Wellington Phoenix vs Auckland City

Returning to us unspoiled from the golden shores of the beyond, the 2023 Men’s National League season began with an enticing clash at Fraser Park between the two most professional-adjacent teams in the competition. The Wellington Phoenix Reserves had a strong Central League season, finishing second behind Wellington Olympic – although their squad did change substantially once the A-League preseason (and first team promotions), along with a couple of national age grade tours, interrupted them. Apparently they used 40 different players during the winter campaign. Meanwhile Auckland City did Auckland City things by strutting through the Northern League undefeated on the way to another championship.

It was always going to be a curious thing to see what kind of team Chris Greenacre rolled out for his WeeNix. The first thing to say there is that he had zero first teamers for this match. Not a one. Whereas Mackenzie Barry and Emma Main made the trip up to Auckland to set a tone for the women’s ressies, the blokes had to make do with a selection of the better lads left over from last time plus some fresh National League blood of a newer vintage. They did have Ben Wallace who made a senior debut during the Australia Cup, plus Alby Kelly-Heald was in goal. Dan McKay and Charlie Beale are also veterans of previous campaigns. And Marco Lorenz started after spending some time on trial at Werder Bremen recently.

To be specific with it, they had AKH in goal. They had Seth Karunaratne (younger brother of Noah) alongside Lorenz in central defence. Tze Xuan Loke was at right back with Lewis Partridge on the left. Hayden Thomas partnered McKay in midfield. Beale at left-wing. Ryan Watson at right-wing. Daniel Makowem with Wallace up topskees. Four 19 year olds. Six 18 year olds. One 17 year old (Hayden Thomas). With a total of two first team appearances, adding up to one minute of action (Wallace + Lorenz, both in the Aussie Cup). And they were up against the defending champs.

Nothing to worry about for Auckland City. Ryan De Vries and Emiliano Tade were unavailable while Cam Howieson was only fit enough for the bench and they still picked a team that would intimidate any team in the country. Teenager Joe Wallis started between the sticks in Albert Riera’s only concession to rotation. Jordan Vale, Adam Mitchell, Christian Gray, and Nathan Lobo made up the back four from right to left. Mario Ilich holding in midfield with Michael Den Heijer and Gerard Garriga Gibert ahead of him. Angus Kilkolly and Joe Lee out wide. Oliver Colloty up front. GGG often pushed up alongside Colloty so they could defend from the front in a 4-4-2 shape, as you do.

It didn’t take ninety seconds before NZ U23s rep Joe Lee had sliced inside and ripped a shot on target. Straight at his Olympic qualifying teammate Kelly-Heald but so it goes. McKay and Lobo were also part of that squad, as were a bunch of first-team adjacent Welly Nix players (and Liam Gillion who was on the bench for City). Mitchell also headed wide from a good spot after six mins... although those chances felt like glimpses of sunlight through an overcast sky as, for the most part, these two teams showed their professional-adjacent bonafides by moving the ball confidently around the back. They seemed to take it in five minute turns. Your turn then our turn. ACFC had more promise on the end of those passing patterns... but nothing to break the mould.

Fair play to an inexperienced Nix back four because they knew what they were doing. Lorenz and Karunaratne were out there tusslin’. Kelly-Heald made good saves against Kilkolly and Garriga, both those guys also missed the target with other chances. As did Lee and Lobo. City were trying but the Phoenix were withstanding. The only times the Nix seemed to be on the wobble was when the ball was delivered high into their penalty area. ACFC have some decent size in their team against a bunch of U20s lads so that made sense (though Nix keeper AKH was surely the tallest on the park).

There was one instance when a heavy touch from Lee allowed Wallace to pick out Makowen with an early ball but Nathan Lobo was all over him and Wallis made the save. Other than that... not much going forwards for the home team. Yet they held it scoreless into the break. Liam Gillion replaced Kilkolly after 53 minutes with Albert Riera searching for some solutions for his ACFC team. Sadly, Gills didn’t get to play against his brother Fergus who busy hanging around the wider first team squad right now (after making an Aussie Cup debut vs Melbourne City). Their sister Emily also featured for Eastern Suburbs this week. Five mins after Gillion’s introduction, Cam Howieson followed him in place of Garriga (who’d missed a great chance soon into the second spell).

