The Premmy Files – Eastern Suburbs & Waitakere Utd 2020-21 Season Reviews
More Premmy Files 2020-21 Season Reviews:
Team Wellington
Auckland City & Hamilton Wanderers
Canterbury United & Hawke’s Bay United
Wellington Phoenix Reserves
Eastern Suburbs
Final Standings: 4th (19 points)
Top Scorer: Ryan Feutz (7 goals)
Most Appearances: Danyon Drake (15 starts), Reid Drake (15 starts) & Christian Gray (14 starts, 1 sub)
Premmy Files MVP: Danyon Drake
Well that was a wild sorta season. It began with annoyances as Eastern Suburbs went down 1-0 at Kiwitea Street in week one with an Emiliano Tade penalty the difference in a game where they were thwarted by a combination of brilliant goalkeeping and their own sloppy finishing...
But then Adam Thurston stepped into the eleven the following week and it was instant righteousness. Thurston started five games and was pretty much the MVP frontrunner, creating and scoring in factory outlet bulk... until he got injured. And missed the rest of the season. And things were never quite the same for the Lilywhites.
ES when Adam Thurston starts (5 games):
3 W | 2 D | 0 L | 12 GF | 5 GA | +7 GD | 11 PTS
ES when AT doesn’t start (9 games):
2 W | 2 D | 5 L | 13 GF | 18 GA | -5 GD | 8 PTS
(Not including the semi-final)
That is... drastic. Especially since the only reason they scored as many goals as they did without him was that bonkers 8-0 win over the WeeNix – the game in which the Phoenix were reduced to nine men thanks to some questionable refereeing. Suburbs were superb that day despite the dramas. Ryan Feutz scored an excellent hat-trick, Reid Drake was all over the place, they could have won by a heap more – Feutz actually missed a penalty in the first half. But take those eight goals out and you’d have to flinch away in horror at what’s left. The crazy thing was that the 8-0 win was like the eye of a storm. ES lost 4-0 the very next week against Waitakere and chased that with a rock bottom 7-0 loss against Team Welly... the result that played the eventual champs into a run of form that culminated in the grand final win. They took one point from the three games before the 8-0, took one point from the three games after the 8-0. The confusion is real.
Suburbs linked back up with Ole Academy for this campaign with several top talents thus finding their way into the Lilywhites ranks alongside a few old favourites and the odd up-and-comer from their own academy. Plenty for Hoani Edwards to work with in his first year in charge of the Premiership squad. Ryan Feutz was one of those Ole fellas, a quick and talented winger who had his breakthrough performance with a match-winning double against Hamilton Wanderers (2-1 win) that concluded the Thurston Era of their season. Up until then they were gorgeous to watch. Some stunning flowing football, the passing and the movement. Shredding teams to pieces. Thurston was a huge part of that of course. We still saw plenty of instances of that sharp footy after AT went down but the goals didn’t tend to flow on in the same way (Thurston scored 5 goals and set up a couple more from the 12 that were scored in his games so yeah that adds up).
Thurston’s injury was probably the moment when their title hopes dipped but it wasn’t the only reason for the midseason slump. Sean Bright also left for Denmark, trialling at first with FC Helsingør and ending up signing a division below with FC Hellerød. Bright’s metronomic distribution and his workrate in defensive midfield was straight up insane. An 18 year old in his first Premiership season out there dominating. But that Hamilton game was also his last game and in the same match Stephen Hoyle also got injured. While Hoyle didn’t miss a heap of time, he never really got back to 100% and therefore wasn’t able to produce like he had early on. Two goals in his first four appearances, none in his next nine. That put a lot of pressure on less experienced (though not inexperienced) guys like Feutz, Kingsley Sinclair, and Jake Mechell.
