Aotearoa Domestic Football Roundup – July 28
Chatham Cup
The cup stuff swung back around this weekend as the last eight clubs in the Chatham Cup were chiselled into four. Quarter-final action... although not in the Kate Sheppard Cup because there’s one fewer round over there, hence they’ve already done their quarters. This brings both cups up to speed, setting up a semi-final weekend on 16-17 August and grand final day on 6 September. Or maybe 7 September if they prefer a Sunday... doesn’t look like that date’s been officially booked yet.
Gotta start with the defending champions Wellington Olympic, who faced Western Suburbs in a Central League duel at Endeavour Park. Familiar foes with a few players in common. Predictably it was Olympic who scored first when Gavin Hoy banged one home after a convenient ricochet in first half stoppage time, and after a bit of back and forth it seemed that the Greeks had wrapped it up after 76 minutes when Scott Basalaj hoofed a gigantic long kick out of his hands that bounced once and then dropped for substitute Gianni Bouzoukis in the other penalty area who smashed it home. 2-0 to Wellington Olympic, onwards and... hold on a second. Tyler Freeman pulled one back for Wests on 82’ and then Finn Diamond lashed in a levelling goal on 90+3’ to cap the comeback and force extra time. But Wellington Olympic dusted themselves off and scored a third to win the tie when Alex Solomon struck a free kick off the crossbar and Alex Davies headed the rebound into the net. 110th minute of the game. 3-2 final score after extras.
With that win, the coaching duo of Paul Ifill and Ekow Quainoo are two more wins away from doing something astonishing. They won the Chatham Cup in 2023 with Christchurch United. They won the Chatham Cup in 2024 with Wellington Olympic. Now they’re into the semis in 2025 with Wellington Olympic. Add that up and you’ve got a 17-game Chatham Cup winning streak for Ifill/Quainoo.
Christchurch United and Auckland United also played out an extra time thriller. It didn’t look like they’d need it after the Rams, playing at home, led most of the way following a Josh Rogerson header from a corner kick (9’) and a close-range finish from Josh Tollervey (53’) - the Joshes striking early in each half. Brilliant work from Joel Stevens to set up the second too... although let it be known that Dre Vollenhoven did hit the crossbar for AU shortly after the first goal. Auckland Utd were never out of it but with ten minutes to go, trailing by two, time was running out. Therefore Matt Conroy whacked one in after 82 mins and Emiliano Tade used a deflection to his advantage to make it 2-2 on 88’. Just like that.
That took us to extras where Christchurch Utd weren’t able to recalibrate like Welly Olympic had done. Instead Tade scored a second (97’) and then Ishveer Singh wrapped it up for AUFC (107’). The first Tade goal had some luck about it but his heel turn and bottom-corner finish for the second was pure magic... then he set up Singh’s goal with a backheel nutmeg. All four of Auckland’s goals were scored by substitutes. This is the first time that Auckland United has made the semis of the Chatham Cup, having been formed as a merger in 2020 (although Onehunga Sports did win the whole thing in 2017). Hell of a way for the Rams to lose though, blowing a 2-0 lead with ten to go. Ah the drama of the cup.
Not a whole lot of drama in the Fencibles vs Eastern Suburbs game, to be honest. Fencies brought a solid defensive intent to Riverhills Park as the underdogs and managed to keet it level for the first hour. But Eastern Suburbs had more strength in depth and once they scored through Hector Echague (63’) it never really felt like the home side had a response in them. There were some complaints about the goal, with Echague bumping off a defender in the box to steal possession. Deemed to be shoulder to shoulder. The Lilywhites missed a few good chances to scored a second before finally Echague slipped in Thomas Dunn who beat the keeper with a clipped finish in stoppage time. 2-0 to Eastern Suburbs as they join the final quartet.
