Napier City Rovers vs Cashmere Technical

Five rounds down, four to go... beginning with what could have been considered an eliminator between Napier City Rovers and Cashmere Technical at Bluewater Stadium. NCR’s rampant first half against Western Suburbs set up a 4-2 win that got them back on track last week, while Cashy Tech played out a thrilling 3-3 draw against Coastal Spirit. Since the Nats moved to this ten-team/nine-game format a couple of years ago, no team has made the final with fewer than seven wins. In other words, you can slip up once, you can slip up twice, but three strikes and you’re done. Granted, this year is shaping up to be closer than most... but both of these clubs were already beyond the three strikes so victory was a necessity.

Napier City were without their excellent Danish goalie William Tønning on account of the pesky matter of his red card last week. To replace him, they loaned in Louie Caunter from East Coast Bays. Plenty of experience there. They were also without last week’s hero Jordan Annear... but Stephen Hoyle was back from the U17 Women’s World Cup so that was helpful. He joined his brother Jim in the backline. Max Chretien also made a start with Oscar Faulds only on the bench to begin with. On top of all that, it was a curious set up from Napier City. They’ve done back threes and back fours this season and this was sorta both at the same time. Technically, Matt Jones was at left wing-back but he didn’t get forward like Adam Hewson got forward on the other side, lop-siding them into what often looked a lot more like a quartet made up of four central defenders: Hoyle #1, Hoyle #2, Andrew, Jones.

Cashmere Tech recalled Danny Knight who had missed the previous three games with an injury he’s been dealing with since the Nats began. Lachlan McIsaac got a start on the wing as well so two changes from the side that drew with Coastal the previous weekend. They’d been all over that one in the second half, finding an equaliser but not a winner. They seemed to carry that on this week too. Big block from Kieran Richards sliding across to defy Alex Ballard, who’d popped up in a great spot to shoot. Early trouble for Rovers. Trouble that was formalised when a Ben Lapslie shot caught a Napier hand. That’s a penalty, pals. Garbhan Coughlan from the spot... straight down the middle nothing to worry about. Make that five goals in the last three weeks for the Irishman. Advantage Cashmere Technical.

NCR’s previous two wins had both involved them shooting out to big early leads... that ship had already sailed in this game. Sam Lack did curl a decent attempt slightly high up the other way but Coughlan did the same for CT, while Caunter had to be smart rushing out and blocking Taguchi who’d slipped into the area. Caunter later collided with McIsaac who was trying to get onto a Tom Schwarz long ball - fortunately both lads were alright once the cold spray hit. In fairness, Rovers dug a foothold into the mountainside and held firm. It wasn’t always comfortable but they never slipped – with all those natural CBs coming in handy after all. Then as half-time loomed they began to show a few hints that they did have a rally in them, most notably an Adam Hewson curler from the right edge that was palmed away by Knight.

The worry for Cashy Tech was that they’d been well on top for most of that half but only wandered into the sheds for HT with a 1-0 lead. Tech needed more to show for their performance and they knew it. Within the first sixty seconds of the second spell, Coughlan had volleyed a McIsaac long ball onto the woodwork. Didn’t quite catch it perfectly but the audacity of hitting that thing first time would have put it into goal of the season contention had he converted. Nor did the action end there because Finn Caughey intercepted a pass on the edge of the box, rounded the keeper, and then got denied by George Andrew with a block. The move continued with Coughlan shooting and Caulter saving and then Andrew made another defensive block when Lyle Matthysen tried to send the rebound home. Scramble city for Napier.

Tom Schwarz succumbed to a niggle and was replaced in central defence by Sam Richards. Napier City also went to their bench with Ethan Richards and - watch out – Oscar Faulds being sent on. That meant Ethan joining bro Kieran in the midfield again (with the Hoyle Bros already out there in defence). It also meant the club’s top scorer this year, Faulds, was on the pitch to try and see about a comeback. The energy definitely altered after those subs... though Tech should have scored when Coughlan had a chance superbly blocked by Jones and then Taguchi kinda inexplicably shot over from close range on the follow-up.

Far too many times these two sides were guilty of impatience with the ball, trying to go long early doors despite the opps being positioned to deal with exactly that. Other times, Kieran Richards was unleashing shots from outside the area and sending them too high to matter. But one particular time, Caughey had his pockets picked in his own defensive area and Oscar Faulds flipped an outside-of-the-boot finish low into the bottom far corner. Rovers had been brewing and now they were level.

