Aotearoa Domestic Football Roundup – July 7
Kate Sheppard Cup
That’s right, time for another cup week and leading the way are the quarter-finals of the Kate Sheppard Cup. Final eight. No time to wait. The first match to kickoff was Waterside Karori against the Wellington Phoenix Reserves/U20s. This tournament is the only time that the Nix Reserves play senior football outside of the National League yet they made it to the semis last year in their first KSC experience and they’ve made it to the semis this time too. The Phoenix won 4-1 against the Wharfies, which must have been extra rough for WK midfielder Amelia Abbott who was playing alongside several of these players with the Nix A-League squad not so long ago.
Manaia Elliott, Daisy Brazendale, Ela Jerez, Brooke Neary, and Ella McMillan all brought ALW experience to this Nix U20s side. Olivia Ingham is the only contracted player within the U20 age range who didn’t partake. Having Elliott there was especially notable since she’s pretty much a first-choice international these days having been picked in the last three Football Ferns squads. To be fair, Abbott does have one cap herself but that came four years ago. This was a seriously good Nix team. Jotting it down for future reference, Callum Holmes had them working in a 3-4-3 formation that looked like this:
GK - Brooke Neary | LCB - Alyssha Eglinton, CB - Mackenzie Greene, RCB - Ella McMillan | LWB - Manaia Elliott, CM - Daisy Brazendale, CM - Natalie Young, RWB - Poppy O’Brien | LW - Ela Jerez, CF - Isla Cleall-Harding, RW - Sienna Candy
The WeeNix took the lead from the penalty spot after Annie Foote was judged to have taken down O’Brien running through (looked like she got the ball but oh well). Isla Cleall-Harding buried that from the spot after 10 mins. Elliott then hit the post with another good chance before Jerez flipped one over the line for 2-0 on 31’ (the goal was credited to Poppy O’Brien on the NZF website but the video says otherwise). Taylor Cooper got Waterside back in the race just before the break with a good 1v1 finish after catching Eglinton on the ball, but the Nix were just as strong in the second spell. Eglinton made up for that error with a good ball through for Grace Bartlett to set up a wicked finish from Amber de Wit on 68’, then Lily Brazendale finished at the second attempt a few mins later to make it four (71’). Another semi-final date for the Wellington Phoenix Reserves.
Auckland United and West Coast Rangers have had a win each when they’ve played during the NRFL Prem, including AUFC’s dominant 5-1 win a few weeks ago. They’ll meet once more in the league and again in the National League. They also met in the quarter-finals of the KS Cup. This was at Keith Hay Park and it involved very similar line-ups to the previous meeting although this time we got a much closer game. Nevertheless, it’s Auckland United who stride onwards as they seek a third KSC title in four years. Saskia Vosper headed in from close range off a Zoe Benson cross after 19 mins to open the scoring for AU. Benson then got one for herself after 54 minutes, sneaking in after some good work from Rene Wasi. West Coast Rangers did make it interesting when Emily Lyon pounced on a spilled save to make it 2-1 after 79 mins but Auckland United held on. In fairness, they created almost all of the relevant chances and should probably have won by more. Not that margins matter at this stage.
Cashmere Technical have had a bit of a wonky season with some highs and some lows along the way, leaving them miles off the title race despite being the two-time reigning champs. Otago University have fallen adrift of Dunedin City Royals in that same title race but they’ve been having a magnificent season and anyway they knocked DCR out of the cup as revenge. But it was Cashmere Tech who advanced with a 2-1 win when this pair did battle at English Park on Sunday.
Technical had a secret weapon in the form of Wellington Phoenix defender Lara Wall who popped up here in between ALW contracts (as she can do, since ALW contracts aren’t full-year agreements). Yet it was the more familiar presence of Katie Harris who gave them the lead after 15 mins, finishing strong in close after the set-up from Anya Stephan. Otago Uni kept on truckin’ and would eventually level things on the hour when Georgia Nixon squeezed in a shot from a tricky angle, only to concede a penalty ten mins later. Looked a tad controversial, to be honest (it was either for a handball or a late challenge but it’s hard to tell). Petra Buyck stepped up to take the spot kick... and Hayley Julian made a fantastic save. Unfortunately for the students, Buyck wasn’t to be denied much longer. She had her calibrations right when she smacked a mint finish from the edge of the box past Julian in the 81st minute and that was the winning moment in this quarter-final. Bummer for Otago Uni to go out like that after eliminating the best team in the South Island but awesome to see this young and restocked Cashy Tech squad make the final four.
