2026 Men’s National League – Week 6
Wellington Phoenix Reserves vs Auckland FC Reserves
Here it was, the game that many folks would have immediately scanned for when the fixtures were released. Last year it was Auckland FC who came out on top with a 2-1 victory against the WeeNix up in Tamaki Makaurau, with Aston Burns scoring a wonderful winning goal. This was only the second meeting between the two A-League rivals at U20s/Reserves level to go with the six meetings at A-League level and Auckland FC had won every previous instance (they also play annual U17s invitational games, both men and women, in which the results have been shared around, although those aren’t part of any larger competitive context).
The senior teams will meet on Saturday at Mt Smart Stadium but the ressies had their derby day one week earlier at Fraser Park in Wellington. However it does need to be said that they did each bring some rather trashy form into the occasion. It’s a good thing that form goes out the window on derby day because these two were tied for last place when this game kicked off with zero wins between them and just a single draw each (coincidentally both against Auckland United). Some heavy defeats in there too. The Phoenix Reserves had gone five and a half months without a win as part of their worst ever Central League effort. AFC Reserves are much newer upon the scene so there’s less to compare this incarnation to but they’ve already conceded more goals in the 2026 Nats than they did in all of the 2025 edition.
The timing of the game was awkward with both A-League teams having away games that round, meaning limited room for fringe players to be involved. One of AFC’s most reliable figures this National League has been Marley Leuluai yet he was on the bench in Brisbane the night before so he couldn’t play. No Aaron Cartwright either, leaving the Squires without any contracted ALM figures. Sean Kane started at left-back with Matt D’Hotman swapping to the right. Charlie Hale also returned to the eleven – fascinating game for him because he spent the first half of the season with the Phoenix Academy before making a very successful mid-year switch and he hasn’t stopped scoring since. Carlos Ranui (playing CB again in this match) also spent time in the Nix Academy.
The Phoenix did have reinforcements though. Isaac Hughes played the opening forty-five to mark his return from a hamstring injury while Eamonn McCarron made his first appearance of these Nats in goal. Ben Trenberth was out there as a scholarship player as well. In addition to those three, Athan Thompson (LB) and Cailean Hamilton (AM) also made starts tahi for the campaign (Hamilton’s just been picked for the U17 World Cup... along with many other players from these two systems). Christchurch United loanee duo Waisea Henry and Oliver Grosso retained their spots in the walk-on side. It’ll be interesting to see how quickly Hughes moves back into the first team from here... he could be in line to face Auckland FC two weeks in a row in two different competitions. That’s all the set-up, now let us get into the game itself from under the shadows of our favourite tagged shipping container.
Yes, there was feeling out there. No surprises that the young fellas bought fully into the rivalry, with heavy challenges ricocheting around with nobody wanting to be seen to back down from anything – Nathan Martin got himself a yellow and a final warning within half an hour. Granted, that did make it a scrappy game to begin with, amplified by the stink form of both sides. And when the first goal arrived, that was rather scrappy too: AFC’s Matt D’Hotman hurled a free kick into the area which bounced and confused everyone, with Dejaun Naidoo taking an airswing, allowing what originally looked like a poor delivery to make it all the way to Charlie Hale who banged it home. Of course it would be Charlie Hale scoring against the team he spent the first half of the year playing for. Auckland were ahead after thirty mins.
That goal came against the run of play – not because the Nix had been dominating but because neither team had been. It was a clean note amongst the discordance. Yet Auckland almost made it twos when James Mitchell pumped one long and Hughes misjudged it, allowing Harley Hill to soar in beyond... only for McCarron to make a crucial stop against one of the league’s in-form finishers. Big moment that, considering the Phoenix Reserves equalised shortly afterwards. It was the captain, the most experienced fella in the squad, Hayden Thomas, who curled in a beauty from outside the area and he absolutely loved it.
An odd thing about these teams, and probably emblematic of their results, is that after nine combined games they’d only had three goal-scorers between them. Harley Hill and Charlie Hale had scored all of AFC’s goals while the WeeNix only had two and Jack Clegg had scored ‘em both. So Hayden Thomas’ goal finally added a second scorer to the list... and right before the break they got a third when Waisea Henry and Athan Thompson worked an overload on the left edge that concluded with a good low ball across goal from Thompson that picked out Oliver Grosso in the middle. His shot hit the post but fortuitously rebounded straight back to him for the second-chance tap-in. Robbed his mate of an assist but not to worry. From 1-0 down after 30 minutes to be leading 2-1 at half-time.
