2025 Women’s National League – Week 6
Eastern Suburbs vs Auckland United
Last Saturday, Auckland United nearly got stuck against a magnificent defensive display from West Coast Rangers until a controversial late penalty maintained their 100% record... and it wasn’t going to get any easier having to play four days later, on a Wednesday night, away against an Eastern Suburbs team that turned them over late in the NRFL Premiership season. This was a catch-up fixture from week two when Auckland United’s trip to Wuhan necessitated a postponement. United would also play away at Petone on Saturday but first things first, they had to do it on an overcast midweek at... well actually they played the game on the turf at Riverhills Park (Fencibles) but close enough.
Auckland United made one change from the Rangers game with Kiara Bercelli making her second start of the term. No Dani Canham. Pretty much as strong of a team as they had available to them. Eastern Suburbs also made one change after an excellent 2-1 win against Western Suburbs and that was injury enforced with Cema Nasau taking over for Sam Tawharu, same as the substitution they made twenty minutes into that previous match. Also, in a Twilight Zone twist, Eastern Suburbs (the home team) wore black jerseys while Auckland United (the away team) wore white jerseys. No doubt that stumped a few livestream viewers.
Like that AU vs WCR game, there wasn’t a lot in it during the first half. Lots of short, tentative passes punctuated with the occasional unsuccessful long ball. Vicky Neuefeind did sting one towards goal after a Ruby Nathan steal but otherwise it was mostly a scrap in the midfield. United settled in with a few Rene Wasi moments, but while the plan seemed to be to try and drag the backline around with the movement of Chloe Knott and Kiara Bercelli... the Yuki Nishizono/Rebekah Van Dort CB partnership wasn’t falling for it. Nishizono was also the main culprit with those long passes, some of them good and some of them not... though at least it meant they weren’t getting pressed.
Ella Findlay copped an injury midway through the half and would need to be replaced for Eastern Suburbs. On came Zoe Brazier in her place. Where it was working for the Lilywhites was when they could get the ball to Ruby Nathan’s feet, sometimes Cema Nasau too, allowing them to hold the ball and create time for support to arrive. Though mostly the two sides just cancelled each other out. It wasn’t as brutal as the Rangers game last week but there was a similar sense of impasse. Zoe Benson, an ex-Suburbs player, did go on a mazy dribble leading to a long shot late in the half but it was straight at the keeper. Also an early ball into the area from Neuefeind found Nathan, an ex-AUFC player, who chopped past the last defender with her first touch but Hannah Mitchell read the intent and dove at her feet to send the teams back into the sheds at 0-0 at half-time.
Ah but Suburbs returned with a fire in their bellies. Neuefeind was running hard. Brazier made some tidy link-ups. Next thing you knew they’d scored, Kenya Brooke chipping the ball into a tidy channel and Ruby Nathan doing the rest, slipping as she shot but still placing it perfectly inside the far post from a tight angle. Super finish. Exactly what they’d been searching for – this was the goal that West Coast Rangers were never able to find four days earlier. Only the second time that the United defence has been breached in five matches and it came via one of their former favourite daughters.
The defending champs had to find a response. Edwards ripped one slightly wide from just outside the area in the first show of intent for a wee while... but there wasn’t much of a press and the clock was ticking away. They did well to avoid going further behind from a few tasty Neuefeind corner kicks. To be honest, Auckland United looked tired. Midweeker on a short turnaround only a couple weeks removed from a trip to China... perhaps we should have expected that. Anyway, someone who often looks injured but never looks tired is Talisha Green and she remained one of AU’s best hopes. It was Green who flipped a pass into the area which Corina Brown and Van Dort both wanted. RVD’s touch fell to Chloe Knott who eyed up the top corner only for Brown to make a superb recovering save, parrying it away.
Maybe the subs would help them? There were lots of changes as United chased the game... and still nothing was really happening. Too many scrappy fouls and several more injury stoppages meant there was no flow to this thing. Didn’t look like there was gonna be a way out of this trap for Auckland United, who were staring down the barrel of a very rare defeat... until a deep free kick got fired into the area, Emma Rolston won a brilliant header, Corina Brown made an equally brilliant save... and Ava Pritchard dashed in to score on the rebound. Oh well there you go then.
