Auckland United vs Napier City Rovers

Somehow we’re at the end of the season already. Pretty sure it only just started but nah there was only this one last chance remaining for each team to leave it all out on the pitch... or whatever their coaches wanna say (apart from the two sides destined for the grand final next week, of course). Auckland United and Napier City Rovers were the first two teams to polish the year off, each of them having had disappointing MNL campaigns. Rovers travelled up to Keith Hay Park on a four-game losing streak while AUFC did manage a draw last week but they’d also not won since week four. United were undefeated at that stage and have been winless ever since.

Auckland United look drastically different now than they did in week one, when they beat Cashmere Tech 2-1. Only four players started both this game and that game: Mack Waite, Hideto Takahashi, Daniel Atkinson, and Oliver Middleton – those four also started every game in between but around them there’s been constant alterations. Last week they began leaning into giving some younger dudes a crack and that continued against NCR with Semi Nabenu, Benji McCarthy, and Zach Chung given additional starts while Bronson Brown joined them up front (after making his MNL debut off the bench in week eight). Also had Noah Billingsley making just his second start, plus there was a lovely surprise with Kurtis Mogg walking on at centre-back. Mogg suffered a serious injury during the 2022 MNL at a time when he’d been playing some fantastic stuff but now the former WeeNix captain is finally back.

Lining up opposite them was a familiar looking Napier City Rovers team, albeit one that’s had its squad depth shaved all the way back in recent weeks. Constantly replenishing injuries and suspensions have limited an already small squad. At least they were able to recall Kaeden Atkins and Jack Albertini as the fullbacks in the only two changes from the 5-0 loss to Eastern Suburbs. Liam Schofield thus returned to the midfield where he’s at his best.

This one kicked off with a strong whiff of last-day-of-school... but thankfully that only lasted until the eighth minute when Auckland United took the lead. Already mentioned how Will Middleton’s been one of their few constants and it was his lovely work feeding Atkinson out wide and then wrapping around into a crossing position which was the impetus. Middleton squared across goal where it somehow made it all the way through to Zachary Chung who tapped in at the back stick. First National League goal for the 18 year old. Too easy, really. But a nicely crafted goal all the same – the first decent action of the contest.

A Deri Corfe free kick, on target but no threat, highlighted a promising spell from NCR following the goal. Some sharp movement off the ball allowed them to keep recycling possession... although it was the home side creating better chances. Noah Billingsley had one off a Codey Phoenix deep free kick. Close to an open header but he nodded it too close to Oscar Mason. There were also some more examples of that Middleton/Atkinson combination which looked all kinds of frisky to deal with. One such stint ended with McCarthy volleying over from the edge of the box. Rovers had a succession of corner kicks. United dealt with those. Interesting to see Billingsley doing some inverted fullback things. Granted, he did get sent to the hotdog stand by Deri Corfe with a wonderful drop of the shoulder where it looked for sure like Corfe was gonna score there but then Phoenix somehow leaned into a goal-line block with his chest.

It wasn’t a fantastic game, with spells where both teams were far too slow with their passing... yet shooting opportunities kept emerging from the fog. Like when Liam Schofield curled a free kick just over. Or when Brown wasn’t able to guide a centred pass from Atkinson on target. Don’t say you weren’t warned. Five mins before the break, Rovers had another attacking set piece to work with. This one was a free kick won by Corfe. A little further out than the previous ones but sometimes that’s a good thing. It sure was here. Deri Corfe swung his boot through that sucker to score his first goal since week four, a brilliant strike to equalise.

He almost scored an even better one soon afterwards. From a similar territory to the free kick, with Corfe dropping in as he does so well, his first touch was a looper with his back to goal so he turned lemons into lemonade by swivelling and shooting on the volley... Mack Waite only just managing to scramble that thing over the bar to safety.

That took us into the break and one half of footy was enough for Moggy on his return so he was replaced by Nico Zambrano at HT. Takahashi into defence, Zambrano into an attacking midfield role. McLeod and Schofield had early efforts however Rovers also had too many passes missing their targets in the attacking areas. Auckland Utd were tidier but then would make the wrong decision at the end of their moves. Frankly, it got to where this thing might’ve dribbled out into nothing. Instead there came a mistake from the unlikeliest of characters: Takahashi. Admittedly, it might’ve been more of Mack Waite’s fault for rushing out on a ball that his defender had covered, causing Takahashi’s back pass to go astray for Jonny McNamara to run on and slot it into the empty net. However you wanna cut the cake, it was 2-1 to Napier City and that goal sparked this afternoon into some incendiary action.

