Cashmere Technical vs Napier City Rovers

We began this week in Christchurch, English Park to be more specific, as Cashmere Technical sought to apply their litmus test to Napier City Rovers. The litmus test being that the Techies have lost to Auckland City, Wellington Olympic, and Birkenhead United so far... whilst comfortably beating Miramar Rangers and Melville United. They seem to lose to the top teams but beat the others. NCR are probably in that others category but that’s for the litmus test to decide.

Lachie McIsaac was given his first start this Natty League coming in at left back for Cashy Tech. Aidan Barbour-Ryan was also boosted to the eleven in the other change from last week. Another start for Kian Donkers up front. Lovely mix of youth and experience in this side. As for Napier City... you could say the same thing. They welcomed Jim Hoyle back to the side for the first time since week one (which to date was their only win and only clean sheet). Also saw Andrew Abba given a start at wing-back plus Sam Lack finally got those honours himself after a series of solid bench showings.

You might as well add another change for CT because literally seconds after kickoff there was a collision between Luke Tongue and Jonny McNamara, which saw Tongue stay down holding his knee in pain. He tried to run it off but about nine mins in he kicked the ball and immediately hit the turf again. Garbhan Coughlan whipped a shot off the top of the bar as play continued before Tongue was eventually helped off to be replaced by Chester Gaskin.

Rovers bulldozed their way into a few halfies, with McNamara and Lack trying their luck from distance. Lack later bashed one on target that Danny Knight parried out for a corner - McNamara needed a couple run ups to take said corner as the wind blew the ball off its mark. When he did swing it in, he did so deliciously. Bill Robertson won the header. Alex Ballard cleared it off the line. Bill Robertson smashed it in at the second attempt. Two attempts to take the corner. Two attempts to score it. 1-0 to Napier City Rovers after 18 minutes.

Tech then won a free kick on the edge of the box. Lyle Matthysen smacked it into the wall then volleyed over from the rebound. Ta Eh Doe went even closer the other way with a shot from distance that shook the net but from the wrong side. This was going pretty swell for NCR. A Sam Lack shot struck the arm of Andrew Storer just outside the area, he was booked for that. Lack’s free kick deflected high off the wall.

The home side still had Coughlan offering up some silky touches and drifting past a few defenders. Matthysen had a shot saved low by Oscar Mason. But Leaford Allen’s unstoppable nature got Andrew Storer into big trouble as he dragged him down on the turn and that was a second yellow already. 30 minutes gone and Cashmere Technical were down to ten men, also down a goal. Having already lost another member of their starting back four to injury. It wasn’t looking good, bruh.

So Garbhan Coughlan, who’d been skipping past challenges all game, went and earned a penalty as he was impeded by Abba. Scored the thing himself. Safe down the middle. They were still down a man but Tech were no longer down a goal.

Also, shout out to Bill Robertson for some unusual headwear...

Allen went close, shooting on target after an Abba feed but without much power leading to an easy save. There were definitely going to be gaps at the back for NCR to target with Matthysen having to drop into a left fullback role and McIsaac sliding into the middle. Sam Lapslie operated a tad deeper in midfield to help cover for any disjointedness. Yet the Cashies were also still creating heaps and Barbour-Ryan clearly felt he shoulda done better as he side-footed over the top. Then Coughlan rattled the woodwork with a wicked direct free kick, so close. 1-1 at the break.

NCR kept it wobbly via set pieces although Barbour-Ryan nearly scored a stunner from range for Tech after a quick free kick of his own, Mason retreating well to tip his that one over the crossbar to relative safety. Alas he couldn’t do the same from a Coughlan shot on the left edge soon after, whipping it low inside the far post. Good finish. Coughers hauling the home side into the lead.

Then again, it took a great low save by Knight to stop Leaford Allen from immediately equalising again. McNamara also thought he’d scored after latching onto a deflected Lack attempt but he was clearly offside. Meanwhile Donkers had a couple of nice chances after running at defenders except he couldn’t convert. Third time’s the charm, as they say. The next chance he had he made no mistake with (note the Coughlan assist).