Ten minutes of stoppage time gave Eastern Suburbs the chance to finish with an extra burst but 1-1 was the way it ended. Dropped points for Auckland United but they still did that champion thing of finding crucial goals when they most need them. And, yes, it was the substitutes who did the trick. Not a great evening for Auckland United under the floodlights but Talisha Green and Zoe Benson kept them churning along. As for Eastern Suburbs, that’s gotta be an awful way to let two points slip having been so close to a superb win... but it was still a hard-earned point. Van Dort and Nishizono were magnificent throughout – RVD’s come back from Aussie looking like prime Abby Erceg. TJ Anderson and Stacey Martin put in huge shifts in the midfield. Nobody’s been able to slow Vicky Neuefeind down this year... and Ruby Nathan is subtly compiling a really sharp season, she was excellent up top really getting that ball to stick to her feet and scoring a well-taken goal.
Eastern Suburbs 1-1 Auckland United
Goals (Assists)
49’ | 1-0 | ES | Nathan (Brooke)
88’ | 1-1 | AU | Pritchard (Rolston)
West Coast Rangers vs Western Springs
NZ Football, 29 October 2025: “A National League Championship result has been overturned due to an ineligible player being fielded. On 6 October 2025 Western Springs, in their game against Canterbury United Pride, fielded the player, breaching the women’s National League Championship competition regulations. In accordance to the NZF Disciplinary Code, the original result, a 3-3 draw, has been overturned and will now be recorded as a 3-0 win for Canterbury United Pride.”
It wouldn’t be a National League season without one of those, right? Dunno why this keeps happening, surely there are safeguards, but anyway that scratches out the comeback 3-3 draw that Western Springs managed in week two down in Christchurch. For the sake of sanity, the goals from that game will still count on the Top Scorers & Assists chart at the bottom of the page but the table has been adjusted accordingly.
Nice wee boost for the Cantabs who’ve been struggling... and a crushing blow for Western Springs who would have been four points clear of Eastern Suburbs after round four but then a 2-1 loss to the Lilywhites, this overturned result, and then Suburbs getting a point in their catchup game versus Auckland Utd meant they were a point behind them heading into a tough fixture away against West Coast Rangers on Friday night. Rangers are also in the race for top two, as are Southern United. It wouldn’t be fair to count Wellington United out either. This was a huge fixture on Friday night at Fred Taylor Park.
It was equally crucial for West Coast following their excellent performance but ultimate defeat against Auckland United. They had to bounce back. To that end, they brought in Maisy Dewell who hadn’t been seen since her red card in week one – Dewell jumped into the front three with Kailey Short moving to fullback. Western Springs named the same team as last game except with Anna McPhie returning to the side after a short spell out injured.
WCR steadily worked their way forwards amidst a cautious but determined start to the match. Lots of throw-ins and Emily Lyon looking for flicks. It was Lyon who cracked the first shot on target, getting on her own blocked shot but firing into the bread basket of Angelique TuiSamoa. Springs had a few looks from corner kicks... but WCR are the set piece queens of this competition and they showed why, once again, when they won a free kick out wide and Dewell delivered it onto the head of Sienna Higinbotham for 1-0.
Sophie Campbell was a bit lucky to get away with a bad touch, Ollington almost snatching the ball away from the Rangers goalie only for Campbell to battle through the tackle and dive on it. But that was chump change compared to TuiSamoa getting dragged wide chasing a through ball which Emily Lyon still arrived first to, then lobbed in a fantastic cross to the far post which cleared the only covering defender and dropped for Shannon Henson to nudge it into the net from close range. Chuck that one on the board as well. 2-0 to Rangers within half an hour.
The Swans made an adjustment by moving Nanami Omasa wide left and Britney Cunningham-Lee up to striker, trying to use BCL’s strength and speed higher up whilst getting the technically gifted Omasa on the ball earlier. It was Omasa who pulled off a super Cruyff turn and then shot just wide into the side-netting as Springs sought a way back. We also saw a couple blocked shots from Ollington before the break. However, WCR were well in control as the oranges were passed around, leading by a couple of goals with one of the league’s stingiest defences locking it down (not sure there’s a centre-back going around who wins headers like Laney Strachan wins headers or wins slide tackles like Tessa Huntington wins slide tackles).