Eastern Suburbs are the only team to have blanked the Navy Blues this year in any competition so for a fresh WeeNix side to take them sixty minutes deep was really something. Alas, La Résistance didn’t hold on much longer. Liam Gillion charged forward to win a corner. The delivery from Gillion was flicked on by Gray. Then Mario Ilich buried it on the stretch. 64th minute of the match and City probably did deserve that, for all their mahi.

AKH had some trouble caught off his line but he was able to stay tight enough to Colloty to prevent a clean shot and then he saved from Gillion’s next attempt. Crisis averted. Then it was Joe Wallis’ turn to bring the goods as he denied Ben Wallace 1v1... after an absolutely stunning through ball from Marco Lorenz. Wallis vs Wallace. The Is beat the Ace.

You know how this story goes. That was the One Big Chance that the Phoenix had waited all game for... and Auckland City weren’t about to give them another. ACFC had some hefty possession numbers the rest of the way. The Nix raised their press but they couldn’t get through. Actually, it was Kelly-Heald who had to make several more saves, including an especially good one against Lee. No dramas. Auckland City took it 1-0 to notch another three-pointer... but jeez they had it tough there for a while. The Welly Nix gave them troubles last year too in the game where Cam Howieson scored from half-way – that was a 2-0 win with a wondergoal and also featured the Nix youngsters bringing their possession footy to the table without fear.

Auckland City were more dangerous after Gillion came on to give them pace on both wings. Plus they do have Ryan De Vries, the Ryza Blade, to return to the team with all his goals and obviously Cam Howieson is a mastermind who’ll play bigger minutes down the line. Key thing for them is simply that they got the points on a tricky afternoon. For the WeeNix, there are four more scholarship deals plus another full contract available with the first team and these lads are still in the mix. Alby Kelly-Heald is surely a frontrunner for one of those schols, seeking to join his brother. Dan McKay and Ben Wallace have some classy touches. On the basis of this performance, and his experience in Germany, Marco Lorenz should be right up there too. They’ll be an absorbing team to follow now that the club has gone all in on its Development Ethos.

Wellington Phoenix 0-1 Auckland City

Goal (Assist):

64’ | AC | 0-1 | Ilich (Gray)

Manurewa AFC vs Wellington Olympic

National League football reappeared in mighty South Auckland on Sunday afternoon when last year’s beaten finalists, Wellington Olympic, dropped by Memorial Park for a wee kick around. It had been thirty years since Rewa were last at a comparable level yet one year after promotion to the Northern League they bagged themselves a fourth-placed finish with a couple games to spare and now here they are.

Rewa lined up with Fijian youth international Aydin Mustahib in goal. A back three of Dylan Morris, Tino Contratti, and Sammy Khan (all with MNL experience at other clubs: Hamilton Wanderers, Hamilton Wanderers, and Waitakere United respectively). Aidan Price and James Hoyt played midfield while Hayat Ali Tobita and Boon Ozawa operated as wingbacks. Up front were Monty Patterson and Nicolas Bobadilla, with Ronaldo Munoz behind them. 3-4-1-2 formation from veteran coach Paul Marshall. Several Fijian players (including full international Hoyt). Several South American players. And 15-cap All White Patterson in amongst them. A strong team with plenty of scrappiness which is always a useful trait when stepping into the unknown.

Wellington Olympic were stacked as always. Scott Basalaj in goal. Justin Gulley, Ben Mata, and Jack Cawley in the back three. Cawley is a new face this year, a 30 year old English import who is every bit as big and commanding as his mates JG and BM. Tor Davenport-Peterson and Theo Ettema forged a tall, combative midfield pairing. Joel Stevens and Jack-Henry Sinclair are as attacking as wing-backs can feasibly get. Then Gavin Hoy and The Bulldog Kailan Gould played behind striker Gianni Bouzoukis. Olympic are three-times reigning Central League champs whose aim is to go all the way and nothing less. In a short, competitive season like this that means every game is a must-win.

