Aotearoa Domestic Football Roundup – July 14
Men’s Northern League
Sound the bells because we have a new leader in the Northern League. Birkenhead United gave a debut off the bench to new signing Kian Donkers but he couldn’t find them a goal and neither could anybody else as they were held to a 0-0 draw away against Manurewa AFC. This was last versus first heading into the weekend but Rewa have been sneakily competitive lately with this result adding to recent wins against Bay Olympic and Fencibles. Ryan Dougherty, Nicolas Blassou, and Keen Mandizvidza were the only starters in common from when Rewa lost 5-0 to Birko in the reverse fixture in April. They’re still last... but suddenly only two points separate West Coast Rangers, Fencibles, and Manurewa with two of them to be relegated. Let the battle rage onwards.
Birko have only won one of their last four games – enough of a slump to allow Western Springs to jump ahead of them by a point courtesy of their own 2-1 win against West Coast Rangers. They were in a deficit after Joshua Armitt’s 11th min goal but Caspar McGavin managed to level things up prior to half-time (41’). Springs were second-best throughout that first half against the threats of blokes like Musa Abrahaberhe, Ignacio Machuca, Zachary Newman, and new signing (making his first start) Luke Jorgensen... but they finished much stronger and what do ya know ol’ Caspar McGavin popped up with a 90th-minute winner to send the Swans to the summit. This may not have been their most convincing performance but they’ve won five in a row and taken 25/27 points from their last nine. McGavin now has seven goals this season. As for Jorgo, he took a break for the first half of the season with the inference that he’d probably return to Birkenhead once refreshed. Instead it’s WCR who’ve snatched a major signing for their relegation quest... though Jorgo could presumably be loaned/transferred back to Birko for the National League stuff.
Auckland City returned to action post-Club World Cup with a trip to Tauranga City... where they lost 2-1. David Yoo put them ahead after 10 minutes but Morgan Wellsbury (35’) and Liam Molloy (69’) had other ideas, with both of those goals coming from set piece situations. Wellsbury thus extends his lead with a 12th goal of the season. Great win for Tauranga to get their top four chances back on track – as it stands, they’re only outside on goal difference. To be fair to Auckland City, they rested a lot of players for this game with Paris Domfeh and debutant goalie Reon Werehiko both starting when neither was even part of the touring squad that went to America. Tell ya what though, they weren’t exactly in a great spot on that Northern League table before this game so defeat here sinks them all the way down to seventh. They can climb to second-equal if they win their two games in hand, it’s all pretty bunched in that mid-table, but that’s no guarantee on current form.
East Coast Bays and Bay Olympic shared the points with a 1-1 draw. Flynn Saxon’s 58th minute goal had Olympic leading until Nicolai Berry levelled up with five minutes left. Not a result that does much for either team – East Coast Bays would have gone fourth with a win, instead they stay sixth (one point ahead of ACFC) allowing Auckland United to rise to fourth after their 3-2 win against Fencibles. Dre Vollenhoven got them started after nine minutes. Ishveer Singh made it 2-0 after 25 mins. Then came the Fencies comeback as Kodie Nicol scored just before half-time and then Braeden O’Neill slotted an equaliser shortly after being subbed on. 80 mins gone and it was 2-2... but that wasn’t the end of it. Nope, Ishveer Singh got his second in stoppage time as AUFC took the points with a 3-2 scoreline.
Finally, shout out to the Auckland FC Reserves who won 2-0 away against Eastern Suburbs for their first victory in two months. The goals were scored by Ralph Rutherford (43’) and James Mitchell (68’), both of whom used to play for Eastern Suburbs. There was also a debut for new signing Evan Masamba off the bench... although Ben Perez Baldoni’s substitute goal streak did end at two (he had a really good chance near the end which he struck off target). None of the eligible scholarship players (Finn McKenlay, Adama Coulibaly, Oliver Middleton, Jonty Bidois, and Joe Knowles) have been involved since May, first due to the U20 national team going on tour and now presumably because first team preseason has begun with an Aussie Cup game to be played in two weeks. Well, the Reserves just beat a very strong Lilywhites team without them. Interestingly, Luka Vicelich was announced as a forward when they signed him. He’s actually more of a midfielder but he played central defence here in his first start (and got Player of the Match for his team).
Women’s NRFL Premiership
It’s been several weeks since we last saw Anna Leat running around as a striker for Hibiscus Coast so no surprises that she’s found a new club. There may be some surprises about the destination, though...