Before the game resumed, AUFC went through with a double change they’d already been preparing: Dre Vollenhoven and Josh Redfearn sent into the cauldron. Those were fighting moves... but NCR had their heads up and kept the pressure coming. All of a sudden this was good fun. Old mate Takahashi then made up for his error with a delicious assist. He was at the start of most AU moves, feeding passes into the midfield, and with quarter of an hour to go he went further by continuing his movement to collect a return pass and then hit a mean reverse chip over the defence for Daniel Atkinson, who’d slipped the offside trap. Boom, bottom corner. Scores were level again.

They almost weren’t for very long, with McNamara earning room to shoot via a one-two and Waite having to make an awkward stop against that stabbed attempt. Then they weren’t for real. Because while AU were winning pretty much every header from those Rovers corner kicks, the bits that happened next weren’t always as emphatic. On one occasion, with ten minutes left, that meant some scrappiness in the area which James Hoyle took care of with a drilled shot that made it 3-2. A little under ten to go and Napier City were in the lead once more. Jimbo matching his brother Steve’s goal from last week.

Again, that meant a double sub for United: Will Stephen and Xavier Green introduced. United wanted that leveller and Codey Phoenix almost provided it getting forward on the left but Oscar Mason made a quality stop. The impetus from the home side meant Rovers could counter and Waite did well to charge down a Corfe effort soon after. Corfe was doing all sorts of sneaky things. United had to be careful... but they couldn’t be cautious. Zambrano flicked a header on target. Easy save. Rovers threw on three of their youngster to keep the energy going: Harry Huxford, Sam Lack, and Tom Peers. Six minutes added on. Was there to be one last twist?

Mate, of course there was.

What an absolute weirdness. Dre Vollenhoven took the free kick and was credited with the goal. Speers was the lad who got the deflection on it to take the ball past Mason. Four minutes into stoppage time. A painful way for the season to end as far as Rovers were concerned, a convenient final act for Auckland United.

At least Rovers were able to snap the losing streak. They were pretty good here, with Schofield and Corfe having strong games. NCR maintained their workrate throughout and one of their goals came specifically because of that. Sadly the three that they conceded were all instances they’ll look back upon with major frustration – no team conceded more goals than Napier City did (26 in nine games). That’s never going to be a good omen.

Auckland United went from a nil-all draw to a much more standard NZ National League scoreline of 3-3. That’s better. Beautiful to see Kurtis Mogg back, as well as Dre Vollenhoven having an impact. United have crumbled a bit since Yousif Al-Kalisy stopped popping up in line-ups but they have at least managed to stay competitive despite a disappointing finish seventh on the ladder. Oliver Middleton had a slick performance, especially first half when he was more in a more attacking role. Daniel Atkinson continued his influential ways with his second goal to go with three assists this MNL. Lots to like about Semi Nabenu at the back too. That bloke reads the game well and is a menace in the aerial challenge. Still only 19 years old and has been involved on the fringes of some Fijian age grade stuff.

Both Rovers and United were amongst the top teams for promoting U20s players during this National League phase... and they both also only won 2/9 games. That comes with the territory when you play the youngsters, however so does the consolation of future-planning. Next year those same rookies will be one year more experienced and raring to get back to this stage again.

Auckland United 3-3 Napier City Rovers

Goals (Assists)

8’ | AU | 1-0 | Chung (Middleton)

39’ | NCR | 1-1 | Corfe

64’ | NCR | 1-2 | McNamara

76’ | AU | 2-2 | Atkinson (Takahashi)

81’ | NCR | 2-3 | J.Hoyle

90+4’ | AU | 3-3 | Vollenhoven

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Petone FC vs Manurewa AFC

There was nothing that Petone could do to avoid the wooden spoon as they hosted Manurewa at Petone Memorial Park (not to be confused with Rewa’s War Memorial Park). That last-placed finish had already been guaranteed. But with a clash between the two fourth-placed regional qualifiers to put a fullstop on their first National League jaunt they did still have one last chance to earn that first win at this level.

To help them in that cause, top scorer and Central League MVP Matt Brazier was back for his first start since week five. Always helps to have your best player available. Other than that... unchanged XI from the 3-2 loss to the Phoenix Reserves, in which Petone had taken a 78th minute lead but were unable to sustain it. Manurewa had their best player, Monty Patterson, available. No dramas there coz he’s started every game. But they were without midfield maestro Conor Probert so Caleb Prasad got his first start after three substitute appearances. Better late than never.