The solution for Western Springs was the normal one: Maddi Ollington yet again looked like their best outlet. It’s just that getting her the ball was proving tricky with their build-up constantly under pressure, their back three marked out by the front three of WCR and outnumbered whenever Higinbotham stepped up for an overload. Rangers were also bossing the midfield through the mahi of Marissa Porteous. TuiSamoa made a good save to slap away a low-angle snapshot by Higinbotham and then an even better save when Lyon lined one up from distance that would have curled in if not for TuiSamoa’s reaching hand. Huntington nearly nodded in from a Dewell cross to the back post, putting it just wide. Rangers seemed to be powering their way towards victory.
But the power of WCR worked against them after 63 mins when Ollington managed to drive into the area and Laney Strachan stepped across with her shoulder, a split second too late... penalty given. Ollington took it herself and scored despite Campbell guessing the correct way. Ollington missed the Canterbury Utd game (the overturned one) but she’s scored in all five other matches for Western Springs, leading the Golden Boot charts with nine goals. This particularly one made it 2-1 with 25 mins to go and suddenly things had gotten very interesting.
Okay then, shuffle towards the edge of your seat. WCR kept on how they’d been going with the hard-tackling and the Lyon hold-ups... but now there was no margin for error. Springs had all sorts of options. Like when Katie Rood came on and dragged a corner back to the edge of the area for Omasa to strike which was flying in until Campbell touched it onto the crossbar. A couple mins later, AJ Ujdur did something similar up the other end with a heavy strike that TuiSamoa pushed onto the post. Woodwork at both ends. Ten mins to go. Rood tried the same corner routine again only Omasa missed it, though that allowed Tiana Hill to shoot from way back. She got it on target and Campbell parried away to where Omasa gathered and chipped back post. Maddi Ollington was there wide open and of all the players on the pitch you’d expect to gobble that up it would have been Maddison Ollington. Yet she inexplicably bounced it over the top.
And thus West Coast Rangers survived for a hugely valuable 2-1 win that keeps them right there in the hunt for the grand final. Their fate will probably come down to whether they can beat Eastern Suburbs in round eight. There wasn’t much in this match. Rangers were slightly more clinical – although for a while there they suffered for the lack of a killer third goal – and their defence was typically superb, only beaten by a penalty, with Tessa Huntington and Marissa Porteous having outstanding games. Higinbotham and Lyon gave them that extra touch in attack. They did enough. As for Western Springs, goalie Angelique TuiSamoa and striker Maddison Ollington kept them in it but the 2-0 hole was a little too deep to escape from. If they don’t beat Auckland United next week and Eastern Suburbs win against the WeeNix then that’ll be kaput for any Western Springs grand final hopes. It’s been a rough week for the Swans.
West Coast Rangers 2-1 Western Springs
18’ | 1-0 | WCR | Higinbotham (Dewell)
27’ | 2-0 | WCR | Henson (Lyon)
66’ | 2-1 | WS | Ollington [p]
Canterbury United Pride vs Wellington United
The Pride returned home to English Park on the back of getting their first win of the campaign. Not on the pitch because they’d lost 5-0 (Eastern Suburbs) and 4-0 (Southern United) over the past fortnight... but on paper thanks to a successful protest over an ineligible player from the Western Springs game – which to be fair they were winning 3-0 after 35 mins so they probably should have won anyway. But yeah we’ve travelled some distance from the Canterbury United dynasty days to where they’re now having to file appeals for their wins.
News last week confirmed earlier reports that NZ Football will be moving away from the end-of-year National League in 2027 and re-implementing it as a fully-club based top division to run throughout the winter instead, operating above the top regional leagues, so we’re officially on the clock with these federation teams. Frankly, other than Southern United (who are effectively just Dunedin City Royals plus friends), it’s gotten too hard to justify them being there when they’re under such a disadvantage having to scramble together their squads within a few weeks... and when, keeping it a hundy here, Canterbury United seem to have followed Central’s lead in merely treating this as a development exercise for young players with squads that don’t represent the full scope of talent in those regions.