Tell ya what though, Rewa did have a couple of sneaky nudges forward in the early stages, with Monty Patterson’s movement proving tricky as he sought out the space behind WO’s wide players. The Greeks also laid down their intent with Bouzoukis volleying an early chance into Khan before TDP headed wide. Both of those were set piece chances. Meanwhile Sinclair got absolutely crunched in a tackle by Ozawa... count that as the first of many for JHS this season. The price of being so slick, aye?

Despite the initial encouragement for the home side, Olympic still took the lead in the 15th minute when Theo Ettema nodded home from a corner kick. Too tall, too strong. Nico Bobadilla was on the post but he lacked the requisite verticality to keep it out... Olympic’s set piece threat had already been established and here was the culmination. Yet, fair play, Rewa were doing pretty well at stopping Olympic from hitting them with any of their trademarked open play transitional attacks. The South Aucklanders were aggressive and defiant. They were the team trying to counter and they did drop some hints amongst the sustained, recycled attacking pressure with of the Greeks.

Bobadilla was kinda lucky to stay on the pitch after crunching Cawley with a two-footed lunge. Got a chunk of ball in there first which is probably why it was only a yellow, although Cawley still needed medical attention. That took the heat out of the half for Olympic, who only just avoided getting sucker-punched as Monty Patterson strayed slightly offside on a runaway. But Rewa weren’t settling down. In the third minute of stoppage time they scored a banger of an equaliser. It was Munoz to Patterson back to Munoz in two touches and then the third touch was Ronaldo Munoz slotting home for 1-1. Siuuuuuuu.

The second half began with Munoz flipping a dangerous ball across goal to no avail... yet within three minutes of kickoff old mates from Wellington had retaken the lead. Didn’t take long. The situation was a free kick about thirty metres out. The outcome was Joel Stevens scoring a belter. Just that brother doing what that brother does. The supercut of all Stevens’ National League bangers would run for days.

Pity for you if you thought Manurewa would roll over at that. This is a spirited bunch of lads and after surviving chances for JHS (firing wide) and Bouzoukis (not quite getting the desired contact) they were back on even footing. 57th minute. Tino Contratti rushed up into the midfield to win possession and then fed James Hoyt, who angled wide before laying a pass over to Monty Patterson at the back stick. Get in. 2-2 with a little over half an hour to go. Could Manurewa hang on? Yeah nah... it took less than sixty seconds for Hamish Watson, subbed on just before the second equaliser, to punt a glorious switch of play towards Sinclair with room to run. Danger zone for anyone when that happens. JHS rounded the keeper and then stabbed home his finish.

Weird thing about that is it wasn’t the same keeper. Manurewa had swapped goalies after 55 minutes. Mustahib replaced by David Masters. There definitely hadn’t been anything wrong with Mustahib’s performance so either it was a matter of sharing the experience or it was a hidden injury. Masters didn’t cover himself in glory with that moment, though it was the quickfire attack that really split them – the first time that the Greeks had really been able to stretch their legs.

Contratti had visions of a third equaliser when he struck a spinning snapshot from the perimeter but it was straight at Basalaj, leading to an agonised reaction from the Argentine. His mood won’t have improved with what followed either. Masters did make a sharp save with his shoulder to deny Gould... but he got beaten by the corner kick that followed it. Like, literally beaten by the corner kick. Kailan Gould curling it straight in. The referee wasn’t sure but the lino gave him a nod and the appeals of the Wellington Olimpicos were upheld.

Later on another hurling Watson switch was met by Sinclair. Dylan Morris came surging in with some shoulder to shoulder bulldozing and a penalty was awarded. Rewa had some valid complaints, although the force of the shouldering really only had one intent: stop JHS from shooting. He wasn’t playing the ball. Penalty was fair enough. Ben Mata thus got to do what he does best and calmly slotted from twelve yards to confirm a 5-2 victory for Wellington Olympic.

