz completed his hat-trick winning the ball off a tentative clearance by Mogg then throwing him with the turn before shooting. Feutz was unplayable. It’ll be lost amidst the drama but what a performance from him... even with the missed penalty. He’d eventually get a fourth with the last kick of the game, firing in from twenty yards... but not before Drake got his second following up after Mogg had blocked a Feutz effort. Suburbs did what they had to do. Goal difference might yet matter and they needed a win for their confidence. Feutz was outstanding, Drake was very good. Adam Thomas had a strong game as did Edwards (finishing aside). 8-0 was the end of it. The final whistle was the only act of officiating mercy that the Phoenix got all day.

Here’s what the bossman had to say...

Scanning for lies and deception: ... ... ... none found.

Yet we did get one beautiful moment after the final whistle. Fred De Jong hauled Kurtis Mogg over as captain of the WeeNix for the standard post-game chat for the telly. Except this was not a standard game, so coach Paul Temple came over and put an arm around Mogg’s shoulder and took care of the interview himself in a really inspirational moment of solidarity between coach and team. Words like “soul-destroying” and “sub-standard officiating” were used as he did not hold back in his sentiments and fair enough, gotta get the point across, but that’s also some amazing leadership from Temple. Protecting a 19 year old from having to face the cameras alone after a humiliation like that.

A spontaneous example of a Good Bugger in action. People talk about players being a coach’s dream but a coach like that is a player’s dream. What a champion. (PT did a fine job on on the comms for the Team Welly game too, pulling out all the advanced stats which proves that such numbers do exist even if nobody’s ever shared them with The Premmy Files, oh well).

Sweet so we’ve kinda only got four rounds left before the playoffs. The WeeNix get us going at the early hour of 11.30am on Saturday with Hamilton Wanderers coming to town. You can’t really go wrong bouncing back from an 8-0 defeat but conceding a 93rd minute equaliser gives you a more varied list of positive or negative reactions. Next up Waitakere United host Eastern Suburbs at 2pm as West plays East in Auckland. Should be goals a-plenty there based on recent form for both. And completing a delightful Saturday triple-banger is Canterbury United vs Hawke’s Bay United at 4pm... clearing the slate for an ultra-banger on Sunday at 4pm as Auckland City face Team Wellington for what could be (but probably won’t be) the final ever time. [Dramatic music ensues].

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