2025 Women’s National League – Week 7
Wellington United vs Petone
With the way that the last couple weeks of results have broken, Wellington United are right back in the mix for the final. They’re also smack bang in the middle of a run of fixtures that sees them face the bottom four teams all in a row. Big wins against the Phoenix Reserves and Canterbury United led into this Friday night fixure against Petone (with Central to follow next week). Petone are a little different to the others in that they struggle to score goals but defensively they’re quite sound (conceding fewer goals than Wellington Utd entering this round)... although they were without star defender Caelin Patterson for this game. Jayden Watts took her place, while Beth Whiteside also came into the eleven. Welly Utd were unchanged from last week meaning another start for Emma Andrew in goal. Perhaps this would be the round they finally kept a clean sheet?
Prior to kickoff, Sarah Alder was recognised after making her 200th appearance for the club last week. Second player to get there for the Diamonds following Jemma Robertson - always cool when clubs take notice of those things. This was a home game for Wellington United although they played it at Martin Luckie Park so considering these were two Wellingtonian rivals you could argue it was a neutral venue... but the Diamonds quickly made themselves at home by scoring twice within the first six minutes, first through Hannah Pilley after Maggie Jenkins had poked the ball away from a defender and then through Natalie Olson after Summer Laskey won possession and Jenkins strode past a closing defender to hit Olson on the move. Rapid action from Wellington United who seem to have overcome their penchant for slow starts.
It would be some time before they scored a third though. Petone’s flat 4-4-2 shape (which they’ve used in the tougher games) kept things compact even if they were up against near complete domination. That compactness left space out wide which many teams wouldn’t be able to exploit but with Zoe Barrott and Sarah Alder hitting majestic long diagonals that was no issue for WU. Jenkins let one of those Barrott passes bounce once too often before she lifted her shot off target from a tougher angle than necessary, while Aoife Gallagher-Forbes thwarted her after an amazing through ball from Laskey. With a couple other set piece chances going uncapitalised, Maggie Jenkins could have had a hatty within twenty minutes... at least she did already have two assists. Anyway, the intermission between goals ended just before the break when Sarah Alder did this...
Not the first time in those 201 games that Sarah Alder has curled a dead ball into the net, that’s for sure. Credit to Petone for how they knuckled down in between those goals, albeit riding their luck more than once (as they would again when Olson hit the crossbar right before the break). Petone then resumed with more urgency, claiming a penalty when Alder got across late on Phoebe Gray. No dice. Ah but soon it was back to previous programming with AGF saving from both Olson and Jenkins and then came a crushing moment when Jazz Shailer got spun by the ever-elusive Jenkins and grabbed her jersey to slow her down. Shailer had already been booked for fouling Jenkins in the first half so she was gone. Red card.
To be honest, Petone initially didn’t seem too fazed by having ten women. They were aiming to play on the break anyway, like when Pepi Olliver-Bell set up Renee Bacon for a chance that was well saved by Andrews. However, with less pressure on the Diamonds midfield it wasn’t long before Amelia Abbott began pulling even more strings as the midfielder just kept on getting the ball to her speedy wingers, leading to three assists in a dozen minutes. Two were for Jenkins, one for Laskey. Jenkins then set up Laskey for another near the end. Quick feet and sharp finishing from the both of them as they joined Maddi Ollington of Western Springs atop the standings with nine goals. Jenkins, with her three assists, is also now the joint-leading assister in the competition. And this lot plays Central next week... good lord.
Wellington United did what needed doing. They won and they won handily, staying in touch with the teams above them as they prepare to for the same task next week (and then will almost certainly need to get something off Auckland United in the final round). Maggie Jenkins was as good as ever, her lay-offs are superb and she can also spin past tacklers. Already mentioned the nine goals and six assists for the season. In this game alone she scored twice, assisted three, won both fouls for the bookings that led to the red card, and frankly could have had more of all of the above. Amelia Abbott and Sarah Alder were also fantastic. And, yes, they finally kept a clean sheet!
Remember, this is a good defensive Petone team. They clearly missed Caelin Patterson but even still... Auckland United only put three past them last week - AU and WU are now equal for the most goals scored this season (29 in seven matches). Pity about Shailer’s red because she’s been one of their most impressive youngsters this year and will now miss the Canterbury United match in week eight to likely determine who finishes second to last.
