Aotearoa Domestic Football Roundup – April 14
Men’s Northern League
Saturday was a very busy day for Auckland City Football Club. At 3pm they hosted Western Springs at Kiwitea Street in Auckland and then at 7pm they faced Hekari United of Papua New Guinea at National Stadium in Honiara, Solomon Islands. Two games in the space of a few hours... in two different countries/competitions. How about that? The latter game was the priority and Auckland City did what they planned to do by winning 2-0 against Hekari thanks to a couple of goals from Myer Bevan (39’ & 83’ pen). Tough yakka but with that they’ve won their fourth consecutive Oceania Champions League. Dylan Manickum was crowned Player of the Tournament.
By winning the OCL, they’ve also booked themselves a date at the Intercontinental Cup later in the year – that’s the comp that the old Club World Cup has been morphed into. Since the new Club World Cup is an every-four-years affair, they’ve kept the old one around under a different name as an annual thing. ACFC lost 6-2 to Al Ain in their one-and-done game last September. Both those tournaments will have editions this year so Auckland City have an insane amount of fixtures to play in 2025, especially for what’s effectively an amateur team. Hence they’ve got a massive squad. Hence they had enough players left over from the OCL travelling group to be able to play this Northern League against Western Springs and thus avoid an extra midweeker later in the season. It wasn’t merely a squad of backups either. Several of the top choice fellas didn’t go to the Solomon Islands because, apparently, they’ve only got so much annual leave at their day-jobs and are understandably prioritising the Club World Cup instead.
ACFC vs Hekari:
Starting 11: Conor Tracey, Nikko Boxall, Adam Mitchell, Michael Den Heijer, Nathan Lobo, Gerard Garriga, Dylan Manickum, David Yoo, Haris Zeb, Jerson Lagos, Myer Bevan
Substitutes: Matt Ellis, Jordan Vale, Ryan De Vries, Christian Gray
Unused Subs: Dylan Connolly, Tong Zhou, Nathan Garrow, Otto Ingham, Adam Bell
ACFC vs Western Springs:
Starting 11: Areya Prasad, Regont Murati, Mario Ilich, Kentaro Ozaki, Alfie Rogers, Paris Domfeh, Jackson Manuel, Joe Lee, Jeremy Foo, Kailan Gould, Angus Kilkolly
Substitutes: Ryan Ellis, Jesse Gage
Unused Subs: Santino Escolme, Reon Werahiko, Kaio Martinez
That’s 28 players used with another eight who didn’t play, all on the same day. There’s no other club in the country (outside of the A-League sides) that could manage that feat and still stay competitive. As for the interesting names, you probably want to look at the three teenagers who got starts at Kiwitea Street: goalkeeper Prasad, midfielder Domfeh, and winger Foo. However, Western Springs are a good team and they won it 1-0 thanks to a 34th minute back-post header from Ben Wallace. These two clubs have lots of back and forth in recent years. Matt Ellis has transferred in both directions while Reid Drake captained Springs here against his old City mates. Aidan Carey also used to play for the Navy Blues while Jackson Manuel was on the other side having been a big part of the Swans squad last year. Far too many narratives for one game of football. Perhaps the most consequential is that ACFC have lost their first competitive fixture for 2025. Will they lose another before Bayern Munich on 16 June NZT?
There were other things that happened in the Northern League and they included Auckland United vs Auckland FC Reserves. Dre Vollenhoven gave United the lead on 8’. Dejuan Naidoo (who was a youngster in the AUFC system before playing for Eastern Suburbs in 2024) equalised on 19’. Two minutes later Emiliano Tade restored United’s lead which means he’s now scored in all four games that he’s played for Auckland United. A Riley Manuel goal on 45’, a second for Tade on 54’, and a Lucca Lim effort on 57’ then saw the team in black overwhelm their young visitors... although Finn McKenlay did get one back on 62’ so that it finished up 5-2 to AUFC. Along with McKenlay, there were also Adama Coulibaly, Oliver Middleton, Jonty Bidois, and Joe Knowles with first team scholarship contracts in this eleven. Also of note were first sightings of Fijian defender Semi Nabenu and ex-Auckland City youth striker Ryan Revill off the bench. Regardless, Auckland Utd were way too good and they now occupy top spot on the table after four rounds thanks to City’s defeat.