Rightio. We’ll see how long she stays with the Lilywhites but they did make a point of emphasis that it’ll be back to goalkeeper for her... signalling the transition out of her sabbatical phase. Leat’s early release from Aston Villa came for personal reasons after a preseason head injury kept her out of action for a several months and left her as the back-up goalie for a fourth WSL season in a row, serving as the apprentice to a different keeper each time. That’s bound to be frustrating, not to mention the injury. She needed a break so she left the Villans and you know the story from there. It didn’t necessarily have to have anything to do with Auckland FC... though AFC do like to blab about their transfer targets and Leat was a stated target who’d conveniently just moved back to Aotearoa.
It would have made sense, except that the A-League are being tight-wads about paying extras for another expansion team so Auckland FC Women won’t be happening this season. It’s disappointing. Having said that, Leat could walk into nearly any ALW squad she chooses hence that could easily still be on the cards. It’s probably too late to return to England with those teams now getting back into preseason but if she wanted to, she’s got enough of a reputation there to get something going perhaps in January. But, yes, in the meantime we can hopefully expect to see one of NZ’s best-ever goalkeepers making saves in the NRFL Premiership.
Anna Leat didn’t play for the Lilywhites this week, however their other new signing did: American midfielder TJ Anderson. She debuted for Eastern Suburbs away against West Coast Rangers, with Suburbs getting off to a superb start after Victoria Neuefeind scored twice inside of ten minutes (2’, 9’). Title-contenders WCR fought back with goals from Laney Strachan (22’) and Shannon Henson (25’) to make it 2-2... only for Kenya Brooke to score (33’) and have ESAFC leading 3-2 at the break. Jess Innes then popped up with a double (64’, 71’) before Emily Lyon got a last-gasp consolation for Rangers. 5-3 was the final score in favour of Eastern Suburbs. Statement result for them.
That also meant that West Coast Rangers failed to take advantage of a rare Auckland United slip-up the night before. AUFC were held 1-1 at home by Fencibles. Hayley Miller put Fencies up after 16 minutes before Penny Brill immediately equalised... and that was that. First points that AUFC have dropped since the defeat against WCR way back in April, yet with how the weekend turned out they actually extended their lead to four points at the exact two-thirds point of the campaign.
Western Springs did what they needed to do with a 4-1 win away against Tauranga Moana. Rina Hirano (19’), Anna McPhie (26’), and Tiana Hill (34’) had them up by three before Miah Smith (38’) hit back for the home team. Kitty Jacob grabbed another on 81’ to wrap it all up. No stress there. Nor for Ellerslie in a 4-0 win against Hibiscus Coast. Goals scored by Abby Wright (25’), Maddi Ollington (34’), Danielle Grimmer (36’), and Ollington again (75’). That hauls Ollington to 13 goals in the Premiership, only one behind Shannon Henson of WCR who also scored this week (albeit only once).
Men’s Central League
The first thing to check every week in the Central League is whether or not Wellington Olympic won... and this week they did not. They were away against Western Suburbs and goals from Finn Diamond (47’) and Tyler Freeman (53’) early in the second half had the four-time reigning champs in big trouble. But Jack-Henry Sinclair scored twice (58’, 79’) to at least battle back for a point. The Greeks keep their six-point lead after 13 of 18 games played while Wests stay in the last National League position with Napier City Rovers breathing down their necks.
That’s after Napier City Rovers won 5-0 away against Upper Hutt City. Not much of a contest going on there. Goals were scored by Sam Lack (13’), Stephen Hoyle (34’), Cameron Emerson (47’), Jordan Annear (68’), and Kees MacKirdy (90’), giving NCR a healthy GD-boosting win following a run of five Central League games without a win (granted, that did include solid draws against Welly Olympic and the WeeNix). It was also pretty one-sided, at least in terms of the result, as Island Bay United won 4-1 against Waterside Karori. Island Bay recently made a coaching change with Stu Jacobs leaving and Martin Pereyra-Garcia taking his place and it seems that tweak may have worked as Leo Villa gave IBU the lead after six minutes before Charlie Hale (56’) and John Attard (62’) blew that out to 3-0. Ihaia Delaney got a late one for the Wharfies after 86 mins but then Charlie Hale scored again in stoppage time for Island Bay.
There’s a belter of a relegation battle emerging here because North Wellington won 3-0 against Petone. All even after 45, then goals for Joshua Zatorski (50’), Miles Woodhall (65’), and Fletcher Pratt (76’) sent North Welly striding towards just their second win of the campaign. With Waterside Karori and Petone both losing (along with Upper Hutt), and North Wellington and Island Bay both winning, the bottom five teams are separated by three mere points. One of those teams is getting relegated. There’s then a six point gap to Napier City Rovers pushing for National League qualification so there’s no mid-table in the Central League. Everybody’s playing for something serious.