Taguchi stung the palms of Caulter with another chance. Zander Edwards came on and did the same more than once. Not enough of these Tech chances were falling for Coughlan though. Not enough of them were aimed at the corners either. Opportunities gone begging. Next thing, Stephen Hoyle sent a deep free kick towards Adam Hewson who brought it down, shimmied around some defensive shadows, and went bingo with a good finish that left Danny Knight rooted to the ground. Would you believe it?

From 1-0 down to 2-1 up. Two goals in twelve minutes, both thanks to the quality of finish that Cashmere had been lacking... and continued to lack. Taguchi stole a loose pass and charged through. Liam Schofield made a good recovery slide after his pass was the one to be picked off but Taguchi should have done better than dinking it wide of the post. The officials added seven minutes of additional time so there was oxygen left in the tank for Cashy Tech... but most of that time was spent with Rovers counter-attacking and winning fouls. In a massive result for the seasonal context, Napier City Rovers walked away with a 2-1 victory. Huge cheers from the home crowd at the final whistle.

Cashmere Technical had their chances, especially in the second half. They did not take them and therefore they lost. Might be worth mentioning that the Rovers goals were both scored after Tom Schwarz went off... but yeah that’s them Tech of the finals race. After beating Wests 4-0 in week one they actually have not won again since. At least Coughlan’s Golden Boot three-peat is on track with his six bangers in equal lead. The reigning MVP could yet get his hands on that trophy again too... though the lower down the table Cashmere finish, the less his chances will be.

Meanwhile, Napier City’s own talisman scorer now has four goals to his name (while Adam Hewson is up to five). Dunno why he was on the bench to begin with, maybe just normal rotation, but Oscar Faulds changed the game when he joined it. His presence gave them something to work towards and next thing they’d sprung a fabulous comeback. George Andrew was fantastic in defence again with so many clutch interventions, while Stephen Hoyle was in full control back there and even dished up the winning assist. This victory sends NCR up to 11 points. They face Coastal Spirit next week and then finish with Auckland City and Wellington Olympic. That’s a daunting trilogy but they’ve got everything to play for.

Napier City Rovers 2-1 Cashmere Technical

13’ | CT | 0-1 | Coughlan [p]

67’ | NCR | 1-1 | Faulds

79’ | NCR | 2-1 | Hewson (S.Hoyle)

Wellington Olympic vs Birkenhead United

Defending National League champions Wellington Olympic still had heaps of work to do to get back to the title-decider even after a composed victory against Western Springs last week. This competition is a sprint. The Greeks had only lost once from five matches yet a few pesky draws meant that defeat against an in-form Birkenhead team would probably end their chances. Birko entered this round in second place after three wins in a row. They were absolutely buzzing and this was an opportunity not only to reinforce that status but to slay a metaphorical dragon in the process by taking the 2023 champs out of the picture. An Arthurian task at Martin Luckie Park. Scenes don’t get much more set than that.

It was also a fascinating tactical battle since both teams employ back three formations and love to attack in transition. Plenty of physicality too. Olympic were without Jack-Henry Sinclair so Jonty Roubos took his spot while Tor Davenport-Petersen was back in midfield after two weeks suspended following his red card against Eastern Suburbs. Birkenhead didn’t change anything after their 4-2 win against the WeeNix. Nothing needed changing so nothing got changed.

Within five minutes, Roubos had been booked for dragging down Haris Zeb near halfway to prevent a runaway. Within ten minutes, a lovely Dylan Connolly low cross picked out Monty Patterson who didn’t get enough contact on his shot from a couple metres out, possibly because of the intimidating presence of Ben Mata sliding in front of him. It was a good start from Birko holding most of the territory... although a slip by Zeb did allow Davenport-Petersen to dink a pass in behind for Bouzoukis, who got a decent shot away but Silvio Rodic made a great save.

That was all the encouragement Wellington Olympic needed because Joe Hopper soon stepped into a challenge in the other half, winning the ball and pushing on to thread a quick pass through for Eddie Wilkinson. That man went boom off the inside of the far post it was 1-0 after 16 minutes. That’s Wellington Olympic for ya, the punishers. No flares this week though... it was fireworks season so the sideline let loose a few roman candles or whatever was on sale at the local Warehouse. Didn’t quite have the same effect during daylight hours though. Might want to go back to the blue smokeshows next time.

