2025 Men’s National League – Week 3
Wellington Phoenix Reserves vs Christchurch United
You know, it wasn’t very considerate of FIFA to scheduled the U20 World Cup to clash with the start of the NZ National League – especially knowing that there was a Phoenix vs AFC derby in week two. Sadly, New Zealand caught some bad luck at that tournament and didn’t make it past the group stage though that at least meant the soldiers returned for week three. Not in time for the Wellington Phoenix Reserves’ inaugural derby day but in time to face Christchurch United who were one of three teams to win both opening fixtures.
Not all of those U20s players are reserves candidates. Several of them have nailed down roles in the A-League squad, who had a 3-0 win away against Central Coast in their final friendly of preseason over the weekend, but there were four returnees who lined up at Fraser Park: Fergus Gillion, Gabe Sloane-Rodrigues, Nathan Walker, and Luke Supyk. With Ryan Lee and Matt Foord also making starts, more than half the team changed from the Auckland FC defeat. Coincidentally, there are also a bunch of ex-Nix Academy players at Christchurch United these days. Harry Huxford is one of those, making his first start of the Nats. Noah Karunaratne, Joshua Tollervey, and Charlie Beale too. Ollie van Rijssel passed through in the year when Ole and the WeeNix combined forces. Joel Stevens played a few A-League games. You get the idea. Huxford and Stevens were the two switches from the comeback win against Miramar in week two. Of course, these two clubs are also Aotearoa’s two representatives in the proposed OFC Pro League.
It was a wet and windy game on the ol’ Fraser Park artificial. Tricky conditions. Granted, the lads who just got back from Chile might have welcomed a bit of Wellywood familiarity. It certainly didn’t slow down Nathan Walker who, after miss-hitting an early chance, later chopped infield near halfway and flipped a great ball over the top for a beautifully timed Luke Flowerdew run. Steven van Dijk was a touch too slow off his line and Flowerdew converted in the fifth minute, highlighting a bright and energetic start by the WeeNix.
The Rams started to find a foothold when their physicality came to the fore. The Nix were usually keen to play out from the back, with former Cashmere Tech keeper Matt Foord really leading the way with some super splitting passes into the midfield. The only time they got in trouble was a giveaway further up from GSR leading to a dragged Stevens shot. Karunaratne, Shogo Osawa, and Jago Godden also had decent attempts that were either off target or saved by Foord. Both sides were guilty of being a bit too careful, too risk-averse at times, but fair play to the solid structures of both.
The second goal was always going to be crucial in a game like this and it was the WeeNix who got it when one of those knock-it-around spells saw Gillion pick out Partridge on the right. Another wonderful bit of movement from Flowerdew got him in behind and Partridge didn’t blink before weighting the ball into his path. No offside flag. Flowerdew straightened up in the area and then squared for Supyk to score.
And once Fergus Gillion made it 3-0 on the hour, that was all she wrote. Sloane-Rodrigues probably should have scored after Flowedew (that guy again) put him through on the keeper. No dramas because they still got a corner... which led to another corner... which led to the third goal. Inswinger from Walker into a crowded six yard box and Fergus Gillion did the rest with the downward header.
Christchurch United fell to their first defeat, conceding at terrible times and failing to put the ball in the net when they might have altered the course. They’ll have to have a think about it. But mate those Phoenix fellas really turned it on. Love the mahi Flowerdew who is strong on the ball and holds it up well, plus the movement is superb. Even Wrexham know all about that. The central defensive combo of Dylan Gardiner and Mac Munro was very good. Matt Foord impressed with his hands and his feet on the way to the only clean sheet of this round. The Phoenix Reserves are on the board.
Wellington Phoenix Reserves 3-0 Christchurch United
Goals (Assists)
5’ | 1-0 | WP | Flowerdew (Walker)
45+1’ | 2-0 | WP | Supyk (Flowerdew)
61’ | 3-0 | WP | Gillion (Walker)
Auckland City vs Western Suburbs
Auckland City fresh off a three-goal defeat against Birkenhead. Western Suburbs fresh off an 8-0 win against Coastal. Which one of these teams is the defending champs again? No time to waste for Auckland City who made to alterations to their side with Riley Dalziell in at right-back and Jeremy Foo getting a run in midfield. Both of them are U20s players – in fact Dalziell was on debut having joined from Eastern Suburbs. That makes him the 39th player to have played a competitive game for Auckland City in 2025. Crazy stuff. As for Wests... come on now, they won 8-0 last week they weren’t going to change a single thing.
