Christchurch United vs Auckland City

Christchurch United won the Southern League. They did so by the barest of margins over Cashmere Technical but they did so and that’s all that matters. Yet the Techies have settled into the National League much better than their local rivals. Hard not to feel as though all that past Canterbury United experience in the Technical side has given them a large head-start compared to a Christchurch Utd side that doesn’t have that benefit. There are a few blokes in the CU squad who’ve done the Natty League thing before but not like Tech’s grizzly backline. Or Garbhan Coughlan.

That’s why the stunning 3-0 win away to Miramar Rangers last week was so massive. Finally Christchurch United could log the confidence to know they belong at this level. Now to try back that up over the remaining few weeks. Only one change from that last side with Sho Mathieson starting at wing-back. Otherwise sweet as. Meanwhile Auckland City won a boring one over the WeeNix thanks in large part to one of the great goals of all time (chur Cam Howieson). They did change things for the trip to Chch. Reid Drake got a rare start, only his second of the competition (the other was at fullback). Angus Kilkolly also started up top. Ryan De Vries and Emiliano Tade both rested on the bench. No Mario Ilich again.

Didn’t take long for Auckland City to settle into their rhythm. A great move involving Kilkolly and Howieson ended with Joe Lee squaring for CH who lifted the ball high of the target. But United were doing things too. Dan MacLennan dodged some attention in the corner to drive along the goal-line and cut back for Mika Rabuka on the penalty spot but Conor Tracey tipped that wide. Then MacLennan had a big moment from a corner only for Gerrard Garriga to make a heroic block.

Lots of touches for City CBs Adam Mitchell and Sam Brotherton. Joe Lee also offered some pizazz... but for the most past Christchurch were doing well to contain them. A quality ball in behind from Kilkolly dropped for Dylan Manickum only he shot past the post. Kilkolly also stormed into the box himself but lashed wide. Both teams had something to encourage them in the initial twenty minutes.

Drake couldn’t guide a near post cross from Lee on target, not enough leather on the finish. Vale then recovered the ball and hit Drake again who had Scott Morris pulling off a really nice save. City were tightening some screws. Brotherton lifted the ball towards Manickum who lexpertly lobbed Morris... except he was offside. And then Auckland City scored. No wait, sorry, then Christchurch United scored. Yeah they did. Blake Weston with a header from an Ed Wilkinson corner kick. Have some of that.

Of course, it didn’t take Auckland City long to make up for that slip. Cam Howieson found Kilkolly and kept on running. He then regathered the ball and deliciously nudged it across for Reid Drake to tap in a simple one. 1-1 after 36 minutes...

Then it was 2-1 after 40 minutes. This time Howieson did it himself as Manickum picked him out in the box. Boom, bottom corner. Auckland City turning it on when necessary... makes you wonder why it took them conceding a goal for this version of ACFC to emerge.

Anyway, the live stream then tonked out for a bit as the half finished with the score still 2-1. However it was Christchurch Utd who sparked things in the second. A quick start from them, applying pressure, and that ended up with a penalty as Eddie Wilkinson went down under the shadows of Brotherton. Hard to see exactly what happened but it was Wilkie causing havoc again, as he does so well. You can’t contain the bloke.

Wilkinson missed a penalty last week which is probably why Will Pierce took this one. Unfortunately Pierce missed as well. Struck the sucker off the inside of the post. That’s as forgivable as penalty misses go, it was a couple centimetres from being perfect, but yeah you really don’t wanna be doing that against Auckland City Football Club.

Tack on a bunch more City possession, then fast forward to Howieson spotting a killer ball into the area for Kilkolly... whose touch caught a defender’s hand and that was a penalty. Angus Kilkolly took it upon himself and converted down the middle to make it 3-1. Gotta take your chances against Auckland City because you know that they will. First of the term for Kilkolly.

Wilkinson worked his way into the area but his low cross was diverted by Tracey. MacLennan also got an impressive ball over from the other side, following a lovely team move up the left wing, only Tracey scooped up that one too. Not enough bodies in the box and those moves were too few and far between to begin with. Yet they did eventually pull one back. 75 minutes gone and Ed Wilkinson smacked a shot/cross towards goal which Tracey got his fingers to but Dan MacLennan was on call to... pretty much just let the thing hit him and tumble over the line. 3-2 with fifteen mins still to negotiate for Auckland City.

