2025 Men’s National League – Week 11
Wellington Olympic vs Miramar Rangers
As the final round of the Men’s National League began, there were four clubs still in with a mathematical chance of qualifying for the grand final. These two clubs were at the forefront of those convos, setting up a tremendously exciting local derby in which the winner will host the grand final (or Miramar in case of a draw... as long as Auckland City didn’t win by ten). A win or a draw would guarantee top two for Miramar. A win for Olympic would put them into the decider as they chase a treble. There was also a chance they could both make it if Auckland City and Western Springs each failed to win their own matches. Auckland City would be in with a win and out with anything else. Western Springs had to win but were also sweating on other results... and since they were on Sunday they’d know exactly what they needed to do one way or another by the time they kicked off. An amazing situation to find ourselves in so late in the year, every bit as funky as the top two scrapping that we saw in the Women’s National League. It’s the competition that always delivers.
This game and the Auckland City game kicked off simultaneously. Wellington Olympic regained a bit of form last week with a 3-0 win in the rain against Auckland United and the only change they made to that side was Will Vincent coming in for Noah Boyce. Vincent played in the back three, therefore Justin Gulley retained his hot spot at wing-back after a successful time last week. Miramar Rangers copped a huge blow with leading assister and top creative spark Owen Smith absent after having joined Vanuatu FC in the Pro League alongside Otto Ingham of Auckland United. That was some rough timing ahead of such a crucial contest (and potentially a final afterwards). Sam Gates took his spot on the wing while Spencer Cameron also got a run at right-back. Miramar were the only team to beat Olympic during the Central League, plus they were on a four-game winning streak. This would be coach Kale Herbert’s last game in charge if they didn’t progress. Local derby. National League grand final on the line. Win and they were in. Magic times at Wakefield Park.
Initially it was all Miramar Rangers, working some nice attacking possession and delivering several crosses into the area. No overt chances other than perhaps a Brad Whitworth snapshot from the second phase after his corner kick... but a promising opening act for the league leaders. So naturally Wellington Olympic went down the other end and scored with their first opportunity. Lovely stuff from Justin Gulley at RWB displaying efficiency of movement and touch to set up a driven delivery that deflected to Jack-Henry Sinclair at the back post and it was 1-0 in the ninth minute. Couple of the veterans doing the work (in a team with seven starters who’d played 100+ games for the club). By the way, that strike makes Jack-Henry Sinclair the club’s leading non-Greek scorer with 89 goals in 147 matches, now that’s a stat.
Gianni Bouzoukis (of Greek origin and nearing unqualified top scorer status at Olympic) has emerged as the form striker in the competition and he could have made it 2-0 after 19 mins when he ran onto a JHS nod down and lashed it slightly wide with his left boot. Sinclair and Bouzoukis each had other efforts from outside the box as the Greeks suddenly slammed their foot on the accelerator. Tiahn Manuel drew an excellent one-handed save out of Matt Oliver along with a bunch of scrambling moments from corner kicks. Rangers were able to survive that by the skin of their teeth but the omens got worse for them when Andy Bevin pulled up with a muscle injury and had to be replaced, Ronaldo Munoz on in his place. You can’t always trust the omens though, because against the run of play it was Ronaldo Munoz who scored this stunner free kick...
That swung the forecasts back into Miramar’s favour. Then came another change in the weather when Justin Gulley bumped shoulders with Nico Bobadilla and then some red mist descended as he turned back towards him for a second attempt. Problem was he raised his hands for a shove and that was perceived as violent conduct by the linesman. Out came the red card – the third of the year for Olympic (Hamish Watson week one, Adam Supyk week four – those others were both very late in games though). Gulley was probably unlucky there, the contact didn’t look that bad and Bobadilla kinda made a meal of it... but raising his hands put him into that grey area. Olympic were gonna have to chase this thing with ten men – wouldn’t be a kiwi derby without a red card, aye?