They got there in the end but that win did not come easy. For most of the game, Rewa were able to limit their most potent attacks and were it not for some tidy set piece prowess (four of their goals coming via dead ball scenarios) then they might’ve had some serious bother. But the Greeks had the stronger bench and, like most great teams, they were able to find success by switching to Plan B when Plan A wasn’t working (and eventually circled back around to Plan A once their scoreboard pressure opened the game up).

But if Manurewa gave this team trouble then they’ll give most teams trouble. Know that for sure. Olympic were sharp and disciplined at the back with Patterson and Bobadilla regularly flagged offside. Other clubs may not be able to sustain that strategy. Plus this is a mean team of soldiers. Some crushing tackles. Sammy Khan in particular makes some courageous blocks. Combine that with the essential talent up top and that’s a tasty recipe. Paul Marshall will be annoyed at how it got away from them at the end and he’ll be annoyed that they conceded so soon after scoring on both occasions. However for a first swing at this level, and considering the standard of opposition, his team have definitely have made a few folks take notice.

Manurewa AFC 2-5 Wellington Olympic

15’ | WO | 0-1 | Ettema (Gould)

45+3’ | MR | 1-1 | Munoz (Patterson)

48’ | WO | 1-2 | Stevens

57’ | MR | 2-2 | Patterson (Hoyt)

58’ | WO | 2-3 | Sinclair (Watson)

75’ | WO | 2-4 | Gould

87’ | WO | 2-5 | Mata [p] (Sinclair)

By the way, be sure to subscribe to TNC’s Substack newsletter if you haven’t already – including National League Team of the Weeks in both the Monday and Friday editions (one for the fellas, one for the ladies)

Napier City Rovers vs Petone

Nothing like a new season to make new friends. Petone FC are well known to Napier City Rovers having met them regularly in Central League action (a 4-2 home win for Petone in April and a 2-2 draw in Napier in June were the two meetings this year). But on this national stage it was a fresh introduction. Exciting times.

Yet there was also a sombre note for Petone as the match began with a minute’s silence for club member Les Pickering – part of the great Pickering whanau who have been such a part of Petone’s existence for so many years... with Les’ grandsons Ollie and Sam both playing in this game. Both teams wore black armbands. Condolences to the family and also to the wider club. As for the team that Ryan Edwards picked, we’re talking about Oscar Boyce in goal with what looked like a 4-1-4-1 shape ahead of him. Back four went: Coran Perks, Abdallah Khaled, Brynn Sinclair, Ollie Pickering. Sam Pickering sat in front of them. Then we had Ashnarvy Mustapha, Sam Wall, Kieran McMinn, and Jack O’Connor. And of course the big man Central League MVP Matthew Brazier was up front. Sam Wall is an ex-NCR player by the way.

Napier City Rovers have retained most of last year’s squad but they’ve bedazzled their import cohort – particularly in the form of Deri Corfe, a former Manchester City academy lad. He started in the number ten role behind fellow (returning) import Jonny McNamara. Ry McLeod and Christian Leopard were on the wings. Tah Eh Doe and Liam Schofield the midfielders. Jim Hoyle captained at CB alongside Kaeden Atkins. Jack Albertini held down the right side same as Fergus Neil did the left. And that left Oscar Mason in goal... oddly both teams had a goalkeeping Oscar and both Oscars are 19 years of age.

There’s something about National League footy that’s just different, even when up against familiar opponents. We’ve seen in previous years that it can take some getting used to – the travel, the season, the added focus. There wasn’t much to split these teams during the winter, in fact Petone got the jump on the head to heads, but Napier City Rovers have been here before and they were noticeably more confidently from kickoff with a great tempo to their play and some good movement up front. Deri Corfe was operating in the pockets with malicious intent. A tone had been set.