That they did. The home side only got the ball in City’s penalty area twice more and each time either Mitchell or Brotherton dealt with it competently. Brotherton also had a header up the other end that wasn’t too far away from a goal. We even got a sighting of old mate Takuya Iwata, brought on as a sub. Nothing to worry about in the end as Auckland City claimed a tricky but deserved three points with the 3-2 victory. Did what they needed to do. Cam Howieson their best player as usual. Kilkolly, Manickum, Tracey, and the central defenders all performing their roles more than adequately. There’s been a stumble or two along the way but ACFC are now right there on the brink of grand final qualification.

Can’t complain about the efforts from Christchurch United who only lost 3-2 despite missing a penalty. They scored first and they scored last. If only they’d scored in between as well. Did well to take those chances given theirs were a lot more limited than their opponents... nonetheless they gave City heaps more to worry about than the WeeNix did previously. Eddie Wilkinson’s ability to change direction with the ball is pretty much a super power – he got both assists. Blake Weston with another strong showing at the back too, accidental penalty concession aside. Good to see this lot expressing themselves. Next game’ll be equally tough against Wellington Olympic but the Friday night derby against Cashmere Tech to close the term is going to be a ripsnorter.

Auckland United vs Cashmere Technical

Last week’s review introduced the Cashmere Technical Litmus Test idea, that idea being that the Techies are pretty much the gatekeepers between the grand final contenders and the rest. They’ve lost to Auckland City, Wellington Olympic, and Birkenhead. They’ve beaten Miramar Rangers, Melville, and Napier City. All of those games decided by 2+ goal margins one way or the other. Auckland United may have lost to Wellington Olympic last week but they also entered this round two points off second place so that suggested a United win. However the Techies desperately needed to win in order to have any hope of still getting top two themselves. Keith Hay Park in Auckland was the venue. Vamos.

Jose Figueira didn’t make any changes after United’s 3-1 defeat away to the Greeks, though it’s notable that his team did start in the 4-1-2-3 shape that they began the season with. No back three no more. Cashmere made two changes and both were necessary ones. Andrew Storer was suspended following his red card so Sam Richards got a go at centre-back, having mostly played on the left of the back four to date. Chester Gaskin also deputised for the injured Luke Tongue at right back – as he did last week when he was subbed on early in that match.

It took about twenty seconds before Garbhan Coughlan had unleashed the first shot of the match, rattling the back stanchion of the goal. The current Golden Boot leader making his threat known early. Then an awkward one for AUFC as Andrew Blake needed some treatment after copping a stray knee from teammate Reg Murati. All goods to play on. Ross Haviland headed on target from a Blake corner soon after albeit a simple save for Danny Knight there, plus Michael Den Heijer nodded one over. Otherwise... a bit cautious from both teams ensuring they had numbers back in the knowledge that defeat could be fatal to their season.

Cashmere Tech happy to hold their lines which meant the AU centre-backs got to pad their pass counts without much worry. Then all of a sudden the visitors won a penalty. Coughlan switched it out to Aidan Barbour-Ryan who lifted a first-time lob back into the middle. Coughlan ran towards it but ran straight into Reggie Murati. Coughlan was leaping in the air, Murati was not. Bit of a weird one but effectively the decision was that Murati wasn’t playing the ball and that’s kinda tough to argue with, to be honest. Coughlan stuttered his run-up and sent Mack Waite the wrong way for his eighth of the season. 1-0 to CT after 17 minutes.

Alas, Coughlan did not pull up great from that challenge. He gets fouled as often as anybody in this league but this time he needed some physio magic in order to continue. Speaking of knocks, Ross Haviland made a courageous tackle to halt the progress of a weaving Kian Donkers but copped it in the process with Donkers being booked (kinda harsh given it was him in possession and he was running at pace). Haviland was able to dust himself off and continue... but ten minutes after his goal, Coughlan had to be replaced. His day was done early. Jacob Richards on in his place.