Olympic had to apply a band-aid with Gavin Hoy sitting in at RWB to get them through to the break without further damage and when they returned, Sinclair had slotted into right-back in a defensive four. And, you know, the ten men thing didn’t even seem to phase them. Olympic had the first chance of the second half when Hoy flipped one into Oliver’s hands... and that was the pattern that continued. Martin Bueno did flick a header past the post at one stage but it was Rangers with eleven men who were the more cautious, stuck in that awkward position where they already had the scoreline they needed and didn’t know whether to sit and hold or push to try extend their advantage. Contrastingly, the Greeks had no choice but to attack, attack, attack.
But by the time they reached the midway point of the second half, Rangers had reasserted some control with Ronaldo Munoz going close to adding a second. Time was slipping away from the home side and their National League hopes with it. They needed a goal. And what do ya know they got one with twenty to go when Tor Davenport-Petersen forced his way onto the end of an Isa Prins corner kick to header home. Third goal of the season for TDP who has been outstanding this year, probably the most consistently high-performing dude in this Olympic squad during the National League (although Isa Prins is up there too).
Suddenly the tables had turned again. Miramar needed to score in the time that remained or else risk going from being at the top of the table after the last two rounds to missing the final altogether. But whereas the Greeks had been able to forge chances throughout, Rangers were much more limited with their goal coming from a crazy free kick. Ben Mata did a fantastic job on Bueno, marking him tightly and physically. Scott Basalaj wasn’t really tested otherwise. Bueno did have a free kick right on the perimeter with five to go but he smashed it into the wall. That was shortly after Luke Stoupe, on as a sub, nearly clinched it for Olympic when he ripped infield and blasted an effort off the base of the post. What Miramar would have done for Owen Smith’s contributions in those late minutes. They just couldn’t pick the locks. Wellington Olympic managed the final stages beautifully and a 2-1 victory means they’re back in the big decider. Pitch invasion from the kiddos, lesssssgo!
It was announced in the match programme that Paul Ifill is stepping away from coaching next year, presumably meaning that Ekow Quainoo will take over on his own (it was hinted in the farewell but not confirmed so we’ll see). A National League title to say ka kite wouldn’t go astray, particularly since it’d complete a treble having already won the Chatham Cup and Central League titles this year. Wellington Olympic haven’t been the most consistent team through these Nats but they have been the best. Fitting that Tor Davenport-Petersen and Isa Prins would combine for the goal that sent them through since those two have carried them the most across this run. Sinclair and Mata had strong games too, both doing what needed to be done. And credit to those coaches for how they handled the red card too. We’ll see them all again next week.
Miramar might have changed the course had Owen Smith been around... though perhaps if Hamish Watson never got injured then Olympic would have already been clear and there’d be no course to change. You can’t predict these things. Ronaldo Munoz scored a beauty of a goal but they couldn’t create enough against a locked-in Greek resistance, ending that winning streak and leaving Rangers on the outside looking in. Great campaign from them overall, just a bit slow to get going and without the depth that other rivals up near the top can call upon. But they were the only team to score in every single game and Martin Bueno will have himself a shiny Golden Boot to place upon his mantelpiece after scoring nine goals in ten games.
Wellington Olympic 2-1 Miramar Rangers
Goals (Assists)
9’ | 1-0 | WO | Sinclair
38’ | 1-1 | MR | Munoz
42’ | RED CARD | WO | Gulley
71’ | 2-1 | WO | Davenport-Petersen (Prins)
Auckland City vs Coastal Spirit
While all that drama was going down at Wakefield Park, roughly 640 kilometres north was a game of similar consequence happening simultaneously at Kiwitea Street. Coastal Spirit were just there to play spoilers but it’s a role they performed beautifully two weeks earlier when they rocked Western Springs. Could they do it again? Weston Bell in at wing-back was the only change they made from that match, having had a bye in between. Auckland City also made one alteration after their own victory against Western Springs, that being Tong Zhou replacing Mike den Heijer in midfield, the Chinese import making his first start of the Nats in what looked like a very attacking line-up from the Navy Blues. Zhou scored off the bench last week which no doubt helped his case.