Consecutive defeats against Hawke’s Bay and Canterbury United rocked the boat. It would have been three in a row but for a dramatic late equaliser against Auckland City (a 90th min own goal in their favour) and then the week after that was the WeeNix win. Then came the eleven unanswered goals in a row and they would have been a bit frustrated to only draw 1-1 with a Wanderers side that played 70+ mins with ten men the week after that too. All of which left them needing a result in the final game of the season to make the semis, the delayed/rescheduled game away to Hawke’s Bay... but fair play to the fellas because they got it done. Made it tough on themselves coming from a goal down at half-time to win 2-1 thanks to Kelvin Kalua and Reid Drake goals but they got it done. Only appropriate that those two would score as they were two of their very best all season.
To be honest, Suburbs only held on for the semis because there were only two consistent teams. Auckland City and Team Wellington’s early stumbles, balanced with red hot form from Eastern Subs and Hamilton Wands, created the impression of a wide open comp but then normality emerged from the fog after the holidays. Hence this was a frustrating season for the Lilywhites, one which promised more than they were able to deliver – partly through patchy form but also you cannot understate how important Thurston and Bright were to the first couple months. Sometimes it happens like that and there’s nothing much you can do about it. Any team’s gonna struggle if you take out two of their best performing players (except for Auckland City who played most of the season without Emiliano Tade).
At least Suburbs came on strong at the very end. Great second half against HBU and then they gave Auckland City a right scare in the semis despite the quick turnaround. Rode their luck with ACFC wasting some golden chances but had them sweating all the way to the final whistle after Ryan Feutz scored a nice one with quarter of an hour to go. Gotta be pretty proud of that. Not too many teams would have mustered that resilience but they did.
Danyon Drake was a standout all season. Probably the most consistently great keeper in the comp, plus always a joy to watch as someone who thoroughly embraced the ball at his feet. That led to some clunky moments – the hefty Team Wellington loss especially – but nothing that wavered his confidence and more often than not his role in their build up play was a huge positive, allowing the central defenders to spread and cover more space and allowing those fullbacks to push forward. Plus Drake makes some dashingly good saves. Gotta provide the bread and butter as well as the deserts and DD certainly did that. Fingertips of steel.
His brother wasn’t too shabby either, Reid Drake the most consistently reliable attacking player in their ranks – at times you would’ve liked to see him take a bigger role but that might be harsh because damn he scored some crucial goals at the end there: the leveller against Hamilton and the winner vs HBU. Also gotta shout out Christian Gray who has played plenty over the last couple seasons but this was different. This season he locked it down at whole new level. Adam Thomas of course. And Kelvin Kalua served up the goods as well, a guy who was required to play all across the backline at various times and who did it all beautifully.
One area where it got weird: defensive midfield. One more example why Sean Bright left a hole in the squad looking at all the guys who tried to fill his boots. Dan Edwards played there. Josh Rogerson. Adam Thomas. Jaiden van der Heijden even had one ill-fated start there (the 7-0 loss) and Campbell Strong dropped deeper as well. Strong was came on nicely in the last few weeks after being in and out until that point. They also went through quite a few CB partners for Christian Gray, with Rogerson, Thomas, van der Heijden all getting goes there as well as Tyler Lissette, Alec Solomons, and Kelvin Kalua. Plenty of domino effects from what was, above all else, an unlucky season for Suburbs.
As a fully functioning winter club to begin with, the Lilywhites have already started their quest to get back into the next incarnation of the National League with the Northern League beginning last week – and they should have a pretty decent chance to do so with a squad that’s very similar to the group that made the Premmy semis. The Ole boys are gone obviously (Feutz, Bright, Rogerson, Otto Ingham & Robi Sabo). As are the Drake Bros. But Thomas, Thurston, Gray, Kalua, Hoyle, Edwards, Dowling, Strong, Mechell, van der Heijden, etc... they’re all still there. Plenty of continuity to ensure that whatever happened in the summer season, it’s all now channelled into the winter stuff. No time to rest and reset. Straight back into it.