Wellington United 7-0 Petone
Goals (Assists)
3’ | 1-0 | WU | Pilley (Jenkins)
6’ | 2-0 | WU | Olson (Jenkins)
43’ | 3-0 | WU | Alder
59’ | RED CARD | P | Shailer
73’ | 4-0 | WU | Jenkins (Abbott)
77’ | 5-0 | WU | Jenkins (Abbott)
78’ | 6-0 | WU | Laskey (Abbott)
85’ | 7-0 | WU | Laskey (Jenkins)
Southern United vs Central Football
Simple enough story here: Southern United needed to win by as much as possible to boost their goal difference as they attempt to stay in the hunt for the top two (following defeat away to Eastern Suburbs last week), while Central Football were just hoping to score a goal after six scoreless outings. Southern made one change with Madi McLean in for her first start having come off the bench in every other round. Sounds like that was overdue. Central welcomed back Caitlyn Byrne from suspension while Mackenzie Butler, Chardonnay Ross-Elvin, and Ruby Gilbertson also rejoined the eleven.
Southern aren’t exactly the kind of sizzling attacking side that Central would never have a chance against (like Auckland United or Western Springs who took them for double figures). But Southern are a very good set piece team with plenty of height and strength and those are also aspects where Central have been picked off in other games. The first quarter of an hour did provide a few such corner kick opportunities for SU, however Central were doing a tidy job of scrambling around and making things tough for their hosts. Their strikers were pressing. Even got the ball into the box a time or two. But then Amy Hislop won a free kick which she took herself and curled on target to where Alex Gray tipped it onto the crossbar and Georgia Keen swerved onto the rebound to nod in the opener. It was going to happen eventually.
One became two when Hannah Mackay-Wright struck an amazing switch of play out to George Nixon who brought it down and smashed into the roof of the net from a sneaky angle. Her third of the season – making her SU’s leading scorer... although that was a fluctuating situation with another seventy minutes to go against the National League’s most vulnerable defence. Nieve Collin made it 3-0 after 25 mins when she headed in direct from an Amy Hislop corner kick – Hislop obviously went to the Michaela Foster school of set pieces because she was taking inswingers off both feet depending which side she was on (Katie Rood’s been doing the same for Western Springs this year and Emily Lyon has been off the same dazzling capabilities for West Coast Rangers). And just like before, one goal soon brought two as Georgia Nixon ran in behind and flipped the ball infield for Amy Hislop who did the rest.
Hislop set up Nieve Collin for number five with a slick pass around the corner after some nice work from Nixon. Collin shot past the keeper for her second of the day (moving to four for the season and thus becoming her team’s new top scorer). Then Emma Vane chopped infield and slammed in a sixth... a milestone for Central because that was the 50th goal they’ve conceded this season. After that decent start from the Central defence, they’d allowed six goals in the space of twenty minutes. Rampaging stuff from Southern who were moving the ball fast, not afraid to go direct, but also linking up between their front three. They’d score again before the half when Georgia Keen picked her spot from just outside the area.
Central keeper Alex Gray copped a couple of knocks during the latter stages of that half and wasn’t able to continue after the break so it was fortunate that they had their NYL keeper Chloe MacGregor on the bench (who’d played half a game just prior). Southern also shuffled the deck with Abby Rankin and Amelie East-Giles replacing Collin and Vane. Collin was on a hat-trick but okay, fair enough.
The second half started like the first as Central, rejuvenated by the break, were able to dig in and prevent any further concessions for a while. The difference was that the second half stayed that way. MacGregor made a couple good saves, looked like a neat proactive goalkeeping prospect. Hislop whacked the post with another driven attempt. Further subs followed for both teams on the hour with Keen going the way of Collin in being hooked with two goals. Those substitutions slowed things down and also removed a few of Southern’s better targets. Add that to some overt casualness in front of goal, a little too much unselfishness, and that was how Southern got stuck on seven.