The first half of this match was absolutely fascinating because Coastal set up to defend but they did so without sitting all the way back and inviting pressure. They were stepping up and catching offside flags. They were also pouncing in the midfield wherever they could through the always combative Joe Hoole and Mason Stearn, leading into some genuinely threatening counter attacks. Auckland City did test Adam Braman early when Zhou popped one on target but it was Nathan Garrow making the tough saves, twice with incredible outstretched leg efforts to deny Derek Tieku and Max Chretien from positions they looked more likely to score from.
It was a simple ploy from Coastal and it was working smoothly. Entice City forward and then hit them on the counter. Their switches were finding space behind the fullbacks, their layoffs were digging them out of pressure in the middle. An early injury to Noa Prestel was a bummer, though Jack Allatt did a great job as his replacement CB (haven’t seen a lot of him this year, tbh) so nothing changed. This was arguably as dangerous as Coastal have looked at any stage during this National League – albeit that might not be saying much for a team that had only scored five goals in nine games previously.
Garrow had to parry away a Liam Cotter effort, then late in the half Cotter looked to have been shoved over in the area by Nikko Boxall but the game carried on and he got back to his feet to help set up Hoole in the area... who side-footed his volley over the bar from ten yards. Auckland City did cause a few frisky moments back the other way with Allatt and Kaleb de Groot-Green both making big blocks... but half-time arrived and the game was still scoreless. And that, friends, was not going to be enough for Auckland City Football Club. They needed to win.
The second half of this match was not nearly as fascinating. That’s because Auckland City figured it out, they found a shortcut. All it took was a few corner kicks, who would have thought? In the 57th minute, David Yoo curled one over for Mario Ilich who nodded in at the back post and with that the entire game changed. ACFC no longer had to take the same risks and in an instant the Coastal Spirit counter-attacking threat evaporated.
From there it was only a matter of whether City would score a couple more, which they dutifully did. Both from corners. Christian Gray headed in from one (77’), Myer Bevan slammed in during the scramble from another (85’) and that was that. Substitute Orlando Thorpe had a couple late chances for City, getting onto a Dylan Manickum cut-back for one and whacking a free kick just over for the other. But 3-0 was the final score.
It was close until it wasn’t, that first goal making all the difference. Once Auckland City had a lead, they were in their comfort zone and Coastal just didn’t have the sauce. They needed to score first when they had the chance, those saves from Nathan Garrow turning out to be hugely important. He was great (albeit mostly in the first half when he was called into action), Gray and Boxall were very good, Myer Bevan has now scored in consecutive games after none in eight before that. Not sure that ACFC are an ideal fit for David Yoo (we’ll see how he goes in the OFC Pro League) but he’s been really effective lately. This result made it three wins in a row for ACFC, all by multiple-goal margins. They’ve timed the run perfectly... and they’ll be competing to defend their title next week.
As for Coastal, they’ll just be relieved the season is over. After winning the Southern League, they didn’t strengthen enough for the Nats and maybe that regional success gave them false pretences as to how competitive they’d be. But you’ve gotta view this Coastal Spirit side through the lens of the last couple years where they’ve transformed their men’s team, under the guidance of Robbie Stanton, into regular trophy winners and MNL qualifiers.
Auckland City 3-0 Coastal Spirit
57’ | 1-0 | AC | Ilich (Yoo)
77’ | 2-0 | AC | Gray (Zhou)
85’ | 3-0 | AC | Bevan
Western Suburbs vs Wellington Phoenix Reserves
After those two Saturday games, the top two was all sorted. Done and dusted: the grand final will be hosted at Newtown Park in Wellington and it will be contested between Wellington Olympic and Auckland City – the two big dogs at it again, same match-up as we’ve had now in three of the last four years. This fixture was only ever going to be about finishing the season on a high note, perhaps setting things up for 2026 with a few rotations since neither side was capable of even getting into the top half.