That was the limit for Isaac Hughes so Jesper Edwards stepped out to replace him and he hadn’t even been out there for two minutes when Auckland FC levelled up again. Early ball up the line from Ranui that put Sean Kane and Dejaun Naidoo into a 2v1 which they executed sweetly, allowing Naidoo to drive under and pick his spot with the cross. Charlie Hale back post, have a bit of that. Deceptively slick finish on the angle with bodies in front of him, albeit pretty wide open. Fourth goal of the season for Charlie Hale to bring him level with Harley Hill’s tally – they were tied for Northern League goals too (nine each). Still the same two blokes doing all the damage. Hale has scored 13 goals in 14 games in Auckland colours after 1 goal in 11 games for the WeeNix prior to that (the goal came in the Chatham Cup so he was goalless in league action). Clearly the best decision he ever made in his career.
The madness continued as the Nix had another foray just after the hour, with several players getting touches in the penalty area leading to Trenberth lifting the ball towards the back post where a deflection looped the ball towards Waisea Henry... who went boom on the volley for 3-2. Superb finish. The WeeNix have been struggling to score goals all year and the addition of Grosso and Henry over these past couple weeks looks to be exactly what they needed. Bit of creative spark on the wing from Henry, who was involved in all three of those goals, and a tall strong striker with a good scoring record in Grosso.
Auckland threw extra numbers forward as they chased a third... and there was a decent chance for Louie Wicks (another ex-WeeNixer) running onto a karate volley that went wide. Phil Azevedo made a wicked block against Lucca Lim trying to shoot on the spin. But to be honest they didn’t get much going. Crosses were too deep and the Nix always had numbers back. AFC were pushing right up until the final whistle but to no avail and therefore it was the Wellington Phoenix Reserves who got the victory. Competitive victory tahi against an Auckland FC team, coming at the seventh attempt overall (they’ll be hoping to add another next week).
That snaps a 16-game winless streak for the WeeNix in all competitions dating back to a 3-1 victory against Island Bay way back in May. By no means was it a flawless outing but they handled the occasion quite well and scored some lovely goals. Waisea Henry was outstanding. Helps to have a leader like Isaac Hughes at the back but he only played half the game and if anything they were sharper in the second half, particularly that last half hour after retaking the lead. Mac Munro had a lot to do with that. And shout out to Joe McIntyre who had a particularly tough time in his first start of the Nats during that 10-0 loss to Cash Tech but he’s stayed in the midfield ever since and has gotten stronger and stronger from week to week. He was awesome here, huge energy from the 17 year old constantly getting into pockets and showing for the pass. We’ll see if they can translate this into their remaining games, next week against Ferrymead Bays should be an alright match-up, but at the very least they’ll always have Fraser Park on Halloween 2026.
Auckland FC have only taken one point from six National League games and have conceded multiple times in all of them (and 3+ times in 4/6 matches). That’s a long way from conceding the fewest goals in the competition last year. Only Charlie Hale and Harley Hill have scored for them during those six matches, albeit with healthy tallies of four goals each, and even high pedigreed dudes like Cartwright and Naidoo haven’t been able to have the attacking impact you’d expect. Matt D’Hotman was really good though, got an assist and defended well on both sides (he swapped back to the left when Will Gross was subbed on). The quality of his deliveries was erratic but when he truly connected those things could be golden. And of course Charlie Hale would have enjoyed his double on the old stomping ground. It’s the defence that’s the concern for Rory Fallon’s side. You’re not going to win very often when you’re leaking an average of three goals per game.
Wellington Phoenix Reserves 3-2 Auckland FC Reserves
30’ | 0-1 | AFC | Hale (D’Hotman)
39’ | 1-1 | WP | Thomas (Henry)
45+1’ | 2-1 | WP | Grosso
47’ | 2-2 | AFC | Hale (Naidoo)
61’ | 3-2| WP | Henry (Trenberth)
Miramar Rangers vs Wellington Olympic
Martin Bueno returned from injury and scored four goals against Eastern Suburbs last week... and then limped off towards the end. He was fit to play this game but withdrew with illness to leave Miramar without their Golden Boot once again. Fortunately, Connor Gaul is a perfectly capable replacement. Plus Louis Fenton was fit enough for a spot on the bench. On the other side, the Greeks were coming of a bye during which they confirmed that Taylor Hall-Jones has been appointed head coach for next year, just three weeks after stepping up as the interim (during which he was sent off in one game, suspended for the next, and then had a bye in the third week – though the immediate surge in performance was obvious from day one so fair enough). No Gianni Bouzoukis having gotten hurt a fortnight ago meaning both teams were without their top striker. Luke Stoupe scored twice off the bench in the last game (4-0 vs Suburbs) so he earned his way into the eleven.