Auckland United have scored 13 goals in four games... but there is one team that’s scored more. That team is Birkenhead United who have lost so many players from last season yet that hasn’t slowed them down at all. Away to West Coast Rangers, it was Birko who led for most of the first half after Curtis Hughes scored on 5’. This despite Rohan Kawale being sent off after only ten minutes. Tom Durkin tied it up just before the break but, even with the numbers disadvantage, quick goals from John Clout (50’) and Michael Suski (51’) put Birkenhead back into a healthy lead. Alas, it was a lead that they couldn’t hold. Muse Abrahaberhe (74’) and Jack Butterfill (78’) struck back to draw WCR level again. This wild game had one more twist when Dion Buckingham was sent off for the hosts on 82’, ensuring both sides finished with ten men, although perhaps the tanks had already been emptied by then. It ended 3-3. Birkenhead have scored 15 times in four matches. They’re one of two remaining undefeated teams alongside Auckland United.
Elsewhere, Manurewa AFC have lost all four. They finally scored a goal this week when Dylan Laing-McConnell (67’) cancelled out Bay Olympic’s earlier goal from Derek Tieku (14’). Tieku’s had a great start with the Bay, scoring four times in four games. Mats Kaiser’s also been good for them and it was the German who scored the 86th minute winner as Bay Olympic claimed a 2-1 victory. Emman Rahimi was sent off for Rewa shortly before they equalised. Fencibles got their first win back in the top flight, defeating East Coast Bays 2-0 on the road via goals from Xavier Maddox (44’) and Darius Palma (65’). And then Eastern Suburbs also had a win away from home. They went 2-0 up early against Tauranga City with goals from Joby Redi (13’) and Eber Ramirez (25’). Morgan Wellsbury kept up his good start to the term with a 78th minute goal to give Tauranga City some hope... but almost immediately Noah Karunaratne cancelled that out for the Lilywhites who sealed the deal on a 3-1 victory.
Women’s NRFL Premiership
Two clubs remain perfect in the NRFL Prem and you can guess which ones they are. Auckland United were too good for Hibiscus Coast, claiming a 3-0 result. Charlotte Roche got her first of the campaign on 11’ and then Jess Philpot (69’) and Alexis Cook (81’) wrapped things up in the second half. The Coasties had Aneka Mittendorff back but didn’t have Paige Satchell this week. Another ninety mins for Anna Leat as striker... but you don’t get much to feed on against AUFC. Not only have United won all four matches, they’ve done so scoring 18 times and conceding only once (Kenya Brooke scored that goal for Eastern Suburbs, we’ll see how long it is until she gets some company within that club). The undefeated streak rises to 53 games for AUFC.
The other perfect team is West Coast Rangers... already last year’s top two are pulling away from the crowd. WCR were away against Ellerslie and they scored swiftly through Minji Yun (6’) only to concede an instant leveller from Maddison Ollington (7’). But Shannon Henson responded on 14’ and goals for Sienna Higinbotham (39’) and Emily Lyon (45’) blew it out before half-time. Minji Yun then scored a second on 70’ and that was that. 5-1 to West Coast Rangers. Higinbotham looks like a funky player, she’s an American midfielder who has made the move to Aotearoa following her college career. 16-year-old Charli Reo got the start for Rangers in this match too.
