Hawke’s Bay United vs Eastern Suburbs

Took a little while to get here but we got here in the end. The final game of the regular season. The final game ever in the existence of Hawke’s Bay United. Up against Eastern Suburbs who knew that they had no choice but to win if they wanted to extend their own season into the semi-finals. Bluewater Stadium was the scene of the festivities.

Thankfully Suburbs seemed to have pretty much a full strength side to choose from despite the game being played at 4.15pm in another city between amateurs thus necessitating a day off from the day jobs. Ryan Feutz came back into the starters in place of Jake Mechell and that was the only change in personnel from the 1-1 draw with Hamilton Wanderers, the Lilywhites in their standard 4-3-3 shape. Meanwhile Hawke’s Bay did mix things up slightly after losing to Waitakere. James Hoyle came back into CB trio with Fergus Neil moving to wingback and Ahmed Othman going into the number ten role with Manny Achol not involved.

This game was supposed to have been played ten days earlier and that’s a long wait given what was at stake for both teams – particularly for ES. Both teams were effectively coming off a bye week and a half... no excuses for the fitness but probably a few for the ol’ mental state. Tell ya what though, there was a pretty quick pace to things as the game got underway. Not too many clear chances to speak of – there was an early crack from Jorge Akers but not enough weet-bix in the contact, easy save from Drake, while Ryan Feutz walloped one over the top on the second phase after a corner at the other end – but with both teams looking to move the ball quickly in possession it was a real tennis match.

Also heart-warming to see Sky Sport getting in on the nostalgia buzz with one more for the road in terms of their sterling technical prowess when it comes to broadcasting football...

Suburbs were the team looking to build up in possession, HBU were the team trying to get out on the counter. So as you’d expect it was Suburbs who were asking more questions with Feutz hitting another one over the top while Reid Drake curled a free kick high and Feutz again had a chance with a header at the back stick after a great run from Dan Edwards had led to a cross. But Bill Robertson and company eat that stuff for breakfast. And with Gavin Hoy’s relentlessness there were more than a couple twitchy moments coming back the other way... the best of them on around 34 mins when Hoy chipped a switch over to Akers who shaped onto his left foot but, like those Suburbs dudes, blasted his shot well over the top.

Clearly the Lilywhites needed something a bit more dynamic to break up that deep defensive line. Dan Edwards was one of the better options there, he created another one pushing out of midfield when he slipped Kelvin Kalua in but Kaeden Atkins slid through to block the shot. The corner kicks were also mounting yet Robbo was winning all those in his 101st and final HBU appearance. Delicately poised... but this game definitely needed a goal as it filtered off into half-time.

And it got one. Two minutes after the resumption and it was Jorge Akers, who had already caused some chaos winning the ball high up the field a little earlier, with the firm finish after running onto Bill Robertson’s ball over the top. Taking advantage of a crooked Suburbs backline in the moment, lovely stuff. Sixth of the season for Akers who has really begun to thrive the more he’s gotten to play as a striker.

However that meant bundles of trouble for Suburbs who absolutely had to win this game and in their panic they nearly left themselves vulnerable at the back soon after with Gavin Hoy curling a shot in that Drake pushed over on. Suburbs with their fullbacks pushing right forward and it was leaving acres of space any time Akers (or Hoy) drifted wide of the CBs. They were going for it. Don’t for a second even doubt it.

Edwards continued to make things happen, feeding Kingsley Sinclair who drew a save outta Scotty Morris. Then Reid Drake shot high after the resulting corner. We have seen a few of these spells from the Lilywhites in the past where they can’t seem to finish things off no matter how they try but when the forwards and midfielders are struggling, you turn to your defenders and the handy thing about having those fullbacks hanging out in the attacking areas is you get situations like in the 56th minute when a deep Robi Sabo cross from the left side met Kelvin Kalua was rushing in from the right to side-foot in the equaliser. 1-1 and game on, baby.