This is one of the great local rivalries in kiwi club football... and it was Miramar who had the slight edge during the year, having knocked the Greeks (as two-time defending champs) out of the Chatham Cup along with home and away draws during the Central League. It was also Miramar who were buzzing from the outset, winning a few corners and playing with good field position. Lewis Thompson had a shot deflected over the top by Ben Mata, the Northern Irish fullback trying to keep his Midas Touch going from last week.
But Olympic came through that tricky ten minute spell. They muscled up in their man-marking duties, often to the annoyance of the home team (and fans), and reacted quickly to the balls in behind. Didn’t give the Miramar runners anything to work with. And you know that old adage about good defence leading to good attack (and vice versa)? Yeah that’s how Olympic took the lead. They were defending a corner and managed to poke the ball away from Nico Bobadilla just outside their box, then without hesitation broke into a counter-attack with four runners driving onwards. Gavin Hoy was chopped down on the edge of the Miramar area (Spencer Cameron would be booked for that when the dust settled) but was still able to poke the ball free for Noah Boyce on the left, who took it in stride and cut back to Luke Stoupe six yards out. Stoupe kinda got his feet tangled but managed to bobble the ball over the line all the same.
That first goal always makes such a difference. Rangers were moving the ball swiftly but couldn’t forge those clean chances on the end of it, and on the couple instances when they might have smoked a halfie into the top corner their technique went awry. That’s what pressure can do. Not easy to line them up when Ben Mata and Adam Supyk are bearing down on you. Some handbags ensued between Brad Whitworth and Josh Zatorski to remind everyone that this was a rivalry game – couple yellow cards came out of the pocket but otherwise the ref let them play. Rangers had an appeal for a penalty declined late in the half after Smith went down in the area, before Ben Mata charged down a goalbound shot from Hewson with his face for the last act of the stanza to keep his team’s lead intact.
Mata was fine to continue from that and in fact he almost scored a flying header twenty seconds into the second spell. Olympic chucked on Jaylen Rodwell at the break to reinforce that midfield further. Miramar may have scored four last round but they played most of that match against ten men and it turns out that trying to split a structured backline that was engaging aggressively and winning duels with plenty of combative energy in the midfield, and doing so without your best goal scorer having already fallen behind on the scoreboard... that’s no simple task.
Luke Stoupe was denied by Matt Oliver on the dive as he sought a second. The thing about Stoupe is that it’s not always clinical or efficient but the brother just keeps asking questions until he gets the answer he like. He makes things happen. Having said that, he did get replaced by Jack-Henry Sinclair soon after that chance – injuries have prevented JHS from having much of a say in the Nats thus far but we all know what he’s capable of. Just as folks are learning what Morgan Wellsbury is capable of. Wellsbury soared onto a header that gave the crossbar a rattle with ten to go. That was a tester. Next time he got on the ball, he set himself up with one touch and then stroked one into the bottom corner from the edge of the area. Sweetly done from the 21yo forward... and a crucial goal that sent Wellington Olympic onwards to victory.
That’s consecutive clean sheet wins for Wellington Olympic, who were about a minute away from toppling Auckland City at Kiwitea in the game prior. Those three games are our evidence of Taylor Hall-Jones as coach and on the basis of them he oughta have gotten a five-year contract. THJ has immediately gotten this team humming again. Definitely not a free-flowing performance, they scored on the counter and nursed that 1-0 lead for over an hour before the late clincher... yet they hardly gave up a notable chance. Supreme defending from the Greeks, along with a little more game-breaking ability than their opponents which eventually paid dividends. Kailan Gould made his 100th appearance for the club. Justin Gulley made his 150th with a substitute cameo. This feels like Olympic reinvigorated.