Rewa pressed well from the outset, as aggressive without the ball as ever. Yet it was all very give-and-take in those midfield areas leading to minimal excitement in the first ten. Matt Brazier had an almost-chance when Sammy Khan stumbled as the pair chased a long ball. Regan Diver did well rushing up and not giving Brazier an angle to work with. The home side were definitely stepping it up though. Winning a few fouls. Getting the ball into areas where the bounce of the ball might just fall their way. Although when it eventually did, Jamaya Shearer couldn’t quite produce the finish required and it was saved by Diver.

Bryn Sinclair made a crucial block to turn a Sean Leadley shot wide, following a clever run and cut-back from Patterson. Then again as Patterson took a pop himself. There was plenty of spice in this contest with Manurewa coach Paul Marshall amongst those who got booked. Elsewhere Brazier wanted a penalty after a collision with Dylan Morris... but his touch had already gotten away from him so with neither player in possession at that stage it was hard to say either was at fault. Just another collision in a contact sport, is all. Rewa soon went down the other end and might’ve scored had Patterson’s low drilled cross found a teammate. It was great to see two teams refuse to phone it in on the final weekend. The defences were still winning the afternoon though, with the scoreline at zeroes at half-time.

And onwards it continued into the second stanza with each team finding flashes on attack (Rewa with more of them, to be fair) but any shots that ensued usually ended up blocked or saved or deflected. At least until Ollie Pickering scored for Petone in the 59th minute. Sam Wall had sent him into space behind the Rewa defence and Pickering took his time in getting to his shot but when he did it was a tasty wee dink past the keeper and winless Petone had the lead.

That was a serious reason to panic for Rewa who’d now gone two and a half games since their last goal and were trailing with only half an hour to go. Then again, Petone had taken the lead last week and then conceded basically straight away. Which of those trends would continue? The latter one. It was a scrappy equaliser but they all count the same as Mohammed Muzakkir-Nabeel was able to squeeze the ball over the line in a scramble brought about by a Hayat Ali Tobita low cross (HAT had been subbed on a wee bit earlier and made a huge impact on this football match).

Injury breaks for Patterson and Khan allowed for Petone to gather up in a huddle and reset things. They’d taken a 2-1 lead after 78 minutes against the WeeNix a week ago and lost. This remained was a winnable contest for either side so the question was whether either team had any more cutting edge left in the cupboard. Ashnarvy Mustapha came on for Petone and gave them a boost. Patterson made a clever run onto a Price ball but pushed his finish past the post as Boyce rushed onto him. Brazier also fizzed one off target going for a spectacular lefty volley. Eventually Muzakkir-Nabeel got busy with his second of the afternoon to put Manurewa into an 83rd minute lead.

There was another big chance for Patterson who chested the ball down on the run then dug his shot too high. Didn’t manage to extend the lead but, well, that was still closer than anything Petone managed again. Dei Gatkek joined Luca Grindlay up front, a couple more attacking subs, but they didn’t get much of a sniff. Rewa kept hitting them on the break and MMN almost got himself a hatty in the dying moments. Oscar Boyce made the double save but Manurewa celebrated anyway because the next noise was the final whistle. 2-1 to Manurewa. A victory to end the term on a high.

For the second week in a row, Petone took a second half lead and then conceded a couple minutes later before going on to lose. Gutted. It didn’t happen for Petone, who struggled for consistency amidst injuries and unavailabilities throughout these nine weeks, but with such a young team they’ll gain plenty from the experience. Just gotta be more decisive in front of goal. Capitalise on the big moments. Manage the game after scoring. The usual cliches that football folk like to roll out. This was the last game in charge for coach Ryan Edwards who is moving on after three years as head coach and director of football at the club. Jamie O’Connor is taking over as coach and they’re working on a new DOF. No reason why they shouldn’t be challenging to get back to this stage again next year.

How about that Rewa team though? Remember that this lot weren’t even in the Northern League last year. They got promoted, immediately made National League, and ended up winning four games and finishing sixth. It’s been a superb effort from the South Aucklanders, who defended well in this one and were able to find just enough attacking sauce to complete the dish. Muzakkir-Nabeel with a double. First half most of their stuff went through Monty Patterson who had another threatening game without reward. Second half they brought their width into play with Tobita making a huge difference off the bench and MMN obviously getting the two goals. Also, shout out to 16 year old Zimbabwean-Kiwi midfielder Hamse Yusuf Muhumed who made an appearance off the bench to help finish this one.

Petone 1-2 Manurewa

59’ | P | 1-0 | O.Pickering (Wall)

63’ | M | 1-1 | Muzakkir-Nabeel

83’ | M | 1-2 | Muzakkir-Nabeel

Auckland City vs Christchurch United

You know, before the National League began this fixture looked like it could end up being one of the most decisive games of the whole thing. Defending MNL champs against the Chatham Cup champs. Both keen contenders. Meeting in the final round. There was always a chance that the Christchurch United grand final quest might not make it this far, especially when you take Wellington Olympic into account, but what few would’ve predicted was that both teams would be trying to bounce back from defeats.