Ella Findlay was the star of the show when Western Springs played Eastern Suburbs on Friday night. Findlay used to play for Suburbs, then she switched to Springs last year. She was also one of NZ’s better players at the last U20 World Cup so hers is a name worth knowing. But on this occasion it seems she got a bit confused and scored a goal for each team. A 66th minute own goal had Suburbs on course for victory until an 89th minute Springs reply booked a 1-1 draw. Ella Findlay scored both of them. What a day. Always lots of great prospects in the spotlight when these two teams are involved. Springs had the likes of Charli Dunn, Kitty Jacob, Ella Findlay, and Kate Duncan. Suburbs had the likes of Samireh Kan, Lucy Hunt, and Charley March. Yet an even sneakier point of note was the Western Springs debut of Sarah Morton off the bench... a capped NZ international who was a key figure for Waterside Karori last season. She’s moved to Auckland and joined the Swans, there ya go.
In the other fixture, Tauranga Moana’s tricky adjustment to the top division continued as they welcomed Fencibles to town and were beaten 3-0. Hayley Miller scored twice (31’ & 73’) and Mischa Marais got the other one (68’). That was a much-needed first win for Fencies, who’d only scored twice in three games before this one and that’s without having played the top two. One month into the campaign, there are six players with at least three goals scored and they all play for Auckland United or West Coast Rangers. Alexis Cook (AU), Emily Lyon (WCR), Minji Yun (WCR), and Shannon Henson (WCR) all have four. Ava Pritchard (AU) and Danielle Canham (AU) have three each.
Men’s Central League
The most fascinating game over in these parts was the Wellington Phoenix Reserves against Napier City Rovers after both teams won their opening two fixtures. Perfect records were on the line... and it was the WeeNix who triumphed. Daniel Makowem (7’) and Gabriel Sloane-Rodrigues (50’) scored the goals in a 2-0 win, which already tells you that this was a strong Phoenix team. Luke Supyk, Lachlan Candy, and Xuan Loke were also involved from the wider first-team squad. NCR were close to full capacity themselves but it wasn’t enough. Curious to see Makowem back in the frontline having been used as a converted left-back for a lot of last year. The A-League sides aren’t up to much at the moment but the Wellington Phoenix are doing amazing things in the Central Leagues.
Miramar Rangers had a massive win, beating North Wellington 8-0 on the road. Amazingly, Martin Bueno scored five of those goals (15’, 31’ pen, 47’, 57’, 61’). No stopping the Uruguayan. On top of that quintet were goals from Spencer Cameron (14’), Jordan Lamb (20’), and Sam Gates (50’). Western Suburbs were able to pocket their first win at home against Petone. Thirty minutes in and they were cruising after goals from Seb Barton-Ginger (3’), Jonathan Robinson (12’), and the ever-dependable Harry Fautley (27’)... but then they conceded to a Jack O’Connor effort late in the first half and things really got frisky when goalkeeper Quillan Roberts was sent off with thirty to go. However, Petone couldn’t muster a second until Sean Matthew struck in stoppage time and by then it was too late. Western Suburbs with the 3-2 win.
No dramas for Wellington Olympic who beat Waterside Karori 5-0 at Wakefield Park. It was the usual consort of scorers for them: Hamish Watson (27’), Ben Mata (38’), Isa Prins (44’), and then a double for Jack-Henry Sinclair (58’ & 60’). Then finally, Upper Hutt City vs Island Bay shaped up to be one of several crunch games that we’ll see between the relegation-threatened sides over the course of the year. Close game but Tsar Mitchener’s 65th minute goal was the difference as Island Bay won 1-0. Sam Twigg was sent off late for UHC. Wellington Phoenix and Wellington Olympic are the two teams with 3/3 wins. Petone and Upper Hutt are the two teams with 3/3 losses. Long way to go yet.
Women’s Central League
Guess what, the Wellington Phoenix U18s had another monster victory. They hosted Taradale at Fraser Park and won 7-1. They’ve had three games in this division and they’ve won 4-0 against Waterside Karori, 12-0 against Palmerston North United, and now 7-1 against Taradale AFC. So... shout out to Maddi Hughes who at least dealt them their first concession. Hughes scored just before half-time to make it 2-1. Taradale probably though they were in with a shout at that stage.