It must have been grating for Miramar who played well in most areas but just couldn’t translate that into the stuff that matters. No major saves for Scott Basalaj to make until after his team was already two up on the way to another clean sheet – all the tough yakka defending was done by the likes of Ben Mata and Adam Supyk ahead of him. Miramar had similar issues in the 2-0 loss to Auckland City. Different styles of opponent but the same outcome where Rangers were nullified after conceding first against a team that knew how to control the game... and how to limit Owen Smith. Rangers are still in the grand final hunt but they’ll probably have to win 4/4 when the return from their bye (including games against Cashmere and Birko). They’re capable of it. You never know.
Miramar Rangers 0-2 Wellington Olympic
22’ | 0-1 | WO | Stoupe (Boyce)
82’ | 0-2 | WO | Wellsbury (Sinclair)
Auckland United vs Eastern Suburbs
Eastern Suburbs had the best defence in the country during the regional phase, only conceding nine times in 22 Northern League games – that’s 0.41 goals against per game, slightly worse than Cashmere Technical’s 0.38 GA/gm (7 in 18) but pretty sure everyone would admit that the Northern League was the much more competitive league this year. Tech won the Southern League by 14 clear points, after all. But that Lilywhites defence has capitulated in recent weeks, conceding four times in each of their previous three matches as the team’s discipline has gone out the window to the tune of 12 yellow cards and 2 red cards in those three outings. They simply had to find a way to turn this ship around.
Michael Built picked the same defence this week but with Finn Murphy and Mick Reid added to the attack while Keen Mandizvidza replaced the injured Noah Karunaratne same as he did during the first half of the defeat against Miramar. Hopefully nothing serious for Karunaratne because the former NZ U20s rep recently switched his allegiances to Sri Lanka and is expected to be in the squad for the South-Asia Championships starting next week. India will also be at that tournament though will be sending a B-Team since their top squad is heading to Aotearoa for a couple games against the All Whites. Karunaratne was part of the Sri Lanka squad last window. Looks like he played in an unofficial game, not sure if he was involved in the 3-2 win over Mauritius. Love it when National League players get these international opportunities. Haris Zeb for Pakistan. Noah Karunaratne for Sri Lanka. Natalie Olson for Thailand. The world of football has many experiences to offer.
Auckland Utd were outclassed by City in week five but they’ve been building something under Ben Sippola so the only change for their eleven was Sho Kono making his first start in the midfield. However, there were early warning signs for the home side when Leo Hall had to make a super clearance off the line to deny Mick Reid and the with both teams committing numbers forward and looking to rotate and stay fluid, it was Eastern Suburbs who were finding more joy. Freddie Martin pulled off a brilliant one-handed save against Mandizvidza lining up from the perimeter and from the corner while Jake Mechell blasted over on the spin from about six yards. Promising signs for the Lilywhites. Murphy and Reid seemed to add some extra hustle and bounce into the Lilywhites... and of course it helps when you’ve got eleven men on the park too.
Suburbs were really pressing them hard in those early phases. That led to further joy when Coulibaly was mobbed on the ball (not for the first time – they were overloading him in those CDM spots and forcing the traps), with Martin having to dive to parry away the shot from Murphy while Abdi Khaled blocked Machuca’s effort on the rebound. Credit to the ESAFC scouting team because they clearly paid attention to how Auckland City suffocated United’s build-up last week. Machuca floated a first time cross for Jake Mechell to unleash a wicked header that bounced back off the crossbar rather than granting him the goal it probably deserved, leaning back with two defenders on him and still making powerful contact.
That’s not to say that this was a one-sided contest. Much of the game was actually quite even... it’s just that the Lilywhites had all the chances. Oliver Campbell did go close with a long shot that was headed for the bottom corner until Jack de Groot had his say on the matter but that was about it and AUFC were fortunate to still be level at half-time. Subs then resumed the game with more steady force, asking questions with deliveries into the box and not asking questions with early shots that kept flying off target. Bit more composure was all it would take.
After all that, Auckland United finally got out of their own half and promptly won a penalty. Some scrambling stuff in the box and Khaled was tripped by Abarca as he tried to turn towards the target. Shout out to Héctor Echagüe because he was the only Lilywhites player who didn’t swarm the referee after the decision. Ben Wallace casually slid the ball into the bottom corner, with JDG diving the wrong way. That’s the fourth penalty that Suburbs have given away in their past four games and De Groot, despite his amazing shot-stopping from open play, has gone 0/4 against those spotties. He then bumped off Wallace during the afters which caused another mini-kerfuffle although nothing that required any cards or other concern (although the Suburbs bench did get a yellow a few mins later).