Patience was the operative word as this game went back and forth without a lot happening. That’s how ACFC like to start, keeping it tidy and building from there, slowly tightening the clamps. Not much sign of the Nguyen/Barton-Ginger dangers out wide for Wests although it’s not like they were troubled at all during those initial stages. The counters weren’t there but they were looking confident and working hard. Then, randomly, a David Yoo cross was ruled to have hit the arm of a defender and Auckland City had a penalty after 15 mins. Out of nothing. Myer Bevan stepped up to take it... and he blasted it over the top. Okay then. As you were.
Following that reprieve, Wests managed to speed up their ball-movement in attack. Next thing you knew they’d scored. Jonathan Robinson found some space pushing up on the left after Nguyen’s quick shift. Robbo drilled the ball across towards Seb Barton-Ginger rushing in from the other side. Have some of that, fella. SBG with the goal to make it 1-0 to the visitors.
Alrighty then, that made thing very interesting. Where was the response going to come from for Auckland City? Well, Dalziell was getting into plenty of crossing areas and really drilling that ball across. Nothing had found a target... until ten mins before the break when Gerard Garriga made a late run into the box and stabbed a foot at one of those RD crosses. Quillan Roberts made a great initial save but Garriga followed up to make it 1-1. It was when the pace was raised that these team looked most dangerous. The defences were too good for the slow and steady but every now and then the ball starts zipping and got hard to handle. David Yoo (AC), Tyler Freeman (WS), and Kaelin Nguyen (WS) all had good chances. Another example: Ilich collecting the ball in the attacking half and feeding forward for the striker rather than knocking it sideways, whereupon Bevan let the ball run which allowed David Yoo to stroll onto it and guide a second goal past Roberts. 2-1 to City in stoppage time of the first half.
Cameron Mackenzie replaced Reilly Marlow-Jones for Wests at the break, suggesting that they were feeling this one slipping away. City were defending stoutly and finding joy on the counter. One such instance saw Dalziell with room to cross for the umpteenth time. Gerard Garriga may have felt bad about costing that bloke an assist earlier by needing two attempts to score so this time he headed it home at the first time of asking. Make that 3-1 to Auckland City. Nice stuff from Garriga whose willingness to drifts wide or push forward and initiate those overloads was always useful.
It wasn’t as clear-cut as it sounds. Wests kept knocking at the door and would eventually get a second goal when a half-clearance dropped to Cam Mackenzie on the edge of the box and he thumped it low past Garrow with a couple mins of added time still remaining. They couldn’t, could they? Nah they couldn’t. Auckland City won 3-2 to get themselves on the board for 2025 and Wests have bookended that 8-0 win with a pair of defeats. That ought to keep things entertaining. Auckland City yet again found a way even when they weren’t playing that well, even when they dug themselves into a hole to begin with by conceding first after missing a penalty. And as is so often the case, their veterans did the hard work. Garriga with the two goals and his majestic movement, sure, but also Mario Ilich with a dominant display in the midfield.
Auckland City 3-2 Western Suburbs
23’ | 0-1 | WS | Barton-Ginger (Robinson)
36’ | 1-1 | AC | Garriga
45+2’ | 2-1 | AC | Yoo (Ilich)
67’ | 3-1 | AC | Garriga (Dalziell)
90+2’ | 3-2 | WS | Mackenzie
Miramar Rangers vs Auckland United
Neither Miramar Rangers nor Auckland United were champs in their regions but they each would’ve felt like they had plenty to offer this National League as they each returned after a year’s absence. You don’t get many second chances in this competition though, so the pressure was on with each side having lost their last game (coincidentally both against Christchurch United).
Miramar Rangers responded to their 4-2 defeat (in which they led twice) by bringing in the immense experience of Louis Fenton and Andy Bevin... with Fenton playing as a right winger and Owen Smith dropping back to fullback. Albie Frances-Alles also got the nod at fullback having twice featured off the bench for Rangers as an U20s loanee from Eastern Suburbs. That meant Conor Butler sliding to CB with Harry Chote only on the bench. Auckland United named an almost unchanged team to that which lost 2-0 to Christchurch United before their bye... the only difference being Englishman Daniel Olaoye up front with no Emiliano Tade in sight.