Isa Prins flicked a header over the top from a free kick as Olympic tried to kick on. Prins then had a golden chance make it two pouncing on a loose ball in the area but his footing came loose too, slipping over and allowing Birko to clear. There was no threat of Birkenhead fighting fire with anything but fire of their own so the temperature was rising. Curtis Hughes headed on target at the back post from a Patterson cross. Scott Basalaj saved it. Birko kept looking for that ball over the top to put their front three in motion but Justin Gulley was all over those ones. Lots of Birkenhead endeavour but not a whole lot to show for it... but at least they were up the right end of the pitch. Also note that 12/15 Birkenhead goals have come in second halves so they know how to build into their mahi and weren’t going to panic.

Basalaj got upset when he was bumped while plucking a cross out of the air. Patterson got upset after not being awarded a foul when Ben Mata slid in on him near the sideline. Plenty of feistiness, with Jaylen Rodwell, Justin Gulley, and Dan Bunch also added to the ref’s notebook in the first half. All the while Hamish Watson was sitting on the bench waiting to be thrown into this match like lighting a match after a gas leak.

No shocker that the second half continued like the first with quick free kicks and early goalie throws and constant motion from the forwards. One such example saw Curtis Hughes burst past Hopper up Birko’s right wing, Hopper recovering to challenge him at the byline but stepping across too far and conceding a penalty. Looked like perhaps Hughes might have been leaning into Hopper more than the other way around but Daniel Bunch had that ball placed before the officials had even finished their conference. Bunch converted for his sixth goal of the campaign. Big swing in this contest, with Birkenhead back on even terms at 1-1 after 52 minutes.

Three minutes later they were ahead. A couple of crosses had been blocked with handball claims denied but the ball fell to Dylan Connolly who whipped over a fine cross to the back stick where Curtis Hughes of all folks was there to nod it home. Great cross, expertly converted. Heck of a script-flip and now the impetus was on Wellington Olympic to respond because suddenly their whole season on the brink.

Hamish Watson and Dan McKay were promptly subbed on but, unfortunately for the Greeks, Birkenhead happen to love being able to draw teams out and hit them on the break. There was no slowing of their intensity. Monty Patterson had the chance to drop the hammer when he pounced on a BU high press turnover... however Basalaj stayed big to divert it onto the post. Magnificent save. Essential save. Yet the way this game was going, a third BU goal was far more likely than a second WO goal. Patterson’s work in those moments was so good. Hughes drew a save out of Basalaj with another of those countering chances (and also took a yellow to break up an attack). Then he got subbed off... a relevant point because that was the first alteration made by Paul Hobson and it took 78 minutes. Letting his starters do what they do despite the energy exerted.

The Greeks could have hauled it back on 80’ when some Watson hold-up put Davenport-Petersen into shooting space in the area... but Silvio Rodic was not to be beaten. Two big hands slapped that effort away and TDP collapsed with head in hands. The yellow cards kept coming. Ben Mata was fouled right on the edge of the area in stoppage time giving the Greeks one last chance to salvage something. Watto smashed that thing as hard as he could but the wall stood firm. Hectic game from start to finish and when the smoke cleared it was Birkenhead United who emerged with a 2-1 victory. What a result.

There might be a wee fine coming the way of Birkenhead after getting six yellow cards, itself a nice reflection of the committed and consuming way they played. They outswarmed one of the swarmiest teams in the country... and they did so with another goal-filled second half performance – make that 14/17 goals coming after half-time. Incredible fitness from the red-and-whites to keep going like they did. Like they always do. Monty Patterson’s hold-up play and Curtis Hughes’ dribbling. Luke Jorgensen and Leon van den Hoven stomping down every blade of grass in the midfield. Dylan Connolly had another classy game out wide. Dino Botica’s big-time defensive presence. And they got quality from Silvio Rodic in goal when they needed it too. This was another one of those Paul Hobson team displays. Four wins on the trot and it’s all in their own hands from here.