The WeeNix had already scored early via Katie Pugh (14’), who seems to be building into a strong campaign after her rapidfire hatty last week. Isabella Temple then added to that on 23’ (daughter of Paul, if you didn’t know). Kya Solomon was a teammate of Hughes and a couple other Taradale players in last year’s Central Football WNL squad but Solomon’s now with the Phoenix Academy and she scored in first-half stoppage time to response to the Hughes goal. And after that the Nix ran riot in the last half hour or so: Grace Bartlett (59’), Holly Robins (62’), Bartlett again (76’), and Mackenzie Bryant (90’).
Couple of new names in there for the Phoenix... one that stands out is Dorothy Yek who played for Canterbury United in the last National League. Continuing the fine tradition of the Wellington Phoenix recruiting female players from the Canterbury region. The WeeNix U18s have used 27 different players through these three games and already have 12 different goal-scorers. The U20s kick off their campaign in the Boy’s Central Development League U15 Division in a fortnight so we’ll probably see a few of the better players here alternating between those two sides.
Wellington United are also scoring copious goals. After putting eight past Waterside Karori in their first game, they’ve followed that up with a 6-0 win against Palmerston North United. Amelie Deane (14’), Carolyn O’Reilly (38’ & 54’), Taylor Watson (44’), Hannah Pilley (64’), and Lara Smith (69’) with the goals. They were able to rest a couple of players and still cruise to victory. Natalie Olson captained the side but didn’t score any of the goals despite bagging five last week... no doubt she set a few up.
We also had Waterside Karori finally getting into gear with a 4-1 win away to Palmerston North Marist. An own goal after four minutes got them started, then Nicola Ross (20’ & 63’) and Rhianna Houghton (38’) kept them going. Isabella Yarwood’s goal for PNM was only an 85th min consolation. Clearly it was a bad week for the Central region sides because Moturoa lost 2-0 at home against Petone, goals coming via Phoebe Gray (49’) and Kyra Elder (90’). And then Miramar Rangers and Victoria University drew 0-0.
Men’s Southern League
In an outcome best categorised as: “that’s more like it”, Christchurch United surged to a 5-0 victory away against a pretty good Ferrymead Bays team on Friday night. It didn’t take three minutes before Shogo Osawa, a Japanese forward who’d most recently been playing in Western Australia, gave them the lead. WeeNix graduate Joshua Tollervey then followed that up on 24’ to make it 2-0. Funky career for 21yo Tollervey so far... since leaving the Nix at the start of 2024, he’s played Auckland United, Miramar Rangers, and now Christchurch United. Scored regular goals for all of them too (he scored twice against Nomads in week one). That’s the way it stayed until the dynamic duo of Joel Stevens (60’) and Eddie Wilkinson (72’ & 86’) sprinted away in the last half hour.
The Rams were a bit sketchy in beating Nomads 4-2 in game one, then they barely avoided defeat (thanks to a late Jago Godden goal) in a 1-1 draw vs Nelson Suburbs. But this was a comprehensive performance at the third attempt... against a team that themselves had won 5-0 (against Selwyn) last week. There are lots of new players for CUFC this year hence it could take some time to gel, but they’re stacked with talent and time is on their side. Thanks to this win, they now sit top of the table after three rounds.