There are reasons, we all understand that. But a National League functions best when it’s as competitive as possible and this one has this one has had five instances of a team scoring 8+ goals. The added element of relegation should also keep teams from tanking out once their grand final hopes diminish. The main negative of the revamp is that the extended season is going to be impossible for yours truly to cover in this much depth, gonna have to reshape the yarns somehow... but we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.
Having been shipping goals at an uncomfortable rate lately, the Pride could not have been excited to see one of the league’s speediest and deadliest front fours rock up as Wellington United landed in the Garden City with the same crew that smoked the Wellington Phoenix last week... except for Christchurch native Blair Currie who skipped this one, allowing Emma Andrew to have a go with the gloves. Canterbury United were already on danger watch with Petra Buyck, Kate Loye, and Claudia Wilson all absent having been amongst the team’s top performers thus far. But at least that did mean starts for Tsuzumi Higuchi, Sophie Hawkins, and Anya Stephan.
The fear was that Canterbury Utd’s defence would simply not have the pace to keep up against all the runners that the Diamonds would throw at them. That fear was valid. It took thirty seconds before Summer Laskey ran onto a flick down the line and her cross only just missed Natalie Olson (back from linking up with the Thailand national team without missing a game for Welly United). Laskey had a shot blocked off a Maggie Jenkins cross. Jenkins burst forward and put a shot on target herself. Georgie Furnell was hurling crosses from right-back. Hannah Cooper headed wide from a corner. You get the idea... Wellington United were getting whatever they wanted, although at this stage the Pride would have been feeling okay at nil-all with fifteen minutes on the clock, working hard and staying focused.
Then it all unravelled. For all the danger in the front four, the opening goal was a combo between two midfielders as Cooper secured a half-clearance and flipped it across to Amelia Abbott who went crunch into the top corner from distance. Soon Maggie Jenkins converted at the near post after another of those Furnell crosses. Natalie Olson hasn’t been at her sharpest in the Nats, missing a few chances that she surely would have buried during the Central League (the addition of Jenkins has shifted the dynamic too). She needed a few sighters here as well but there was no stopping her when she ran in behind onto a Jenkins feed and calmly rounded the keeper to hit that open net. And the ever-involved Maggie Jenkins got herself a fortuitous second when Hawkins stepped in front of her keeper and diverted an otherwise save-able shot into the net.
The weird thing about it was that Wellington United were actually quite wasteful in this match. It could have been double figures by half-time if they’d finished at the level they’re capable of. Laskey couldn’t convert 1v1 after stealing an errant pass. Olson hit the post. Although Hannah Pilley did whip one home off balance in stoppage time after Furnell had carried the ball into the box. Just a sneaky 5-0 at half-time... upon when the Pride made three subs but that didn’t help because they conceded three more times in the first seven minutes of the second spell. Jenkins gave Laskey an underhit pass but Laskey fought through the challenge and then scored for six. Olson tackled Hawkins as she lagged on the ball and ran through to make it seven, finishing beautifully on the angle after her initial shot was saved. And, then after Stephan inspired the first decent spell of attack for the Pride all game... Wellington Utd rushed up the other end and scored an eighth through Laskey.
At least the mismatch eased up once both teams emptied their benches with room to spare. For the Diamonds that also included ten minutes for Carolyn O’Reilly returning from a knee injury to make her first appearance of these Nats. Even with three players chasing hat-tricks, Wellington United kinda took it easy the rest of the way, applying some mercy, although they won’t have been happy at blowing the clean sheet in the 83rd minute when Andrews couldn’t hold a Margi Dias shot and then youngster Trelise McEwan jumped on the rebound for a debut goal. Keeps up the trend of Wellington United being the only team to have both scored and conceded in every single game.
So... that was a hiding. This just isn’t a very good Canterbury United team, desperately short on experience with young players who in previous years would have been competing for bench minutes now thrust into key roles. Nor have they been able to coax back any expats (like former players Charlotte Mortlock and Nicola Dominikovich, who played last year after their Aussie NPL seasons, or Kiara Bercelli who joined Auckland United instead). The Pride barely had a midfield here and their defence was too slow to cope. But Amelia Simmers did make a few good saves and Anya Stephan and Margi Dias gave them something to work with up front in the second half. This was the second time they’ve conceded eight agter having shipped that many to Auckland United in week one. The good news is that, after a toughie vs West Coast Rangers next week, they do close with Petone (A) and Central (H) so they’ve got it in them to finish the season strong.