Including Wellington Phoenix Reserves and Miramar Rangers who faced off at Fraser Park with second place on the line. Martin Bueno scored first (as he often does) to give Rangers a 25th min advantage. Luke Flowerdew then struck on either side of the break to have the WeeNix up 2-1 (42’, 49’), after which Sam Gates (52’) and Jordan Lamb (79’) responded for Miramar Rangers to claim a 3-2 win. Back and forth and back again. The WeeNix ended with nine men after Ryan Lee was red carded after 57 mins and then Anaru Cassidy joined him with a straight red after 88 mins. The only other league defeat for the WeeNix lads this year was against Wellington Olympic, who were also the only other team to score three times against them. Same as with Auckland FC, a lot of the best WeeNixers are settling into preseason training ahead of the Aussie Cup so Fergus Gillion and Lachlan Candy were the only players here with A-League experience (adding up to about 11 minutes across three substitute apps between them). Miramar Rangers are on a six-game undefeated streak which is the longest active run in this division.
Women’s Central League
It was the usual story over here with the top top clubs both winning to nil. Wellington United were 4-0 victors against Taradale with Hannah Pilley scoring three (24’, 64’, 83’) before new American striker signing Summer Laskey added another at the end. It was close for a lot of that game though. Less so as the Wellington Phoenix U18s won 6-0 against Victoria University thanks to goals from Eliza Vincent (9’), Amelie McClintock (43’, 79’), Leonora Webb (52’), and Bridie Jessica Christie (74’, 84’). Make that 12 wins from 12 for Wellington United while the WeeNix U18s have still only conceded three times in a dozen games of senior footy.
Elsewhere, we had another twist in the scrap for third place as Petone snatched a 1-0 win from Miramar Rangers courtesy of a Pepi Olliver-Bell goal right before half-time (44’). It’s been said before but Petone’s defence is incredible, only conceding six times in 11 matches... yet somehow that’s only the third-best mark in this division thanks to the obvious two aforementioned candidates. Anyway, that’s an important win for Petone made even more valuable by Waterside Karori being held to a 1-1 draw away against Palmerston North United. In fact, after Georgia Irwin put PNU ahead after 33 minutes, it wasn’t until late that Kya Stewart finally got the Wharfies on the board (86’).
Palmerston North Marist had a good win too. Goals from Chardonnay Ross-Elvin (16’), Marina Ishimoto (69’), and Renee Maddigan (86’) served them up a 3-0 win on the road against Moturoa. That takes Marist to 16 points, miles clear of any relegation dramas... although the four clubs beneath them (PNU, Moturoa, Miramar, and Vic Uni) are only separated by three points.
Men’s Southern League
It didn’t come easy for them, but Christchurch United maintained their lead in the Southern League with a 1-0 win against Ferrymead Bays. Ben Stroud was the unlikely goal-scorer after 69 minutes, floating one in from an intended cross. Teenaged goalkeeper Ben Graney, who moved down from Napier City this year, kept a clean sheet in just his third appearance of the term (usually Dutchman Steven van Dijk wears the gloves). The Rams have only conceded six goals in 11 matches. They’ve been awesome... but they’ve still got plenty of work to do if they want to regain this title.
That’s because both Cashmere Technical and Coastal Spirit are within two points of Chch Utd on the ladder. Cashmere Technical are second but have played an extra game than the other two. Nevertheless, they’re clearly on the charge having won five in a row since losing to the Rams in mid-May. The latest was a 4-1 victory against Wānaka FC. A couple of favourite sons supplied the goals there: Lyle Matthysen (45’, 55’) and Yuya Taguchi (45’, 87’), with Taguchi also assisting both of Matthysen’s goals. Edward Belingher pulled one back for WFC in the final minutes. Tech lost the corresponding away fixture so this was a bit of revenge on top of their surge back into championship/National League contention.
But Coastal Spirit didn’t blink, winning 4-2 away against Selwyn United to match the points tally of the two clubs above them. It began with a Mason Stearn penalty after 14 mins and then Jack Mitchell made it 2-0 on 18’. After that, Southern League top scorer Riku Ichimura took over with a goal after 48 mins. Selwyn threatened to make a game of it after Jamie Carrodus (53’) and Finlay Cotton (80’) struck to close it to 3-2... however, Ichimura quickly put away his second (82’) to take care of that problem. Ichimura’s up to 14 for the season, way clear of the Techie duo of Matthysen (10 goals) and Coughlan (9 goals) who are his closest Golden Boot challengers.
Another fella making a rise up the scoring charts is Flynn Holdem of Nomads United. He bagged a treble this week in a brilliant comeback win away against Dunedin City Royals. Max Davidson (16’) and Connor Neil (18’) had DCR leading 2-0 early doors before Holdem got his first (29’). Brady Jacobs restored the two-goal advantage on 34’, though Holdem got one back pretty soon afterwards (36’) to make it 3-2 at the break. Cooper Goldsmith then equalised within a minute of kickoff and then Holdem got what proved to be the winner on 52’. From 3-1 down to a 4-3 win with the 17yo striker netting three – that’s why they call him the Haaland of the South Seas.