Tade is so influential to how AUFC operate that it’s not the worst thing for them to go without him now and then. But it wasn’t looking good after twenty-odd minutes at Dave Farrington Park. Louis Fenton had already gone close with one shot when he chipped a cross towards the back stick to where Martin Bueno was lurking for 1-0 in the fourth minute of action. Some glorious possession play that led up to that cross too. Rangers looked awesome. Really calm and assertive, moving the ball around in great areas. Frances-Alles then almost floated a cross over Kai McLean, who recovered to slap that thing away... but only as far as Bueno whose lovely technique saw him strike home his second of the arvo. Top scorer in the Central League and already with three in three for the Nats. The man cannot be contained.
AUFC were having trouble whenever Bueno dropped in and brought in the overlappers yet they seemed to figure something out towards the end of the first half because those moments stopped happening as much and, stemming from a bevy of corners, they began posing some questions of their own. Dan Atkinson drew a good save out of Jack De Groot. They subbed Will Mendoza into the midfield at half-time with Hideto Takahashi moving to fullback and that seemed to improve both of those areas. Abdallah Khaled did need to make a very useful sliding intervention to stop Fenton from eyeing up a third for the home side but yeah nah plenty more touches for Auckland Utd in the places where it mattered. The tide was turning.
It turned further when Brad Whitworth, the outstanding CDM for Rangers (who’d apparently picked up just his third yellow card of the year earlier in the match – unreal discipline for a bloke in that position), got hurt and had to be replaced. Owen Smith dropped into the six position... funny place to put the guy who’s leading the Nats for assists. That gave United even more of a chance and eventually Ross Haviland got them on the board with a towering header from an Otto Ingham free kick, just over fifteen minutes to go. It had been coming.
It also wasn’t enough hence AUFC had to keep on committing numbers which gave Rangers a few chances to clinch it on the counter attack... like when Bueno got in behind and was dragged down. Only a yellow for Jaylen Rodwell despite the last-man claims. Rangers didn’t do enough with those opportunities and United kept up the assault. Madness ensued an Atkinson shot was diverted onto the crossbar by De Groot... and then in the fourth additional minute substitute Shaan Anand burst past his marker and his Otto Ingham low at the near post for the equaliser.
Goal and an assist for Otto Ingham. He wasn’t as imposing as he can be but he sure picked some great instances to get involved. Auckland United have had a few crazy comebacks this year – the 2-1 win against Western Springs to earn National League qualification in the final game of the Northern League and the extra time Chatham Cup win against Christchurch United (2-0 down with ten to go, won 4-2 after extras) spring to mind. Here’s another for that case file. Real team effort too the way they applied the pinch in different areas with their substitutes all adding to the pressure. Gutting for Miramar Rangers having led from the 4th minute until the 94th minute, felt like they went into their shells in the second half although Whitworth’s knock clearly hampered them. A draw doesn’t do either club many favours although it was probably about fair for this game of two halves (proverbially and literally). Owen Smith has been booked in all three games.
Miramar Rangers 2-2 Auckland United
4’ | 1-0 | MR | Bueno (Fenton)
21’ | 2-0 | MR | Bueno
75’ | 2-1 | AU | Haviland (Ingham)
90+4’ | 2-2 | AU | Ingham (Anand)
Coastal Spirit vs Wellington Olympic
Righto, this was the danger zone. Coastal Spirit got torn up for an 8-0 defeat last week – the biggest MNL win for over a decade - after Western Suburbs shredded them with their pace out wide. Now here they were hosting Wellington Olympic with the likes of Isa Prins and Jack-Henry Sinclair to deal with... this was Wests but worse. Only three changes for Coastal with Matt Bergin, Mason Stearn, and Nick Petherick into the starting team. Olympic reverted to something much more like what we saw from them in week one against the WeeNix. Noah Boyce and Gianni Bouzoukis were the two blokes who started this week after coming off the bench last time.
Sure enough, it didn’t take long before Alex Solomon had sent one of his trademarked long balls over the top for Isa Prins, who was dragged just a little bit too wide to score, instead forcing a save. But all good because he set up a goal from a corner kick before that particular siege was over. Sweet delivery and Tor Davenport-Petersen slammed it in with his noggin. Prins also found Mason-Smith with a cut-back that led to another save... but apparently set pieces were the angle on this particular day because Jack-Henry Sinclair scored Olympic’s second with a low free kick smashed under/around the wall. Then it was almost three when another of those Prins corners was glanced off the crossbar by Davenport-Petersen. Not much fun for Coastal going from speedy winger worries to set piece worries... they try to fix one leak in the boat and another pops up.