Also evident was that the slippery conditions were going to require some vigilant refereeing as the tackles flew in. Schofield was booked inside the first quarter of an hour to make that point. Both teams won dangerous free kicks during the first half... though nothing came of them. Corfe had a few sighters and McNamara should’ve probably converted when a deflection fell his way seven yards out but Boyce plucked that snapshot out of the air. Boyce also made an outrageous save later on against Corfe, outstretched with two hands, though by then his Petone fellas were already trailing thanks to a burst of pace from a centre-back and a clever finish from an import forward.

Kaeden Atkins stepped up to steal a pass from Sam Pickering then charged into the Petone half and just kept going. All the way into the penalty area where he slid a pass for Jonny McNamara and the Englishman tucked it into bed like a doting mother. Then he did a cartwheel and whipped out the finger guns. The city of Napier’s got a good one there. Thirty minutes gone, 1-0 to Rovers. No less than they deserved although Petone did manage to slow things down afterwards to get through to the half with a more even sense of affairs.

By the time the teams emerged for the second stanza there was enough water on the surface for visible splashes with every bounce or slide. Or lunge in the case of some of the tackling. Petone strung together plenty of passes out of the sheds, Mustapha was finding some space on the wing, but perhaps too much of it was passing up and around rather than through and between, if you get the idea. But it was a positive development and at 1-0 they were still right in this contest. They just had to make sure they were the next to score... hence it was a good thing that Boyce made a corker of a foot save to deny McNamara.

Alas, Petone didn’t carve out the chances they needed and in the 66th minute that crucial second goal went the way of the home team. Boyce had done well to punch away a dangerous cross but Christian Leopard (domestic T20 batting average of 17.84 with a 130.88 strike-rate) kept the move alive and picked out Deri Corfe in the middle and of course Corfe buried that sucker. Just as he buried the penalty he won with ten minutes to go. Ducking and weaving and then collapsing. He may have exaggerated the contact just sliiightly but he still had his arm pulled back, penalty given, and DC was flawless from the spot to make it 3-0... which was how it remained up until the final whistle.

The second goal sorta killed the contest. The third goal danced on its grave. Both teams ran out some subs (Petone cleared their bench with five subs used) and although a few more yellow cards were required everyone did eventually get out of there in one piece and we go again next week. Napier City were impressive, man. The tempo with which they started was really sharp and Corfe is as good as advertised – in terms of production and also showmanship (the hombre even attempted a rabona). Kaeden Atkins and Jim Hoyle did a fine job dealing with the threat of Brazier. Points on the board early for NCR... although keep in mind they won in week one last year too (1-0 vs the WeeNix) and then didn’t win again the rest of the way,

There is a worry that Petone might be a bit too vulnerable against pace but Khaled and Sinclair are a solid defensive pairing and the Pickering lads give them plenty. However goalkeeper Oscar Boyce was their best on this particular day. A couple of ripping saves in there. If he’d gotten the penalty too then we might’ve been talking Team of the Week honours despite the loss (tune into our Substack on Friday for that selection). We saw similar things from Ellerslie in the women’s comp where that first NL game can be a rough learning experience and those fourth placed qualifiers are always going to be up against it. So it goes. There’s no way Matt Brazier’s getting contained for nine weeks in a row though, don’t think it even for a second.

Napier City Rovers 3-0 Petone

30’ | NCR | 1-0 | McNamara (Atkins)

67’ | NCR | 2-0 | Corfe (Leopard)

79’ | NCR | 3-0 | Corfe [p]

Eastern Suburbs vs Christchurch United

Always love a good MATCH-UP and this one was a doozy, delivering a rematch of the Chatham Cup semi-final which Christchurch United won 2-1 at home, before going on to lift the trophy on penalties against Melville United. That was the only defeat of Eastern Suburbs’ season – although a couple extra draws meant they still finished second to Auckland City who were also undefeated in the Northern League. This time the Lilyehites were at home at Madills Park. Let’s also not forget the National League context here as these two teams are amongst Auckland City’s fiercest challengers (along with Wellington Olympic) and in a nine-game season every game is massive when only the top two advance to the grand final.