Can’t say the same for the team they just defeated. Wellington Olympic once again let a lead slip through their grasp and, surprisingly, when they really needed a goal they struggled to even create much. That’s credit to Birko more than anything, though it’s an unusual thing to say about Olympic who are usually so overwhelming in attack. They’ll be frustrated with the penalty call that turned things around but it’s hard to argue with BU being deserved victors given how thing played out from there. Joe Hopper was very good aside from the penalty, doing what he could to match the efforts of his opposition midfielders. Justin Gulley was awesome in that first half. Isa Prins did some good stuff. Another goal from Eddie Wilkinson continues his good form – even though it still feels like the Greeks haven’t figured out the best way to unleash him... and similar may need to be said of Gianni Bouzoukis who has tied for the Golden Boot the past two years in a row with a combined 20 goals from 20 MNL matches yet only has 1 goal from 5 so far in 2024. There’s a spark that’s not quite been there for Welly Olympic lately and they’ve only got three games left to rekindle it.

Wellington Olympic 1-2 Birkenhead United

16’ | WO | 1-0 | Wilkinson (Hopper)

52’ | BU | 1-1 | Bunch [p] (Hughes)

55’ | BU | 1-2 | Hughes (Connolly)

Coastal Spirit vs Eastern Suburbs

It was a beautiful sunny afternoon at Linfield Park... ripe for some footy. Coastal Spirit have been a surprise package this year, continuing their magnificent year of achievements by nestling into a final contention in the Nats, while Eastern Suburbs have been whatever the opposite of that is after having failed to win since week one thanks in large part to being the lowest-scoring team of the bunch. Coastal recalled Alex Meaclem in central defence with Riley Grover moving to right-back, while Kenshin Hayashi also returned for his third start of the term. Eastern Suburbs gave former WeeNix standout Noah Karunaratne his first start of the term but otherwise kept things steady.

The game had barely started when David Yoo went dashing into the area and forced Vadym Patkevych into a save. Typical Yoo things, slicing in onto his left foot. Probably should have done better with it. That was a scare, especially since Suburbs were set up in a 4-1-4-1 formation designed not to allow that kind of room through the mid-block. Yoo soon had himself another chance as a cross somehow got through the crowd, though he may not have been expecting it because he didn’t get much of a touch. Soon enough he’d also cracked a free kick cheekily under the wall but a deflection allowed Vadym Patkevych to get down and save it. David Yoo was looking unstoppable in the early phases.

Unlike Noah Karunaratne, who was very stoppable. Problem for Coastal Spirit was that they stopped him illegally, Joe Hoole stepping across in the area as Karunaratne tried to do his thing. That was a penalty kick. We haven’t seen much of Karunaratne yet this season but a friendly reminder: few players in this country know how to draw a foul more effectively than NK. But the homers didn’t need to freak out because after a streak of eleven consecutive penalties being scored across the Men’s National League... Ellis Hare-Reid made a brilliant stop low against Jake Mechell. First penalty miss in the MNL since Ardri MacArthur had one saved by Quillan Roberts in week two.

That was a deflating blow for Eastern Suburbs, who have a hard enough time scoring from open play, and it got worse two minutes later when they were punished further. Alex Steinwascher sent Dan MacLennan sprinting through up the left wing and he flung a low cross towards David Yoo in the middle. Perfect ball. Yoo swept it home with one touch. Instead of being 1-0 up, Eastern Suburbs were 1-0 down. Exactly what David Yoo deserved for his sixth of the campaign. He’s level at the top of the standings with Garbhan Coughlan and Daniel Bunch.

Coastal were playing with complete clarity, Suburbs were playing more like a team with hesitation in their minds. Only a little bit of hesitation though, they’re still stacked with talent, and as the half went on they settled into more and more possession. Ralph Rutherford surged past a couple tackles but not the one from Alex Meaclem, while Mason Stearn did similar to Dejuan Naidoo. Coastal stayed patient and soon enough Boys put a header on target from a corner, saved by Patkevych. Meaclem then did the same. Coastal were moving the ball really smoothly in transition but Suburbs were pretty good at hustling when they needed to be. Kelvin Kalua definitely was. Still 1-0 to Coastal at HT.