McNamara tried to add some negativity to Coughlan’s day by getting him to give away a penalty but it backfired and he was booked for diving instead. Macca later fizzed a shot that pinged off the top of the bar, just wasn’t quite happening for them. His best chance came running past Allen in the area who rolled his foot over the ball for a sneaky backwards flick that McNamara again thumped over. Maybe blame the artificial surface. He had a low drilled shot from the perimeter too. Plus Allen headed over from a Leopard cross. Eventually Leaford Allen did manage to punt one in on the turn holding off Sam Richards as he did. Five minutes remaining and NCR were back within range at 3-2.

No need to panic. Garbhan Coughlan got the ball straight back and weaved his way through the defence to crunch in his third of the arvo. A wonderful hatty from the Irishman who also assisted the other goal in one of those unbelievably good solo performances. He’s now the top goal scorer in the competition with seven. Cashmere Technical with the 4-2 win... and they scored all those goals after going down to ten men. Sam Lapslie was very good in midfield. Aidan Barbour-Ryan and Kian Donkers were more than worthy supporting cast members in the Garbhan Coughlan Showcase. Marvellous stuff.

That’s three defeats in a row for Rovers who were undefeated after three games (the only team to lose three in a row so far in the MNL). In hindsight the WeeNix, Christchurch United, and Miramar Rangers maybe weren’t the most even spread of opponents during that initial unbeaten spell. Leaford Allen is always one to watch, he’s now scored in consecutive games. And they did have chances around him to make this a much closer game. Ah well, never mind.

Auckland City vs Wellington Phoenix Reserves

The only other time Auckland City had lost a game this year, they responded a week later by lifting the Chatham Cup trophy. Following on from a 3-2 loss to Auckland United in a stunner of a game they were back home hosting the WeeNix at Kiwitea Street. Only two changes to the starting team from Albert Riera and they were the expected ones: Cam Howieson and Ryan De Vries restored to the eleven. No messing about here. All business (except for Mario Ilich being on the bench).

Meanwhile the Phoenix Reserves had a weird one last week themselves. Usually quick starters who struggle to see things out in the second half, there they were 3-0 down at the break against Miramar Rangers - though they did fight back enough to make it 3-2 by the end. Some soft goals conceded which led to a couple of changes, most notably at goalkeeper where Callum Kennett was given his first opportunity this National League. A-Leaguers Finn Surman and Lucas Mauragis were back again to build up match-fitness – third NL game in a row for Mauragis – while Lukas Kelly-Heald came back into the team with captain Isaac Hughes not involved. Josh Rudland also got the start up front with Riley Bidois out suspended due to his late red card vs Rangers. No Dan McKay either, a standout in their midfield, though Fin Conchie returned to the eleven to make up for that absence.

Auckland City kicked off and barely let the Nix touch the ball. Lots of knocking it around from the back, although Adam Bell did take an opportunistic shot... which he boosted into the neighbour’s back yard. Emiliano Tade’s first crack also went high and not-so-handsome. Some curious tactical wrinkles, such as the WeeNix not pressing until the ball hit the fullbacks except against goal kicks. Otherwise it took until nine mins in for something notable to happen. That was when Joe Lee hit Cam Howieson with a long ball only for Howie’s subsequent shot to be saved by Kennett. Straight at him. Not CH’s best finish (that would come later).

There was a wicked Mauragis cross that Sam Brotherton flicked half-clear but Joseph Chiari was there lurking for the seconds and he smashed a volley a little wide, decent chance for the WeeNix. Not much else where that came from but they did keep a solid shape out of possession which ensured that City spent a lot of time going sideways or else seeking to lift the ball long over the top – the height of CBs Surman and LKH helped repel those, granted some of City’s better moments did come from those direct searches. That and also one silky bit of interplay between RDV and Tade, with the latter’s last touch just a shade too heavy or else it mighta been the opening goal.

Gotta keep it a hundy here... not the brightest spectacle. Shout out to Lukas Kelly-Heald for an important touch reaching in from behind to prevent Manickum from getting a shot away after some great work from Tade but this game kinda needed the defenders to stop trying so hard. The tactical intrigue can only keep a brother/sister interested for so long. We needed chances. Please sirs. Some chances.