This was a precipitous situation for Eastern Suburbs to find themselves in. They’ve recently been their own worst enemies with terrible discipline leading to a capitulation of their proud defensive record, and just when they seemed to be turning it around with some positive attacking footy they gave away another penalty and were on the brink of boiling over again. But this is where a whole lot of credit needs to go their way because they didn’t crumble. What they did was they got back on the front foot and won a penalty of their own five minutes later when Hall’s tug on the jersey of Mandizvidza drew a whistle. Héctor Echagüe, off the long run-up, converted equally as coolly as Wallace had five mins earlier. Some complaints over encroachment from AU, emotions now simmering in both directions, but that made it 1-1.
Lost in amongst that was a yellow for Contratti following some earlier dissent over a handball shout... and Contratti may have been fortunate to avoid a second booking for a high boot on Wallace soon after the kick-off. Obviously this was going to be one of those second half where a referee really earns their money. And also where Keen Mandizvidza really earned his hype. Having won the penalty, he soon had another shot on target angling in from the right. Then he got in the same situation but this time opted to shift towards the left. The consequence of that was Adam Thomas standing up a cross towards where Echagüe who rose highest with a glorious header to put Eastern Suburbs ahead... for the first time this National League.
From there they simply gobbled up the remaining time. Mechell looped another header onto the crossbar while Echagüe’s follow-up was blocked on the line by Hall (not for the first time today). Couldn't add a third but United hadn’t threatened much, only scoring via a penalty, and their late game emergency plan was to replace Will Mendoza with a centre-back so that didn’t change. That CB, Boyd Curry, did have their closest remaining opportunity with a flick header off target from a corner near the end. But nah. 2-1 to Eastern Suburbs who finally looked like the team they’d been throughout the regional phase again.
Héctor Echagüe kept a level head throughout and that was exactly what his team needed. At 38 years of age, the Argentine midfielder is one of the most experienced dudes in the National League. He scored both goals to set this victory up... and a guy literally half his age, 19yo Keen Mandizvidza, did his part as well by playing with confidence on the right wing and instigating much of his team’s best work. Could be a breakthrough performance from the Kiwi-Zimbabwean. Good to see the streak of conceding four goals per game snapped after three weeks... just in time to face Cashy Tech and Birko in the next two matches.
That makes it consecutive losses for Auckland United who may have fooled us with that 7-1 win against Napier City, since the rest of their results are more in line with a bottom half team. One guy it would have been cool to see is tricky winger Mathias Nunez, who might have added some spark, however he’s just been named in the NZ U17 World Cup squad where he was listed as unattached. That’s often a precursor to a move overseas so we’ll see how that goes. There are several fellas in that U17WC group who have played National League this year, all of them for the two A-League academies: Luke Carter, Sean Kane & James Wenceslao at AFC; and Jack Clegg, Joseph Chalabi, Willem Des Tombe, Cailean Hamilton, Joe McIntyre & Ben Trenberth at WPX.
Auckland United 1-2 Eastern Suburbs
58’ | 1-0 | AU | Wallace [p] (Khaled)
64’ | 1-1 | ES | Echagüe [p] (Mandizvidza)
74’ | 1-2 | ES | Echagüe (Thomas)
Cashmere Technical vs Auckland City
It was a blockbuster. It was a clock-stopper. The top two teams on the ladder, easily the two most convincing sides thus far, going head to head at Garrick Park. Cashmere Tech entered this game with the best attacking record and the best defensive record, resting in first place, with the runaway MVP favourite on board. They also welcomed Yuya Taguchi back in the side having been overseas for the last couple of weeks attending a wedding... his own wedding. Congrats to Yuya and the whanau. His return bumped Rory Hibbert back to the bench in the only change from the consecutive clean sheet victories against AFC and Ferrymead. Auckland City were in second place at kickoff but with a game in hand and still nursing the last remaining undefeated record. They welcomed Dylan Manickum back into the eleven for the occasion along with promoting Ryan De Vries following his impressive work off the bench across the previous four games. By almost any measure, these had been the two strongest teams through the opening five rounds. All set for a massive game of football.