Western Suburbs kept it mostly recognisable although there was a second start in goal for James Stuart, a young goalkeeper who was playing for Stop Out in the tier below Central League during the winter. Also a first start for teenaged midfielder Yuto Yamamoto after three consecutive sub apps. Sebastian Sanchez dropped into central defence with Finn Diamond given a day off. Meanwhile the Wellington Phoenix were in that sweet spot with their National League fixture coming the day after the A-League side played so Xuan Loke and Jayden Smith were released to feature for the Reserves having been unused subs for The Derby. For Loke, this was his first (and only) National League appearance of the year. Alby Kelly-Heald and Dylan Gardiner also returned to the starting side.
Stuart very quickly had to make a couple of saves rushing out as Nix kept penetrating the defensive line thanks in large part to the deceptive work of Gabriel Sloane-Rodrigues. The third such time, Stuart left his area and pole-axed Luke Flowerdew to earn a yellow card. Flowerdew landed badly on his shoulder and needed extended treatment... he’d battle on for another ten mins before signalling to the bench. Stink way for him to finish an otherwise amazing year of football. Luke Mitchell was his replacement.
That took out the WeeNix’s most accomplished finisher but it didn’t affect their continued assault. Lachlan Candy displayed a great touch to bring down a Hayden Thomas chipped pass only to fizz his shot past the post. Later Candy would sneak into space in the area and have Stuart pull off another good stop. Wests were staying busy too except they kept getting caught offside, trying to hit those quick counters with Dakota Brady and Tyler Freeman but the Nix were reading it in time. Granted, Reilly Marlow-Jones did whip an effort slightly past the post at one stage. That’s important to note because it was Marlow-Jones who later broke the deadlock, drifting onto a slip ball from Freeman and whacking his effort into the bottom corner.
Freeman should probably have done better when he shot wide after a Phoenix giveaway in the midfield. This was very wobbly territory for the WeeNix who’d had the better of that first half hour but weren’t doing nearly enough with it, missing half-chances and then losing their in-form striker to injury before falling behind. Seemed to be some frustrations there when Mitchell sliced in and shot instead of crossing. They just weren’t getting value for their chances.
But they kept plugging away and soon enough their fortunes changed when Fergus Gillion popped one home from close range after Mitchell had squared a Loke cross over to him. There ya go, just gotta keep ringing and eventually someone picks up the phone. And with one came two. Basically the last act of the half was a slick bit of WeeNix build-up leading to Xuan Loke sliding the ball up the right channel for Gabe Sloane-Rodrigues and what ensued was exactly the kind of sharp, emphatic finish that a few of his teammates weren’t able to find earlier. WeeNix up 2-1 at the midway.
Being the last day of school and all, Wests made two changes at the break with Alex Hawkes and Kaelin Nguyen replacing regulars Ryan Harrison and Seb Barton-Ginger. The Nix also brought on Mac Munro for Dylan Gardiner, those two having been sharing minutes for the last month or so. That tipped off how each side was treating this fixture, so five minutes later Luke Mitchell jinked past a couple midfielders and smashed in a third goal clipping the crossbar on its way in. Candy then ought to have made it four, hitting the side-netting running onto a quick throw from Loke. This was some downhill momentum from the Nix the likes of which we haven’t seen since the Central League.
Yet right when it looked like Wests were crumbling, a simple ball over the top was missed by Kelly-Heald coming out of his area and Tyler Freeman jogged past him to score the easiest goal of his life tapping into an empty net. This was proper end of season footy, folks. All action and nothing to lose. Obviously that wasn’t going to be the end of it – in the 64th minute, the towering Jayden Smith rose up to nod in from Lachlan Candy inswinging corner and, two minutes later, Fergus Gillion scored a banger from almost the exact same spot as Luke Mitchell’s earlier goal. This one was even better, smashed back across the keeper who never had a hope. Wests would go searching for a reply with Freeman drawing a low save out of AKH. But nek minnit a sweet counter ended with Hayden Thomas lifting the ball over Stuart to make it six for the Nix.
They may not have realised this but two more goals from there and the Phoenix Reserves would finish above Western Suburbs on the ladder. Candy tried to serve up one of them but Stuart made a great save with his leg. Mitchell also crunched one wide with only the keeper to beat, ten yards out. Those finishing woes remained. However, Hayden Thomas found the net soon after when he ran onto a flick around the corner from Candy. Seven in the bag... could they find an eighth? Nah, they couldn’t. So at least there was one positive from an otherwise half-hearted afternoon from Western Suburbs.