Then we had second-tier Franklin United hosting Eastern Suburbs in Drury. There’s a connection between these two clubs because Britney Cunningham-Lee played for Eastern Subs as a loan player last National League and she’s currently the leading goal-scorer in the Women’s Championship for Franklin (with 19 goals in 11 games). But other than that, it was a complete mismatch. Super work from Franklin to take it this far however the Lilywhites were way too good. Goals were scored by Sofia Garcia (16’), Vicki Neuefeind (29’), Shion Hwang (35’), Yuki Nishizono (45’ pen), Garcia (46’), Hwang (48’), Putri Ardana (76’), and Kenya Brooke (90’). That adds up to an 8-0 win with Garcia and Hwang each getting doubles.
That leaves us with Auckland United (champions in 2022 and 2024), Eastern Suburbs (champions in 2019), Cashmere Technical (never made the final), and Wellington Phoenix Reserves (never made the final) remaining in the 2025 Kate Sheppard Cup. The draw for those semis and also the quarter of the Chathams will take place on Tuesday.
Chatham Cup
The Chatham Cup is one round behind the KSC so there were twice as many games to be played over here. And a whole lot more goals to be scored. Let’s begin at Riverhills Park where Fencibles United and Western Springs played out a thriller. Youngster Kodie Nicol’s 37th minute goal had Fencies in front for much of the way, only for Jordan Hackett to sneak in behind on the overlap in the third minute of stoppage time, cutting the ball back for captain Reid Drake, who swept it home to tie the scores. Big drama. Except the drama got even bigger when Fencibles, not content with settling for extra time and a chance to regroup, continued to pump the ball into the penalty area... where Dylan Laing-McConnell rose up to score the winner in a 2-1 result. Springs equalised during injury time only to concede 80 seconds later,= and with that a club one point off the lead in the Northern League was eliminated by a club one point adrift in the relegation zone.
The other three games in the northern section all involved teams from outside the top flight up against teams hunting for National League qualification. Obvious favourites in each of them and the obvious results ensued. Manukau United, who are on track for promotion back to the top division, gave it the best nudge. They were beaten 3-1 at home against Eastern Suburbs. Hector Echague (15’) and Joby Reid (33’) made it 2-0 to the Lilywhites at half-time. Meysum Shafahi (63’) got Manukau back within range until Jake Mechell (71’) responded in kind. Mechell has hardly played this year – this was his first appearance since March - but of course he settled in with a goal like he’d never been away.
The other ones got messy. Auckland United pulled no punches on the way to a 7-1 win against Melville United. Daniel Atkinson scored a first half hatty (4’, 10’, 44’) while Bruce Izumi also struck in the middle of all that (25’) for AUFC to lead 4-0 at the half. The two sides then traded penalties for Ishveer Singh (AU 52’) and Jama Boss (MU 55’) before Daniel Olaoye grabbed a double off the bench at the end (82’, 90’). Pretty comprehensive. AUFC defender Oliver Campbell would have enjoyed that more than most being a former Hamilton Wanderers lad, the 19yo having only switched to AUFC this year. Got a bit of Boyd Curry in there too. The ex-WeeNixer was a regular last season but must have been injured because he’d not been seen for ages.
Birkenhead United were just as destructive in winning 7-0 against Waiheke United as the Northern League leaders faced the lowest-ranked team left in the hat. It was a race between Curtis Hughes and Alex Connor-McClean to see who’d score the most. In the end, they had to settle for three each. Hughes got his goals on 10’, 52’, and 82’. ACM got his on 40’, 45’, and 70’. Michael Suski also pocketed one for himself after 50 mins. Auckland Utd rotated things slightly in their game but Birko showed no such concessions... although we didn’t get to see former NZ U20s striker Kian Donkers who was announced with Birkenhead last week following stints in the academy systems of NEC Nijmegen and VVV-Venlo over in Holland. A striker of that quality is just what they need as they chase Northern League and Chatham Cup glory.