But seven is still a lot. Seven meant that Southern doubled their goal difference and kept pace with Wellington United on the ladder. They had five different scorers across this haul (though nobody new got on the scoresheet this week) and, interestingly, have scored at least four times in all four of their wins (with one point from three games when they’ve failed to score four – when they’re on, they’re on). Amy Hislop was a match-up problem in every area with a goal and two assists as well as the free kick that led to the opener. Nieve Collin and Georgia Keen each scored twice with an assist. Georgia Nixon was really good. Rose Morton’s work rate shone through even in the second half when she could reasonably have cooled off. They were too good. Seven is also how many games Central have lost this season, failing to score in any of them. But there’s heart to be taken from how they kept the gate closed in the second half with subs like MacGregor, Aimee Powick, and Caylee Fergus adding to the team when they came on.
Southern United 7-0 Central Football
17’ | 1-0 | SU | Keen
19’ | 2-0 | SU | Nixon (Mackay-Wright)
25’ | 3-0 | SU | Collin (Hislop)
27’ | 4-0 | SU | Hislop (Nixon)
33’ | 5-0 | SU | Collin (Hislop)
37’ | 6-0 | SU | Vane (Keen)
45+2 | 7-0 | SU | Keen (Collin)
Eastern Suburbs vs Wellington Phoenix Reserves
The Wellington Phoenix Reserves welcomed back a few of their U17 World Cup reps with a 6-0 win against Central last week, from which they only made one change to the eleven for the trip up to Auckland to face Eastern Suburbs. That was Ella McMillan in for Grace Bartlett - meaning more Freya Des Fountain and Holly Robins in the back three, while Katie Pugh was on the bench. All three were in that NZ U17s group. No Pia Vlok though... if you thought captain of that U17s side would settle comfortably in for some National League then you were wrong because she went straight into the A-League team for a debut in game one.
Eastern Suburbs entered this fixture on a four-match unbeaten streak and in the driving seat for second place. They made one change to the side that won 2-0 against Southern and that was Charley March making her first appearance of the season at right-back. Guess what? Charley March also went to that U17 World Cup, starting all three games. March started at left wing-back as Eastern Suburbs opted to mirror the back three of their opponents by setting up in a 3-4-3 shape themselves (Nicole Mettam was RWB).
Kenya Brooke got straight into it with her missile long throws for Eastern Subs. One of those was nodded onto the crossbar by Cema Nasau although the whistle went for an earlier foul. TJ Anderson hurls them just as far from the other side and with the WeeNix also trying to play out against that imposing Suburbs front three, they soon found themselves squeezed back and sweating their luck as Ruby Nathan headed slightly wide and Vicky Neuefeind bashed one into the side-netting. Granted, there was one instance where a miss-kick from Yukino Nishizono meant that Corina Brown had to react quickly to smother Lily Brazendale’s hopes of a Phoenix goal against the run of play.
Never mind because it was soon 1-0 to Eastern Suburbs after Neuefeind brought the ball down near halfway and promptly released Cema Nasau on the move. Nasau is quick, too quick for Mackenzie Greene, and her low lefty finish was superb. In fairness to Greene, she later made a brilliant sliding tackle in the area on March who looked like she was about to score.
Despite conceding, the ball began moving quicker through that Phoenix shape, with Cleall-Harding combining in a few one-twos. The Lilywhites were always able to get across in time, forcing those heavy touches, but at least now the WeeNix were getting into those good areas. With Eastern Suburbs snatching at their chances a little bit, the game had settled into a far more evenly contested place. Lily Brazendale drew a really sharp save out of Brown with a well-struck attempt. But yeah nah just before half-time Ruby Nathan won a corner kick and TJ Anderson’s cross was met by Rebekah van Dort before Nathan stuck a foot out to divert it into the net. Make that 5/7 games in which Ruby Nathan has scored for Eastern Suburbs. A timely goal just as it was getting a bit wobbly for them.
Nathan nearly got a second in stoppage time when she crunched a great strike off the inside of the post from a tricky position before it fell back to her again with the keeper out of place yet Greene made a remarkable goal-line block to ensure it was only 2-0 as the oranges got passed around (or the steak sandwiches, apparently). Tayla O’Brien replaced March at the break and Zoe Brazier came on for Nasau. March was spared so that she could play in the National Youth League game afterwards (where she captained the Lilywhites U17s to a 2-1 win against the WeeNix).