Those ten minutes had been really good for Tech as their fluid front four drifted around and attacked in transition (usually from wide areas since Den Heijer was expertly patrolling the middle). But a lot of that came through Coughlan so the game levelled off after his exit. United won a couple corners. One of those corners saw Den Heijer only barely shouldered away from connecting, Donkers it was who moved the immovable object and he came off worse in the collision. Wanted a free kick that wasn’t forthcoming. Might’ve saved a goal with that effort... but Kurtis Mogg kept the play alive by crossing back in towards Nic Zambrano whose flicked touch flew into the top of the net to make it 1-1.

Now it was AUFC pushing the envelope. An MDH intercept gave Josh Redfearn room to shoot with Knight slapping that effort away. Although Barbour-Ryan did sling one just over the top in injury time, could’ve put the Canterbury side back in the lead. Nah, 1-1 at the half.

There were some funky hybrid yarns on display from United who may have been employing a back four but Murati is much more attacking than Harshae Raniga on the left so it often had the effect of a three. And when Raniga stepped up, generally Den Heijer would drop in. This’d happen in possession, of course. When Raniga held back, often Andrew Blake would provide the width on one side or the other – playing in the midfield but operating like a wing-back. It was his cross that fizzed past the back post early second half with Murati caught on the wrong foot thus unable to get a touch with the goal beckoning.

Cashmere were holding steady. Plenty of headed clearances. Lots of pressure upon their defensive zone but no major dramas yet in the second half. Redfearn did skip past a few challenges from the byline and looked about to sneak in a goal when the offside flag went up... but Lyle Matthysen got into a similar area just before in a rare post-Coughlan CT attack. Den Heijer got back to end that instance with a crucial tackle. Then followed a strange occurrence where Raniga went down in pain after blocking a shot to the gonads... then immediately got yellow carded. Turned out the yellow was for tripping Matthysen off the ball earlier in the play which did make more sense, to be fair.

McIsaac succeeded with a pinpoint sliding tackle to stop Murati from storming through on goal. Lucky he got a touch on the ball or else that was penalty probability. Substitutions rolled for both teams and Technical did start hoofing a few long shots. Donkers and Barbour-Ryan never stopped running (until Donkers cramped up in the 83rd and was subbed).

However nobody picked up Nicolas Zambrano after 77 minutes as Guy-Frank Essome-Penda chipped a ball back towards that area between six yard box and penalty spot so Zambrano guided a free header inside the post to give Auckland United what was probably a deserved lead.

A low cross by Fumiya Ito was almost turned in by Redfearn except it was slightly out of reach. Then Ito whipped a ball in for Zambrano who did get a foot through the ball on the stretch but it was saved, preventing what would’ve been a hat-trick. Redfearn smashed a shot that Knight did well to save as stoppage time began. It wasn’t looking at all like Cashmere Tech were going to find a leveller with AU doing their best to manage the lead in the latter stages. CT did get one last corner kick and everybody went up including Danny Knight... but no biscuits there. 2-1 to Auckland United the final score. The home side passed the litmus test!

You do wonder what might’ve been different had Garbhan Coughlan stayed fit. Naturally any team loses their best player and things won’t be the same – their creative output dropped pretty drastically from the point of the Irishman’s exit. Still they defended well and made things very tough for their opponents. But Nic Zambrano’s ability to pop up where he’s needed with a couple of goals and Michael Den Heijer’s defensive midfield clinic eventually for AU over the line. Three points for them and the grand final is still a possibility.

Miramar Rangers vs Melville United

How about Melville United? Bit of a slog over the first month of the National League but they’ve figured out their groove these past two weeks with wins over Christchurch United and Birkenhead. Scoring goals in the process. Seven of them... after only getting two in the first four matches. Miramar Rangers aren’t loving life quite to the same extent as heaps of player movement since the winter (and even more since winning the South Central Series last year) has left them basically trying to hold down the fort as a developmental year for some of their younger dudes, leading to an unfortunate number of defeats. It is what it is.

