Two years ago, Wellington Olympic made the South Central Series grand final but lost 7-2 to close rivals Miramar Rangers. Last year, Wellington Olympic made the National League grand final but, despite a courageous performance, were beaten 3-2 by Auckland City. This year, Wellington Olympic made the National League grand final and again they played Auckland City. This time they triumphed.

It was a 2-0 victory courtesy of goals from Kailan Gould (58’) and Jack-Henry Sinclair (90+5’). A gruelling game of footy in which the Greeks certainly rode their luck with ACFC striking the woodwork on multiple occasions. But it’s not the chances you create that matter, it’s the chances you take that matter. Wellington Olympic were able to put a couple away, plus they also picked one hell of a time to keep their first MNL clean sheet of the year.

They do say you’ve got to lose one before you can win one. There’s definitely something to that because you could argue they played better in the 2022 final and yet there were a few crucial differences this time which caused the outcomes to get swapped. Like how they were able to ride through difficult spells without conceding. Like how they managed to manufacture a goal of their own somewhat against the run of play.

Grand final performances are about the hundreds of accumulated little moments as well as the couple of big moments. The goals are decisive but in order to be in those positions you’ve got to take care of all the rest of it. Wellington Olympic didn’t rock up hoping to topple big dogs Auckland City. They rocked up expecting to do so, in defiance of reputations, and took advantage of an ACFC team that was a little more brittle than usual off the back of a couple of late defeats (including against Olympic a fortnight ago). Now they’re National League champions for the first time in their history. Celebratory souvlaki for all!

Auckland City sprung a couple of surprises on their team sheet. It was expected that Michael den Heijer would have to play centre-back alongside Adam Mitchell with usual CB starter Christian Gray out suspended. First time that Mitchell/Gray partnership had been broken this season. Nathan Lobo got the nod at left back while Jordan Vale remained everpresent on the right. Obviously Conor Tracey was in goal. None of that was surprising but the presence of Gerard Garriga in midfield was, returning from injury in time for the main event, giving a bit more attacking edge to the trio alongside Cam Howieson and in front of Mario Ilich.

The front three was the same as the last few weeks with Joe Lee and Dylan Manickum outside top scorer Angus Kilkolly. However, in addition to Garriga’s sudden recovery, they also had Liam Gillion and Ryan De Vries on the bench. The best thirty minutes of football that City have played this term came prior to Gillion’s injury against Auckland United, meanwhile RDV was scoring goals for fun throughout the winter campaign but had only been able to feature in one previous National League game – a 1-0 win vs Manurewa in week two in which he scored the only goal. Note that Lee, Gillion, and Lobo have all been involved with NZ U23s this year. Howieson earned the most recent of his 16 All Whites caps against Australia in September 2022 while Adam Mitchell and Ryan De Vries have also played for the senior national team. Plus Manickum captained the NZ futsal team to World Cup qualification a couple months back.

Wellington Olympic had their own injury worries leading into this game but theirs were less likely to rule folks out. So considering how Auckland City got everyone back in time, the same was going to be true of Olympic. Sure enough, Justin Gulley and Ben Mata were absolutely fine to join Englishman Jack Cawley in the back three. Just as Jack-Henry Sinclair resumed his spot on the right wing spot. Gulley’s first appearance for three weeks, Sinclair’s for two (though he’d gone off injured in consecutive games prior). Scott Basalaj had a rest last week but he was always going to be back between the sticks for this one.

The two most interesting selections for coach Rupert Kemeys to ponder were Joseph Hopper getting a midfield spot alongside Tor Davenport-Petersen (who was making his 100th appearance for the club). It’s usually been Theo Ettema in that role. Plus with MNL Shared Golden Boot Gianni Bouzoukis up front and Joel Stevens out wide on the left there was a decision to be made about which other forward had to start on the bench. Hamish Watson got those duties with Gavin Hoy and Kailan Gould in the eleven ahead of him. Ettema’s their only current age grade international, having gone close to making the U20 World Cup squad. Joel Stevens and Justin Gulley are capped All Whites.

Wellington Olympic score more early goals than anyone else whereas Auckland City tend to leave their mahi until late when the depth on their bench gets to shine through. Yet that’s not how this game seemed to be unfolding as we kicked off, with Auckland City claiming the initial territory. That big Mount Smart Stadium pitch gave them heaps of room to work with... although it also gave WO room to counter-attack as they do so well and it was Jack-Henry Sinclair who had the first proper shot dragging one across the face of goal after dashing up his wing. That was a rare glimpse. Otherwise City did their patient, deliberate thing with possession as their out-of-town opponents sat waiting for a chance to pounce in transition.

The Garriga Effect was clear to see. His piercing movements give that midfield a point of difference that balances nicely with the facilitators and ball-winners of Howieson, Ilich, and MDH. Plus Den Heijer’s presence in defence improves their build-up stuff – it’s not MDH’s best position but it might be what’s best for the team. It was working here, at least to start with. Joe Lee drove inside and whipped a lefty shot over the top. Howieson’s set pieces were asking questions in the breeze – granted, so far the big lads in that WO defence were coping.