One of the best duels in this match was Freya Des Fountain against Vicky Neuefeind. The Dunedinite against the German. Both are really quick, FDF maybe with the edge there but VN makes up for it with her strength. Seeing 17yo Des Fountain keen to rip in against a professional calibre opponent was very encouraging... but she got it wrong within a minute of the resumption when Neuefeind coaxed a penalty that she took herself and scored. She then smashed one off the crossbar which didn’t fall cleanly for Ruby Nathan but that was fine coz she simply slid it across to Tayla O’Brien to sneak over the line. Then Nicole Mettam gave it a crack when left in an unmarked pocket outside the box. She hit the post and the ball struck the trailing leg of a diving Brooke Neary on its way into the goal. O’Brien also headed in her second from a Neuefeind inswinging corner. It had been close as half-time loomed... suddenly it was 6-0 to Eastern Suburbs with an hour gone. That sure escalated quickly.
Adam Thurston felt comfortable enough to clear his bench with Amelia Hitchcock (NZ U16s earlier in the year), Isabella Atkinson, and Hannah Saxon (U17 World Cup in 2024) all introduced. Saxon is heading off to Thompson Rivers University in Canada next year. The WeeNix threw on the very exciting duo of Ela Jerez and Katie Pugh soon afterwards... but way too late to affect the game (Pugh did whack a decent effort slightly wide of the post).
This wasn’t the shadows of full-time though. Nearly half an hour still remained to be played so when Ruby Nathan went off injured for the Lilywhites and then Kenya Brooke also got hurt and couldn’t continue they were suddenly down to nine with no more subs available. They were also six goals up so not exactly an Auckland FC vs Wellington Phoenix Men’s situation but it was around that time that Poppy O’Brien went on a mazy run before curling in a wonderful finish to get the WeeNix on the board. At least one Phoenix team was able to score against nine players this weekend, aye?
They only got one though. Eastern Suburbs hung deep and defended smoothly under the circumstances. Lots of WeeNix ball but not a lot of clear chances... although the one they did get means they didn’t entirely spoil their goal diff gains from last round’s 6-0 win against Central. That’s something. But yes they were thumped in the end. Slow start to the first half then a terrible start to the second half, that’s going to cost you – it’s a weirdness about this WeeNix season that the four games they’ve lost have all been by 3+ goal margins yet they’ve managed some great results in the other matches and have scored in every fixture.
Victoria Neuefeind was unstoppable for Eastern Suburbs (although Des Fountain did better than most of her markers this season, penalty excluded) while Ruby Nathan and Tayla O’Brien offered a touch of something special. Always love the work of Stacey Martin and TJ Anderson in midfield for this team. Three of Cema Nasau’s four goals have been opening goals within twenty minutes, a constant danger from the outset. In the end it was a commanding Lilywhites victory... which sets up a blockbuster next week against West Coast Rangers.
Eastern Suburbs Wellington Phoenix Reserves
17’ | 1-0 | ES | Nasau (Neuefeind)
44’ | 2-0 | ES | Nathan (Van Dort)
46’ | 3-0 | ES | Neuefeind [p]
50’ | 4-0 | ES | T.O’Brien (Nathan)
57’ | 5-0 | ES | Own Goal (Mettam)
60’ | 6-0 | ES | T.O’Brien (Neuefeind)
80’ | 6-1 | WP | P.O’Brien (Candy)
Canterbury United Pride vs West Coast Rangers
The Pride turned up at English Park to face the NRFL Premiers on the back of a 5-0 loss to Eastern Suburbs, 4-0 loss to Southern United, and then that 8-1 loss to Wellington United last round. This team used to go whole seasons without conceding 17 goals let alone to do so in three mere games. To make matters worse, they lost goalkeeper Amelia Simmers to an injury pre-game which meant that defender Jorgia Roberts had to strap the gloves on at short notice. West Coast Rangers have not been prolific scorers though. They’re built on superb defence, only twice scoring more than two in a fixture (4-0 vs Central, 4-2 vs Wellington Utd). But they need to keep winning games and a goal difference haul wouldn’t go astray.