At a picturesque David Farrington Park, Miramar Rangers made zero changes to the side that lost to Christchurch Utd... although they did switch up their formation. They’d dumped the back four mid-game last week by moving Josh Rogerson into the midfield. That held again. Three at the back, with Jorge Akers and Wilson Souphanthavong as wing-backs. Bit of a contrast between youngsters Max Falconer and James Murdoch-Gibbs in midfield and veteran ballers Hamish Watson and Sam Mason-Smith up top. Melville also named an unchanged XI but they did so with an unchanged formation too. Nothing for them to do but keep on truckin’.

That Rangers back three wasn’t doing much ranging as Ryen Lawrence’s early cross only barely dodged the diving header of Oli Colloty six yards out and unmarked. Melville then thought they’d scored in the fourth minute as a Josh Galletly free kick was met by the head of Josh Oakman, with Knowles saving that one but Stafford Dowling turning in the rebound. However the flag went up for offside. Looking closely, it could have been against either of them.

Melville keeper Max Tommy did well stepping up to smother a ball in behind. He also fumbled an Akers free kick but Raheem Hunter had him covered with the clearance. A regular splattering of free kicks kept the game from finding much of a flow, Rangers with a little more ball though still seeking ways to get Watto and SMS involved. Watson did drop a lovely lay-off to Falconer in the area but his shot was charged down by Aaron Scott... who felt the full brunt as it seemed to catch him in a very delicate area.

Despite defending solidly, Melville’s attacking moments weren’t emerging nearly so often after those first five mins. For them it was about wing-back depth. The space is out wide against a back three but with their WBs pressed deeper it was hard for them to access those areas, especially with their quick-trigger direct switches of play. It looked like they were gonna fall behind as Murdoch-Gibbs hit Mason-Smith peeling wide left and into a possie where SMS only had the keeper to beat. But he shot past the far post. Didn’t miss by much but really thought he was gonna bury it.

Then came drama after 29 minutes when Liam Hayes used his hand to defend a high one towards the MU 18-yard box. He was booked for the incident and was very fortunate that he was adjudged to be slightly outside the area, to the frustration of Watto and SMS. Dodgy bit of defending but the decisions were correct. Yellow and a free kick. Melville prepared a six-man wall while Hamish Watson went with the fast bowler’s long run-up. Watto thrashed his shot so hard that as Tommy stepped in front of it the ball bounced off him and into the back of Hayes and over the line. An own goal from the free kick that he himself conceded. 1-0 to Rangers after 31 mins.

Remember that thing about the wing-backs? And also that thing about how many fouls there had been? Yeah so Campbell Brown got forward and absolutely boosted himself into the area towards a loose ball where he was chopped down on the slide by Wood. Penalty to Melville. Looked like Liam Hayes wanted to take the spot kick for some personal redemption but Oli Colloty’s scored two outta two so far and he was always gonna take it. Colloty vs Knowles, two recent NZ U19s squadies. Probably worked on penalties a few times in training. Knowles saved one last week, don’t forget. But he didn’t save this one. Oli Colloty made it three from three from the spot with a firm finish sending Knowles the wrong way.

Watson drilled a shot from distance that made for an easy save. Rangers then had trouble clearing a corner kick, with Colloty’s eventual low shot kicked away by Knowles although the whistle had already gone as Wood suffered a head knock – which turned out to be friendly fire via Rogerson’s elbow. Had to stop the game to check on him. 1-1 at the break but with Melville finishing a lot more like how they started the half.

The second half was just as frantic as both teams were looking to stretch things. And very quickly Miramar Rangers regained the lead. Watson with a switch from left to right, Sam Mason-Smith bringing it down assuredly... then as Luke Searle slipped over SMS served up another one of those fantastic finishes that he’s so good at. Beauty of a strike.

Melville were able to anchor a couple attacks thanks to set piece deliveries. Josh Galletly took all of those. One of them saw Lawrence glance a header off the near post then Galletly drove a volley back into the area which swirled off the crossbar despite the shallow angle. Strong response to falling behind once again... and once again there was a similar outcome. Stafford Dowling was now playing RWB and he fired a low cross into the danger zone. Knowles diverted that one but only as far as Ryen Lawrence who whacked it into the bottom corner. 2-2 after 64 minutes and who knew which way this one would go from here?