Wellington United must still be kicking themselves over the 5-4 loss to Western Springs at the start because those dropped points are probably going to leave them needing to beat Auckland United in the final game to have a shot at the final. They’ll be full of confidence when that game swings around though – 12 goals scored in the past two matches (WeeNix and CU) with Petone and Central to follow promising plenty more (well, Central more so than Petone, whose issue is scoring not conceding). The Diamonds are absolutely cooking with Maggie Jenkins (7 goals, 3 assists), Summer Laskey (7 goals), Natalie Olson (4 goals 4 assists), and Hannah Pilley (1 goal, 2 assists) and those numbers are about to rise further. All four of them were amongst it in this game. Jenkins was unstoppable with her movement (although maybe if the Pride had actually tried to track her they might have slowed her down). Georgie Furnell was really good too, getting forward and impacting the game. She gave up absolutely nothing down her side defensively either. The Diamonds were way too good and the Pride could not keep up. Simple as that.
Canterbury United Pride 1-8 Wellington United
19’ | 0-1 | WU | Abbott (Cooper)
25’ | 0-2 | WU | Jenkins (Furnell)
35’ | 0-3 | WU | Olson (Jenkins)
40’ | 0-4 | WU | Jenkins (Pilley)
45+2’ | 0-5 | WU | Pilley (Furnell)
47’ | 0-6 | WU | Laskey (Jenkins)
49’ | 0-7 | WU | Olson
52’ | 0-8 | WU | Laskey (Olson)
83’ | 1-8 | CU | McEwan (Dias)
Petone vs Auckland United
Eastern Suburbs definitely got the better shake from the midweek game fallout. They didn’t have to leave Auckland for any of them and they got an extra day’s recover on either side (going Friday-Wednesday-Sunday instead of Saturday-Wednesday-Saturday). Auckland United have three trips to the capital this season and this was the second of them... Ben Bate was always going to make changes for the third game in seven days but he didn’t make nearly as many as he could have. Hannah Mitchell, Jess Philpot, Alaina Granger, Tui Dugan, Yume Harashima, Chloe Knott, and Zoe Benson started all three of those matches. Kris Molloy and Ellie La Monte-Whyte popped up for an all-Australian right edge for this one while Emma Rolston also made her first start for the club following some impressive substitute cameos upon her return to the sport at this level. Those were the only three changes from Wednesday night.
In complete contrast, Petone’s previous game had been moved back to the previous Wednesday night (3-0 win vs Central) so they’d had ten days of rest leading into this fixture. That lot kept it pragmatic as the defending champs came to town, reverting to the defensive-minded 4-4-2 shape that they used in the first couple games. That meant Nova Hill returned at right-back. Renee Bacon, Phoebe Gray, and Emmy Lantz also rejoined the eleven. All things considered, that was a good approach from Petone who were shuffling Auckland United wide and preventing any space in behind their lines. Players were holding their positions. They were battling for contested balls. Decent stuff... although they did get away with one when Bercelli whipped a fine cross towards Rolston who headed wide. And any time you sit deep you’ve gotta accept the risk of someone taking a pop from distance. There’s not much you can do when Kiara Bercelli decides that she’s shooting for the top corner and scores a belter of a goal after a dozen minutes.
With the early goal in the bag against a team built to absorb pressure rather than apply it, this turned into a very simple game. Petone couldn’t keep much ball but they could stay structured at the back. Bercelli kept trying to make things happen from midfield. Rolston was always a target. Zoe Benson skipped past tacklers as she’s been doing all season. Auckland United were thoroughly on top but without a whole lot of clear chances to add to their existing lead. Knott did convert after Dugan’s threaded pass but they flagged it offside... which looked pretty harsh on the replays. In fact, they had two goals disallowed for very close offsides because La Monte-Whyte also put one away after Knott’s ball had taken a heavy deflection into her path and they didn’t let that stand either. But no sweat there because in between those two moments was another dose of Kiara Bercelli magic...