For context, the Phoenix Reserves had only scored four goals in their past six matches combined. Here they scored seven goals all at once – in fact those seven goals all came within a 58-minute window. Gabe Sloane-Rodrigues and Xuan Loke got the party started with their A-League credentials, Loke playing a role in each of the first three goals, but after that it was guys like Lachlan Candy, Luke Mitchell, and the midfield tandem of Fergus Gillion and Hayden Thomas that ran the show. Nice wee showcases for those dudes, who’ve all been solid without standing out in previous weeks. Not to poke at wounds within days of a certain A-League derby but you compare this team to Auckland FC Reserves and it’s way easier to pick out players from AFC because they’ve got so many lads who shine as individuals, with their own unique traits, within a cohesive team unit. A lot of WeeNix players kinda just merge with the scenery... so a game like this where we saw some scruff-of-the-neck-grabbing was awesome. Yes, they beat up on a Wests team that decided to start their offseason fifty minutes early... but that’s fine. Play who’s in front of you. Frankly, they could have scored a few more if they’d had a proper finisher out there.
Western Suburbs 2-7 Wellington Phoenix Reserves
29’ | 1-0 | WS | Marlow-Jones (Freeman)
44’ | 1-1 | WP | Gillion (Mitchell)
45+3’ | 1-2 | WP | Sloane-Rodrigues (Loke)
51’ | 1-3 | WP | Mitchell (Thomas)
56’ | 2-3 | WS | Freeman (Green)
64’ | 2-4 | WP | Smith (Candy)
66’ | 2-5 | WP | Gillion (Mitchell)
77’ | 2-6 | WP | Thomas (Pratt)
86’ | 2-7 | WP | Thomas (Candy)
Birkenhead United vs Western Springs
This game could have meant everything to Western Springs with a place in the National League grand final on the line. Instead results conspired against them on Saturday and they had to turn up at Shepherds Park with nothing to play for, already eliminated. They were in prime position a fortnight ago but defeats against Coastal Spirit and Auckland City sent them plummeting. So it was that only pride and dignity were on the line between these two Northern League rivals. Western Springs gave a first start to Matt Thomas in the back three for their only change while Birko brought in Zachary Chung at wing-back for theirs. Beauty of a day with a slight breeze to aid with the sweltering heat. Who’d polish off their season on a happy note?
The lack of context to the game was clear in a much slower tempo than these teams usually prefer. Springs tried to work their combinations whereas Birko were more direct but there were none but the faintest of sniffs until 15 mins gone when Dino Botica had a header from a corner cleared off the line and then Nathan Rostron touched the loose ball back to Leon van den Hoven who went bang through the crowd and into the bottom corner. Nicely taken goal from LVDH in his final game for the club before moving to Melbourne (yep, another Birko departure – last one left turn out the lights, please).
A couple of injury stoppages slowed the game down even more, one of those being Ben Wallace who’d have to be replaced for Springs with Caspar McGavin getting an hour-plus off the bench. Tough year for Wallace with injuries but McGavin’s done a fine job stepping up. However, he wasn’t getting any touches here while Birko knocked it around with one-two touch stuff, counter-pressing and trying to speed things up. Morgan Wellsbury nearly made it 2-0 when he got onto a lob over the top, holding off his marker to get to his shot only for Emmett Connolly to make a fantastic save rushing up. That reprieve was short-lived. Into stoppage time, Leon van den Hoven curled another one in after shaking a little room following a brave header from Isaac Bates. The midfielders in alignment, heck of a going away party this was turning out to be for LVDH.
Both teams made a sub at HT, with Louis Wickremesekera (WS) and Harry Newbould (BU) introduced. There were youth players spread across the substitute lists but we weren’t quite at that stage yet, especially not after this match took a huge swing back in the other direction when Wickremesekera got into the box and went down under some shoulder attention from Zach Chung. Second yellow for Chung and a penalty for Springs, which Reid Drake panenka’d down the middle to make it 2-1. Still 40 minutes left for ten-man Birko to hang onto this lead... and they were fortunate to make it two minutes as John Clout made a crucial block against Drake. Then again, they probably should have scored themselves after some silky work from Wellsbury at the byline set up Newbould from eight yards and he scooped it high.