Actually it wasn’t hard to tell... because Melville did all the going. It was corner kick after corner kick and Rangers were really battling to clear their lines. Some gutsy aerial wins helped protect their goal but they couldn’t get the ball away from there. Backs to the wall. Endless crosses (Count Dracula’s nightmare). A goal surely had to follow... and it did. Oli Colloty. Whipping that thing home as yet another Galletly corner was only partially cleared.

That left less than twenty minutes for Miramar to do what Melville had already done twice and find an equaliser. Only now the Waikato side could sit deep and hit them on the counter, as they love to do. Colloty found some room in transition to get into the area, chop back, and try to curl one around Knowles who made the save. Rangers’ hopes were further damaged when Wilson Souphanthavong jarred his knee sliding into a challenge on his U19s bro Colloty. He had to be subbed off. Then Melville bolstered their stocks further by subbing on Sean Liddicoat for the final ten on return from injury.

Miramar couldn’t do it. Lots of stuff sent into the mixer but Melville ate it all up. The one decent shot they managed in the latter stages was from Joe Knowles going upfield for the final few seconds and his dropping volley was hacked away as the final whistle blew. 3-2 to Melville United to make it three wins on the trot. Get this: that’s something only Wellington Olympic have also managed – even Auckland City haven’t won three games in a row this National League (not yet, at least).

Right now this Melville team are a great example of what’s possible when there’s confidence pulsing throughout the ranks and everyone is pulling in the same direction. They’re not relying on a couple of superstars to break things open. They’re working very hard, sticking to a game-plan, maximising their strengths (aerial plays, set pieces, direct runs up front, hard defending, and general physicality)... and winning games. Twice they were behind. Twice they equalised. They went on to win it. Shout outs to Oli Colloty who rises to five goals for the term, Josh Galletly for his wicked set pieces, and that entire back three.

Meanwhile Miramar Rangers remain last on the ladder having conceded 19 goals in seven games, the most in the league. Hamish Watson and Sam Mason-Smith proved again that they can take care of the end product up top, SMS with a goal and Watto with two assists, but the service into them has been sketchy. Really missed the links of Andy Bevin over the last two weeks while he’s been suspended. Unfortunately for these blokes their next two games are against Auckland City and Wellington Olympic... though on the positive side the season ends after that and they can worry about getting the Christmas lights up instead of worrying about offside traps and defensive formations.

Wellington Phoenix Reserves vs Wellington Olympic

The win by Auckland City a day earlier had put them back on top of the ladder, giving Wellington Olympic something immediately tangible to aim for. Beat the Phoenix, return to the summit. Having said that, the WeeNix were actually the only team to beat the Greeks during the Central League so no guarantees. Main yarn for Olympic was that Jack-Henry Sinclair was missing – worth pointing out that he was on the punishing end of three separate yellow card challenges last week. Jesse Randall slid into his spot at RWB with Connor Gaul coming into the line-up. That was their only change.

In contrast, the Phoenix Reserves made all sorts of alterations. They’d defended great against Auckland City last week but didn’t really create anything at all going forwards. First-teamer Lucas Mauragis made his fourth start in a row but Finn Surman returned to the A-League fold with Isaac Hughes getting his spot back. Matt Sheridan reverted to right back. Standout midfielder Dan McKay also popped up again. Plus there was a start for Ben Wallace with Riley Bidois still suspended and Alby Kelly-Heald returned as keeper too. This one kicked off three hours before the ALM team but was held on the artificial turf in Petone rather than as a televised curtain-raiser at the main stadium. Bit rude of the schedulers.

The WeeNix’s defensive structure was highlighted as the main focus by Olympic’s head coach Rupert Kemeys pre-game and sure enough it offered a few things to think about, contributing to a slow start to the game. But before too long Olympic began to some find space to work with, with Gaul intersecting a ball from Kailan Gould and flipping it onto the post. Shortly afterwards Gould set Gianni Bouzoukis up for a shot that was blocked by Lukas Kelly-Heald. Mata and Davenport-Petersen threatened on the end of a free kick but the whistle went for something or other, must’ve been an offside. Then as Gould charged into the area, Hughes tried to clear the danger leading to some pinball off Bouzoukis with Alby Kelly-Heald producing an impressive reaction save. Olympic with most of the ball and most of the chances so far.