This was exactly what Auckland United wanted out of this match. Didn’t need to be a goal-fest, they only needed to get in and out with three points and as little stress as possible for what’s surely a pretty fatigued team (even if they didn’t really show it). As soon as Chloe Knott buried a third after 58 minutes (scored while the livestream was caking itself so hopefully footage emerges later in the week), they were home and dry... prompting the unusual sight of a team making all five substitutions at once.
With half an hour to go, on came Talisha Green, Rene Wasi, Ava Pritchard, Shav Edwards... and 15yo Ariana Vosper who’s fresh back from being the youngest player in New Zealand’s U17 World Cup squad. That makes AV the ninth player from that squad to make a National League appearance this year and the second from outside the Wellington Phoenix Academy (Taylor Vujnovich at WCR is the other). Could yet get a tenth if former AUFC, now Phoenix scholar Pia Vlok shows up over the next three weeks. Of course, this wasn’t Ariana Vosper’s WNL debut though... she played for West Coast Rangers last season as a 14-year-old.
Rene Wasi’s first touch was to miss a wide open goal, bobbling over the bar from inside the six yard box after some great work from Edwards. Those changes meant that Vosper and Dugan (both usually used as fullbacks) were given the attacking midfield roles and Vosper wasn’t far away from scoring with a header placed wide. Petone also made thorough use of their subs bench (including a WNL season debut for Jayden Watts... who was promptly yellow carded) and credit to them for maintaining that shape through all the changes. Considering the Wasi miss and the two debatable offside goals, this could have easily been more than what it was... but a 3-0 scoreline reflects well upon Petone. Marie Green was excellent in defence and Phoebe Gray gave them a few of their better forays forward. Nice team effort to keep it respectable.
Meanwhile, Auckland United pocketed the points without too much exertion, spreading the minutes around, and keeping themselves at the top of the ladder after a tough week. Job done for now, though Western Springs (A), Southern United (H), and Wellington United (A) should continue to test them over the remaining few rounds. Kiara Bercelli was awesome even aside from the two screamers that she scored – she’s been unlucky in her career lately with her Sampdoria team getting relegated from Serie A and then disbanded (her contract was up so she may have left anyway – she already wasn’t playing as much as she arguably should have been given the state of that team) and then like many in this AUFC squad you have to wonder if she was one of those players eyeing up an Auckland FC Women’s contract until the A-League stitched them up by delaying their inclusion. Beyond her, Benson and Rolston were factors while Yume Harashima swept up everything in midfield and Tui Dugan played very well too.
Petone 0-3 Auckland United
12’ | 0-1 | AU | Bercelli (Rolston)
45+1’ | 0-2 | AU | Bercelli
58’ | 0-3 | AU | Knott
Eastern Suburbs vs Southern United
There’s so little between the five clubs challenging to join Auckland United in the final (and even AUFC’s presence isn’t a complete guarantee after showing a few more chinks in the armour lately – most notably the points dropped against Eastern Suburbs midweek) which made this an enormous fixture at Madills Farm, at the unusual kickoff time of 10am Sunday, where the winner would jump up into second place. Two strong defences. Two teams with game-breakers in attack. This is what we’re here for.
Eastern Suburbs may have played on Wednesday but the only change that Adam Thurston made to his eleven was an enforced one: bringing in Emma Pilbrow for the injured Ella Findlay (Pilbrow at RB, allowing Nicole Mettam to be an attacking midfielder – a more natural spot for her even though she’s done a fine job filling in at fullback lately). Southern also kept it steady with Flo MacIntyre returning to the eleven in their own switch to the side that won 4-0 against the Cantabs. Everything nice and steady there... until the game kicked off and Toni Power was having to hack one off the line to stop Cema Nasau for the home side from scoring off a long throw. Warning not heeded. Shortly afterwards, Kenya Brooke stepped up and won the ball, feeding it to Ruby Nathan whose shot hit the post but then Cema Nasau slammed in the rebound and with less than three minutes on the clock the Lilywhites were ahead.