Which brings us to Saxton Fields in Nelson for the only Sunday game of the slate, where Nelson Suburbs hosted Birkenhead United. Nelson Subs were the funkiest team to make it this far, currently sitting mid-table in the Southern League, but they’re dangerous at home and this wasn’t a bad time to be facing a Birko team that’s been stuttering lately, including a late defeat against Western Springs last week. The first half was scoreless and then Michael Suski put Birko ahead after 55 mins, diverting in from close after a corner kick... but a wonderful Lennon Whewell goal tied the match back up again at 1-1 only five minutes later. There was nothing else to separate them as the ninety minutes concluded so a third CC quarter-final was destined for extra time. And there it was Trevin Myers who charged into the penalty area on 110’ to send Nelson Suburbs into the semis. 2-1 after extra time.
How about that? Still got a team from each of the three conferences in the final four, same as in the Kate Sheppard Cup. It’s Auckland United, Eastern Suburbs, Wellington Olympic, and Nelson Suburbs for the blokes. It’s Auckland United, Eastern Suburbs, Wellington Phoenix Reserves, and Cashmere Technical for the ladies. No club has ever won both the Chatham and Kate Sheppard Cups in the same year.
Men’s Northern League
With four Northern League clubs still involved in the Chathams, there were no regularly scheduled fixtures over here. But that did allow room for one rescheduled game to take place and it was a doozy: Western Springs versus Auckland City. The current league leaders, fresh from a last-minute win against Birkenhead a week ago, against an Auckland City side that as three-time defending champions are currently struggling to even make the top four. They’d lost consecutive games since returning from the Club World Cup and now they found themselves up against a team on a ten-game unbeaten streak.
Safe to say the game lived up to its billing. Western Springs took the lead after 34 mins as English import wing-back Jordan Hackett’s low cross snuck past Nathan Garrow on its way straight into the net. But Auckland City struck back in first half stoppage time when Jerson Lagos got out on the break and slipped a ball to David Yoo on his outside. Yoo chopped onto his left and smashed it bottom corner. Thing is, a draw wasn’t going to do Auckland City any favours. Nothing short of a win was going to suit their purposes... yet try as they might, they couldn’t seem to turn good possession into good chances against a very sturdy Springs defensive group (the only Northern League team that’s conceded fewer goals than Western Springs is... Auckland City).
Thus the Navy Blues turned to a familiar hero. It was the third minute of injury time and ACFC had a corner kick. Jerson Lagos sent the inswinger towards the back post. Christian Gray won the header. Auckland City scored the winning goal. Not all that dissimilar to a famous goal scored at Geodis Park in Tennessee about a month ago. 2-1 to Auckland City and they’re right back in the National League hunt (if not the title race).
The late goals giveth and the late goals taketh away, as Western Springs can attest. But thanks to the similarly-timed winner that they scored against Birko, they’re still four points clear at the top and cannot be caught by Birkenhead’s game in hand... which is also against Auckland City and will be played on Wednesday night. If Birko wins, then it’ll be a one-point game in the title race. If Auckland City wins then they’ll leap from fifth up to third with five matches remaining for everyone. A draw doesn’t really help either team.
Women’s NRFL Premiership
Don’t look now, but we might have a title race in the NRFL Prem after all. When West Coast Rangers won 2-0 against Auckland United back in April (snapping that massive unbeaten streak for AUFC), it definitely looked like the race was on... but a very comprehensive 4-1 win for Auckland United in June, combined with a couple other slips for WCR, had firmly changed that idea. However, that was before West Coast Rangers won 1-0 against AUFC on Friday night thanks to an 88th minute winner from substitute Sienna Higinbotham.
Sweet finish from the American import, flipping that thing up and over another American import in AU’s keeper Hannah Mitchell. AUFC are still one point clear and this was the last time these two clubs play each other (outside of the Nats) so United will have to drop more points elsewhere for WCR to catch them... but Eastern Suburbs and Western Springs both seem to have stocked the shelves in the transfer window so that could happen. As have Rangers, to be fair, with Rebeccca Burrows making her starting debut in this match. Higinbotham’s only just back from injury too.