They may share prestige but they don’t share much playing style overlap. Cash Tech planted their flag in the ground with limited space between their defensive line and midfield... albeit with their typical dynamic transitional threat. It was via those breaks that they were able to apply some quick pressure through set pieces. In contrast, ACFC’s preferred centre-back rest position is on the other side of halfway, where Christian Gray and Nathan Rostron, as well as Mario Ilich dropping to collect, can get plenty of touches and move things up and down the gears. Sometimes it feels like they’ll slow a game all the way down simply to show that they can.
A pattern emerged where ACFC had most of the territory but Tech had the clearer chances. They did lose Zander Edwards to injury after 25 minutes, which was a bummer, Charlie Peacocke replaced him and his first involvement was to miss his touch and lose possession... but his second involvement was to set up a headed chance for Coughlan, just over the bar, from another of those counter attacks. Really surprising to see Lyle Matthysen fizz wide of the target after Coughlan drew the man and sent a pass wide into his path. ACFC were very left-side dominant with Nathan Lobo and Dylan Manickum yet weren’t doing enough with their attacking spells. The most memorable (and funniest) attacking moment for them was when a Lobo cross was fumbled onto the crossbar by Pieter-Taco Bierema only to drop happily back into his arms on the regather.
This was a fascinating arm wrestle where both teams were getting what they wanted – Tech had room to break behind the high line and with the City fullbacks pushing up; City were able to link in the attacking third with runners at all angles, getting touches in the penalty area. However there was nothing to separate them on the scoreboard as the whistle blew for half-time... and the status quo continued as things resumed, with little inefficiencies getting in the way. Coughlan had a shot blocked by his own teammate. Gray volleyed over while RDV hit one straight at Bierema. Tech created a brilliant chance via Matthysen’s movement with McIsaac breaking into the area from left-back only to blast over the top. Somebody was going to make one count sooner or later, no chance of these two sides going the distance without a single harmonious instance.
Eventually something did happen. Auckland City had been churning out one of their better spells when Cashmere Tech dashed up the other end, earned a corner kick, and then took the lead when Finn Caughey jumped highest to nod in from Matthysen’s in-swinging feed. That’s the third goal of the campaign for midfielder Caughey... and Matthysen’s seventh assist. Advantage Cashmere Tech with twenty to go.
Moments later, RDV couldn’t keep his own header down from a similar range albeit from open play. Later he was crowded out with the ball at his feet, so he laid it off for Manickum whose shot bounced off the post and into the happy hands of Bierema (who had been emphatic with the aerial stuff too, that one previous bobble aside). Murati and substitute Pavel Osmančík both shot wide from promising spots. Manickum put a header over the top. The chances were finally flowing for ACFC but they needed to find that clinical edge.
Therefore they turned to their secret weapon... who shouldn’t actually be secret because this is his second year of doing crazy National League things as one of those rare players who can literally play in any outfield position. Nathan Rostron has been building up a strong reputation in central defence lately but in their hour of need, Auckland City decided to let the man roam free up front. He almost delivered some magic from a CB to CB combination when he ran onto a long ball from Gray, getting his heels clipped before colliding with the keeper. No foul, no goal. But it did vindicate the strategy and at the next possible opportunity he tried it again, collecting a loose ball and with three touches off his noggin he went beyond the defensive line and smoothly converted for the 88th minute equaliser. Unreal stuff. What a talent.
Game wasn’t done though. Danny Heemskerk could easily have repeated the dose of the bloke he replaced when he headed over the top from a corner kick. Rostron stayed up there, City going for the jugular, and right at the very end Danny Kane was hauled up for a handball blocking a shot. It was outside the box, don’t panic, but he did get a second yellow (may have been more for his reaction than the incident itself). Rostron hit the free kick into the wall and the game ended so the send-off was inconsequential on this particular day but this will keep the 2026 Southern League Defender of the Year out of next week’s trip to Eastern Suburbs. Honours even after a 1-1 draw.
This was an incredible week for strikers from the Tauranga City farm. Riley Bidois scored for the Wellington Phoenix in the A-League while younger bro Jonty Bidois made his first Auckland FC start. The National League derby between those two clubs saw Tauranga homeboys Hayden Thomas and Oliver Grosso both get on the scoresheet. Morgan Wellsbury scored for Wellington Olympic. And of course there was emergency striker Nathan Rostron over here grabbing that 88th minute equaliser for Auckland City, a goal which leaves us with only three points separating the top five teams with 6/11 rounds complete. And the leading team, Cash Tech, have still to serve their bye. It genuinely could be any combination of Cashmere Technical, Birkenhead United, Auckland City, Wellington Olympic, or Miramar Rangers that contest the grand final.