That’s an abnormal situation for Southern who’d scored the first goal in every game except their 1-0 loss to West Coast Rangers. It was also a different task for Eastern Suburbs, going from possession-heavy Auckland United trying to work it wide and in behind... to facing the very direct approach of Southern United. Granted, that’s probably more in the wheelhouse of Rebekah van Dort and Yuki Nishizono anyway. Amy Hislop did crack a free kick on target but it went straight into Corina Brown’s arms. By the way, Eastern Suburbs were just as direct, launching those Brooke/Anderson long throws at every opportunity and with Cema Nasau trying to chip Lauren Paterson from not too far inside her own half (only narrowly missing the target).
Rose Morton wasn’t far off for Southern with a shot from range... Nathan then nearly doubled the lead for Subs after some fine work from Nasau, Hannah Mackay-Wright doing just enough to stay close to Nathan and not give her a clear shot on the spin. If it hadn’t been for the early goal then this would have felt pretty close to bang even but as it was, with Southern trailing, you felt they were going to have to change something to create an equaliser. They just couldn’t find any joy against that RVD/Nishizono combination and the longer the game went on, the more likely Suburbs would bury one of their occasional half-chances. Which eventually they did with quarter of an hour left when Ruby Nathan miss-hit her own shot but gathered up the leftovers and then set up Vicky Neuefeind with a backheel. VN’s thumping low finish did the rest.
There you have it. Southern United have been really competitive once again this year but they’ve hit a wall against the Aucklanders, losing 1-0 to WCR and 2-0 to Eastern Suburbs – the only two games they’ve been kept scoreless in, their only two defeats. They’re good but apparently not quite that good... even though Hannah Mackay-Wright and Mackenzie Rastatter were pretty impressive in central defence. Not as impressive as the pair in the other jerseys though – Rebekah Van Dort and Yukino Nishizono... what a week for those two. Neuefeind was a constant menace. Ruby Nathan was a bit sloppy with her shooting but the way her hold-up game is developing is hugely encouraging. Corina Brown’s three clean sheets are matched only by Hannah Mitchell of AUFC. Also feels like that TJ Anderson & Stacey Martin combo in midfield needs more recognition after lots more subtle but effective mahi from those two. With that, the Lilywhites are now in the box seat for a grand final spot with home games against the WeeNix and Petone to come (and a potentially decisive match away to West Coast Rangers in between).
Eastern Suburbs 2-0 Southern United
3’ | 1-0 | ES | Nasau
75’ | 2-0 | ES | Neuefeind (Nathan)
Wellington Phoenix Reserves vs Central Football
Righto, here we had the annual meeting between the two youngest squads in the competition. The Phoenix Reserves won this fixture 5-0 last year but it was only 1-0 the year before – those two games accounted for 67% of the WeeNix’s National League wins prior to dropping Petone a few weeks ago. You never quite know what you’re going to get from the A-League academy sides... except for when they play Central, who entered this game having yet to score a single goal with their uber-young squad kinda getting hung out to dry. Central were alright in only losing 3-0 to Petone last time although they did have Caitlyn Byrne sent off so she was suspended for the trip to Fraser Park. Mackenzie Butler also missed this game having been decent at left-back in all five previous games. Overall there were four changes from last time with starts for Amelia Couper, Maire Walker, Charlotte Noakes, and Iris Reweti-Gould.
There were no first teamers in the squad for the WeeNix despite the ALW side having a bye in week one. No Macey Fraser, no Ela Jerez, no Ella McMillan. They did have Brooke Neary for the third game in a row, if you wanna count the amateur contracted third-choice keeper, but otherwise nope. Instead they reintegrated Freya Des Fountain and Holly Robins after the U17 World Cup (with Katie Pugh on the bench) which freed up Alyssha Eglington to play in midfield and that made for a pretty exciting proposition... first time we’ve seen the U17s reps and the U19s reps intermingled during this National League.