Hibiscus Coast had to play both Eastern Suburbs and Western Springs in the space of one week and lost 4-0 on both occasions. On Wednesday night it was Eastern Suburbs and a Victoria Neuefeind hat-trick (11’, 30’, 85’) was complemented by a Putri Ardana goal (56’) as the Lilywhites cruised to victory. Then on Sunday there was a similar spread of goals as Western Springs were boosted by Liz Savage (5’), Marisa van der Meer (25’), Jaedeci Uluvili (55’), and Dara Mulrooney (90’). Brilliant to see MVDM back in the goals so soon after her comeback after two years of knee issues. Uluvili also deserves a shout, having just gotten back from helping take Samoa to a magnificent third-placed finish at the Oceania Nations Cup. That Samoan squad was stacked with NZ domestic talent: Alisa Tuatagaloa, Andrea Ape-Paia, and Lilly Dowsing from Fencibles; Gracie Va’afusuaga from Otago Uni; Jaedeci Ulivili from Western Springs. Dowsing scored a double in the third-placed win against Fiji.
Whether or not Hibiscus Coast gets relegated will depend on if they can beat Tauranga Moana in the second to last game. Tauranga Moana were away against Eastern Suburbs on Sunday and that one got ugly. It was an 8-0 win for the Lilywhites with the goals flowing as such: Sofia Garcia (7’), Neuefeind (20’), Garcia (27’), own goal (29’), Garcia (45’ pen), Ella Findlay (47’), Zoe Brazier (76’), and Garcia (88’). Four goals for Garcia who goes bounding up to nine for the season, good for third-equal... but still a long way behind Shannon Henson (15 for WCR) and Maddi Ollington (14 for Ellerslie). Nikki Whyte played in goal for the midweek game but Anna Leat debuted against Moana, keeping a very easy clean sheet in her return to goalkeeping duties. First competitive game she’s played in goal since the Olympics last year. Leat won’t be around long though... she’s signed with Stephen Hoyle’s Newcastle Jets for the upcoming A-League season.
And in the other game, Fencibles and Ellerslie played out an entertaining 2-2 draw. Danielle Grimmer put the Ponies up after 13 minutes but Fencies hit back via a quickfire double from Hayley Miller (59’, 63’). Maddison Ollington hadn’t scored her prerequisite goal at that stage though. Had to account for that. Olly’s 73rd min equaliser therefore ensured a share of the points and that combination of results probably ends any hope of Ellerslie or Fencibles getting into the top four. There are only five rounds left and there’s a nine-point gap between Western Springs in fourth and Ellerslie in fifth. Seven more points for Springs will wrap that up... while Auckland United and West Coast Rangers are already guaranteed their National League spots and Eastern Suburbs are one win away from joining them.
Men’s Central League
It was Petone 2, Wellington Phoenix 1 at Petone Memorial Park on Saturday. Exactly what Petone needed to buy themselves some breathing room in a very hectic relegation shuffle. Even after this win, the bottom five clubs in the Central League are still only separated by four points – with Petone having jumped two spots after goals from Kieran McMinn (18’) and Luke Stoupe (56’) were too much for an understrength WeeNix side... although Luke Flowerdew did scored a 60th minute goal to keep up his good form. In his last three matches, Flowerdew has scored four goals: two against Miramar Rangers, one against Wrexham, and one against Petone. Nice array of opponents there.
The WeeNix would have been fizzing with confidence after what they did in that second half against Wrexham... but Auckland City can tell a cautionary tale about how tough it is to back it up after glamour games like that. Even more relevant is that the Wellington Phoenix had an Australia Cup game away against Perth Glory on Sunday night for which several U20s regulars were required to travel. Jayden Smith, Xuan Loke, Lukas Kelly-Heald, Gabriel Sloane-Rodrigues, and Luke Brooke-Smith were all in the starting line-up... though those guys have all got first team contracts so don’t expect them back for the U20s until the National League. On the bench was Paulo Retre... along with six of the second-half lads from the Wrexham game: Eamonn McCarron, Ryan Lee, Fergus Gillion, Lachlan Candy, and Mac Munro.