Gatkek drew a save out of Keegan Smith with a strike from outside the area. Wellsbury showed some sweet hold-up abilities to pull up after charging into the box, turning back and then getting a shot off with his left... into the post and away. Wellsbury also felt he’d gotten a shove in the back from Aidan Carey at another stage. Probably not enough for a penalty... although was it any worse than the one given up the other end? Yeah, dunno. Those were both runaway chances for Wellsbury, counter attacks amidst some increasingly high possession for Springs. McGavin headed over the top from a deep cross. Reid Drake whipped a free kick off the crossbar. Eventually we did get to youth player time with Isikeli Brown and Max Beullens in amongst for Springs, while Tito Leon, Levi Hill, and Charlie Taylor were Birko’s last-game-amnesty recipients. Debut for Hill (the others also came off the bench last week)... and wouldn't you know it, Tito Leon grabbed a very late goal, set up by Taylor, to seal the deal.
Well, that caps the Western Springs tumble. They were top of the table after their bye round and then lost 1-0 to Coastal, 3-1 to Auckland City, and 3-1 to Birkenhead to slide all the way back to fifth. Their women’s team did something similar, starting really well before falling off in the middle/late (in that case it was more about running into some tougher fixtures all at once). Springs had conceded six goals in their first seven matches... then leaked seven in their last three. Could perhaps claim that a team which hardly rotates their starting eleven and makes by far the fewest subs of any club simply ran out of steam. They were in position and they couldn’t maintain. Oh well, they can always dab those tears with their Northern League champions medals. Emmett Connolly has been a great find at goalkeeper while Ry McLeod had an excellent year to boost his reputation. They got value from their vets and imports. All it’ll take is a couple more impact subs and maybe a centrepiece striker and the Swans could go all the way.
Birko started with two wins, ended with two wins, and in between lost 5/6 matches. Way too many goals conceded, though the fact they kept it going all the way to the end as they seemingly had to rebuild their squad on the fly the whole way through is yet another indicator of what a classy coach Paul Hobson is. They’re going to look even different next year without Leon van den Hoven but shout out to him for his fond farewell. Such an underestimated presence – Hobson spoke in the match programme about how it was Dino Botica, Luke Jorgensen, and LVDH as the first names on the teamsheet for him last year. Nathan Rostron’s had a real emergence as an overskilled centre-back. Their U20s loanees of Isaac Bates (Eastern Suburbs) and Morgan Wellsbury (Tauranga City) are clearly dudes to watch too. Wellsbury didn’t get a goal to show for it but his work in this game was as good as any of late. He’s tall and he wins his headers... he also makes smart runs and can dribble and shoot. 19 years old and this guy has all the tools in the shed at his disposal. Remember the name.
Birkenhead United 3-1 Western Springs
16’ | 1-0 | BU | Van den Hoven (Rostron)
45+3’ | 2-0 | BU | Van den Hoven (Bates)
50’ | RED CARD | BU | Chung
52’ | 2-1 | WS | Drake [p] (Wickremesekera)
89’ | 3-1 | BU | Leon (Taylor)
Auckland FC Reserves vs Auckland United
Finally, we took one last trip to Fred Taylor Park where the AFC Reserves lined up with Oliver Middleton and Jonty Bidois back in their eleven (as well as Aston Burns), one day after Biddy had gotten a run in the A-League Derby. AFC were on an unbeaten streak and seeking to keep up the good work. Auckland United, their opponents, were very much in ‘give the youngsters a crack’ mode... as they have been for a couple weeks. Ross Haviland was only on the bench. Would have liked to see Matias Nunez and Jedd White in the line-up but they’d been busy at the U17s tournament hosted by Western Springs so were only on the bench. Fair enough.