Gratefully, we got one just before the half. Manickum to Lee getting in behind on the right. Lee held it up and looked back for Tade rushing into the area. Tade collected the pass with a sumptuous turn of direction to send Surman sliding past him then he straightened and fired past Kennett... except Lee was offside from that earlier ball. Didn’t count but at least it was exciting.

Auckland City scored for real in the second minute of stoppage time. It began with a clever reverse flick from De Vries to put Lee into some space attacking the back four. Lee straightened and tried to hit Tade on the left but Chiari slid in to cut that idea out. However the ball scooped up and Surman didn’t get enough on his header which allowed Cam Howieson to sneak between defender and goalie to nudge the ball over the line. Pretty sloppy how it unfolded, yet a goal’s a goal. 1-0 to ACFC at the break... although there was a half-chance for Kelly-Heald at the back post from a curler of a free kick by Mauragis seconds before the whistle.

That timely goal loosened City up and they returned for the second half moving the ball quicker with more purpose. Lee couldn’t quite get a head on a Tade chip to the back post. Tade jinked his way around in the area and forced Kennett into a save. Kennett then made an even better stop low to his right after Tade had cut back for Howieson to shoot. Three chances in five minutes and they were as good as anything they created in the first half.

No let up either. De Vries stabbed one on target from a post-corner kick scramble, blocked by Kelly-Heald, then Mitchell headed the rebound onto the crossbar. Howieson swung a free kick narrowly over the top. The WeeNix made a triple change on the hour to freshen things up with Ben Wallace, Adam Supyk, and Riley Manuel all introduced (Riley Manuel the younger bro of Jackson and Tiahn). Finn Surman needed some help with cramps like two minutes later... he was fine but the timing was kinda funny so soon after all those subs (also shows you why he was here gathering match fitness rather than sitting on the bench for the A-League team).

Still the pressure continued as Tade volleyed into the side-netting. Yet it remained 1-0... and the WeeNix did have a couple of instances where they were able to string a few passes together, where if the final ball had been a tad better they might have sparked something. At times the Navy Blues looked satisfied to slow things down to a crawl and live with the one-goal advantage. Although De Vries powered an effort on target. Wallace miss-timed a header up the other end that could have been scary for the home side.

Has to be said, the WeeNix defended superbly. Didn’t get much churning at the opposite end but they held that shape nicely, restricting ACFC as much as possible. Lukas Kelly-Heald was really good. Fin Conchie had his moments. It was quality work and they kept themselves in it deep into the match. When they finally did end up out of range it was something absolutely special that did it. Cam Howieson, who gave you the right?

Straight up... that’s a golazo. That is not ordinary. Who even thinks of shooting from that distance let alone having the ability to score from there? Jaw-dropping material. I mean, look at this...

There ya go. Fair play to the WeeNix for a really well-organised defensive effort but Cam Howieson scored late in both halves, one a bit sloppy and one outrageously good, and thus Auckland City returned to winning ways with a 2-0 victory. They were comfortably better, probably shoulda scored more. Cam Howieson was the star but Emiliano Tade was fantastic despite the lack of reward and Gerrard Garriga had an impressive time of it playing a touch deeper than usual in midfield. Commanding areas from City... and we can probably expect more from where this came from as their remaining three fixtures are against the three teams who entered this week at the bottom of the ladder.

By the way, Howieson was interviewed after the game and when asked about the goal his exact words were: “Happy to get on the scoresheet and help the boys get the three points”. What a lad.

Wellington Olympic vs Auckland United

Would not have picked it heading into the season but past the halfway stage of the round robin these were the two top teams on the ladder. Of course that was unlikely to last with them facing each other and Auckland City playing (and beating) the WeeNix in an overlapping game. But that doesn’t matter. Point being that Wellington Olympic and Auckland United weren’t playing for giggles here... this was two championship contenders desperate to qualify for that grand final in a month’s time. The most substantial match-up of the week right here.