Auckland City’s self-proclaimed seven year unbeaten streak at Kiwitea Street was slightly misleading because, under deeper inspection, it should be noted that they did lose 3-1 to Team Wellington there in the semi-final of the 2018-19 season (this year’s top scorer for ACFC, Angus Kilkolly, actually scored against them that day). But a four year home undefeated streak is still pretty bonkers. However it was busted with defeat against Wellington Olympic last week, just as Christchurch United lost to Cashmere Technical. Neither team was at 100% yet those are the things you have to overcome in a league like this. No excuses. Just gotta get back on the horse and win the next one.

The Rams made the trip without top striker Sam Philip or usual attacking starter Daniel MacLennan. The latter has picked up four yellow cards so that might be the tipping point for an accumulation suspension, not sure. Regardless, Jonty Bidois was overdue a bigger role anyway, particularly after scoring off the bench last week – the Tauranga City loanee who top scored in the second tier NRFL division as TC got promoted (along with East Coast Bays). Eric Sugahara also made his first start of the campaign on the left wing, he was in the wider frame for the U17 World Cup that’s just been so he’s yet another one of these Christchurch United academy lads. Also had Haris Zeb getting the nod at right back, while Frewan Watts made another start in goal.

Auckland City, meanwhile, made four changes from the disappointment a week earlier and that meant bringing back the big guns. Conor Tracey in goal. Takuya Iwata at left-back. Michael Den Heijer and Cam Howieson in midfield. They had a point to prove. And yet they were almost trailing inside of two minutes after Eddie Wilkinson centred the ball to Bidois who slid a short pass to Eoghan Stokes in behind... only for Stokes to miss everyone with the cut-back. Some magic footy though. Alas, CUFC don’t score early goals so we shoulda known better – their earliest all campaign was in the 40th minute and only twice have they scored in a first half.

Auckland City also score the majority of their goals later in games so it made sense that this one soon settled into contrasting phases of slow and deliberate build-up. CUFC had a go. Then ACFC had a go. It was getting rather tedious until, out of nowhere, a chip over the top by Adam Mitchell was met by Dylan Manickum who stuck a foot out and guided it in for 1-0. Not very well dealt with by the Rams backline but smooth as ice from the in-form Manickum.

That goal was great for the Walking Football community who soon got some representation as City slowed things down even more with the lead established. But they do that so they can pounce when the opposition is off guard and it wasn’t long before Manickum had a deflected effort saved by Watts. Joe Lee did a few sharp things with his short passing angling in from the right. It was overwhelming Auckland City possession. We even had Howieson trying to score one from halfway... he overhit it slightly with Watts scurrying to recover. Everyone knows that Cam Howieson’s got that in his bag. Then Mike Den Heijer wasn’t far from picking out the bottom corner running onto a Jordan Vale pass.

There was a scare for City when Howieson, who hasn’t been at full fitness recently, needed some physio attention with around ten mins left in the first half. He was okay to continue. Yet as the half wound down with ACFC still suffocating their opponents the vibe began to shift from ‘Christchurch are getting buried here’ to ‘actually Christchurch have done quite well to keep this so close’. Their deep numbers meant limited outlets going forward but also limited chances against them. And there was always the hope that maybe Eddie Wilkinson might do something special at some stage. Obviously not in a first half. But perhaps roughly five minutes into the second half?

Yeah, that sounds about right. The Rams initially thought they’d scored after 47 minutes when Stokes smacked one in off the post from 18 yards only for it to be ruled out for offside. An utterly baffling decision for a shot from the edge of the area. It must have been Wilkinson who was the issue – no doubt he was standing beyond the last defender but if you’re claiming he interfered with play when he was outside the trajectory of the ball (which, remember, hit the post so therefore he was outside the frame of the goal from the keeper’s perspective) then that’s cooked, mate.

Luckily it didn’t matter because Wilkie took matters into his own hands (/feet) soon after. That was Thomas Chao with the assist, by the way – he’d snuck on as a first half substitute replacing Aidan Lehan. Rayan Tayeb would swap in for City in the wake of the equaliser with MDH taken off (another who’s been short of full fitness lately) before Nathan Lobo also swapped in to give them some extra attacking punch up the left.