Waitakere Utd
Final Standings: 5th (18 points)
Top Scorer: Alex Greive (6 goals)
Most Appearances: Nick Draper (14 starts), Alex Greive (14 starts) & Dane Schnell (13 starts, 1 sub)
Premmy Files MVP: Alex Greive
It began so bloody well. Travelling down to Canterbury and putting the beat on the Dragons with a 4-0 victory. Waitakere looked strong at the back, they had quality in the midfield (goes without saying with Gerard Garriga Gibert, Sam Burfoot & Dane Schnell), and then in attack they were simply a delight as Alex Greive, back from college in the States (going undrafted in the latest MLS haul during the middle of this Premmy season – the Yanks don’t realise what they’re missing) pulling all sorts of strings with an eye for a progressive pass that rivals anyone in the comp.
You would never have guessed on that afternoon back in November that Waitakere United would not win another game of football for two and a half months.
A 4-1 loss to the WeeNix the following week was an odd one, a close enough game that got blown out late – it was 2-1 going into the 90th minute with Waitakere pushing for a leveller. An injury time equaliser from Josh Redfearn then got them a very commendable draw against Team Wellington but they blew a 2-0 HT lead to draw with Eastern Suburbs the game after that, then an 86th minute Angus Kilkolly goal booked a draw with Hamilton the next time up. Wild games going back and forth... although it took a toll on the team’s form as their subsequent midseason efforts were as poor as they got.
All the while it was changes on top of changes. Whereas HBU and the Cantabs both showed trust and consistency in their team selections, Waitakere’s were all over the show and it’s hard not to think it affected them in a negative way. Or at least stunted their growth in a pretty short season. After an unchanged XI between the first two games, Paul Hobson then made multiple changes from week to week in the next nine games in a row, five times with at least four changes to the side. Most of that was at the back and while the 3-5-1-2 formation never altered... the personnel certainly did. Andrew Cromb started all but two games, easily their most reliable defender after a breakthrough season with Southern United last time (he plays winter at Birkenhead so the move to Waitakere was always likely). He was the only one. In fourteen games these were the CB combos that were used:
Khan/Botica/Cromb x2
Khan/Searle/Cromb
van den hoven/Milicich/Cromb x2
Khan/Milicich/Cromb x2
van den Hoven/Dymond/Khan
van den Hoven/Dymond/Milicich
Hobson/Milicich/Cromb x3
Dymond/Milicich/Cromb
Khan/Dymond/Cromb
None of this sounds great so far but you know what? The last two months were great and they very nearly got themselves up into the playoffs. And the game that turned things around was the baffling, bonkers, ridiculous 3-3 draw against Canterbury United. Read the Canty Utd piece for the rundown on how that one happened, no need to repeat material, but suffice to say that Waitakere were down 2-0 and down to ten men with fifteen minutes remaining and looking like they were on pace for a simple defeat. Then Dan Schnell scored. Then GGG scored. Then Alex Greive scored from the penalty spot. Then they conceded to only draw despite the comeback but still that seemed to spur them on the rest of the way.
A rapid start with two goals inside the first 15 mins, and another in the 24th min, along with a brilliantly controlled second half playing with the lead earned them a 4-3 win away to Team Wellington. An outstanding result – especially for a team that’d gone eight games without a win - and then they went and matched that effort with a 4-0 win over Eastern Suburbs for a one-two punch that got them right back in contention. Even more impressive is that GGG and Burfoot each missed one of those games with suspension, the two star midfielders whose distribution and positioning and leadership was so crucial in getting the Waitakere machine rolling each game. But they survived that thanks to Leon van den Hoven who thrived in that little window of opportunity. After coming back from a pro stint in the Netherlands, the former Eastern Suburbs youngster (he was part of their title team a couple years back) had earlier played a few games in defence which never quite suited him but once he got an extended run in midfield it was prim LVDH. Scored a couple goals and everything – including one against Suburbs.
The other thing that started to click around that time was their wingbackers. Zac Zoricich especially, who must have unlocked new realms of confidence at about this time because he was suddenly so much more involved in games. Playing on either side too, didn’t matter. Reggie Murati and Nathan Lobo also had more than a couple quality games each. Plus the whole way along they had English goalie Nick Draper doing quality things while Dane Schnell’s goals dried up compared to last season but he played in a few different roles and his influence is maybe best described by the fact that he was given the captain’s armband when Burfoot was out. No shortage of talent in this team. They just took too long to get it sizzling.