Welly Olympic have been on an unstoppable run winning four in a row since a narrow (and unlucky) defeat to Auckland City in week one. Free-flowing attacking footy and rock-solid defence. It’s a good combination. They didn’t have Tam Dimairo after his red card last week but in his place returned Ben Mata from a hamstring strain that had kept him out of the last two. Gulley, Mata, Palezevic... that’s as good as it gets in the back three. Nati Hailemariam also returned to the eleven in midfield. Plus Jonty Roubos was rewarded with a start after scoring twice off the bench against Napier. That meant Jesse Randall played as a forward rather than a wing-back.

Auckland United were the last remaining undefeated team and coming off a thrilling 3-2 win over Auckland City so confidence was at a peak. They stuck with that 3-1-4-2 formation that they successfully implemented in a specific game plan to target Auckland City. Wellington Olympic also play with a back three and two high wing-backs so it made for a funky tactical duel. Harshae Raniga came into the three with Billy Jones dropping out. Andrew Blake remained at LWB with Murati on the right. Also Ross Haviland was okay to back up despite going off hurt last week. And that was that.

Didn’t take long before Kailan Gould had won a couple of corners for the Greeks. Gould then made a brilliant run waving past defenders before squaring to Randall in the six yard box but JR scooped it over the top as Mack Waite dove at his feet. The next time Gould went himself but Waite again made himself big and actually saved it with his face, by the looks. Wellington Olympic beginning as they meant to carry on.

AUFC had a couple half-openings, including a pinpoint long ball from Michael Den Heijer, but there was always a recovering defender to shut them down. The one time there wasn’t was a flick header from Josh Redfearn which landed on the roof of the net. Decent chance though tough to get it on target from there. Also a decent chance for Randall soon after but Waite made a powerful save diving to his left.

Blake came up with a very good challenge on Jack-Henry Sinclair in the area but the next time they met, around halfway, JHS skipped past him and Blake copped a yellow for the foul. Sinclair dusted himself off and linked up with Gianni Bouzoukis who slipped a fantastic through ball in for Jesse Randall... who hit the post. Thought he’d scored. No sir. Randall getting closer and closer but not this time. It was actually a magnificent save by Waite who got a sneaky hand to push it onto the woodwork.

Credit to Justin Gulley for keeping Oli Fay from stroking in a Josh Redfearn cut-back. Redfearn chipped his next cross but Nicolas Zambrano couldn’t direct his header on target. Soon JHS put Oliver Middleton in the book by drawing another foul on the counter. And after that we got some killer back and forth between Den Heijer and Redfearn only for MDH to push his shot wide of the post from about the penalty spot.

Not sure how Hailemariam dodged a yellow card for dragging down Oli Fay as he tried to boost into the box. Middleton had also been a tad fortunate to avoid a second yellow. Tor Davenport-Petersen wasn’t so fortunate, as he picked up a booking. Lots of fouls in the midfield but otherwise both back threes were very comfortable on the ball and getting a lot of touches. Although Zambrano cough the ball up dropping back, Hailemariam stealing it from him before hitting Gould on the angle but Waite dove at KG’s feet to stop him as the offside flag went up anyway. First instance of an unforced error there.

Olympic had started brilliantly. United had settled things down and come back into the game. Much more even as we reached the latter stages of the half. Ready to swing back in one way or the other... and it was the Greeks who landed the heavy one. Sinclair pressed on halfway to poke the ball free, then he and Gould linked up nicely in transition then Sinclair pulled back for Kailan Gould who’d held his run to find space and the bulldog punted in with that left foot of his. Smooth goal.

Bouzoukis had a useful chance before the half but 1-0 it remained. Each team very capable of scoring but Olympic looking that little more potent which was reflected in the score. And while it took them forty minutes to score in the first half, it only took them one minute in the second half. Exactly sixty seconds. That was when Randall slipped one wide for JH Sinclair who shimmied past his man then drove a shot at the near post. Waite probably should’ve stopped it but he didn’t. More tickets you buy, better your chances of winning the lottery. Goals either side of half-time and Wellington Olympic suddenly had full control.