This was another of those games where one team was a little more up for it than the other. Sixty seconds on the clock, Dejaun Naidoo had already run through with a shot on target for AFC. Soon a raking switch by Finn McKenlay allowed Adama Coulibaly and Naidoo to get to work in that right corner, with DN’s cross then smashed onto the crossbar by a spinning Bidois. Ravenous beginnings from AFC... though United settling into some possession after that, albeit mostly passing around the back as AFC’s flat 4-4-2 OOP shape repelled them. Oli Fay did create a few things though. That included a pop from a free kick thirty metres out (after McKenlay had gone into the book for a foul)... Eli Jones made the two-handed save to deny him. A little bit afterwards, Khaled gave it a nudge from a similar distance in open play and clattered that thing off the post. Alright, now we were cooking.
Aston Burns burst into the area and had his shot saved low by Kai McLean. Matt Conroy did similar in the opposite direction with Eli Jones making an even better stop 1v1. This had evolved into a fun game with chances at both ends and plenty of transitional action (especially from United). It was simply a matter of which team would break through first. Step up Finn McKenlay with a banger deluxe...
Steve Corica was there in attendance so he knows what McKenlay has been doing. FM went close again soon after, snapping one at goal after some hectic stuff in the area. McLean parried that one over the bar but the waves kept coming and before the break arrived it was two. This time Aston Burns shimmied past his marker on the right edge to push the ball across the six yard box for Dejaun Naidoo to pounce for his fourth goal of the campaign. Good burst from Naidoo to get in front of his marker. Even more so from Burns whose combination of size, skill, and speed is making him a bit of a breakthrough star in this National League.
Van Fitzharris replaced Bidois at half-time, no doubt a scheduled swap after Biddy had gotten minutes for the first team the previous day. Also Fitzharris, his fellow Tauranga native, had a blinder last week so he deserved a run. Nothing changed. AFC kept up the hunt although Jones did have to be alert with a tidy save against a pelter of a long strike from Nico Mancilla. Again though, it was mostly long shots for AUFC despite some nice phases of possession. Mancilla fired over the top running onto a loose one in the box but that was a tough one. Didn’t really look like they had a goal in them unless it was something spectacular. The AFC defence, with Ryan Mackay and Luka Vicelich zoned in, certainly weren’t going to give them anything easy.
Matias Nunez was subbed on for the last half hour for AUFC despite having played in the Western Springs U17s tournament semi-final earlier that day (same deal with Jedd White later on, who scored in that semi). Auckland United lost to Fencibles who went on to beat Melville United in the Men’s final; on the Women’s side it was Tauranga Moana who beat Eastern Suburbs in the final. MVPs went to Cruz Pietersen (West Coast Rangers) and Grace Duncan (Tauranga Moana). Duncan played at the U17 World Cup recently. Cool thing there is that Auckland FC have arranged, through their ownership structure, for those two players to have a two-week training experience with AFC Bournemouth. Ironically, Pietersen is actually affiliated with the Wellington Phoenix Academy. Also keep in mind that Matias Nunez and Jedd White were playing against AFC here but, like most other elite players their age in Auckland, are also part of the AFC Talent ID outreach stuff and could easily find themselves in opposite colours next year.
Anyway, Auckland FC scored a third goal in the 68th minute when Aston Burns swivelled past some attention on the halfway line and then was too fast for anyone to keep up with. His finish past McLean’s close-out looked perfect until it pinged off the post but that’s where Van Fitzharris’ support run came in handy as the rebound went straight to him and he could have walked it into the open net if he’d wanted. Goals in consecutive weeks for the U17 World Cup rep. Can’t really justify giving Burns an assist for a shot off target but know that he created that thing same as he did plenty of other moments in this match.
Coulibaly went off with a knock with ten to go, hopefully nothing major. Other than that, Burns had one more chance to get on the scoresheet but after getting in behind and around McLean, substitute Ross Haviland stepped across to break it up. RH’s 15-min cameo ensured he appeared in all ten games for AUFC (along with Kai McLean, Jaylen Rodwell, and Bruce Izumi) and was worth it for at least that one instance, keeping the score from getting any worse. But yeah nah 3-0 to Auckland FC final score. Auckland United finish their year with three consecutive scoreless defeats. Auckland FC finish theirs by leaping up to fourth place on the back of three straight wins and six undefeated.