Then, after twelve minutes, came a sudden dramatic development: the sound started working on the livestream. Yeah no worries team. It’s only the National League grand final.

Despite all the hints and clues, there was to be no early breakthrough. We crossed the 20-minute mark with only one further incident... but it was an absolute doozy. Joel Stevens stabbed an effort on target from out left, Tracey doing well to flip that wide of the mark. Then from the resulting corner kick, Auckland City were able to counter with a move that culminated in the vision of Scott Basalaj rooted to the earth as Cam Howieson’s deflected shot heavily rattled the crossbar. Would’ve been ironic if City had scored on the counter like that. Olympic survived that dose of their own medicine and found half-space enough for both Stevens and Sinclair to deliver some very tasty crosses without any takers (JS from a set piece, JHS from open play). Tracey saved another Stevens attempt. The form guide suggested this game would have goals in it. There hadn’t been any yet but the promise was certainly there.

Garriga should have given his side the lead after 27’ when he dashed in behind after a Mata handball had been let slide for an advantage. Davenport-Petersen recovered in time but Garriga simply glided past him... only to toe poke his shot wide. A glorious opportunity gone to waste. There was a pause in proceedings when Tracey landed hard after an aerial claim which allowed everyone to take a breath and then City swiftly began to apply the grind again. The occasion being what it was, both teams were diligent tracking back and ensuring they had defensive numbers. Not easy to break an opponent down in that state – though Basalaj did need to make a fantastic stop when Garriga headed one downwards at the back post. Couple of good chances for that lad, perhaps a tad rusty after his time out.

Credit to Justin Gulley for a superb defensive recovery just as Kilkolly was lining up a shot. Then Cawley had to deal with a tricky low cross, hurting his ankle as he did but battling through the pain. No goals in the first half. Auckland City were definitely shading it but Wellington Olympic were defending stoutly and weren’t without chances of their own.

Didn’t take long after the resumption for Garriga to get warned for yapping. Also didn’t take much longer for Auckland City to threaten that WO goal again, this time it was Dylan Manickum giving it a burst up the left wing only to flash his shot across goal. However there little else where that came from and about ten minutes into the second stanza the concern was already turning towards which team would go to their bench first. When these sides met two weeks ago it was only after the subs started rolling that the game burst into life. Sure enough, Hamish Watson was soon being prepped for his introduction. But before that could happen, this happened...

There you go. That crucial first goal. Kailan Gould was the fella who stuck his foot on it, applying just enough heat so that it crept past Conor Tracey despite the keeper getting a strong hand to it. Funny how that goes because it hadn’t been clicking for Gould all game and he was the one about to be replaced by Watto. But just before he took a bib, he provided the all-important breakthrough. Although, please, a moment of recognition for the cross from Joel Stevens, if you will. He’s the Assist King of the 2023 season for a reason and this was as tasty as it gets. A tremendous grand final assist.

That Watson for Gould sub happened within two minutes of the goal, right after Basalaj had managed to awkwardly smother a ball that Kilkolly was zoning in on. Watson then wandered directly into a good area to smash a Gavin Hoy cut-back high of the mark with his first touch. Albert Riera didn’t waste another breath before sending Liam Gillion into the cauldron. Some lovely interplay between Lobo, Manickum, and Howieson ended with Manickum missing the target before, down the other end, Adam Mitchell made a fine sliding block after JHS and Watto had combined. Next it was Ryan De Vries’ turn to try and swing this thing back for Auckland City. Instead a couple of set pieces from Olympic caused some havoc and then, with fifteen to go and things not looking great for the defending champs, Riera sent on Reggie Murati... and Emiliano Tade.

There’s not a whole lot of running left in the legs of Senor Tade but he’s still got magic in those feet. If anyone was going to do it, he was the bloke. At the very start of the year he’d sparked a wild comeback for City against Olympic in the OFC Champions League playoffs and it was Tade who quickly combined with Howieson to set up RDV in the middle of the box. De Vries could only poke his reaching shot straight at Basalaj. Soon afterwards a short nudge of a free kick was set up for Tade to go boom. You knew he was lining up that near post. Unfortunately the near post was exactly what he hit. Nearly snapped it in half but the goal remained untarnished for Olympic.

Bouzoukis volunteered for a yellow card by dragging Murati down by the shoulder. He was soon replaced by youngster Isa Prins, who has looked sharp in short glimpses this MNL. Tam Dimairo had already subbed in for Hopper in the midfield by then (Dimairo only started 4/10 games but he still appeared in every MNL match for Olympic – as did Stevens, Hoy, TDP, and Bouzoukis). Hamish Watson had a chance to ice things but didn’t get good enough contact on his shot which meant that Tade could keep going with his quest, putting in a crap corner kick but then lifting a secondary cross into the centre where it caught a deflection and was then flicked on by Mitchell... and into the post. Still no luck for Auckland City.