A Murati ball across goal nearly got AUFC immediately back in the hunt. This thing was getting stretched now and that led to some wild tackles flying in, including from players already booked. Blake and Middleton were subbed after 55’ presumably on their last warnings with Coach Jose Figueira not taking any more chances. On came Will Stephen and Will Mendoza. United did have some decent possession around that period though Olympic were happy to sit back and hit on the break. And also to keep pressing from the top, such as when Gould nicked the ball off Haviland and as he turned and looked up he only had the keeper to beat ... but he struck wide of the post. Should probably have killed the game off then and there.

Instead they had to wait a whole other ten minutes for that moment. Because Kailan Gould wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice and after bursting forward on the break he linked beautifully with Bouzoukis before lashing in a great finish.

Auckland United did get one back with ten to play via Will Stephen (who had earlier been the latest bloke to go into the book for chopping down JHS). It was after Bouzoukis had been denied at close range by Waite. Gould and Connor Gaul both slinging cross/shots slightly off frame. Then a sloppy square pass by Theo Ettema was picked off by Stephen who charged into the area at pace and then fizzed a mean finish home. Excellent goal which gave his team a blink of hope if they could score another one quickly.

They couldn’t though. In fact Gaul came closer to adding another one for the Greeks but Waite shut him down at the near stick again. Olympic slowed things up and made sure they got to the finish line with a 3-1 victory that keeps them first on the ladder after six of nine matches.

Another clinical afternoon’s work from Wellington Olympic with Kailan Gould the star of the show. Two goals to cap a game in which he looked too much to handle from the very start with his dribbling prowess and general nuggetiness. Jack-Henry Sinclair chipped in with a goal and an assist. Also he was on the receiving end of three separate yellow card challenges. Jesse Randall added an assist to keep himself top of that chart with six for the season (Sinclair has five). Nati Hailemariam was wonderful in the midfield winning heaps of ball while Justin Gulley stood out at the back. Wellington Olympic may just be setting themselves up as title favourites as we near the last third of the campaign.

As for Auckland United, this is a large blow to their own final hopes as they suffer their first defeat. They were second-best against a really good team, no shame in that. Results elsewhere mean they drop out of the top two though that can be amended if they can finish strong against Cashmere Tech (H), Birkenhead (A), and Napier City (H). This was the first time that United have conceded more than twice in a game since July so you know they’re going to hang around in most games. Just gotta get a little sharper up front. Putting away timely chances was a large part of how they beat Auckland City but they couldn’t repeat that here and instead got ground down. Three big games left. All still to play for.

Miramar Rangers vs Christchurch United

It’s no fun being the last team without a win in any given season. That’s where Christchurch United were ahead of this game, with their opponents Miramar Rangers having done the deed with a 3-2 result over the WeeNix last week whereas Chch Utd had been dropped 5-2 by Melville at home. That meant this clash at David Farrington Park was between the two bottom teams on the ladder. Sounds like an evenly matched game, at least.

Rangers only made one change to the victorious team of last week. That was the enforced one with Andy Bevin suspended for his mystery red card last game. James Murdoch-Gibbs took his place in the team. Otherwise it was the same back four and everything. Their opponents had no such chill. Paul Ifill swung several changes all at the back with Scott Morris returning from suspension in goal, Blake Weston returning from an injury that had been expected to keep him out a lot longer, and Joel Peterson also being given his first start of the NL. All White Noah Billingsley was amongst those dropped to the bench.

Rangers had a lot of the ball to begin with but weren’t often able to advance it through the midfield to where Hamish Watson and Sam Mason-Smith were lurking up top. The one time they did, those two combined beautifully with Scott Morris palming away Watto’s drag-back across the six yard box. Minimal else though and before long the Christchurch forwards began to cause some problems closing down that early Rangers play. Plus they were finding width via their wing-backs, Rangers’ back four a bit too narrow... although that was also caused in part by United’s midfield pushing out.