Those changes didn’t restore their previous overwhelmingness, because now CUFC realised they had an outlet in Wilkinson (Gray went into the book after slicing him down just outside the area on 62’). The Rams were also doing very well at both winning and also giving away free kicks. Chippy fouls both ways to break up the flow. It was a trend that came to the forefront after 76 minutes when City defender Christian Gray was sent off for leaving his sprigs up on Riley Grover. He’d carried the ball all the way to the penalty area but then it got away from him. Straight red. Although Angus Kilkolly had already restored the home team’s lead with a superb low finish three minutes earlier.

The pendulum swings one way, the pendulum swings the other way. Very un-City to be ceding their advantage like that... but, ten-men or not, United still needed to find a goal from somewhere and initially they came closer to conceding when sub Emiliano Tade whipped a free kick agonisingly close to the near post. Ah but in the last few minutes the desperation began to show. Wilkinson pinged a shot on target. A Matt Tod-Smith pass was inches away from putting Bidois through on goal.

Then the crazy stuff happened...

Outrageous. Incredible. One defeat in seven years at Kiwitea Street (and none in non-playoff situations) and suddenly they’ve lost twice in a row. It is somewhat fitting that the two teams they lost to were the champions of the Central and Southern Leagues... plus this result means that Christchurch Utd jumped back up to third place so the three champs occupy the top three spots. This was a wonderful way for Christchurch United to respond to the derby defeat and to conclude one of the great seasons in their illustrious history. They were so good in that second half. Hit them early before City could settle into the second half. Never let them dominate the ball as they had done earlier. Constantly exploited that Zeb & Wilkinson running threat down the right. Took their chances, with Stokes eventually getting the goal he was denied earlier. What more can you say? A brilliant victory.

For Auckland City, the consequences of that red card were pretty dire as CUFC summoned that comeback against ten men... but the real fallout comes next week in the grand final. That Christian Gray/Adam Mitchell CB pairing has started every single game (as has Jordan Vale at RB) and now for the title decider Albert Riera is going to have to break it up against the highest-scoring team in the land. Perhaps Den Heijer or Ilich might have to do a job there – both are more than capable. Kilkolly did think he’d won a penalty while it was still 2-2 so that might linger. But they’re going to need to be both more ambitious with the ball and also more stoic at the back in that grand final. Neither of those two late goals felt like the kinds they’d have conceded in the 2022 quadruple season. Bloody hell, man. Auckland City lost at Kiwitea Street again!

Auckland City 2-3 Christchurch United

15’ | AC | 1-0 | Manickum (Mitchell)

50’ | CU | 1-1 | Wilkinson (Chao)

73’ | AC | 2-1 | Kilkolly (Manickum)

76’ | AC | Red card for Gray

89’ | CU | 2-2 | Peterson (Grover)

90+5’ | CU | 2-3 | Stokes (Zeb)

Eastern Suburbs vs Cashmere Technical

There may have been nothing tangible at stake in this final weekend of the MNL but as far as meaningless games go, this was arguably the least meaningless. For starters, there was only one point between the two sides with third place potentially on the line. On top of that, Eastern Suburbs had been in imperious form winning three in a row whilst scoring 13 goals (after zero wins and only five goals in their first five games) whereas Cashmere Tech had won two in a row and three of the last four - including a triumphant Christchurch Derby win last week. At the heart of it all has been the main man Garbhan Coughlan who has scored eight of their previous ten goals (and set up one of the others). With 10 goals overall, he entered this round one clear of Gianni Bouzoukis with the Golden Boot at stake. Same two blokes who shared it last year with nine apiece. Raising the standards.

Cashy Tech picked all the expected blokes with the only change from the derby game being Declan Tyndall replacing their impressive teenaged striker Zander Edwards, who didn’t appear to have made the trip to Madills Farm. Tyndall set up two goals off the bench last week so no dramas there. Most important was that Garbhan Coughlan was there to potentially claim his goal-scoring title. Of course he was.

Where Coughlan has led the way for Technical, Luis Toomey has done the same for Eastern Suburbs. Except that Toomey didn’t play this game. Big test for Suburbs against a good side without the bloke who has been the catalyst for their turnaround. Malcolm Young got the start instead, while Jake Mechell returned to the XI after a double off the bench in Napier. Ernest Wong was in goal again. No Stephen Hoyle since the women’s team were on at the same time away in Wellington, leading to a sneaky backline for Kane Wintersgill that operated as either a three or a four depending on how they rotated (it may have started as a four and turned into a three, it was deffo a three in the second half... but it doesn’t really matter).

Finn McKenlay got us going with a curling left-footer from the edge of the area that he lifted comfortably off target for the home side. But that was just a sighter because in the fifth minute an overhit cross from Francis de Vries was recycled with midfielder Ryan Verney rushing over to get involved and picking out McKenlay with a sharp pass into the area. That led to a rare instance where the deep Technical defence didn’t have enough depth from their midfield coverage so Finn McKenlay only had to pick his spot to make it 1-0. That he did. A first National League goal for the 18yo on loan from Birkenhead United.