There was an exciting mix of youth and experience for Eastern Suburbs. In something akin to a 4-1-4-1 shape they went: Joe Knowles; Campbell Strong, Adam Thomas, Aaryan Raj, Francis De Vries; Tyler Lissette; Jake Mechell, Jirayu Twigg, Ryan Verney, Daniel Bunch; Jayden Scott. Strong, Raj, and Verney were all part of the NZ U23s that recently qualified for the Olympics, while Knowles was in the wider U20s frame earlier in the year for a World Cup that Raj went to (alongside Suburbs substitute Jackson Jarvie). Meanwhile Francis De Vries was a regular All White prior to his knee injury, having played in the top division of Sweden. Lissette also spent some time as a pro in Sweden while Adam Thomas spent 2022 over in Ireland.

Christchurch United aren’t quite at that level of glitteriness yet but they’re getting there. They had a capped international too (Cameron Lindsay) as well as an age grade keeper – Scott Morris started one of the games for that NZ U23s team. A couple Irish imports in there too. Paul Ifill made just the one change from the cup final and that was elevating Eddie Wilkinson into the eleven (he’d played off the bench in that other one, only recently returning from a season in Australia). Their team read, in a 3-4-1-2 shape: Scott Morris; Cam Lindsay, Aaron O’Driscoll, Ben Lapslie; Riley Grover, Jago Godden, Matt Tod-Smith, Joel Peterson; Eoghan Stokes; Eddie Wilkinson, Sam Philip. The Rams will feel they underperformed in the MNL last year. This time they’ll feel they’re ready. Then again, so will Eastern Suburbs after the year they’ve had.

The Lilywhites looked to switch the ball early and access their width, leading to a few swirling crosses in that coastal Kohimarama breeze. The Rams were keen to get the ball forward immediately by searching for those long passes to the feet of their forwards who were dropping into pockets or running channels. Both teams found space out wide due to the formations at use. Both teams seemed to rely a little too much on looping crosses from those areas rather than finding more incision... especially given the size and power of the centre-backs in this game. Guys like O’Driscoll and Lindsay and Thomas and Raj were gobbling up those aerials like hungry, hungry hippos.

It was those defenders who stood out as this game found its patterns. Suburbs were pretty funky, with Kane Wintersgill giving his fullbacks plenty of licence. Campbell Strong is usually a midfielder while FDV has played at a much higher level so those guys were overskilled in those spots anyway. Daniel Bunch was the guy giving Suburbs the most energy up top with his movement and late in the first half he probably shoulda scored for them. Twigg picked him on the run into the area then Bunch sliced back onto his right boot only to lift the ball over the top. Eddie Wilkinson offered a few glimpses up the other end showing, as he did last year, how amazing he is at creating his own room to shoot. He did that twice in short succession but the first one he dragged and the second he blasted slightly high.

Those were rare occasions within a game that had otherwise been a tactical duel... and that coaching arm-wrestle continued as Christchurch Utd changed formation for the second half: Ben Lapslie sliding over to left-back in a 4-4-2 instead. That allowed Wilkinson to play deeper on the wing where he could collect the ball a little easier (he was dropping deep and looking for it already so might as well). It also gave them two wide options on each side with which to work better crosses. Such as when Lapslie hit Philip with his back to goal about ten yards out, although the shot from SP on the spin was sliced wide. But mostly it was the Wilkinson factor that made that tactical tweak work. Because Edward Wilkinson can do things like this...

By the way, that throw from Scott Morris was not out of character. His dextrous distribution (is that a term?) was great all day... though the fact he got an assist for this one was all down to the mazy footwork of Eddie Wilkinson weaving his way through defenders to score a brilliant, outstanding, heroic goal. Exactly the flash of magic that it was becoming clear would be required to beat either of these defensive sets.