Granted, the Nix did have a few counters to keep things funky. Having their full strength midfield this week was already giving them more fizz than they provided against Auckland City. The Phoenix’s press also caused some troubles for Olympic. Noah Karunaratne stormed into the area one time but that broke down. Another time Kailin Nguyen had a go from distance and Scott Basalaj made a wonderful mid-air save.

That save was especially important because Olympic then went down the other end and scored pretty much straight after. Gould with a lovely curling ball towards Bouzoukis angling in behind. AKH rushed out but Bouzoukis got there first and flicked it past him with the outside of his right boot. It might’ve been going in anyway but there was a defender in the vicinity hoping to clear it. So good thing that Jesse Randall was rushing through to tweak it over the line.

That press continued to earn the Nix some joy but at the same time it also allowed Olympic to hit them on the break a few times, such as when Randall dodge the offside flag to find all sorts of space before squaring towards Bouzoukis... but Isaac Hughes had made a lung-busting recovery run to get there first. Mostly it was the rough stuff that stood out. You can already guess that Tor Davenport-Petersen was healthily involved in that. Nguyen acquired himself a fresh new yellow card for a late challenge on Justin Gulley. A little scrappy. A little combative. A little 1-0 lead for Wellington Olympic at the break.

Mauragis put a good ball into the area which Ben Mata dealt with. Same bloke soon worked a shooting opportunity of his own. No dramas with the save but the Aussie fullback was here to play - Mauragis’ battle with Randall was a goodie. Another cross from Mauragis was nodded back across goal by L.Kelly-Heald with Nguyen then guiding a header at goal which Basalaj parried away sharply.

Mata almost gave his team a second when he headed Gould’s free kick slightly over. Justice was served there, however, as the free kick had been awarded for what looked like a clean-as-a-whistle sliding tackle by Mauragis on Randall (those two again). A wizardly kick out from Basalaj found Gould on the right who worked his way forward with typical tenacity but the chip to the back stick was headed wide by Gaul in a wonderful position. Up the other end, Mata then did great to defy his ongoing hamstring concern to shield Ben Wallace away from a low cross and send it to safety.

Kailan Gould kept hustling and wasn’t too far from adding another blinder to his highlight reel with a curler off his left just before the hour. However the crosses kept being flung into his own team’s area and while their powerful defence was coping alright it only ever takes one slip for that to change. Gotta cut it off earlier... though the WeeNix may also have been wondering where they might find some more attacking variety from.

Randall popped one at goal that was blocked by LKH. Mauragis whipped a shot past the far post. Some nice footwork from Ben Wallace. Twenty to go and it was still all on. A very good corner from Gould was glanced wide by Bouzoukis. Moments like that from Olympic had been the best that the second half had to offer though the WeeNix were now the team throwing more total punches thanks to continuing possession in the attacking half. Searching and seeking. They almost had it when Wallace went down in the area under contact from Gulley but there was no whistle. Karunaratne stayed with the play and shot slightly wide after beating his closest marker. Bit of drama with six mins left. There was definitely a nudge from Gulls there. Seem ‘em given.

No worries. Because guess what happened in the 90th minute?

Mauragis had hurled in a free kick from the left edge. The Nix weren’t able to get a shot away from that ball but at the same time Olympic couldn’t get it cleared either. What then happened was that Lukas Kelly-Heald stuck his foot in front of Justin Gulley right as Gulls was attempting to clear the ball. The ref was directly in front of them both to see LKH hit the deck clutching at his leg. Penalty given.

Similar to the one that Melville won last week where the defender was making a clearance and the attacker dangled a foot in their way. Harsh on Gulley who had taken the ball down with his chest so was in control of the ball himself. But there was also a heavy kick to LKH In the process. Depending on which team you support it was either a travesty or an obvious call. Maybe it balances out the earlier penalty that wasn’t given. Joshua Tollervey scored the spottie.

And so it ended 1-1. Great point for the WeeNix who were much better in the second half and although there weren’t too many clear chances they continued to plug away until something fell in their favour. Isaac Hughes had a good game at the back, helping limit that dangerous Olympic team. The Conchie/McKay midfield combo is the real deal. Ben Wallace and Noah Karunaratne had some funky moments. And Lucas Mauragis was a menace down the left flank, get some of that.