Moving on, the highlight of the two central ties – probably the tastiest match-up of the entire round – was Napier City Rovers versus Wellington Olympic. Two teams with strong pedigree in this competition and regular rivals who often deliver on the entertainment. Sure enough, they served it up once again. Jordan Annear put NCR ahead after 12 minutes, followed by a one-two strike from Isa Prins (20’) and Jack-Henry Sinclair (24’) to flip things around. Then Sam Lack quickly levelled things again (28’). It stayed at 2-2 until Hamish Watson put his stamp on matters with a 51st min goal and this time there was no reply... other than Eric Konstandini Ziu getting red carded at the end for Rovers. 3-2 final score in favour of the defending champs Wellington Olympic.
Meanwhile, Western Suburbs remain on course after a 4-1 win against Palmerston North United. This was a tie they were expected to win and they managed to get there pretty smoothly, although it was 1-1 at half-time after Patrick Smither (43’) matched Seb Barton-Ginger’s early strike for Wests (13’). PNU gave it a crack but two quick goals in the second half broke their spirits. Cam Mackenzie (49’) and SBG (51’) did the damage there. Barton-Ginger then scored another in the 89th minute to complete his hat-trick. He’s having a tremendous season with Wests.
Christchurch United won this competition in 2023. They might yet win it in 2025 as well, having advanced to the last eight with a 3-0 win against Wānaka. It was 0-0 at the break... and then three goals in ten minutes made everything else irrelevant. Sho Goto (51’, 53’) and Joel Stevens (60’ pen). There ya go. Finally, Dunedin City Royals hosted Nelson Suburbs but went down 1-0 courtesy of a 22nd min strike from Trevin Myers. Good close game which Suburbs edged to carry onwards into the quarters.
The next round is where we stop worrying about regions and anyone can draw anyone. The remaining eight teams are: Fencibles United, Eastern Suburbs, Auckland United, Birkenhead United, Wellington Olympic, Western Suburbs, Christchurch United, and Nelson Suburbs. All except for Fencies and Nelson Subs (and maybe AUFC) should qualify for the National League so we’ve got a stacked octet here. Fencibles are the closest thing to an underdog left... and they’re also one of the three remaining clubs never to have won this trophy before (or even make the final). Granted, Auckland United shouldn’t really count towards that because one of their foundation clubs, Onehunga Sports, won as recently as 2017 while the other foundation club, Three Kings United, were finalists in 2009. Nelson Suburbs are the other. Auckland United and Eastern Suburbs are the only two clubs still in contention to win both the Chatham and Kate Sheppard Cups.
Women’s League Footy
While everyone else was either busy with the cup or chilling at home, there was room for one game in the NRFL Prem. That was Tauranga Moana versus Hibiscus Coast at Links Ave. Tauranga began the day in last place but they ended it in seventh after a 4-0 win against the travelling Coasties. Miah Smith (22’), Gabriella Hislop (25’), Ella Golding (55’), and Grace Duncan (60’) scored the goals. Fantastic win for them, only their second of the season. Golding has scored 5 of Moana’s 15 goals in this league campaign. Tauranga are now two points ahead of Hibiscus Coast although the Coasties do have a game in hand.
Naturally, the few league games that we got involved teams already knocked out of the cup. It stands to reason that those would mostly be lower-table clashes but you couldn’t say that about Taradale vs Palmerston North Marist in the Women’s Central League. Good old mid-table battle in which the winner would end the round in fifth and the loser in sixth. Well, it was home side Taradale who did the business with a 4-2 victory. Maddison Hughes, who’s been captaining them this year, scored a first half brace (13’, 40’) to get the ball rolling. Isabella Yarwood made it 2-1 just before the half when she scored for PNM but Hazel Marwick (69’) and Samantha Waru (79’) made it comfortable again for Taradale. Marina Ishimoto did get a very late goal back for PNM though. Plenty of action there between two teams that should make up the bulk of the Central Football squad later this year.
There was supposed to be a South Island League game too, with Nelson Suburbs hosting Halswell United in a crucial meeting of the two bottom teams... but the weather got the better of that fixture too. Save it for a later date. Aaaaand that was all. No games across the three top men’s divisions due to the Chatham Cup.
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