Eastern Suburbs aren’t used to being behind and when they are they usually find a way out of it. Also, Christchurch United may have eventually won on penalties but they did blow a very late lead in that Chatham Cup final. Suburbs gave it an instant response. Some sharp feet from Verney created an opening for Bunch but the shot took too long and got blocked. That was a common theme for Subs, actually. Lissette also smashed a shot wide on the volley. They brought on Malcolm Young and Jackson Jarvie for the last twenty, two young fellas of their own crop. But it just wasn’t clear where the goal was going to come from for Suburbs.

Not with Matt Tod-Smith hounding in the midfield and O’Driscoll and Lindsay still dominating that penalty area. The Rams started slowing things down. Taking their time. Suburbs tried to pick up the tempo but their deep crosses weren’t having any joy. Instead it was Wilkinson who came closest to scoring with a couple of breakaway chances, one saw him skip between a couple defenders before Knowles made the save. The other he spotted Knowles off his line but dragged his chip attempt. All academic. This time Christchurch United didn’t have to worry about a goalkeeper scoring a stoppage time equaliser... but Eastern Suburbs did have to worry about another loss to the Rams. Two defeats all season and both have been against Christchurch United. 1-0 the final score.

There wasn’t much between them but Eddie Wilkinson provided some magic whereas the Lilywhites just didn’t have that. That was the main worry for this team since Martin Bueno departed and it’s now been exacerbated. A little bit of x-factor in the attacking third, ya know? Huge and vindicating win for the Chatham Cup champs though. Matt Tod-Smith is surely one of the best midfielders in the country these days. They didn’t even need to lean on Sam Philip here, their top scorer, so look forward to that in the coming weeks. With this win in the bag there’s no doubt that Christchurch United are going to be challenging for the prize this year.

Eastern Suburbs 0-1 Christchurch United

53’ | CU | 0-1 | Wilkinson (Morris)

Cashmere Technical vs Auckland United

One more down south to see us through. English Park in Christchurch. The highest ranked non-undefeated teams in the Southern and Northern Leagues. Cashmere Technical have had to deal with a couple of career ambitions getting in their way with fullback/midfielder Luke Tongue unavailable after returning to the Wellington Phoenix Academy as a coach, while main keeper Danny Knight is also the NZ U17s goalkeeping coach... and they’re heading off to the World Cup in November with backup Matthew Foord likely to be in that squad. However they have picked up Dunedin City Royals goalie Alex Boomer as cover and he was on the bench here while Foord started. Boomer’s only a couple of years older than Foord so don’t look to Cashy Tech goalies if you’re planning a trip to the casino.

The rest of the Techies line-up played most of the hits. Jordan Spain, Andrew Storer, Sam Richards, and Lachie McIsaac across the back. Cory Mitchell didn’t play MNL last year but he’s an outstanding player and he’s now back, lining up alongside Yuya Taguchi in the middle. Lyle Matthysen and Jacob Richards were on the wings with the Irish talisman Garbhan Coughlan up top and Aidan Barbour-Ryan sitting in behind him. Rate that Papua New Guinea connection with Storer and Spain. They were missing Tom Schwarz at the back though.

The visitors from Auckland United set up in a 3-4-1-2 formation that began with mainstay GK Mack Waite. Sione Fa’apoi has been quality for them since signing this year. He was at CB with captain Ross Haviland and also Hideto Takahashi. Likewise Yousif Al-Kalisy, best known for his Auckland City stint, has been a revelatory addition to their crew. Homegrown Ollie Middleton partnered YAK in the mids. Xavier Green at left wing-back. Daniel Atkinson at right wing-back. Both of them are Ole Academy lads who’ve spent time overseas (Green at USA college, Atkinson in the lower divisions of the Netherlands). Dre Vollenhoven was the ten. Josh Redfearn and Nico Zambrano strikers. That fella Takahasi earned seven caps for Japan by the way. Moved to Aotearoa with his family and now is playing National League for Auckland United. Righteous.

It was Auckland United on the front foot as this thing got underway. Xavier Green had several early touches in the attacking third. Fa’apoi stretched out to the left in order to let Green get nice and high and they had something decent going there. Same as whenever Dre Vollenhoven touched the ball. United looked good. They looked sharp. And then they conceded the first goal. Garbhan Coughlan hit a long looping ball over the top to a running JJ Richards who took it down on his chest and then increased his already wicked Goals to Bangers ratio.