The third goal wasn’t from a set piece though. It arrived via a particular type of route one footy that Wellington Olympic are so wonderful with: the bazooka clearance from Scott Basalaj. This one went so deep that Gianni Bouzoukis reached into the opposite penalty area to catch it as it dropped, knocking the ball square to Sam Mason-Smith to convert. 3-0 after 27 minutes. Bouzoukis actually hurt himself with that lunge and while the game was held up for some treatment the Coastal Spirit lads formed a team huddle to calm everything down.
That might have worked because they only conceded once more. Coastal tightened the straps and started winning a few more battles out there. They also benefited from Olympic’s profligacy because the Greeks did continue to create chances, they just didn’t score them. Adam Braman made a good stop off Mason-Smith. Prins lifted a 1v1 chance over the bar. The response from Paul Ifill was to send on the inimitable quality of Hamish Watson, Gavin Hoy, and Ben Mata all at once (imagine having that calibre of talent and experience on the bench)... but the Greeks were made to worry about that wastefulness when Max Chretien rolled the dice from thirty metres out and struck a beauty into the bottom corner. Great goal. 3-1 with just under thirty minutes left, hmm.
Sinclair almost made it 4-1 straight afterwards when he chopped inside and enticed an outrageous one-handed save from Braman. Watson’s hold-up play was great, with he and Hoy combining to put Prins through again but the shot went just past the post (all of the WO folks were convinced it should’ve been a corner). But then it got really frisky as Coastal Spirit, buoyed by a super sub of their own in the returning Dan MacLennan, sprung a couple of massive chances in the last ten minutes – including hitting the woodwork twice. Anaru Hibbs was the first with a header from a corner. De Groot-Green did the same thing later on. In between, Derek Tieku placed a shot slightly wide while MacLennan was denied by a crucial blindside sliding block from Tiahn Manuel. The Greeks should’ve been out of sight. Instead they found themselves clinging to a 3-1 victory. They got there in the end but jeepers.
It was a different story for Coastal Spirit once Dan MacLennan got involved, giving them a bit of chaotic energy up front that they thrived off. In fairness, they were fortunate not to get smoked again with the amount of chances that Olympic let them off the hook for but you have to give credit to the way they scrapped it out for the last hour of that match. They finished the stronger team in the last ten. It means three defeats from three but they should gather a bit of momentum from this.
Meanwhile Wellington Olympic have won 3/3 without really getting out of second gear yet. At some point that goes from being a promising thing to the opposite (as in, if they keep not putting their chances away then we may eventually need to accept that’s not gonna change) but we’re not there yet and if they’d been a little more ruthless after being 3-0 up after 27 minutes then they could have done some serious damage. Davenport-Petersen was really good. Broke up lots of play, keeping that up in the dying moments when it got frisky, and of course he scored a goal too. Prins always looked likely, as usual. Open play and corner kicks. However, there’s a big concern about Hamish Watson who hit the deck in the last moments of the game, collapsing untouched as he tried to turn, and as the coverage ended he was being readied for a stretcher. Fingers crossed that’s not as bad as it looked. Also here’s one for ya: this was the first league win that Wellington Olympic have managed on a grass surface this year (having lost away to Miramar and drawn away to Napier City and Western Suburbs during the Centrals).
Coastal Spirit 1-3 Wellington Olympic
6’ | 0-1 | WO | Davenport-Petersen (Prins)
14’ | 0-2 | WO | Sinclair
27’ | 0-3 | WO | Mason-Smith (Bouzoukis)
63’ | 1-3 | CS | Chretien (Stearn)
Western Springs vs Auckland FC
Fresh off the Derby win last week, Auckland FC were back to familiar territory as they ran into a fellow Northern Leaguer for the first time in this competition. In other words, a team that’s faced them before and understands how they play – Western Springs won 4-3 and 2-1 in the two meetings during the year. Three of the four NZ U20s reps from AFC jumped straight back into this squad. No Adama Coulibaly (an ex-Springs player) but Codey Phoenix captained them from left-back, Finn McKenlay was in the midfield, and Oliver Middleton played as the ten. Jonty Bidois also made his first MNL appearance of the year up front, as did centre-back prodigy Luka Vicelich at the other end. Nick Gaze returned to the eleven to make it five changes from the side that beat the WeeNix in round two. For the home side... just two: Caspar McGavin with the start up top after some exciting bench cameos, and Niko Steinmetz joining the back three.