It was a funky tactical battle and United were slowly getting the better of it – culminating in them taking the lead in the 27th minute. William Pierce had already shown one clever bit of movement to stay onside from a deeper position, angling his run at the last second, and he did so again here to get into the area. Matt Todd-Smith saw him going and chipped in a sneaky pass which Pierce chested down and then side-footed home. Smart work. Good goal.

Christchurch Utd had held one single lead during the National League and it lasted for a mere six minutes (against Napier City, going on to draw 1-1). This was only their second first half goal. They threatened another soon after as Mika Rabuka lifted one over from the right, probably intended as a cross tbf, which Joe Knowles had to stretch to tip away. Todd-Smith had a crack from range too – Rangers were mostly defending well but there was only one team creating chances. And a lot of them came from MR turning the ball over in the middle.

Having said that, Jorge Akers got into space after a return ball from Wilson Souphanthavong down the left and Akers put a super low ball across goal... which juuust evaded SMS and Watto in the centre. That came about in the middle of a good spell of pressure from Rangers but they couldn’t find a goal for it and back up the other end Knowles had to make a great save diving low to keep Pierce from smashing one bottom corner. Followed by an even better save point-blank inside the six yard box as Dan MacLennan got a ball over to Peterson which Knowles somehow got in the way of. Might be as much of a miss as it was a save but Knowles still had to be there to have a hope. 1-0 to Christchurch Utd at the half and it could well have been worse for Miramar.

Harry Chote came on for Max Falconer at the break with Scotty Hales choosing to return to a back three formation (with Josh Rogerson moving into the midfield). The back four had worked great against the WeeNix who wanted a lot of the ball and would get at them. Against United who were more counter-attacking, looking for quick switches of play, trying to attack directly... it wasn’t working so well. Something had to change. Murdoch-Gibbs swiftly went into the book for lashing out at Joe Hoole. And for about quarter of an hour we had an arm-wrestle of a contest without a lot of chances other than Mason-Smith popping a snapshot wide on the spin and a deep effort straight at Morris by Murdoch-Gibbs.

Then a heavy touch from keeper Joe Knowles allowed Eddie Wilkinson to swoop in and steal the ball. He slid it back to Mika Rabuka running into the area and Rabuka took a couple touches more than he needed but still slotted that thing home for 2-0.

However Miramar absolutely should have gotten themselves back in it within minutes as an expertly directly Akers free kick was headed into the ground and onto the post by Liam Wood and then Michael Kennedy, only just on as a sub, somehow managed to miss the target with his rebound header. He had about two square metres of open goal to aim for and he was only four yards out. It’s times like those when you realise it’s probably not going to be your day.

Kennedy almost made amends with a great run up the byline but his cut-back was cleared by a defender. Elsewhere a raking Pierce switch found MacLennan in the box except he struck the side-netting. Wilkinson also got into the area but couldn’t get a clean shot away. Christchurch’s plan for managing the lead was to play as far forward as possible, ideally chasing a third. Wilko had another one save, Knowles closing him down. Sho Mathieson headed over from a corner.

Morris made a magical save to keep Kennedy out as Rangers continued to push and Watson also had a header blocked near the goal-line. Yet all throughout there were too many Miramar passes that missed their targets. A powerful header from Wood didn’t make it through a crowd of bodies. At this point United were happy to take the ball in the corner though when Will Pierce got trapped there he decided to angle back towards goal anyway... and won a penalty. Risk and reward. Ed Wilkinson missed that fella, good save from Knowles with his feet against the spottie down the middle. However less than a minute later Wilkinson dropped a shoulder and split the defence with one turn, then rounded Knowles to score.

Wasn’t any coming back from that with only three minutes left. Noah Billingsley went close to a fourth after a stunner of a ball from Todd-Smith but that attempt was saved. Hamish Watson also had an appeal for a penalty declined in the opposite area. 3-0 the final score. Christchurch United with their first win of the campaign and a cheeky clean sheet to boot. Miramar Rangers therefore drop back to the foot of the ladder.