Wellington Olympic thus lose a five-game winning streak... although they do still go back into first place on goal difference, level on points with Auckland City. That buffer at the top is now goneskees. The Greeks didn’t look as dominant without the threat of Jack-Henry Sinclair stretching things both vertically and horizontally but they still had enough chances to have put this one out of sight. Kailan Gould was the pick of the attackers again. Ben Mata had a great game in defence. Scott Basalaj the same between the sticks. It turns out they were right to be worried about that WeeNix defensive structure... but all goods, keeps the race for the grand final nice and funky with two weeks left to play.

Napier City Rovers vs Birkenhead United

Napier City entered this game on the back of three consecutive defeats. Not only three defeats, but three defeats in which they conceded 12 goals. Granted they had some tough opponents there but still they needed to do something about that backline so the coach swung the axe... and dropped himself. No Bill Robertson in the line-up for the first time since week one. He scored a goal last week so maybe that was enough.

Without Coach Robbo, Fetuao Belcher dropped back alongside Kaeden Atkins and Jim Hoyle in the defensive trio. Fergus Neil returned at left wing-back with Christian Leopard slotting in on the other side. That allowed Jonny McNamara to start alongside Leaford Allen up front with young playmaker Sam Lack given another opportunity. Only two line-up changes but a few added positional ones too.

Main yarn for Birkenhead was that they didn’t have the services of either Dane Schnell or Sam Burfoot. Their two most reliable attacking players were both out of action this week. Without them, Luke Jorgensen played a bit higher up in midfield while Cam MacKenzie moved up front having mostly been utilised as a wing-back. Chuck in a return for Jackson Woods at RWB and also a first start of the Natty League for Chase Taylor and that was how Birko shaped up. Very similar formation to Napier City, more or less a 3-4-1-2 kinda thing. Birkenhead of course lost 2-0 to Melville last week so they were seeking a bounce back same as their hosts were at Bluewater Stadium.

When two teams have similar formations like this, there’s often a tendency for them to cancel each other out. There were hints of that initially but that’s where set pieces come in handy such as when Leaford Allen rose up to force the first save of the match out of Silvio Rodic. Allen is one of the strongest humans going around so a match-up against a Birko back three that loves the physical stuff was enticing from the very start.

NCR weren’t doing much else but they were the team with most of the ball. A couple glimpses of class from Allen and McNamara didn’t lead to anything. Birkenhead were a tad shy on direction without Schnell or Burfoot... until the 20th min when Woods dropped a shoulder on halfway and burst forward. He squared for Corban Piper who was blocked by a wonderful Jim Hoyle tackle... but Alex Connor-McClean jumped in front of Ta Eh Doe as he tried to clear it and thus drew a penalty. Another one where an attacker stepped in front of a clearance – at least this one saw ACM get his whole body in position. Harder to argue with that. Luke Jorgensen stepped up... and scored. Down the middle as Oscar Mason dove to his right.

Napier had a couple tasty free kicks to work with including Lack curling one of them slightly over the top. However open play footy in both halves was being dominated by strong defenders and even stronger challenges. If they didn’t win the ball then they damn sure didn’t miss the player. Not for the weak of spirit, this one. ACM did go super close latching onto a ball in the area and drifting into a shooting position... only for Mason to make a great save.

Cam MacKenzie had a couple instep volleys that he couldn’t direct on target. At the other end Allen held off a couple bodies and shot on the turn, but straight at Rodic. Neil was convinced he’d been fouled in the area by Phoenix yet the replays suggested that it was slightly outside the area as was given. Not to panic. From that very same free kick, Sam Lack whipped in a terror of a cross which Belcher launched himself at, steamrolling Piper as he did, and Jonny McNamara flexed some quick reactions to stick a boot out and divert the loose ball over the line. Only just crept over. Only just was good enough. 1-1 after 37 mins.