Eastern Suburbs did three things very nicely as the game got going again: 1) they got Rutherford more involved on the right, 2) they won a few free kicks, and 3) they were building up with purpose. Part of the third point was ensuring they gave Campbell Strong plenty of touches, since they’re usually a better team when that’s the case. Those were good adjustments but they weren’t enough. Coastal have some wicked counter attacking players and Joe Hoole let a rocket fly from one such chance. That one was saved but there was no saving his next attempt...

Set up by David Yoo keeping the defence on their toes on the edge of the area. As if you even needed to ask. Yoo had another ping from range soon after... those pockets were opening up for Coastal, with Suburbs maybe not giving CDM Strong enough help in that formation. That led to a triple Lilywhites substitution with Kodie Nicol, Matthew D’Hotman, and Daniel Atkinson all chucked on (all three changes happening in that second bank of four – trying to refresh the attacking crew). Dylan Laing-McConnell and Riley Dalziell would continue that trend with twenty to go. It wasn’t really happening for them... until Rutherford stole the ball near halfway and dashed towards goal, flipping it across to Jake Mechell who chopped inside and curled in with his left foot. Prime striker stuff from Mechell making up for the missed penalty earlier to give his side a lifeline.

Alex Steinwascher thought he’d robbed Aaryan Raj at the byline, squaring for Jack Mitchell to tap in with his first touch off the bench but Raj had done just enough to shield it out, reffo signalling a goal kick. Rutherford was the guy for Suburbs, he was the one linking midfield to attack (with Laing-McConnell now alongside Mechell to keep him company up top). But not for the first time this season they left the run too late. Coastal Spirit’s aggressive defending repelled all speculations. 2-1 to Coastal Spirit.

We can scratch Eastern Subirbs out of final contention with that result. Four points from six games ain’t gonna cut the mustard. Coastal Spirit, on the other hand, are only two points below the top two and next week they face Napier City Rovers as third meets fourth. That one’s almost like a quarter final – the two teams have exactly equal records after six rounds.

Coastal have shown an amazing ability to grind out results, clinging on for a 3-3 draw against Cashmere last week and shutting the gate with a narrow lead here. They’ve scored multiple goals in every game since the 0-0 draw with Wellington Olympic in week one. David Yoo has been the signing of the season, he had a goal and an assist here in yet another match where his speed and directness and cultured left-boot made him too much to handle. Alex Steinwascher was tidy for no reward too. Joe Hoole may have conceded a penalty but he was otherwise stomping all over this thing with his workrate, tackling, and the banger of a goal he scored. Danny Boys led the way in the backline. 39 years young and ripping in against a Suburbs side with half their players not even born when Boys graduated high school. This is a Coastal Spirit side that knows exactly how they want to play and they have the guys to do it. It’s working.

Tricky times for Eastern Suburbs though. They lost several key players to Auckland FC (Luis Toomey, Franics De Vries, Joe Knowles, Finn McKenlay) and then coach Kane Wintersgill left suddenly for a professional gig in Qatar. That’s left them in reluctant rebuild mode. Their starting line-up featured a 20yo keeper (Patkevych), a 17yo winger (Naidoo), a 19yo winger (Rutherford), a 19yo attacking midfielder (Stewart), 21yo attacking midfielder (Karunaratne), a 21yo left-back (Jarvie), a 20yo centre-back (Mitchell) and 21yo centre-back (Raj), and a 22yo holding midfielder (Strong). Their oldest starters were Mechell and Kalua at 25. Three of the subs they used were teenagers (Nicol, Dalziell, D’Hotman). Plus a few of these players are recent or guest signings so it’s not even like there’s continuity. Taken in that context, the Suburbs wobbles make a lot more sense. They’re not really solving problems in-game, they’re losing out in key moments, they’re getting bullied in certain areas. Well, of course they are with a team that youthful. But they do have Jake Mechell who has scored the team’s last four goals... he’s the only Eastern Suburbs lad who has scored since week one.

Coastal Spirit 2-1 Eastern Suburbs

16’ | CS | 1-0 | Yoo (MacLennan)

58’ | CS | 2-0 | Hoole (Yoo)

75’ | ES | 2-1 | Mechell (Rutherford)

Auckland City vs Western Springs

When this game kicked off, Auckland City were sitting clear at the top having won four games with only that scrappy 1-1 draw against Cashmere Technical blotting the record. Best defence in the comp having yet to concede twice in a game. Last week they were being frustrated by Eastern Suburbs for seventy minutes only to then score three times in the last twenty for their biggest win of the term. This is what they do. But they were up against a force of nature this week in the form of Western Springs volatility. Springs have alternated between losses and wins with each subsequent game and guess what? They lost last week (3-2 vs Wellington Olympic) so they rocked up to Kiwitea Street with cosmic variability in their favour.