It’s not too hard to see why Rangers struggled in the midfield when you consider that their starting diamond was Tiahn Manuel, Max Falconer, James Murdoch-Gibbs, and Wilson Souphanthavong. Manuel is 23 years old and was the senior fella there. Falconer is 19. Souphanthavong is 18. JMG is somewhere around that same age too, not sure exactly. All quality players but combined that’s a hugely inexperienced group. Rogerson did help things a little but they were already behind and the situation of the game dictated things from there. Sadly for Rangers, they have three games left and that includes Auckland City and Wellington Olympic. Immediate results probably won’t get any better. But it’s great experience for the young fellas moving forwards into next year.

Fantastic bounce-back win for Christchurch Utd. For the first time they’ve scored three in a game (despite a missed penalty) and for the first time they didn’t concede. Sharpened things up at both ends. Blake Weston and Scott Morris made a big difference on return, although the two star men were Matt Todd-Smith in the midfield and William Pierce up front. MTS has been solid for them throughout but here we really saw his passing range and his pressing energy link things together. Excellent performance and Pierce’s movement was also key. Chuck in a goal and assist for Eddie Wilkinson and coach Paul Ifill will be a much happier bloke at training this week.

Melville United vs Birkenhead United

Telly game at Gower Park, featuring a couple of teams who had chunky wins last week. That’s the stuff, yeah boy. Melville United needed until stoppage time in their third game to score a goal at all. They only had two in four matches. Then they scored five away to Christchurch United all of a sudden and with a young squad that was bound to be a We Belong Here kinda turning point. Meanwhile Birkenhead rallied from their first loss, going down 2-0 to Wellington Olympic, to also put five past a Canterbury opponent with a 5-3 win over Cashmere Technical.

The similarities went deeper. We’re talking about a couple of very well coached squads with more young players than most (Melville had five teenagers in their XI here). Two teams that can play swift attacking footy but also defend stoically and never shy away from the combative stuff. Actually, Melville took things even further by mirroring Birkenhead’s formation. Having transitioned away from three at the back, they reverted with a 3-4-2-1 shape (admittedly something they’re very used to) in order to match what Birko do. That meant Stafford Dowling came back up top while Campbell Brown and John Oakman moved into wing-back spots. Brown was returning from suspension, as was Luke Searle in defence. Sam Wilkinson had thought about this one deeply, don’t even worry about it.

Birkenhead also made a couple shiftings. Andrew Cromb returned to the starting line-up after a couple weeks on the bench. That meant Dylan Hobson slid out to right wing-back with Codey Phoenix getting his second start on the opposite flank. The rest of the team was as anticipated.

The crosses began floating in immediately and at both ends although two tall and sturdy back threes had no issues dealing with those. There was an instance where Oli Colloty cut a ball back to Stafford Dowling but he took and air-swing and that chance faded away. Other than that we’re talking about a heap of crunching tackles but not a lot of shots. Nick Forrester made a ruthless challenge on Colloty to stop an attack, timed it perfectly. Cromb did the same on Ryen Lawrence in the penalty area with a proper tightrope challenge but he succeeded. Can’t say the same for Alex Connor-McClean who was booked for chopping Liam Hayes. 30 minutes into the match and not a whole lot else going on. Birkenhead had more ball but weren’t finding any joy against that condensed 3-4-3 defensive shape of the home team.

Finally we saw a save as Connor-McClean dropped deep to collect the ball then turned and whacked one which Max Tommy pushed over. Then Melville went even closer as Josh Galletly struck a wicked free kick that Silvio Rodic had to reach out to deny. Bit further out than Galletly’s free kick goal from last week. From the resulting corner kick Raheem Hunter flicked a header wide from the near post after a determined run. Getting nearer and nearer. Sam Burfoot pushed one wide from the edge of the area that he didn’t fully catch. Dowling popped a couple shots over the bar.

We also had a funny moment where Luke Jorgensen tried to take a quick throw-in only the ball boy dropped the ball at his feet instead of handing it to him. So Jorgo grabbed the other ball out of his hands. Probably don’t wanna be showing any sort of aggression towards children like that. The kid did start it though, and with a tactic that would have seen Jose Mourinho filing adoption papers had he witnessed it.