Both of these teams play process-orientated football. AFC are a development team whose style is meant to mimic the first team while Western Springs have found a formula that works for them. That usually includes midfielders dropping into the back three to allow their wider players to get higher, as well as letting Daniel Normann and Wan Gatkek instigate a lot of build-up stuff. Generally Reid Drake will be a focal point in attack. Jordan Hackett and Ry McLeod are always attacking the space out wide. Lots of good stuff... but damn nothing really happened for the first hour of this game.
Much of that is down to the fact that the defenders were the best performers out there. Semi Nabenu was winning header after header, such a solid presence, while the Swans can always rely on Aidan Carey to take care of business. Both goalies were really reliable, especially in the air. Defenders winning duels. Midfielders sitting deep. Process overlayed upon process. And that was that. Dejaun Naidoo had a couple of moments for AFC (including setting up a sliced attempt from Gaze) but its tricky for them trying to match their A-League side because they’re effectively an U20s team so they just don’t have the athletic advantages in pace or strength (let alone experience) that AFC thrive upon in the ALM. For that reason, Western Springs shaded much of this game... albeit without creating much of note.
Something had to change and it was Luke Casserly who went to his bench first, sending on Ralph Rutherford and James Mitchell after 62 minutes. And you know what? Rutherford did what he was asked. Running up the line, he managed to prevent Jordan Hackett from getting rid of the ball, snatching it back so that Everton O’Leary could cross. Steinmetz got to the delivery first... but didn’t deal with it and Jonty Bidois capitalised. 1-0 to AFC.
Scott Hales retaliated with the introduction of Ben Wallace, whose aerial threat brought out another element in how Springs were attacking. Other than another Bidois strike that went straight at Oscar Mason, the remaining chances were all for the Swans. Wallace pushed a header high. Normann couldn’t get proper contact on a McLeod square pass. Nabenu then cleared a Normann strike away off the line. This was a great defensive showing from AFC. Nabenu of course... but Luka Vicelich held his own as a 17-year-old, showing why he’s already gotten into the first team frame, and Finn McKenlay was excellent running around in front of them with his black boots and low-hung socks. Ah but they couldn’t quite see it through. Somehow they found five minutes of added time and after 4:50 of that time, a Patrick Tobin cross was flicked onto the post by Wallace who then followed up with a second header to score a very late equaliser. 1-1 final score.
Last week Western Springs lost after conceding in stoppage time. This week they avoided defeat after scoring in stoppage time. Funny how often that seems to happen. They’ll be annoyed at having not created more but this was another outing where Ry McLeod’s mahi on the right wing shone through (particularly once he had Wallace to aim for) and as always there were some smart touches from Reid Drake. Huge credit to AFC though. Didn’t get the win but they did add another point to the tally. They also continued a fantastic record with Luka Vicelich in the team - he’s only started five games for the Ressies but they’ve got a record of three wins, one draw, and one defeat in those matches (the one defeat was also against Western Springs).
Western Springs 1-1 Auckland FC Reserves
63’ | 0-1 | AFC | Bidois
90+5’ | 1-1 | WS | Wallace
| P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wellington Olympic | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 9 |
| Birkenhead United | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 6 |
| Christchurch United | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 6 |
| Western Springs | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 4 |
| Miramar Rangers | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 4 |
| Auckland FC | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | -2 | 4 |
| Western Suburbs | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 3 |
| Wellington Phoenix | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 3 |
| Auckland City | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | -1 | 3 |
| Auckland United | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | -2 | 1 |
| Coastal Spirit | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 13 | -11 | 0 |
| TOP SCORERS | ||
|---|---|---|
| Kaelin Nguyen | Western Suburbs | 4 |
| Sebastian Barton-Ginger | Western Suburbs | 3 |
| Martin Bueno | Miramar Rangers | 3 |
| Noah Karunaratne | Christchurch United | 2 |
| Isa Prins | Wellington Olympic | 2 |
| Riley Grover | Christchurch United | 2 |
| Sam Mason-Smith | Wellington Olympic | 2 |
| Jack-Henry Sinclair | Wellington Olympic | 2 |
| Gerard Garriga | Auckland City | 2 |
| MOST ASSISTS | ||
|---|---|---|
| Owen Smith | Miramar Rangers | 3 |
| Alex Solomon | Wellington Olympic | 2 |
| Joshua Tollervey | Christchurch United | 2 |
| Tyler Freeman | Western Suburbs | 2 |
| Gianni Bouzoukis | Wellington Olympic | 2 |
| Nathan Walker | Wellington Phoenix | 2 |
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