Garbhan Coughlan’s scoring streak ended at five games, kept relatively quiet by Rostron and Gray. All four centre-backs were fantastic in this match – Tom Schwarz and Danny Kane doing their thing for CT. Only one of the four finished the game as a goal-scoring striker though. Entertaining game between two really strong teams... perhaps we’ll see this match-up again in a few weeks. RIP to the Bucketman.
Cashmere Technical 1-1 Auckland City
69’ | 1-0 | CT | Caughey (Matthysen)
88’ | 1-1 | AC | Rostron
90+7’ | RED | CT | Kane
Birkenhead United vs Ferrymead Bays
There were some fantastic games this weekend including several that could easily have gone either way... but this was the exception. We had a Birko team on a three-game winning streak at home against a Ferrymead side on a three-game losing streak. And, lo and behold, it went exactly as you’d expect. Bays dug their heels in defensively but lacked encouragement going forward, aside from a few long throws, and Birko ground them down with a goal in each half to win 2-0. Make that a four-game winning streak for Birko and a four-game losing streak for Ferrymead. The last three defeats in a row for Bays have all been by 2-0 scorelines.
Birko were unchanged from last week’s emphatic win over the AFC Reserves. Ferrymead Bays made three changes with the main one being that striker Omar Cameron was available for the first time since week one. Top scorer for them during the Southern League and a big part of how they operate. He didn’t actually get much to do in this game – nobody ever does when marked by Dino Botica – though having him available for with games against the two A-League academies over the next three weeks will be massive.
Charles Bidwell scored twice last week (or maybe once, still some conjecture over whether he or Kian Donkers got that first goal) and he should’ve done better with an open header early in this one. Bidwell is a rare example of an Aussie in the NZ National League, we don’t get a lot of them for whatever reason (probably because they have a thriving amateur system of their own which is seen as a step above this one with more financial rewards hence way more kiwis go that way rather than the other way around). In Bidwell’s case, he was a teammate of Birkenhead goalkeeper Keegan Smith at Devonport City Strikers for a few years. They both played against the Wellington Phoenix in an Aussie Cup game a couple years ago.
Sure enough, it didn’t take long before Birkenhead took the lead. It was Shiv Nair who wriggled out of a challenge on the left wing and then went with the outside of the boot cross swinging right onto the head of Kian Donkers. Obviously that bloke buried it to keep his scoring touch going – that’s three consecutive games in which KD has found the net. Sadly, he hobbled off after thirty minutes with what was apparently a head knock, to be replaced by Rayhan Carlson-Du Toit. Birko are already without Monty Patterson at the moment. In fact, they’ve currently got injuries in every line of their formation... doesn’t seem to be hampering them very much though.
Evan Ovendale did well to save a thumper from Nair within some post-set piece scrambling. Always gotta stay alert with those ones because Birko are super dangerous with those second balls. Lots of corners but they did pretty well dealing with those. And that’s more or less how you could define the majority of this match. You couldn’t say that Birko went through he motions, so to speak, but they did seem to be waiting for something to drop the right way for them. Miles Holder made a great block against Bidwell later in the half just when things seemed to have opened up. And it was more of the same in the second spell.
Ferrymead’s closest chance came during the first half when a cross deflected off Botica and required a goal-line clearance from Dion Buckingham to spare his captain’s blushes. They’re certainly not the only team to have struggled for solutions against the Birkenhead backline... but they kept trying and there was a spell during the second half where they were able to keep some sustained ball thanks to a few attacking set pieces. It was enough of a scare for Birkenhead to pick up the tempo and take it on home, creating chances for Bidwell and Nair and RCDT... before Nair chipped one across for Charles Bidwell to head home in the 75th minute and that was the coup de grâce. Second assist of the afternoon for Shiv Nair who was an active threat throughout, drifting from side to side and into pockets as the attacking midfielder against a deep-set opponent and offering up a quality of crossing that was lacking elsewhere.