No changes for Auckland City from last game, although they did switch to a back three with Kentaro Ozaki back in midfield and Nathan Lobo part of the trio. Those two had been fullbacks in a four last game but WSAFC are a back three team and managers tend to prefer to match that shape where they can. Western Springs do the least rotation of any club in the league and also make the fewest substitutions so nothing much was likely to change for them either, though Oscar Ramsay did replace Riley Manuel for a little more experience in attacking midfield. There were several ex-Auckland City players in this Western Springs squad but none more notable than Emiliano Tade who played 242 games and scored 152 goals for the Navy Blues over many illustrious years of footballing gold. Back at the old stomping ground, aye.

Myer Bevan nearly caught the Springs backline playing too high when he turned with a flick in behind... but as he’s been doing all season Aidan Carey got where he needed to get to and snuffed the opportunity. Other than that, Springs looked pretty good. They moved the ball around smoothly and on 15 mins they went as close as you can go to scoring without scoring when Matt Ellis gassed down his right wing after Reid Drake had poked the ball through and smashed a shot off the junction between crossbar and post. Conor Tracey had to be sharp to parry away a long strike from Drake later in the same move.

This was enticing stuff because usually it’s Auckland City holding possession and patiently moving the chess pieces around the board, setting things up for the inevitable endgame. But Western Springs’ swarming press was able to keep overloading them in the middle, turning the ball over, and then Matt Ellis was stretching those that City formation with his running from wide – Stipe Ukich was the wing-back on that side so he was stuck between his natural attacking tendencies and his coaching instructions. He leaned towards the latter but that meant it was much harder to get up into the attacking third and make things happen.

Auckland City did have a good spell later in the half, possibly as Springs tired a bit, though it took a very impressive diving one-hander from Tracey to deny Ellis after Reid Drake had robbed Mario Ilich around halfway. Yet again. Similarly, Adam Mitchell made a crucial tackle to keep Drake from capitalising after Ukich had lost the ball deep. By no means was this an uneven game because Myer Bevan was working hard up front for the home side and Dylan Manickum wasn’t far off with a deep shot in the closing seconds of the half. Thus we had ourselves a tantalising 0-0 as the teams went inside for their orange slices.

City won a corner kick as soon as the second half began and they damn near scored from it too. Lagos with the delivery deep to Ilich whose header was diverted at close range by Den Heijer... but diverted onto the crossbar and Oscar Mason managed to scoop the ball up as it rattled around the six-yard box. That was a chance gone astray but it did help swing the momentum towards more expected Auckland City areas. There was an extended injury break for Matt Ellis after an hour (following a trip from behind by Lobo that resulted in a yellow card) which could have halted the flow but instead it ramped things up with Myer Bevan soon getting barged over in the area by Carey only for the ref to wave away the appeals. Close call. Almost as close as the dipping strike from Stipe Ukich from twenty metres out that ricocheted off the crossbar.

Reid Drake did have a decent chance down the other end but mostly it was Auckland City trying to bang down the door. MDH chipped one over for Bevan who was denied in close. Carey cleared a goal-bound Manickum touch away from a few yards out. Ukich’s next effort was fabulously tipped over by Oscar Mason. It had to happen eventually. A Nathan Lobo pinger of a free kick was as good a way as any...

This was a lot like last week when it took a similar amount of time, including a similar amount of compounding pressure, for Auckland City to break through against Eastern Suburbs and then they ran away with a 3-0 victory. That may have been what Albert Riera had in mind when he subbed on Ryan De Vries for the last fifteen, finally getting RDV and Bevan on the pitch at the same time. Even better when Angus Kilkolly replaced Ozaki with five to go.