That meant only half of the Wrexham defilers were available for the Petone game. Dylan Gardiner captained while Ryan Watson, Luke Flowerdew, Dan Makowem, and Nick Murphy all started alongside him. That allowed promotions for guys like Phillip Azevedo, Kyle Koch, and Samuel Law amongst the starters and Harrison Kowalczyk, Willem Des Tombe, Alfie Crookston, and Jack Perniskie on the bench. All of the guys mentioned in that previous sentence were involved for the Wellington Phoenix Thirds (ostensibly an U18s team but they play in the Capital Premier division) when they lost 2-1 to Petone U23s last week. History repeats itself. Luke Stoupe scored for Petone in that game too.
Every team in the Central League has now played 14 games with four more left. The WeeNix are third but they don’t count towards National League qualification, something that Wellington Olympic have already achieved thanks to last week’s result. The Greeks also have a six point lead above Miramar Rangers so yet another Central League title is within their grasp... not to mention the Chatham Cup run.
Women’s Central League
The Wellington Phoenix U18s suffered just their second defeat of the season on Sunday and it came against the same team as the first one: Wellington United. The Diamonds had some trouble getting that first goal but Zoe Barrott eventually led the way (64’) before Natalie Olson (83’) and Summer Lasky (90’) completed the mahi for a 3-0 victory. That’s 28 goals in 15 games across league and cup for Nat Olson this year. Welly Utd have won 14/14 this season with a +68 goal difference and this win sends them eight points clear at the top. The title is an inevitability and National League qualification is now guaranteed.
Who will join them though? The Wellington Phoenix Reserves have an automatic berth (the Nix U20s had a bye this week in the CDL) and the arm-wrestle between Petone and Waterside Karori for the other spot is no closer to clarity after those two drew 1-1 this weekend. Petone were leading through a Pepi Olliver-Bell goal (53’) that would have sent them four points ahead of the Wharfies but then Renee Bacon equalised (85’) to keep it at a one-point buffer. These two clubs play again in a WKAFC homer in a few weeks time. Petone also have to play Wellington United again which the Wharfies do not, having already gotten both of those games out of the way, hence that late equaliser could prove even more valuable than it appears on the surface.
Miramar Rangers got a crucial result in the relegation race by winning 1-0 against Palmerston North United thanks to a third minute goal from Ella Wilson. Led from pillar to post... just. It was the opposite case as Palmerston North Marist won 1-0 against Victoria University thanks to an 88th minute strike from Isabella Yarwood. And in between those two was Moturoa 1-0 Taradale with Anna Hinton scoring after 20 minutes, which for Moturoa is a result that’s every bit as big as the Miramar one was for them. Both of those clubs were within range of last-placed Vic Uni and now are not. It ain’t looking great for the students... although a win against PN United next week would change that.
Men’s Southern League
There was one game that took place in the Southern League. It was Dunedin City Royals against Coastal Spirit... and the Coasties popped them 4-0 to jump into the first rung of the ladder. Top of the table... Christchurch United have a game in hand but points on the board is what matters. The goals in this game were scored by Joe Hoole (24’), Kaleb De Groot-Green (42’), Riku Ichimura (52’), and Roque Fuentes Salinas (73’). Ichimura has 15 for the season, continuing to lead the way for Golden Boot.
There’s a fascinating scrap down here because three teams are right there in the championship hunt yet one of those teams is going to miss out on National League qualification. Coastal have 30 points from 13 games. Christchurch United are on 29 points from 12 games. Cashmere Technical have 28 points from 13 games. The most decisive remaining fixtures will be Cashy Tech vs Chch Utd on 16 August and Chch Utd vs Coastal on 22 August. Cashmere Tech have already beaten Coastal twice but Spirit beat Christchurch United where they did not. At least not yet... the possibility lives on.