Four minutes of stoppage time were added. ACFC remained one moment away from forcing extra time. Tade sliced a shot on the end of a scramble. Seconds continued to tick away. Olympic continued their resistance. City won a free kick after the allotted four and everybody went up for it, keeper included. But the Greeks were able to hack it away and Jack-Henry Sinclair still had the energy to charge forward. When he looked up and saw the goal wide open and only Emiliano Tade on his 35-year-old legs trying to sprint his way back in cover, JHS slowed up and side-footed a placement shot from about 35 metres out. To be honest, he didn’t even catch it that well. It’s probably the case that any player other than Emiliano Tade would’ve been able to cut it out once if not twice from that position... but Tade was the guy making the gut-busting recovery run so fair play to him. It wouldn’t have made a difference. It was the last kick of the game. It simply meant that Wellington Olympic got to finish with one last triumphant goal – keeping alive their streak of having scored at least twice in every National League game.

Can’t fault it. Wellington Olympic were the best team all season. They did have two draws, held by Eastern Suburbs and Cashmere Technical, but they won every other game – surpassing ACFC’s efforts of last year by going undefeated through the new format (City lost against Auckland United during the round robin stuff in 2022). It took them until now to finally keep a clean sheet but that hardly ever slowed them down. Their mission operative all season was simply to score more goals than their opponents and with 34 of them during their nine games they were ten clear of second-place on that count.

The grand final played out differently in a lower-scoring affair... yet it was Wellington Olympic who were that little bit more clinical when it mattered most and a trophy-laden club like Auckland City can tell you that’s exactly how you win these title deciders. Now Wellington Olympic understand that too - this is their first National League championship, to go with the 2009 Chatham Cup that was already in their trophy cabinet.

Tell you what else, it was a fantastic day for the Mata whanau. Ben Mata captained Olympic to the MNL title hours after Max Mata scored his first goal for Shrewsbury Town. Ben had an excellent game at the back, as did all of those Olympic defenders – especially Justin Gulley. Shout out to the hard graft of Tor Davenport-Petersen as well, while Scott Basalaj was at his best in goal. Only one bloke gets to win the Steve Sumner Trophy for the player of the day in the final though and on this day that went to Joel Stevens. He was the most dangerous man on the pitch all afternoon (until Tade came on, perhaps) and that assist for the first goal was the single most decisive act of the entire game.

Also gotta add what a relief it was to see Garbhan Coughlan unveiled as the overall MVP. This breaks a three year streak of goalkeepers getting the award, usually from teams near the bottom, as a result of the stupid voting system that they have. But this time they picked the right bloke. Coughlan really was the most valuable fella, carrying Cashmere Technical’s hopes with his insane goal-scoring and creative flair. Nobody gets fouled more often than GC (though JH Sinclair runs him close). Garbs scored 11 goals and had 3 assists for a team that only scored 24 goals overall (‘only’ is a relative adverb in this case – 24 goals was second most behind Olympic and their 34... not counting the two more that the Greeks added to their haul in the final). Coughlan had already been decided as the TNC endorsement so all parties are in alignment for once.

Incredibly, this means that Auckland City have now lost three games in a row. Two to Olympic with the Christchurch United defeat sandwiched in the middle. That has never happened before on the domestic front. Never. Warning signs had been there even when they were winning seven in a row prior to that, with a number of comebacks or close wins, but to be fair they were much improved in this game. Bringing back a few of those key players made a huge difference (also illustrating how things got away from them in the previous fortnight). They just couldn’t put the ball in the damn net.

But the bottom line is that Wellington Olympic were the superior team and worthy champions. They finished ahead of Auckland City in the regulars, including beating them away. Then they beat them again in the final. No shame in that. Just gotta restock those Navy Blue shelves and be back for the trophy next year... it does the National League good to see different teams winning this thing.

Of course, before worrying about next year there is the small matter of a trip to Saudi Arabia for some Club World Cup shenanigans, where City will face Al-Ittihad on December 13 NZT. N’Golo Kante, Fabinho, and Karim Benzema await. Sad thing for Olympic is that’s gonna be the last Club World Cup in this format, after which it moves to a 32-team event held every four years (starting in 2025). They might get those honours... but with the spot going to the “highest-ranked” Oceania club in the four years prior, and ACFC having already won two of those OCLs, that’s a tricky one to figure out.

But anyway, Wellington Olympic are the 2023 Men’s National League champions, the greatest footballing league on the planet, and that’s what it’s all about.

Wellington Olympic 2-0 Auckland City

Goals (Assists)

58’ | WO | 1-0 | Gould (Stevens)

90+5’ | WO | 2-0 | Sinclair (Hoy)

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