With Roberts in goal, Darsha Keogan came into the starting line-up as a holding midfielder in a 4-1-4-1 formation... tweaking the system after those heavy defeats. Kate Berry returned at fullback while Holly Lyon, Kate Loye, and Katie Brugh got starts in the midfield four. Frankie Morrow captained as striker. West Coast Rangers were unchanged from the win against Western Springs and they were straight onto the front foot when Maisy Dewell threaded Shannon Henson into space whose low cross was touched just wide by Emily Lyon at the near post. Shortly afterwards, Rangers were ahead. Emily Lyon was striking some stunner corner kicks (from each side with each foot) and after eight minutes one of those bobbled around a bit before Marissa Porteous bunted it into the net.
Set pieces again for WCR. They’re so good at them. There were a couple more belter Lyon deliveries where that came from which Rangers couldn’t turn home but which were clearly giving the Pride fits to cope with. Roberts slaps a header clear from Tessa Huntington, then Porteous had one cleared off the line by Lily Fisher. The open play chances weren’t as forthcoming but Henson did miss the target with a clean look along the way. The thing about all those corners, though, is that they soak up time. With Keogan putting in the work at CDM and Lily Fisher dealing with Emily Lyon about as well as any defender has thus far... all of a sudden it was half-time and the score was only 1-0.
There was a decent chance for Morrow early seconds, she was a bright spark up for Canterbury (not only in this game but in all of them), except she sliced it high and wide. Then Rangers resumed their previous yarns with Maisy Dewell picking out the top corner from 18 yards only for Roberts to push it onto the post. Then Roberts stabbed a foot out and saved a Lyon attempt - for a makeshift keeper she really ate this up. Her defenders helped too, scrapping and scrambling in the box to get bodies in the way of shots like when a Porteous header (from a corner, of course) was cleared off the line by Claudia Wilson.
But eventually the luck had to run out, and that happened when Shannon Henson ran onto a bouncing ball over the top and snapped a quick trigger shot away to ripple the net. Finally some breathing room. Nicely weighted pass from Marissa Porteous too. And from there it kinda fell apart for the Pride. Huntington headed a free kick off the crossbar. Then Shannon Henson skipped past a challenge and fed in Emily Lyon who made it three. Ten mins later, a pair of substitutes combined for a fourth as Taylor Vujnovich dropped a pinpoint cross onto the head of Olivia Curgenven…
Finally in stoppages, Leila Butler snatched the ball on her way into the area and a clinical finish made it 5-0. Four goals in the last quarter of the game after struggling for so long to capitalise on the pressure they were applying. Whatever it takes... that was WCR’s biggest win of the season.
West Coast Rangers found enough breathing room to substitute on Jo Peel, their backup keeper for the last five minutes. Peel did a good job holding it down while Sophie Campbell was away with the NZ U19s for the first two weeks. Marissa Porteous was absolutely brilliant in this game patrolling the midfield and also somehow being a threat on the end of set pieces despite being one of the shortest players in the team. Shannon Henson’s movement was fantastic and she deserved her goal and assist. Emily Lyon battled away up top as always and those corner kick deliveries were the source of at least six major chances during this game. And don’t forget another clean sheet. Rangers are in excellent touch right now and it’s all going to come down to whether they can beat Eastern Suburbs on Friday night.
As for Canterbury United... that’s four hefty defeats in a row conceding 22 goals and scoring just one. Times were once that those results would be the other way around, it’s quite sad how this team has fallen. But we’ve spoken about that before. Lily Fisher has been very good for them, hard to imagine where that defence would be without her. Frankie Morrow is a loyal trooper. And massive credit has to go to Jorgia Roberts for not only taking on the goalkeeping burden but doing a stellar job, all things considered. With the short benches in the National League, teams often don’t carry a reserve goalie (since it’s effectively one less sub assuming you don’t need to use them) so this tends to happen once or twice a season where an outfielder has to give it a crack. Roberts is one of the better makeshifts that we’ve seen.