Wasn’t much to it. Expected result. Birko could have been a little more forthcoming about it (granted they were unlucky not to add a third, with Carlson-Du Toit denied by a blindside Luca Marson sliding tackle in the box on one occasion and striking the post on another occasion) but they did all that they needed to do. Four wins on the bounce sets up a fascinating game against Auckland City next round. Birkenhead have actually jumped ahead of ACFC thanks to their respective results over the weekend. Since leaking four against Cashy Tech, they’ve only shipped one goal across these four wins. It’s gotten a little too formulaic for Ferrymead Bays with these recent games full of battling defence within good shape ending in 2-0 defeats against more experienced sides but they should be targeting a swing at the WeeNix next time.
Birkenhead United 2-0 Ferrymead Bays
12’ | 1-0 | BU | Donkers (Nair)
75’ | 2-0 | BU | Bidwell (Nair)
| P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cashmere Technical | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 21 | 3 | 18 | 13 |
| Birkenhead United | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 5 | 6 | 12 |
| Auckland City | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 5 | 7 | 11 |
| Wellington Olympic | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 6 | 6 | 10 |
| Miramar Rangers | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 8 | 3 | 10 |
| Auckland United | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 13 | 9 | 4 | 8 |
| Napier City Rovers | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 12 | -5 | 7 |
| Eastern Suburbs | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 13 | -8 | 4 |
| Ferrymead Bays | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 11 | -8 | 4 |
| Wellington Phoenix | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 17 | -12 | 4 |
| Auckland FC | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 8 | 19 | -11 | 1 |
| TOP SCORERS | ||
|---|---|---|
| Garbhan Coughlan | Cashmere Technical | 10 |
| Will Mendoza | Auckland United | 6 |
| Harley Hill | Auckland FC | 4 |
| Lyle Matthysen | Cashmere Technical | 4 |
| Martin Bueno | Miramar Rangers | 4 |
| Kian Donkers | Birkenhead United | 4 |
| Charlie Hale | Auckland FC | 4 |
| Callum Cooke | Napier City Rovers | 3 |
| Finn Caughey | Cashmere Technical | 3 |
| Luke Stoupe | Wellington Olympic | 3 |
| Charles Bidwell | Birkenhead United | 3 |
| Hector Echague | Eastern Suburbs | 3 |
| Yuya Taguchi | Cashmere Technical | 2 |
| Sam Lack | Napier City Rovers | 2 |
| Jack Beer | Auckland United | 2 |
| Jacob Killick | Ferrymead Bays | 2 |
| Julian Cristales Barrios | Auckland United | 2 |
| Owen Smith | Miramar Rangers | 2 |
| Ben Mata | Wellington Olympic | 2 |
| Gianni Bouzoukis | Wellington Olympic | 2 |
| Jack Clegg | Wellington Phoenix | 2 |
| Pavel Osmančík | Auckland City | 2 |
| Josh Redfearn | Birkenhead United | 2 |
| Morgan Wellsbury | Wellington Olympic | 2 |
| Nathan Rostron | Auckland City | 2 |
| MOST ASSISTS | ||
|---|---|---|
| Lyle Matthysen | Cashmere Technical | 7 |
| Garbhan Coughlan | Cashmere Technical | 4 |
| Jack Beer | Auckland United | 3 |
| Aston Hurd | Napier City Rovers | 3 |
| Devin Slingsby | Birkenhead United | 3 |
| Matt D'Hotman-De Villiers | Auckland FC | 3 |
| Yuya Taguchi | Cashmere Technical | 2 |
| Finn Caughey | Cashmere Technical | 2 |
| Alex Ballard | Cashmere Technical | 2 |
| Will Mendoza | Auckland United | 2 |
| Owen Smith | Miramar Rangers | 2 |
| Gavin Hoy | Wellington Olympic | 2 |
| Kailan Gould | Wellington Olympic | 2 |
| Liam Schofield | Napier City Rovers | 2 |
| Noah Boyce | Wellington Olympic | 2 |
| Shivam Nair | Birkenhead United | 2 |
| MOST CLEAN SHEETS | ||
|---|---|---|
| Pieter-Taco Bierema | Cashmere Technical | 4 |
| Oliver Pocock | Birkenhead United | 3 |
| Louie Caunter | Auckland City | 2 |
| Scott Basalaj | Wellington Olympic | 2 |
Next Week’s Fixtures
Miramar Rangers – BYE
Auckland City vs Birkenhead United
Wellington Olympic vs Auckland United
Ferrymead Bays vs Wellington Phoenix Reserves
Auckland FC Reserves vs Napier City Rovers
Eastern Suburbs vs Cashmere Technical
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