That goal arrived against the run of play and we can’t entirely rule out the possibility of some kind of monkey paw arrangement. Because they got what they wanted but it came with a curse. With 15 minutes gone, Cashmere Tech led 1-0... and were also down to ten men. Lachlan McIsaac left a foot in on Dan Atkinson as he slid for the ball (not so easy to slide on that artificial turf at the best of times). Nasty tackle, if accidental. McIsaac got marched. No prizes for guessing how Cashmere approached that development: Matthysen had to drop into left-back and they piled men behind the ball. The bus was parked, people.

Therefore it fell upon Auckland United to break them down somehow. Bust the dam. It was siege warfare as United moved the ball smoothly yet struggled to find anything resembling penetration other than maybe a few Vollenhoven and Al-Kalisy instances. Redfearn pushed a header wide at the near post. Atkinson dragged a ball into Zambrano who diverted it the wrong side of the post. Vollenhoven and Zambrano both had shots. As did Al-Kalisy, picking off a Foord clearance but missing the target with his snap volley. It’d be a lie to say it was thrilling action but the situation was pretty wild: Tech surviving half an hour with ten to take that narrow lead into the sheds at half-time.

The only thing that changed when the game got back underway was that Cashmere goal kicks were taking a lot longer. The siege continued with Green having an effort deflected wide, while Vollenhoven struck a beauty from the edge of the box but Foord was equal to the task. From the corner kick that followed, Takahashi parried a header across the face of goal. Redfearn stole the ball on the high press but missed the frame with his shot. Scary yarns for the home fans at English Park.

Cashmere Tech were ticking off segments. 50 minutes, 55 minutes, 60 minutes... still leading. They did not make it to 65. That was when that dam finally burst, with Al-Kalisy shifting to Vollenhoven in the area who shifted to Daniel Atkinson. Top bins near post. Woosh.

There was a little spell where CT managed to get out of their half and complete a few passes... but it didn’t last and soon Middleton was rocking the crossbar via a minor deflection, then Foord made a big save down low from Fa’apoi’s header off the corner kick. No doubts that Cashmere would’ve settled for a draw. Plenty left to hang on for despite the Atkinson goal. Yeah, about that...

Nicolas Zambrano had hardly done anything all game. He’d been buried in the crowded Tech defence but certain strikers have that knack, don’t they? A peach of a cross from Dan Atkinson and Zambrano rose up to head it past the prodigious Matt Foord for the goal. Plucked that one down from the top shelf. There was still enough time for a couple of Cashmere Technical forays with Coughlan doing his best to provide something special... and to be honest he had a very good shout for a penalty deep in stoppage time, chopping past Everton O’Leary (on AU debut after signing from Birkenhead for the MNL). It was enough of a shout that a bloke in the crowd jumped up and blocked the camera but the ref said nah bro.

Coughlan’s the most fouled man in the league yet that one didn’t go his way. Nor did this game as a whole. Auckland United took the 2-1 win, grinding it out against the bus that was parked. Can’t really take too many judgements from this given that CT had to play 75 minutes with ten men. Andrew Storer was immense as usual. Matt Foord showed why he’s such a highly rated young goalie.

On the other side there was lots to like about Auckland United and the team that Jose Figueira has thatched together. Yousif Al-Kalisy and Dre Vollenhoven were excellent as the catalysts for basically everything their team did. Daniel Atkinson was involved in both goals. Xavier Green had a good game. The back three were rock solid. Can’t deny them the points when they spent basically the whole thing in the ascendency. And yet if that late penalty had been given...

Cashmere Technical 1-2 Auckland United

11’ | CT | 1-0 | J.Richards (Coughlan)

65’ | AU | 1-1 | Atkinson (Vollenhoven)

82’ | AU | 1-2 | Zambrano (Atkinson)

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