Springs went searching for a response by winning a few corners and getting Emiliano Tade involved. Riley Manuel, on as a sub, curled an effort on target. It was right around this time when Reid Drake left a foot in on his old teammate Mario Ilich, who responded by swiveling around and hauling Drake back by his collar. Pro wrestling antics for a few seconds there. Everyone rushing in. Ilich and Drake both got yellow cards for their silliness (Wan Gatkek got one for shoving Ilich too)... which in the case of Ilich was extremely lenient. Tempers threatened to flare further when Drake slid in on Lobo – looked like Drake won the ball first but the heat was on after he’d just been booked.

Reid Drake didn’t have to audition for the role of Public Enemy #1 at his old club. He’d already won the part. And, would you believe it, moments later he scored an 87th minute equaliser. Obviously Tade was involved, drifting wide to collect the ball then slipping it underneath to Matt Ellis who snuck past one challenge and cut the ball back to Riley Manuel. Conor Tracey was able to save Manuel’s shot but there was Reidy on the rebound. Rather than celebrating, Drake rushed to grab the ball from the net presumably so they could hasten the kickoff. Then he had a better idea and hand-delivered it to Mario Ilich instead. Ilich, to his credit, didn’t react (he’d already collared him once, to be fair).

But that wasn’t all. In the third minute of stoppage time, with both teams still trying to find a winner, neither team settling, Emiliano Tade dinked one of those Tade Specials into that delicate space between goalkeeper and defensive line, where Patrick Tobin was still hovering forward after a corner kick. Tobin slid an outstretched foot to poke it past Tracey. Western Springs had won it. 2-1 final score. Goals in the 87th and 90+2nd minutes away at Kiwitea Street with ex-ACFC players heavily involved in both goals. Absolutely incredible, that was National League gloriousness. When you account for the rivalry and the biffo on top of everything else this was quite possibly the game of the season.

Angus Kilkolly did force a save with a header in the last few minutes after that goal yet it wasn’t to be. Auckland City can feel they let that one slip, not just because of the late concessions but also the way they lost control in the last ten minutes. Ilich’s horsecollar only worked to inspire Reid Drake to fresh levels of peskiness... though Riera’s substitutions oughta take some critique too. They did enought to win this game twice over considering how they picked it up in the second half. Twice off the crossbar. An unlucky penalty call unheeded. Ukich and Lagos continue to give them an extra element, while Conor Tracey’s glovework in the first half was massive. But they didn’t shut the gate behind them and the dog got out on the street. Regardless, Auckland City remain top of the table on goal difference with their fate in their own hands. Nothing to panic about but lessons to learn.

This result makes it loss-win-loss-win-loss-win for Western Springs. That’s bad news ahead of next week’s game as this appears to be a pattern they cannot avoid. But it does put them within four points of the top two with three rounds left so don’t discount these guys yet. Can’t discount anyone who wins at Kiwitea Street. Reid Drake was fired up beyond belief, the carnage at the end is most memorable but he was hustling to win the ball back from the first second onwards. Emiliano Tade found a touch of class when it mattered most, like he usually does. Aidan Carey was spectacular at the back while Oscar Mason was pretty handy in goal himself. This result shakes up the entire competition with three rounds remaining. Birkenhead go level at the summit while Napier City and Coastal Spirit are right there only two points behind and even Wellington Olympic cannot be discounted quite yet thanks to this outcome. The National League continues to give and give and give.

Auckland City 1-2 Western Springs

74’ | AC | 1-0 | Lobo

87’ | WS | 1-1 | Drake (R.Manuel)

90+3’ | WS | 1-2 | Tobin (Tade)

Wellington Phoenix Reserves vs Western Suburbs

You never know what you’re going to get with the WeeNix until you see the team line-ups. The omens were good though, with the first team having played a home match the day before and a few of the injuries at the club having cleared up. That was always likely to squeeze a few fringe blokes down to the ressies. David Ball didn’t repeat after a goal-scoring appearance a week ago... but almost every-bloody-one else who wasn’t involved against Auckland FC did. They even picked one guy who was involved that game: Oskar van Hattum, who’d been an unused sub.

Van Hattum made up one-quarter of an all A-League front four with Luke Brooke-Smith, Gabriel Sloane-Rodrigues, and Luke Supyk joining him. First time LBS and GSR have played together for the reserves. Additionally, Corban Piper and Jayden Smith were the centre-backs after they each made ALM debuts in recent weeks. Dublin Boon was in goal seeking to make up for a rough game last round. Tze Xuan Loke was recently on the bench for the first team, while Fergus Gillion got an ALM debut last year. Even Lachlan Candy played Aussie Cup a few months back (as did Loke). Lewis Partridge was the only dude in the eleven who’d never been involved in a first team fixture. Five of their six scholarship players started this match plus two on full contracts.