It didn’t take long for Amber De Wit to crack a shot on target and the WeeNix should have gone ahead within three minutes when Maisy McDonald flipped the ball over towards the back post where Lily Brazendale, unmarked, headed wide with the goal at her mercy. Not that they had to dwell on that for very long because soon enough Alyssha Eglinton smacked in the opener, pouncing after Alex Gray had punched a McDonald corner. A very similar chance ended with Isla Cleall-Harding shooting into the crossbar... then McDonald had the same outcome after throwing in a stepover to make room for her shot from the edge of the area. 15 mins gone and the Phoenix Reserves were 1-0 up having missed one open goal and hit the woodwork twice. Clearly this was gonna be another long afternoon for Central Football
Soon enough, a giveaway by left-back Walker allowed McDonald to slide an early ball in for Lily Brazendale who was too fast and too smooth, slotting past the keeper for the second goal. Central got themselves a little more organised after that and it wasn’t until five mins before the break that another McDonald corner was turned home by Amber De Wit. A few mins later, ADW fed a pass towards Cleall-Harding in the box who again hit the crossbar but this time it was the underside and the ball dropped in to make it 4-0 at the break.
To keep this story succinct, the Phoenix picked up where they left off and set up camp in the Central half with their opponents sitting so deep in midfield that they basically had no midfield. Clearances didn’t go far enough, passes were being intercepted. Soon Katie Pugh got thrown into the action – the first of many substitutes during that half. Onwards we went. The two moments that mattered were a blitz up the wing and along the byline from the speedy Des Fountain, squaring into the six yard box where the ball bounced in for an own goal. And then a burst into the area from Phoebe Hawes which drew a penalty that she took herself and scored, giving us a final score of 6-0... one more than last year’s meeting.
Very convincing victory from the Nix Women, their second of the term. Maisy McDonald was a standout having moved back to the wing after a couple matches filling in with the back three. She definitely looks like more of a winger... especially with the calibre of crosses she was knocking over. Dead balls and open play. She’s quick up the line too. Amber De Wit’s been great in most games so that’s no different. Also Freya Des Fountain is one to watch for if you’re not already on the buzz. Huge talent at 17yo who made her Nats debut for Southern United in the last game of last season then moved up to the Nix Academy. Previously with Roslyn-Wakari in Dunedin. And everyone who’s watched the WeeNix over the last few months has noticed what a great player Amber De Wit is developing into. For Central, that’s now 0 goals scored and 44 conceded across six defeats. It’s been ugly... but their second half showing here was useful as the likes of Jorja Horn and Hazel Marwick brought some stability off the bench. Surely they’ll score a goal at some point.
Wellington Phoenix Reserves 6-0 Central Football
5’ | 1-0 | WP | Eglinton
19’ | 2-0 | WP | Brazendale (McDonald)
41’ | 3-0 | WP | De Wit (McDonald)
45+1’ | 4-0 | WP | Cleall-Harding (De Wit)
70’ | 5-0 | WP | Own Goal (Des Fountain)
90+6’ | 6-0 | WP | Hawes [p]
| P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Auckland United | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 27 | 2 | 25 | 16 |
| Eastern Suburbs | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 21 | 5 | 16 | 13 |
| West Coast Rangers | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 5 | 6 | 12 |
| Wellington United | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 22 | 14 | 8 | 10 |
| Southern United | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 13 | 6 | 7 | 10 |
| Western Springs | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 22 | 12 | 10 | 9 |
| Wellington Phoenix | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 13 | 14 | -1 | 7 |
| Petone | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 12 | -6 | 6 |
| Canterbury United | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 27 | -21 | 4 |
| Central | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 44 | -44 | 0 |
| TOP SCORERS | ||
|---|---|---|
| Maddi Ollington | Western Springs | 9 |
| Maggie Jenkins | Wellington United | 7 |
| Summer Laskey | Wellington United | 7 |
| Britney Cunningham-Lee | Western Springs | 6 |
| Ava Collins | Auckland United | 4 |
| Chloe Knott | Auckland United | 4 |
| Victoria Neuefeind | Eastern Suburbs | 4 |
| Sienna Higinbotham | West Coast Rangers | 4 |
| Ruby Nathan | Eastern Suburbs | 4 |
| Kiara Bercelli | Auckland United | 4 |
| Natalie Olson | Wellington United | 4 |
| MOST ASSISTS | ||
|---|---|---|
| Alexis Cook | Auckland United | 6 |
| Chloe Knott | Auckland United | 4 |
| Natalie Olson | Wellington United | 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 |
| Maggie Jenkins | Wellington United | 3 |
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