And so we reached the break with no notches in the goal tally for either team. Melville coach Wilkinson told the telly that he felt it’d be a game decided by maybe one or two moments of quality. Corban Piper couldn’t provide that with a header from an early second half corner. Nor could Stafford Dowling up the other end as he tried to square one across the six yard box but it was cleared away. Galletly tried a header running into the area but got his angles wrong. Plenty more scrappiness on display as well – two feisty teams, the lid of the pot starting to rattle as the water came to a boil.

A deep Galletly corner kick to the back post for Melville found Oli Colloty in a surprising amount of space after a flick-on. He took it down and pinged a shot on target which Phoenix cleared off the line just as the first goal seemed to have arrived. Nope, an hour gone and those fine margins remained. 100 metres away Jorgensen tried to divert a Connor-McClean shot on target but didn’t quite bring it round enough. Something had to happen soon. Either a goal or a red card or a streaker or an alien invasion. Something, surely. We were long past a simmer.

Campbell Brown’s persistence led to a cross from the left which Stafford Dowling headed down but Rodic made an excellent save to keep things level. Then finally the breaking point. Hunter with a leap at the back post for Melville to head back across to where Luke Searle was hunting. Piper lunged through the back of Searle’s outstretched leg. Penalty given. Bit of a rake down the achilles region as they both challenged for the same ball (another ref might have seen it differently tbf). Oliver Colloty placed the ball and then calmly nudged it down the middle as Rodic dove left. There it was. 1-0 to Melville with 72 minutes gone.

Needless to say that lit a fire under Birko who made a few attacking subs and got forward with desperation. But as they crossed and crossed they couldn’t even force Max Tommy into a save. Miles Palmer claimed a penalty with five to go but instead got booked for diving. Tempers flittered as Birko ran into speed-bumps trying to chase that leveller. They won a couple of corner kicks and Silvio Rodic went all the way forward for them. That was with five minutes of injury time still remaining. A couple of debatable whistles for fouls against the MU keeper wound up the Birko lads further.

Raheem Hunter was often in the right place and that was true again as he hacked a Jorgensen header off the line. Desperately hanging on. Corner kick to Birko. Up went Rodic again... but rather than spark an equaliser he instead had to chase back the length of the pitch as the ball was cleared and Jerson Lagos pushed through one challenge then dashed away with an open goal before him. Suffice to say that Rodic was not fast enough to catch him. Lagos ran about eighty metres to dribble the ball over the line himself, already celebrating before he’d scored it. Scenes. The home crowd loved it. 2-0 the final score as Melville United won their second in a row.

It was almost as Sam Wilkinson foretold it except the moment of quality that split the two teams was actually a borderline penalty decision. But that’s how it goes when neither team can produce that bit of magic themselves, it gets left up to the whims of fate. It’s hard to begrudge that Melville performance. very different to their blistering win last week as this time they really had to grind it out. We’ve seen that from them a few times without the points to show for it. They’re a stoic bunch of lads and even after Colloty’s penalty they had to withstand a barrage before Lagos iced it with his runaway goal.

A famous victory for the home team. That back three of Raheem Hunter, Aaron Scott, and Luke Searle was massive. So many headers, so many challenges. Hunter’s got some springs in his feet. Scott is the ultimate leader (as evidenced by a lovely post-game speech paying tribute to MU’s late kit man Steve Bettis). And Searle is a large human who throws himself around and won the decisive penalty. Also another impressive display of set piece prowess from Josh Galletly. Lawrence, Dowling, and Colloty had huge workrates up front. It was a true team effort there.

It was also a blow for Birkenhead’s final chances as they drop valuable points. Birko defended almost as well as Melville did for the majority of the game, the likes of Botica/Cromb/Forrester more than doing their thing. Silvio Rodic made a few class saves. They just weren’t able to find the flow in the other half that they did the previous week and here they met a team that also matched them for set piece threat. Also can’t help but feel they lost their heads a bit when faced with adversity, with Forrester, Burfoot, Connor-McClean, and Palmer all booked. Five yellows (Forrester has four yellows in five starts!). In hindsight, bit of a bad match-up for them. But they’ll be back.

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