Damn bro, he nearly had a second moments later. A slick move from Subs passing out with speed and fluidity led to Mechell getting around the keeper before cutting it back to McKenlay again and this one was on target but Alex Boomer made a spectacular save scrambling and diving from one post to the other. The calibre of young goalkeepers this year... unreal.

It took ten minutes before Technical had a decent spell of possession. It only led to a long shot from Yuya Taguchi and a set piece or two but that was much more like it... until a wonky pass from Taguchi, very out of character, was picked off by Ryan Verney who then slid it past the keeper for 2-0. Coughlan found his first bit of space in the aftermath but shot low from distance for Ernest Wong to save. Then it was nearly threes when Young chopped inside from the left and it took a pretty remarkable clearance off the line from Danny Kane to get it clear. Verney flipped a shot wide from a Kalua cross. He soon went closer by slamming one off the left after a Mechell lay-off. This was close to a perfect first half hour from the Lilywhites with a bunch of their young midfielders and forwards stepping into prominence.

There was no relief. Kingsley Sinclair almost flicked one in at the near post but Andrew Storer was there to divert it for a corner. Next thing you knew, Adam Thomas made a crunchingly good tackle near halfway to win possession and McKenlay got it quickly to Malcolm Young in space. Young thumped in a mean finish for 3-0. Too slick.

At least Jordan Spain’s messy defensive header glanced wide of the post or else that would’ve really been the pits for Cashmere. They were also at the mercy of the gods when Young burst onto a flying volley about ten yards out but he couldn’t get it on target despite some hefty contact. There was one shining moment for Garbhan Coughlan in stoppage time as the ball fell his way in the six yard box but Ernest Wong, who’d not had much to do but had been flawless with what there was, made a tremendous close range save with his leg. Still 3-0 to Eastern Suburbs at HT.

By now the Wellington Olympic game had kicked off so the clock was ticking on that Golden Boot race... and it didn’t get any better for Cashy Tech when Ryan Verney pumped home a fourth barely two minutes into the second half. Jarvie had gotten around Jordan Spain, then squared for Sinclair whose attempt was well blocked by Kane except Verney (as was often the case in this match) was first to pounce before any Techies. Less than two minutes later he was at it again collecting a quick free kick (actually it wasn’t even that quick, it’s just that nobody bothered to close him down) and turning towards goal, feeding Jarvie out wide whose low cross was flicked home by Sinclair behind his standing foot like a champion. 5-0 after 50 minutes. You reckon Cashmere Tech might’ve peaked in week eight? Their bodies were there but their minds were not.

Lachie McIsaac and Alex Ballard came on to try and steady things for the visitors. McIsaac was a straight swap at left back however Ballard came on in midfield to bolster the middle... and you know what? It must have helped because they didn’t concede again. Eastern Suburbs did also clear the deck with Jirayu Twigg, Ralph Rutherford, Tyler Lissette, and Jayden Scott sent on soon after. That left more than half an hour to go in which the only things that really mattered were whether Coughlan could find a goal or whether Suburbs could hold that clean sheet.

Scott and Rutherford had some funky moments, especially dribbling the ball. Mechell missed a couple of chances, one dragged wide and one header that also went the wrong side of the post. Strong spun out of pressure and blasted a shot slightly high. The lack of a sixth goal was not for want of trying. Then Campbell Strong clipped Yusuf van Dam in the area with five to go to send Garbhan Coughlan to the penalty spot. Nothing to worry about there... nobody’s missed a penalty all MNL and that wasn’t about to change now. Coughlan finally got his goal, number 11 for the season. Cashmere Tech still got thrashed but at least 5-1 was better than 5-0.

Hugely disappointing for Tech who simply did not deliver a performance like they usually do. It’s cost them third place on the ladder and they’d have to wait another half hour to find out if it cost them Coughlan’s Golden Boot. Tech finish with four wins, a draw, four losses, and an even goal difference. Shocked to see them concede 24 goals across the campaign... this is usually a great defensive team and they showed that in patches but perhaps the balance wasn’t quite there in other areas. Cashmere’s record against the four Northern League clubs: four defeats from four, scoring six goals and conceding fifteen... they took 13 points from a possible 15 against everyone else. At least they’ve got that Christchurch Derby to relive over and over again across the summer months.