Canterbury United Pride 0-5 West Coast Rangers
8’ | 0-1 | WCR | Porteous
67’ | 0-2 | WCR | Henson (Porteous)
71’ | 0-3 | WCR | Lyon (Henson)
81’ | 0-4 | WCR | Curgenven (Vujnovich)
90+2’ | 0-5 | WCR | Butler
Western Springs vs Auckland United
And lastly we come to this game at Seddon Fields where Western Springs, on the back of consecutive 2-1 losses to Auckland rivals, hosted another Auckland rival in Auckland United who themselves had been pushed to the limit by both West Coast Rangers and Eastern Suburbs in recent weeks. This was pretty much the last lifeline for Springs and their title hopes but they’d do more than just themselves a favour if they could take down AUFC.
Western Springs gave teenaged midfielder Sienna Makwana a fourth consecutive start and alongside her was Bel van Noorden (her first start after a trio of sub apps). Slight change-around up front too with Britney Cunningham-Lee used as a striker, Rina Hirano out wide, and Maddi Ollington as a ten. Couple injuries have proved unhelpful but they still had most of their main crew. Auckland United, meanwhile, gave a season debut to an exciting fresh talent named Annalie Longo. Flea had featured for them in the Wuhan Jianghan game but hadn’t played National League until this match. That meant Kiara Bercelli moved out wide. Shav Edwards returned up top and Talisha Green was back in the starters after they rotated slightly against Petone. Only slightly – Auckland United always seem to be close to full strength with Alaina Granger, Tui Dugan, Yume Harashima, Chloe Knott, Rene Wasi, and Kiara Bercelli each having played in every game, while Hannah Mitchell, Talisha Green, Zoe Benson, Jess Philpot, and Siobhan Edwards have only missed one each.
Auckland United started stronger, quickly setting up camp in the Springs half. Edwards was being marked pretty well by the back three of the Swans, though she did glance a header wide that she could have done better with. She also underhit a strike after some glamorous interchanges between Longo and Bercelli led to a low cross in her direction. Occasionally, the home side would find a counter attack – the one time that Cunningham-Lee had a chance to run at the defence it looked like Philpot just wanted to foul her... but there wasn’t enough of those moments. They did have the ball in the net through Ollington but everyone had stopped playing for the inevitable offside. That wasn’t the case when Ava Lewis ran onto a deflection off Granger and got around Mitchell to score... everyone was still locked in then but the flag went up just the same. Arisa Takeda also whacked a free kick on target which Mitchell caught and then bumped into the post which shook the whole portable goalframe... but she held on, no dramas. So Springs did have some half chances along the way.
But predominantly they were on defence as Chloe Knott and Annalie Longo ran this show. And yet, and yet... the clock kept ticking and the score was still 0-0. Bercelli switched one over to Benson who curled off the post with the rebound just evading Edwards. Granger headed wide from a corner. Some more Longo/Bercelli interplay led to an Angelique TuiSamoa save. This was some serious defensive mahi from Western Springs as they continued to repel the champs, Jaedeci Uluvili putting down a blinder. Edwards had a couple more chances off the back of her running but the first she shot too late and the second she shot too early. Hence the teams hit the sheds still scoreless and the home fans had to be pretty stoked with that.
The Swans then had a really slick five minute spell to start the second half, probably a longer sustained spell than they’d mustered at any stage of the first half... so naturally it’d be off the back of that when they finally conceded. Bercelli with the early ball towards Edwards, whose shot was brilliantly kicked away by TuiSamoa... only to fall to Zoe Benson who doesn’t miss from there. Finally the breakthrough.
Springs threw on Liz Savage in midfield as United tried to apply the clamps with a series of corner kicks. Ben Bate then made the slightly surprising decision to substitute both Longo and Bercelli, two of their top performers, in what was still a very close game. Felt risky at the time. Then again, they could have been out of sight if Edwards had been a little sharper... and eventually they were anyway. Springs couldn’t get anything going. Then with five mins left, Talisha Green leapt onto a Chloe Knott free kick to nod in a second and yeah that’ll do it.