This has been such a subpar National League from Auckland United, failing to find any momentum after their late surge to qualify combined with the run to the Chatham Cup final. Emiliano Tade only played one game and they were pretty reliant on him so that threw everything into a stir. Never really got the best out of Otto Ingham or Dre Vollenhoven without that attention-grabbing striker ahead of them. And a youthful squad just didn’t have the strength or experience to stick around in games for ninety minutes – even if the veterans Ross Haviland and Hideto Takahashi gave it their best shot. Gotta be said though, they did use these last few games to increase the minutes for emerging lads like Oliver Campbell, Cameron Siebert, Jedd White, and of course Matias Nunez. That correlated directly with their closing run of defeats but it does help set the scene for next year’s squad. Benefits to be found down the line.
Mate but what a campaign that Auckland FC had. After the 3-0 lesson taught to them by Miramar in week one they never again conceded multiple goals in a game. Always competitive. Very well organised, well coached. Built on their defence but with full knowledge of how they wanted to score their goals. Plus the talent is immense. Guys like Finn McKenlay, Adama Coulibaly, Oliver Middleton, and Jonty Bidois should be pretty common names by now and then there’s Ryan Mackay, Dejaun Naidoo, Aston Burns, Van Fitzharris, Luka Vicelich, and all these others behind them. McKenlay and Burns were superb in this game. Eli Jones got his first MNL clean sheet. AFC’s only two defeats were the only two games that Naidoo didn’t play.
Auckland FC Reserves 3-0 Auckland United
34’ | 1-0 | AFC | McKenlay (Mitchell)
42’ | 2-0 | AFC | Naidoo (Burns)
68’ | 3-0 | AFC | Fitzharris
| P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wellington Olympic | 10 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 23 | 14 | 9 | 21 |
| Auckland City | 10 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 19 | 14 | 5 | 20 |
| Miramar Rangers | 10 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 25 | 14 | 11 | 19 |
| Auckland FC | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 17 | 10 | 7 | 18 |
| Western Springs | 10 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 16 | 13 | 3 | 16 |
| Birkenhead United | 10 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 20 | 21 | -1 | 15 |
| Christchurch United | 10 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 16 | 19 | -3 | 14 |
| Western Suburbs | 10 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 19 | 21 | -2 | 10 |
| Wellington Phoenix | 10 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 18 | 21 | -3 | 10 |
| Auckland United | 10 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 11 | 19 | -8 | 8 |
| Coastal Spirit | 10 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 5 | 23 | -18 | 7 |
| TOP SCORERS | ||
|---|---|---|
| Martin Bueno | Miramar Rangers | 9 |
| Sebastian Barton-Ginger | Western Suburbs | 5 |
| Gianni Bouzoukis | Wellington Olympic | 5 |
| Jack-Henry Sinclair | Wellington Olympic | 5 |
| Kaelin Nguyen | Western Suburbs | 4 |
| Gerard Garriga | Auckland City | 4 |
| Jonty Bidois | Auckland FC | 4 |
| Shogo Osawa | Christchurch United | 4 |
| Isa Prins | Wellington Olympic | 4 |
| Dejaun Naidoo | Auckland FC | 4 |
| Reid Drake | Western Springs | 4 |
| MOST ASSISTS | ||
|---|---|---|
| Owen Smith | Miramar Rangers | 8 |
| Isa Prins | Wellington Olympic | 5 |
| Shaan Anand | Auckland United | 3 |
| Jordan Lamb | Miramar Rangers | 3 |
| Joel Stevens | Christchurch United | 3 |
| Devin Slingsby | Birkenhead United | 3 |
| Oliver Van Rijssel | Christchurch United | 3 |
| Nicolas Bobadilla | Miramar Rangers | 3 |
| Tyler Freeman | Western Suburbs | 3 |
| Lachlan Candy | Wellington Phoenix | 3 |
| Isaac Bates | Birkenhead United | 3 |
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