Plus there were plenty of goals scored by Nelson Suburbs. Fresh from winning their way into the quarters of the Chatham Cup – where they’ll host Birkenhead United – Subs won 6-1 away against Universities of Canterbury. Lennon Whewell (33’, 36’) and Trevin Myers (43’ pen, 45’) both goal first-half doubles to have Nelson Subs cruising on the road up 4-0, then no sooner did Conall McLean (66’) get UC on the board than Alex Ward (66’) immediately hit back. Myers completed his hatty in stoppage time. Big win from Suburbs... who aren’t entirely out of the top two hunt themselves. If they win their game in hand (which admittedly is against Christchurch United) they’ll only be two points behind Cashy Tech. Nomads United are also still hanging around a couple points clear of Nelson Subs but without that game in hand. Nomads vs Cashmere Tech next week should be a banger.
Women’s South Island League
If you want goals then you’ve come to the right territory. Two separate teams hit double figures in the South Island League this week and they were both playing away games. No surprises that Dunedin City Royals were one of those as they made it ten wins out of ten with a 10-1 win against Roslyn Wakari. Amy Hislop reinforced her status as the region’s best striker with a five-for. The scoring went like this: Toni Power (4’), Toni Power (24’), Amy Hislop (35’), Amy Hislop (47’), Amy Hislop (57’), Lauren Paterson (60’ pen), Amy Hislop (64’), Morgan MacCormick (66’ for RW), Amy Hislop (70’), Hannah Mackay-Wright (89’), and Nieve Collin (90’). Meaning it was only 3-0 at half-time, to be fair. Hislop is up to 14 league goals, ahead of Georgia Nixon (10 for Otago Uni) and Katie Harris (9 for Cash Tech)... and she got these five without even taking the penalty for her team. Instead those honours went to goalkeeper Paterson. Yes, the Royals goalie scored a penalty.
Hislop and DCR’s exploits weren’t unique though. Cashy Tech also hit ten and had a striker score five of them. Plus they did it without conceding. It was Halswell United 0, Cashmere Technical 10 at the Halswell Domain on Saturday. An own goal got the Techies going after 14 mins and then Kate Loye soon made that two on 18’. It stayed that way for a decent spell until a Katie Harris goal five mins before the break made it 3-0. Then Tech for some reason went rampant in the second half with further goals scored by Harris (54’), Katie Brugh (63’), Brugh (65’), Harris (69’), Harris (86’), Harris (90’), and Brugh (90’). So that’s five for Katie Harris and three for Katie Brugh. Plus one for Kate Loye. Nine goals scored by Katie/Kate variants.
Loye’s a capped Football Fern so she needs no introduction. Katie Harris has been knocking them in all season for Tech, one of the breakthrough players of this season across the top divisions. And Katie Brugh’s a youngster who moved down from Eastern Suburbs after finishing school. Also, yes, Lara Wall played again... but guess who else popped up for Tech? Rebecca Lake played half an hour off the bench in her return from the foot injury that ended her Wellington Phoenix season... and Annalie Longo was an unused substitute, unneeded for this particular challenge but, along with those other two, she’ll offer a substantial boost in the Kate Sheppard Cup semis where they’ll face the Wellington Phoenix Reserves. What a coincidence.
The game between Nelson Suburbs and Coastal Spirit had to be postponed due to the nasty weather. Universities of Canterbury had a bye. That only left one other fixture where NW United hosted Otago University... and the students were able to rebound from the disappointment of last week’s Kate Sheppard Cup quarter-final exit (losing 2-1 to Cashmere Tech) with a 3-0 win that keeps them within five points of Royals. Georgia Nixon got her obligatory goal after 13 minutes. There was also a strike from Kate Johnstone (66’) and an own goal (79’) along the way. The cup loss last week and the unexpected draw against Halswell the week prior both came while Otago Uni were without their second-top scorer Leila Hausia-Haugen as she competes for Tonga at the Oceania Nations Cup (LHH was born in Oregon, one of several players in that young Tonga squad who’ve come up through the American system).
Chatham Cup Quarter-Final Draw
(Games to be played 26–27 July)
Fencibles United vs Eastern Suburbs
Western Suburbs vs Wellington Olympic
Christchurch United vs Auckland United
Nelson Suburbs vs Birkenhead United
Kate Sheppard Cup Semi-Final Draw
(Games to be played 16-17 August)
Wellington Phoenix Reserves vs Cashmere Technical
Auckland United vs Eastern Suburbs
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