No less than Rovers deserved, to be fair. They’d had the better of the game so far. Botica then blocked a McNamara shot like a champ as we hit the sheds at one goal apiece. Connor-McClean did well to steer forward with advantage being played, sliding a great ball towards MacKenzie except Belcher’s block was even better. Belcher made another top block on a Jorgensen cross shortly after but he’d already been pulling LJ’s shirt back so a yellow card emerged. ACM headed wide from the free kick.

No need to catch a breath because the hits kept coming. Chase Taylor also held his balance through a Kaeden Atkins tackle to fire goalwards only he slipped slightly as he struck it and pushed it across the target. A huge chance, highlighting a very strong start to the second half from the visitors. At least until Dino Botica slipped in possession and allowed Leaford Allen to take the ball from him with only the keeper to beat... supposing he wanted to strike with his left foot, that is. He didn’t, instead cutting back the other way and allowing Piper to get back and smack a clearance away. Crisis averted.

Paul Hobson then did something unique to this season: he made all five of his substitutions at once. A quintuple change after 63 minutes...

Off went Chase Taylor, Cameron MacKenzie, Nicholas Forrester, Codey Phoenix, and Corban Piper. On came Miles Palmer, Levi Wilson, Dylan Hobson, Sam McIntosh, and Curtis Hughes. There ya go.

Good way to get plenty of minutes for your depth fellas. Maybe not the best way to continue your momentum at a point when your team had been going well. Swapping out half the outfielders at once. Having said that, they almost took the lead back as Hughes burst into the area. More fine work from Belcher slowed him down but his pass to Palmer kept the move alive, with Jorgensen running through on the inside... only to lift his shot high as he tried to place it neatly in the top corner.

Allen then got up a head of steam moving the other way but Rodic saved the first attempt and Botica blocked the second. Birko’s turn next as Wilson angled onto a McIntosh ball between the CBs except his first touch took him too close to Atkins who shut that one down. Jorgensen crushed another shot wide. Then Napier hit them directly as McNamara found Leopard on the left but Rodic saved once more. Sho Goto kept it going... and McNamara put his touch onto the crossbar from eight yards out parallel with the back post. All those subs really seemed to open this game up, finally.

Hughes fired over the top for Birko. Cam Emerson came on for NCR and his deep header kept Rodic on his toes. Andrew Abba also came on and one of his first touches was pushed just past the post, another golden opportunity. Mason made a good low save against Connor-McClean and from the resulting corner it looked like Belcher headed the ball onto his own crossbar. Mason made another brilliant stop against Wilson, then Hoyle came up with a big block as Rovers somehow scrambled it away. Phew.

Thus it ended 1-1. Most of the action was crammed into the last half hour but it didn’t lead to any more goals. Birkenhead will feel they would’ve won that with Schnell and Burfoot available, instead they drop two potentially valuable points... five points off the top two with two games left, not sure that’s gonna happen for them. Their match against Auckland United next week will be a good ol’ fashioned loser leaves town contest.

Birko definitely shaded that second half and shaded might not even be an emphatic enough word, however Rovers had chances that were equally as useful which they also weren’t able to take. Ultimately this was a game where the respective defensive units won the majority of their battles. Dino Botica was excellent for Birko going toe to toe and shoulder to shoulder with Leaford Allen. Fetuao Belcher had his best game of the season at the other end with a heap of quality challenges, while Jim Hoyle and Kaeden Atkins were right there with him. And Oscar Mason delivered another fine goalkeeping performance replete with a couple banger saves. The only time he was beaten was from the penalty spot. Losing streak ends thanks to a much-improved defensive outing. At this rate, Bill Robertson the coach isn’t going to be able to justify recalling Bill Robertson the player.

Next Week

Here’s how we stand with two weeks remaining...

Top two teams advance to the grand final. Every team below Melville is officially out of the running already. Auckland City plays Miramar Rangers and Wellington Olympic plays Christchurch United next week, the two top teams against the two bottom teams and if those both end in three-pointers for the expected culprits then Birkenhead and Melville will be eliminated from contention even if they do win.

Birkenhead plays Auckland United and that’ll be a belter as neither team can afford to drop points there (and it’s on Saturday so they won’t know the City/Olympic results). We’ve also got Melville vs Napier City, as well as Cashmere Technical vs Wellington Phoenix Reserves. Only a couple weeks left. Full steam ahead.

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