Eastern Suburbs went winless in five then won four in a row and they won them all emphatically, three time scoring five goals. Even without Toomey here they were superb. Ryan Verney really thrived as an attacking midfielder while Jackson Jarvie’s wing-back mahi has been on full display for several weeks now and Campbell Strong had things covered in midfield. All three of those guys are contenders for the Olympic qualifiers coming up (as will be Aaryan Raj who missed the last couple MNL matches). Plus this time they were able to bring Finn McKenlay and Malcolm Young into the act with influential performances from each. Christchurch United’s shock win at Kiwitea Street meant that Suburbs had to settle for fourth but given where they were a month ago they’ll snap that up in a hurry. This was a wonderful way to end the year and the sort of win that should set them up nicely for 2024.

Eastern Suburbs 5-1 Cashmere Technical

5’ | ES | 1-0 | McKenlay (Verney)

22’ | ES | 2-0 | Verney

37’ | ES | 3-0 | Young (McKenlay)

48’ | ES | 4-0 | Verney

50’ | ES | 5-0 | Sinclair (Jarvie)

85’ | CT | 5-1 | Coughlan [p] (Van Dam)

Wellington Olympic vs Wellington Phoenix Reserves

At the end of the line there was still one last thing to determine: the Golden Boot. Cashmere Technical kicked off thirty minutes before Wellington Olympic with Garbhan Coughlan beginning the day on 10 goals and Gianni Bouzoukis on 9 goals. And Bouzoukis had the more likely fixture against a WeeNix team that may have won two in a row but they’d conceded five times in doing so (plus five more goals the week prior).

Olympic didn’t go nuts with the rotation but they did rest their usual midfield with Samuel Mitrakas and Joseph Hopper getting the summons instead. Plus there was a debut for Brooklyn Browne in place of Scott Basalaj in goal... not just a MNL debut but a senior team debut. So just to be safe they also brought back Hamish Watson, Ben Mata, and Kailan Gould. The former from suspension, the latter two from injuries/match fitness. Six changes after the thriller at Kiwitea.

As to the WeeNix, they skeweded about as young as they could. Last chance to spread out some extra experience so in came Jayden Smith and Joseph Cornille at centre-back – Smith is a 16yo from Nelson, Cornille an 18yo local. Dan McKay finally got a midfield spot again after six games stuck as a CB... meaning that the entire back four was different from last week. Lewis Partridge and Tze Xuan Loke were the fullbacks. Chuck in starts for Hayden Thomas, Noah Karunaratne, and Ryan Watson. Plus a bench loaded with a couple of potential debutants.

The Nix had the first chance. A slippery flick by Watson sent Loke running down the right edge and his low early cross was turned just wide by the in-form Josh Tollervey. A similar one soon after saw McKay flick a trickier finish further wide. Notable to see the WeeNix knocking the ball around with more potency than Olympic in those early stages. Brooklyn Browne got his first action when Karunaratne found Kaelin Nguyen in the area, the young keeper making a good stop at his near post... but there wasn’t much he could do when the resulting corner got shifted deep and central for Lewis Partridge to pummel the leather off it on the way into the net. 1-0 to the Phoenix Reserves.

You don’t see the Greeks losing very often. They almost always score the first goal – only Cashmere Tech had beaten them to it previously. Pretty soon both Watson and Bouzoukis had sighters, though Tollervey also hit the post up the other end (albeit from an offside position). The two Watsons, Hamish and Ryan, were operating in similar roles as the fellas behind their respective strikers. Hamish’s main contribution in the first 25 mins was to lift up and body slam Cornille who’d been climbing all over him like in Gulliver’s Travels... strangely the free kick went against Watto who nearly imploded as a result.

Olympic were beginning to get some momentum by then. Bouzoukis tried a bikey that AKH plucked out of the air, his height coming in very handy. A superb team move that flowed from Stevens on the left ended with a Watto header on target. But then Josh Tollervey slipped the offside trap and ran through to score, making it 2-0 to the WeeNix as JT tallied up his third of the campaign. Got to keep these dead rubbers interesting, you know? To be fair it might’ve been a generous bit of linesmanship with the lack of an offside call.

The Greeks didn’t need to win this game, their grand final qualification was undeniable, but coach Rupert Keyes can’t have been a fan of what he was seeing. A poor Dimairo pass allowed McKay to unleash an attempt from the edge of the box. Nguyen had a chance at the back post as well, though Ben Mata kept him in check. So far that fresh Nix defence was holding tight. They did misplay a ball over the top that Watson ran onto but his shot was parried clear by AKH again. As the half-time whistle blew it was the Phoenix Reserves with a 2-0 lead and the only folks happier than themselves would’ve been the Cashmere Technical whanau with Bouzoukis held relatively quiet there.