Not entirely sure what happened on 60 minutes. Kaeden Atkins made the run forward as an option for Neil down the right and then he just kept on going all the way to the byline where he chipped a cross that Akers flicked on at the near post and it looped up and Danyon Drake lost sight of it and it bounced on the line before he palmed it away. Didn’t look like it had crossed the line, to be fair. Wasn’t given. But it got the home crowd asking the question as well as more than a couple Bay players (and probably a whole team of Waitakere players watching from home).

Eastern Subs still needed to score again. A draw was not enough. On came Josh Rogerson for Sabo with Dan Edwards swinging out to the left back role where he’d be even more involved in the final third. Things were getting desperate... it’s not often you see scenes like this with a quarter of the game still left. This is a last-ten-mins-down-by-a-goal formation: defenders all hanging forward and the keeper pushing up to cover and the forwards not really pressing, merely holding...

But it worked. 68 minutes played and Kingsley Sinclair hit a low ball into the middle where Reid Drake was tracing it. Cheeky tap in amongst the crowd and Subs led 2-1, enough to go through as things stood with Waitakere thus eliminated.

Curiously that didn’t stop them - Subs nearly scored soon after from a mirror image chance but nobody could get a touch on the ball. Then Hoani Edwards subbed off Kalua, a fullback, for Jake Mechell, a forward. Gotta commend the positivity, granted it nearly backfired when Kingsley Sinclair, moving to RB, threatened a calamity with an under-hit header back that had Cam Emerson hunting, leading to a collision with Danyon Drake... just lucky the ball didn’t fall to Karan Mandair where he could shoot. Even still Drake needed a little treatment before he could continue.

Would Hawke’s Bay throw the kitchen sink in for a draw though? Nah not really. They tried as they ordinarily would but there wasn’t the same desperation as we’d earlier seen from the Lilywhites who had something tangible to play for. A few crosses into the box caused a threat or two. And we did get this scene in the final stages of stoppage time with Scott Morris up for the corner...

However Eastern Suburbs emerged with the 2-1 victory, coming from behind away from home after a ten-day pause which included a lockdown, to book a trip to Kiwitea Street on Sunday. Safe to say they did it the hard way... this was their first win since the 8-0 hiding of the WeeNix so they were already making it tough for themselves even before lockdown.

Suburbs didn’t always look fantastic here either but they showed a lot of heart to get it done. On the back of some clutch performances from the likes of Dan Edwards, Kelvin Kalua, and let’s chuck some Campbell Strong in there too. Plus of course Reid Drake with the winner. He’s started every single game this season and at times it’s felt like he needed to do a little more scoring as well as setting up all the chances that he does. Well, he scored last game in a draw with Team Welly and he scored here (he scored 5 in total) so to put it simply: Eastern Suburbs would not be preparing for a semi-final right now without him.

Gotta feel for Hawke’s Bay United, this was their last hurrah and after the final whistle there was a funereal atmosphere amongst their fans and players alike. There’s so much to be proud of from what they achieved over the last decade and a half though – remember there was a time there when HBU were regular playoff candidates. Even just this season, to come back from such a horrid start to be as competitive as they were was no mean feat. More on that in their season debrief down the line. Kaeden Atkins had an excellent game (even if he was out of position for the winner). Bill Robertson led by example as he has all season. Already mentioned Jorge Akers, while Karan Mandair is never not impressive. It’s the end of an era for the franchise but none of these players are about to fade away any time soon.

The Semi-Finals

Which means that the regular season is now complete and we have our two semi-finals all set:

• Team Wellington vs Hamilton Wanderers, Saturday at 2.05pm at David Farrington Park

• Auckland City vs Eastern Suburbs, Sunday at 2.05pm at Kiwitea Street

With the final to be played on Sunday 21 March most likely at North Harbour Stadium.