They were up against a Western Suburbs team that had not only taken a mere one point from five games with the worst defence in the competition... they were also without star striker Lucas Meek. However, they did have Quillan Roberts back from suspension so that was nice. The WeeNix had a bunch of pros? Yeah, well, Wests had a senior international goalkeeper. Flynn Cave and Cameron Brown were the two changes for Wests from their 4-2 loss to Napier City last week.

That front four for the Nix are all good dribblers, all capable of playing wide or through the middle, so they brought a lot of fluid movement to the party... and frankly Wests struggled to deal with it. That led to a lot of shots from distance as the Nix ran at them in transitional moments. It also led to a spectacular hit from Oskar van Hattum (and an assits from sixteen-year-old Brooke-Smith that wasn’t far behind) as the Phoenix Reserves took a 19th minute lead. Banger.

A sloppy pass from Candy (playing centre-midfield this week) gave Cam Mackenzie a huge chance to level up straight away but he couldn’t slam his shot beyond Boon who made a really nice save. Mackenzie did thwack a magnificent finish into the top corner after half an hour but everyone had already stopped because the whistle had blown for a foul against Wests. Mackenzie was leading the charge for Wests, who did have some useful spells... but that Nix back four were up for the battle. Plus Wests perhaps lacked a bit of direction without Meek there to apply the magic. Meanwhile, Luke Supyk could have made it two just before the break except he took too long to get to his shot and saw it deflected over the top by the crowding Wests defence. 1-0 at HT.

By all logic it should have been 1-1 five mins after the resumption when Roberts sent a ball long, long, long over the top for Connor Wilson angling a run across the backline. He slid that thing past Boon and was peeling off waiting to start his celebration when Corban Piper lunged over and cleared it literally off the line. Not one of those six-yard-box “goalline” clearances but a genuine instance where one split-second of hesitation would have been too much. More of that big man defending from Piper. He was full of those moments... like when Jayden Smith coughed up possession to Mackenzie just outside the area but Piper stepped over and blocked the shot. He had to be on it because things weren’t flowing for his team like they had been in the initial twenty minutes. Less so as they neared the hour and Van Hattum and Brooke-Smith were subbed off, before Sloane-Rodrigues followed ten minutes later.

Not sure how Luke Supyk didn’t get a foul when he brilliantly squeezed through three defenders on the turn... though the foul probably would have been outside the area anyway. Similarly, there were claims of a spoiling trip from Piper as Western Suburbs stole another one on the high press (before Loke rushed over to clear the ball for a corner). No dice there either. Wests were waiting for a mistake. The WeeNix were waiting for a chance to counter and score a second goal. Supyk nearly delivered the latter with a flick header from a Candy free kick. Subtitute Ryan Watson did deliver it when he tapped in at the back post after Supyk squared one over for him. Good tenacity from Luke Flowerdew leading to Supyk skipping to the byline. It was looking scratchy for a long time there but that 82nd minute goal proved the clincher in a 2-0 WeeNix win.

Not a good week for Lucas Meek to miss. It’s not hard to imagine him scoring a hat-trick within that same performance on the way to a glorious Western Suburbs victory... but he wasn’t there to tie things together and instead the rugged defence of Corban Piper, with help from Tze Xuan Loke and a well-earned clean sheet from Dublin Boon, set up the opposite outcome. Didn’t get an abundance of flashiness from the exciting attackers but Luke Supyk does seem to be levelling up lately. There’s a determination to his game these days that suggests he’s getting ready to rise above the reserve team set-up. Two slick goals from the Nix, delivering on those key moments, while this was the third time in six games that Wests have been held scoreless. It’s interesting how Wests and Napier City had practically identical Central League records yet one has risen to the MNL occasion and the other has not. Western Suburbs have conceded seven goals more than the next worst defence.

Wellington Phoenix Reserves 2-0 Western Suburbs

19’ | WP | 1-0 | Van Hattum (Brooke-Smith)

82’ | WP | 2-0 | Watson (Supyk)

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