Women’s South Island League
In a week full of massive games, one of the most consequential was played on a Thursday night in Dunedin where Otago University hosted Dunedin City Royals knowing that this was their last chance to halt the Royals procession. They’d done the job in the Kate Sheppard Cup but they’d lost their previous South Island meeting... and they lost this one too. Even with Gracie Va’afusuaga rushing back from the Nations Cup to resume her spot in that Otago Uni backline they still could not contain this DCR side. Raegan Potter scored a double (44’, 77’) while Kylie Jones (67’) and Madi McLean (88’) also scored as Dunedin City finished with a flurry in a 4-0 victory.
Dunedin City had a tougher time of it away against Coastal Spirit a few days later... but again it was Raegan Potter who saw them through, scoring after 11 minutes as DCR won 1-0. The Royals used an unchanged eleven between these two games only three days apart and they didn’t concede a goal in either of them. They’ve only conceded four times in 12 SIL games this year, winning every single one of them. After getting past two of their biggest challengers in consecutive games we can pretty much call off the chase now. DCR are 75% of the way towards a perfect season and they could wrap up the title as soon as next week if results go their way (a DCR win vs Universities of Canterbury combined with anything other than an Otago Uni win against Coastal Spirit and that would do the trick).
Cashmere Technical took advantage of an opportunity to gain some points on both Coastal and Otago Uni. They were away against Roslyn Wakari and a Katie Brugh hat-trick sent them on the way to a 9-0 victory. This was the first time that Lara Wall, Annalie Longo, and Rebecca Lake had all been in the same starting line-up since they popped back up with the Techies and all three of them lasted the full ninety minutes. Longo even scored a couple of the goals. Scoring procession: Brugh (5’), Longo (9’), Brugh (14’), Longo (27’), Anya Stephan (42’), Petra Buyck (55’), Buyck (63’), Brugh (65’), Jemma Wilson (90’). This is just more of the same for Cashmere Tech, having now won their last four league matches by an aggregate score of 31-1 (5-1 vs Nelson Subs, 10-0 vs Halswell, 7-0 vs NWU, 9-0 vs RWAFC). As well as qualifying for the KS Cup semis.
Two of the teams that have felt the wrath of Cashmere in the last few weeks played against each other this week. It was NW United versus Halswell United... and for Halswell the story only got worse as they lost 7-0. Good from NWU though: lose 7-0 one week, win 7-0 the next week. Goal difference fixed. It was a ferocious burst of goals midway through the first half that caused the damage. This match was 0-0 after 22 minutes and then after 33 mins it was 5-0. The scoring went: Abby Taylor (23’), Jasmine Barrett (24’), Rebecca Hewitt (26’), Own Goal (30’), Emily Jones (33’), Taylor (43’), Barrett (60’). Two for Abby Taylor and two for Jasmine Barnett. That result moves NW United four points clear of last-placed Halswell.
Meanwhile, Universities of Canterbury are beyond all relegation worries after Erin Roxburgh’s 12th minute goal gave them a 1-0 win away against Nelson Suburbs. Nelson Subs are only two points clear of Halswell but they beat them 4-1 last week and also have a game in hand. Halswell face Roslyn Wakari (H), Coastal Spirit (A), Unis of Canterbury (H), and Dunedin City Royals (H) so if they don’t get anything of RWAFC next week then it’ll be hard to picture them getting anything else. But you never know, miracles do happen – it was only a month ago that Halswell drew 2-2 with Otago Uni.
The Niche Cache is out here grinding away for kiwi sports, giving you the coverage that you want to see, so if you reckon we’re doing good mahi then support us on Patreon, Substack, or Buy Me A Coffee
Also helps if you whack an ad, share the yarns on socials, and tell your mates about us