The week 12 game against Hamilton was when the playoff dream effectively slipped away, in hindsight. Coming from a goal down soon after half-time, strikes from Schnell and Cromb had them in the lead for a while there until Derek Tieku did some Derek Tieku things – including a 94th minute winner – and Waitakere ended up with nothing in a 3-2 defeat. A solid win against HBU was followed by a really funky game against Auckland City in which they hung around the whole way, barely clinging on at times, before Gerard Garriga Gibert scored to snatch a draw in stoppage time. But Eastern Suburbs winning the rescheduled game after mini-lockdown ultimately saw Waitakere missing out on the semis by one point. They would have finished ahead of Subs on the head to head tiebreaker had they only avoided that third Derek Tieku goal but so it goes.
Here’s a nice indication of what the Waitaks were capable of. They were the only team from outside that duo itself to take any points whatsoever against Auckland City or Team Wellington away from home. Kiwitea Street and Dave Farrington Park were elephant graveyards for everyone else. Let alone Waitakere doing so against both of them...
Canterbury Utd: 1-3 vs TW | 0-2 vs AC
Eastern Suburbs: 0-1 vs AC | 0-7 vs TW
Hawke’s Bay Utd: 1-2 vs TW | 1-2 vs AC
Hamilton Wands: 1-2 vs AC | 2-3 vs TW | 1-4 vs TW (SF)
Waitakere Utd: 4-3 vs TW | 2-2 vs AC
Wellington Phoenix: 1-4 vs AC | 2-5 vs TW
Could they have backed up that form in a semi-final at Kiwitea Street? We’ll never know. This was a team tended to play better when they were on the road. They balanced out the home vs away form by winning their last two home games but that still only just got them up to an even nine points gained from each. Which is where we have to acknowledge that the artificial turf at Seddon Fields was an absolute mess. Bobbled all over the place. For a team that had guys with the vision of Greive, GGG & Burfoot that’s a pretty massive hindrance.
Alex Greive was superb. Probably gotta say that he didn’t quite hit the heights of his debut again but that was more down to the way that the team played. He still scored six goals and created so much, AG’s ability to pick out a pass in the attacking third was almost unparalleled in the Premiership. If Waitakere had a stable strike partner for him then we’d be talking unchallenged Assist King status. The list of starting second strikers for WU: Angus Kilkolly x3, Alex Connor-McClean x4, Josh Redfearn, Nic Zambrano, Jack Duncan x4 & Dane Schnell - Duncan was the only one who started more than two in a row and that coincided with the club’s best form... so maybe not a coincidence. You definitely saw Waitakere become a more consistent goal-scoring team down the stretch. They bagged at least two in each of their last six games. Greive was always the key man there, a thrilling player to watch as you never quite knew whether he’d shoot or pass and he always popped up in such dangerous areas.
Unsurprisingly, given the aforementioned defensive shuffling, the Waitaks were also a team that let in too many goals. 26 in 14 games was the third most of any team, a pretty large issue considering how they missed out on the semis by one point and had three separate 2-2 draws as well as a 3-3 draw and a 3-2 loss. Again: what might have been.
It’s not quite the poetic farewell that one of the powerhouse franchises of this competition could have had. A perennial title contender in the early days of this comp, things got tougher for Waitakere United over the last few years but, hey, we’ll always have the memories. By the end of it Waitakere United were kind of a nomad team. Barely any remaining connections to the Waitakere area, they were based out of Western Springs with a squad full of Birkenhead players.
And that’s where the focus goes now. Paul Hobson takes most of these dudes back to Birky, almost a full starting eleven’s worth. Schnell, Zoricich & GGG head to Western Springs. Duncan, van den Hoven, Tipelu, Murati & Redfearn are all at Auckland United. A couple spare players elsewhere (eg. Nick Draper at Bay Olympic, Sammy Khan at Manukau). No poetic farewell for the franchise... but a poetic dispersal of its many talents which will have to suffice.
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