That doesn’t quite confirm Auckland United’s place in the grand final but it gets them pretty bloody close. Even if they lose both remaining games, the fact that Eastern Suburbs and West Coast Rangers play each other, combined with AU’s insane goal difference (+27) has them right there on the brink. It’s the race for second where the funkiness is happening... a race that Western Springs are no longer part of following their third defeat in a row. This was the first time this season that Springs have been held scoreless. It was also the first time that Maddi Ollington has failed to score in a game she’s played for them... and she never even got close. Dropping deeper meant dealing with Yume Harashima, not that the service was there anyway. Ollington might to well to hold onto that Golden Boot status with the Wellington United pair of Jenkins and Laskey on her heels.
Springs defended so well for so much of this game, with the Samoan international pair of TuiSamoa and Uluvili leading the way, but the juggernaut could only be contained for so long. Fifth assist of the term for Chloe Knott, stringing together yet another influential campaign. Benson has four goals and looks dangerous every single week. Kiara Bercelli has been amazing for them lately, even squeezed out onto the wing she was no less impressive (she played wing/striker for Canterbury United and for the NZ U20s but became more of an attacking midfielder in Italy). That’s also a fourth clean sheet for Hannah Mitchell (and fifth for AU as a team – Charlotte Eagle also kept one against Central). Oh and Annalie Longo’s appearance takes us to an even dozen capped NZ internationals who’ve featured this National League season:
Ruby Nathan (Eastern Suburbs), Macey Fraser (Wellington Phoenix), Tayla O’Brien (Eastern Suburbs), Amelia Abbott (Wellington United), Ava Collins (Auckland United), Sarah Morton (Western Springs), Emma Rolston (Auckland United), Maggie Jenkins (Wellington United), Katie Rood (Western Springs), Kate Loye (Canterbury United), Liz Savage (Western Springs)... and Annalie Longo (Auckland United)
Western Springs 0-2 Auckland United
54’ | 0-1 | AU | Benson (Edwards)
86’ | 0-2 | AU | Green (Knott)
| P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Auckland United | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 29 | 2 | 27 | 19 |
| Eastern Suburbs | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 27 | 6 | 21 | 16 |
| West Coast Rangers | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 16 | 5 | 11 | 15 |
| Wellington United | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 29 | 14 | 15 | 13 |
| Southern United | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 20 | 6 | 14 | 13 |
| Western Springs | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 22 | 14 | 8 | 9 |
| Wellington Phoenix | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 14 | 20 | -6 | 7 |
| Petone | 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 19 | -13 | 6 |
| Canterbury United | 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 32 | -26 | 4 |
| Central | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 51 | -51 | 0 |
| TOP SCORERS | ||
|---|---|---|
| Maddi Ollington | Western Springs | 9 |
| Maggie Jenkins | Wellington United | 9 |
| Summer Laskey | Wellington United | 9 |
| Britney Cunningham-Lee | Western Springs | 6 |
| Victoria Neuefeind | Eastern Suburbs | 5 |
| Ruby Nathan | Eastern Suburbs | 5 |
| Natalie Olson | Wellington United | 5 |
| Ava Collins | Auckland United | 4 |
| Chloe Knott | Auckland United | 4 |
| Sienna Higinbotham | West Coast Rangers | 4 |
| Kiara Bercelli | Auckland United | 4 |
| Zoe Benson | Auckland United | 4 |
| Cema Nasau | Eastern Suburbs | 4 |
| Nieve Collin | Southern United | 4 |
| MOST ASSISTS | ||
|---|---|---|
| Alexis Cook | Auckland United | 6 |
| Maggie Jenkins | Wellington United | 6 |
| Chloe Knott | Auckland United | 5 |
| Natalie Olson | Wellington United | 4 |
| Victoria Neuefeind | Eastern Suburbs | 4 |
| Anna McPhie | Western Springs | 3 |
| Ava Pritchard | Auckland United | 3 |
| Anjelina Ujdur | West Coast Rangers | 3 |
| Britney Cunningham-Lee | Western Springs | 3 |
| Maddi Ollington | Western Springs | 3 |
| Rina Hirano | Western Springs | 3 |
| Georgie Furnell | Wellington United | 3 |
| Georgia Nixon | Southern United | 3 |
| Ruby Nathan | Eastern Suburbs | 3 |
| Amy Hislop | Southern United | 3 |
| Amelia Abbott | Wellington United | 3 |
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