Team Welly and the Tron Wands is a funky matchup because they played each other last time out and if that 3-2 win to the Wellingtonians was any measure then this could be a ripper of a contest. Two teams that play positively, both with speed and power from the wide areas. The extra week of preparation been a boost as well with a few players dealing with injuries – most notably HW’s Tommy Semmy.

Wanderers will bring a rough and tumble physicality to the game which the TeeDubs will be only too happy to match. Then check for Wanderers’ mobile midfield looking to switch the ball quickly to the wings to try and get Jordan Lamb (or Mark Jones) and especially Semmy into situations isolated 1v1 with a defender. With Derek Tieku lurking to score the goals, of course. Tieku and Hamish Watson shared the Golden Boot now they go head to head once more in a knockout context. The one drama for HW is that they’re unlikely to have Brock Messenger back healthy since he’s missed the last six games... while Tino Contratti is suspended and that’s devastating for their chances. Contratti has been one of the top CBs in the entire comp. To be without both of their starting central defenders... well, they’re gonna have to make sure they take their chances up top.

Team Welly have been playing Rory McKeown as a left-sided CB of late but you’d imagine he’ll be back to wing-back here if only to get him swinging in those monster crosses – no combination has been better for assist/goal link-ups than McKeown and Watson. And they have pace and flair on the other flank too thanks to Jack-Henry Sinclair who has really gotten his touch back in recent weeks following a shoulder injury that cost him half the season. Then of course there’s Andy Bevin and his magical ability to appear in any pocket of space that should exist right as the ball’s passing through it.

However where this game could well be won is in the midfield where Mario Barcia and Ollie Whyte/Wan Gatkek will match with Brad Whitworth, Josh Signey, and Xavier Pratt. It’s not so much that either team needs to control the middle like, say, Auckland City would. More that neither can afford to be overrun. But they also have classy defensive mids so... yeah, could be a belter of a football match.

Then there’s the other one. Auckland City might have started slow but they’ve picked up speed in due course. The front three of Logan Rogerson, Dylan Manickum, and Mohamed Awad has been brilliant over the last couple months and guess what now Emiliano Tade’s back healthy too. The rich keep on getting richer, aye? Chuck in the finest defensive combo in the comp of Brian Kaltack and Adam Mitchell, as well as the best midfield, and there’s a reason they haven’t lost since week five. There is a tendency sometimes with ACFC to be a little wasteful or complacent but generally speaking they find goals when they need them and they don’t concede a lot to begin with. Haven’t been as potent attacking with their fullbacks this season... but that’s partially because they get width from guys like Rogerson instead.

That’s a tough gig for Eastern Suburbs to figure out with only three days off in between games. You’d figure the wide areas will be huge for them, especially if they decide they aren’t going to win the midfield battle. We’ll probably see a similar team to the side that faced HBU but a few of those fellas will have to step up in the big spotlight. Christian Gray has had a strong season at the back. He’ll be pivotal. Danyon Drake will need to have a huge game. And Stephen Hoyle has been pretty quiet since his injury, he feels like a guy who has more to give. He’s played in semis before and he knows what’s up.

To be honest, Suburbs haven’t been the same since Adam Thurston got injured... but having said that they only narrowly lost 1-0 in week one to Auckland City and they drew with them in week nine so they’ve given them problems both times. Suburbs will want to knock the ball around amongst themselves, keeping it away from City. That’s the kind of thing that frustrates the Navy Blues and if they can also withstand the Logan Rogerson counter attacks then you never know. The smart money says that Auckland City should win comfortably enough but it felt that way a couple years ago when they went undefeated through the regular season only to lose to Team Wellington at home in the semi-final. It’s happened before. It could happen again.

Nobody serves up the kiwi footy yarns like The Niche Cache, support what we do on Patreon if you appreciate the coverage and wanna help keep us fed

Also whack an ad to say cheers and sign up to our most excellent Substack newsletter

Keep cool but care