This was the second week in a row that Olympic had been kept scoreless in the first half – the only two times that’s happened all season. Yeah... this is still Wellington Olympic though. You know what happened last week and here it took a mere two minutes from the second half kickoff before they’d hauled one back. It began with a Cawley long throw and after some aerial pinball it ended with Hamish Watson putting his head through his fourth of the MNL. Credit to the WeeNix on a lovely first half performance but as soon as that goal went in you kinda knew what was coming.

Joel Stevens in particular kept sparking things for the Greeks, though they needed keeper Brown to be sharp after Tollervey snuck past Ben Mata to shoot. That was Mata’s last act before he was replaced by Theo Ettema – no need to risk anything further given his recent injury and the upcoming grand final. Tor Davenport-Peterson came on at the same time for Olympic. 55th minute double sub bringing on two of their usual starters. Jack Cawley headed over from a corner. Stevens tried to add to his free kick repertoire but AKH tipped it wide at full stretch. Bouzoukis thumped one wide. Stevens cut inside but couldn’t curl into the bottom corner as intended. There wasn’t much relief for the Nixers, although Nguyen did dig one on target. Only a matter of time until something like this happened...

Joe Hopper with the towering header. Joel Stevens with the sweet assist, sending that cross nice and deep. That was the equaliser and by the looks of Kailan Gould soon whipping two separate shots slightly past the post the Greeks were not about to settle for a draw. Gould must’ve been rusty having missed a chunk of this MNL season because then Stevens – who was constantly being found in space on the left wing – backheeled him into a 1v1 which the Bulldog lifted over the bar. Whether the players knew it or not, by now news of Auckland City’s defeat would have been being whispered throughout the crowd. Top spot was up for grabs.

Chris Greenacre loves a multi-sub so after 77 minutes the game took a pause so the Nix could run on four fresh players: Alex Braakhuis, Jack Perniskie, Sam Proctor, and Kyle Koch. Perniskie and Proctir were on debut, with the other two making their second appearances. Always good experience... but that probably didn’t help their defensive cause. Kelly-Heald was making save after save and it looked like he was robbed of another in diverting Hopper’s long shot over the top... but a goal kick was better than a corner so no complaints. Gavin Hoy had come on earlier and he boosted a shot high and wide from a decent position... then barely made contact with another after an initial Stevens shot.

It was actually quite nuts how Olympic had only scored twice in this utterly dominant second half. But there was still time so with five minutes to go the inevitable eventually occurred: Gianni Bouzoukis scored for the sixth game in a row. This one was a nice downward header at the back post after a cross from Isa Prins. Then Joel Stevens, who’d swapped to the right wing after Prins came onto the left, chopped his man and won a penalty. With no Ben Mata on the park it meant that Bouzuokis could take it... and score it. Two goals in three minutes and he probably wasn’t to know it at the time but those two goals drew him level in the Golden Boot race. Thus for the second year in a row the award has been shared between Gianni Bouzoukis and Garbhan Coughlan.

Yep, log it as a 4-2 win for Welly Olympic who may have coasted through that first half in poor fashion but more than made up for it was a remarkable final forty-five. Joel Stevens was unstoppable and with two more assists he’s now overtaken teammate Jack-Henry Sinclair for the most in the competition with seven. As always he had plenty of help from all those Olympic forwards. This team scored a whopping ten goals more than any other team across these nine weeks – 34 goals! - remaining undefeated in the process. At this point you’d have to have them as favourites next week... and the table backs that up because Auckland City’s defeat to Christchurch Utd means Wellington Olympic have claimed the minor premiership title. Not that it matters since there’s no home-field advantage on offer. But they missed out via the head to head split against ACFC last year so they’ll appreciate it. Weirdly, there was a Central League game against the WeeNix in which Olympic were 2-0 down and came back to win 4-2 that day too.

The season is over for the Phoenix Reserves but the A-League is only four games deep and it had been promised that they’ll hand out their scholarship contracts once this campaign was done. Excited to see how that goes. Good luck trying to sort through it all after Greenacre used 26 different starters plus another six dudes exclusively off the bench... 32 different players in nine games? Tu meke. Oskar van Hattum, Luke Supyk, and Fin Conchie are the only three senior contracted players who made appearances. This was almost all the next generation of Phoenix Academy talent. Some will sink and some will swim. The journey continues from here.

Wellington Olympic 4-2 Wellington Phoenix Reserves

15’ | WP | 0-1 | Partridge (Thomas)

31’ | WP | 0-2 | Tollervey (Watson)

47’ | WO | 1-2 | Watson

70’ | WO | 2-2 | Hopper (Stevens)

86’ | WO | 3-2 | Bouzoukis (Prins)

89’ | WO | 4-2 | Bouzoukis [p] (Stevens)

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