That’s because Cashmere Technical were stunned 3-2 by promoted Wānaka. Goals from Jake Thompson (10’) and Steve Sprowson (27’) had WFC up 2-0 at the midway stage. Cashmere Tech were without Garbhan Coughlan who went off injured last week and panic stations were reached early. In direct response to the second goal, coach Dan Schwarz subbed off Alex Ballard and Jesse Burge (always feel sorry for the collateral damage subs in theses cases) to get Aidan Barbour-Ryan and Yuya Taguchi on midway through the first half. Taguchi scored two minutes into the second spell so apparently it worked. Eventually Danny Kane scored as well, equalising in stoppage time... but that still left enough time for Edward Belingher to pop up with an even later goal for Wānaka. Belingher’s a former Christchurch Utd lad who spent some time in the system of FC Cluj in Romania. Fantastic result for the Ben Sippola-coached Wānaka fellas.
Dunedin City Royals had a good win beating Nomads United 2-0 in Christchurch (Tulett Park to be more specific). A goal in each half from Connor Neil did the trick: a penalty on 27’, then a strike from outside the box on 71’. Nelson Suburbs had an even gooder win as they smashed Universities of Canterbury by a 7-1 scoreline. Liam Pledger got the only goal for Unis on 39’ to make it 3-1. Around that were Nelson Subs goals scored by Alex Ward (3’), Sebastian Hickman (31’ & 33’), Ben Polak (47’), Lennon Whewell (52’), Jarvis Vaai (79’), and Brock Cotton (90’). The last two fellas were both subs who came on and scored. Hickman’s now up to four goals for the term and leading the Southern League Golden Boot stocks.
And in the other match, Coastal Spirit had a big win over Selwyn United. Doubles for Riku Ichimura (7’ & 60’) and Roque Fuentes Salinas (65’ & 86’) set up a 4-0 result. Ichimura is a new addition, a 23yo Japanese forward who most recently played in Australia. Roque Fuentes is a Chilean national who originally moved to NZ to play for Waiheke United (back when they had all their South American lads) and spent a few years with Coastal Spirit before playing for Uni Cantabs in 2024. Now he’s back and scoring goals. No Southern League team has won 3/3 but Nelson Suburbs, Christchurch United, Cashmere Tech, Wānaka, Dunedin City, and Coastal Spirit all have two wins. This could be shaping up as our most competitive division this year.
Women’s South Island League
Universities of Canterbury had the bye this round so they had their feet up while everyone else was scoring copious goals. Dunedin City Royals were the main culprits. They hosted local rivals Roslyn Wakari and smacked them 8-2 with Amy Hislop scoring a hat-trick. It was briefly 1-1 after Hannah Mackay-Wright (DCR 20’) and Zara Pratley (RW 23’) goals cancelled each other out but then Hislop got her first on 26’ and the Royals got busy in the second half. Further goals for Rose Morton (56’), Kylie Jones (60’), Hislop (70’), Hislop (76’), Jones (78’), and then Keira Pettefar (90’) polished it off after Morgan MacCormick (83’) had pulled one back for RWAFC. Looks like Amy Hislop is well and truly back in peak form. She’s got five goals in three games already – tied for the Golden Boot lead with her teammate Kylie Jones.
Cashmere Technical were full of goals themselves in a 6-0 win against Halswell United. Saskia Pelham got a brace (16’ & 45’), Petra Buyck got a brace (58’ & 69’), plus Kaia Smith (30’) and Savannah Olsen (90’) also joined the party. Kaia Smith is only 16 years old. Pelham is a Central Football product who last year played for Coastal. Otago University maintained their perfect start with a 3-1 win against NW United. They took the lead through an own goal after eight minutes but Rebecca Gillett’s 16th min leveller meant it was 1-1 until goals either side of the break sent Otago Uni onwards to the three points. Leila Hausia-Haugen (41’) and Georgia Nixon (52’).
And Coastal Spirit beat Nelson Suburbs 2-0 with Ashlyn Gillespie-Nye (42’) and Lauren Annan (54’) scoring the goals. Coastal are also perfect but they’ve had a bye so for them it’s only two wins from two unlike DCR and Otago Uni. Cashmere Tech, of course, were beaten by Otago Uni in week one – a result that is increasingly looking less like an upset the more Otago University keep winning.
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