Aotearoa Domestic Football Roundup – September 14
Men’s National League Playoffs
It was all about the Cup Finals last week but other games of football also took place over the past fortnight, including a trio of regional catch-up games and some very important National League qualifiers. The latter first... what we’ve got here are three teams competing for the last spot in the 2027 Men’s National League. Not the one that starts in two weeks but the full league format next year, just to be clear. There was a weighted formula based on results from the last five years to determine who’d qualify for that, however the MNL also keft an empty spot available for the next-up team from each region to compete for. Western Springs from the North, Western Suburbs from Central, Christchurch United from the South. Each would play each other once, so two games each with one home and one away. There’s a mini league table to determine the champ.
The first playoff was last week and it saw Christchurch United win 3-0 against Western Suburbs, making full use of their home advantage. They’d struggled all season and nothing really changed even after they got a big influx of players, some new and some returning, once South Island United wrapped up their Oceania Pro League efforts. But all along it’s felt like the Rams had more gears than they were showing, and finally, when it mattered most, they delivered.
Had to work hard for it though. Rovu Boyers struck right at the end of the first half (45’) after a low cross from Ry McLeod wasn’t dealt with. Then second half goals from Joel Stevens (72’) and Mason Stearn (90+1’) sealed the deal. Stevens picked off a poor pass from a defender and ran through while Stearn’s goal was a driven low finish after Wests hadn’t dealt with a corner kick. All three were preventable from a Suburbs perspective... but that only means that CUFC didn’t make those same errors, hence they won. The three-goal margin was huge for them too.
Christchurch United then had the week off while Western Suburbs hosted Western Springs. A couple of Westies from a couple of different cities. The task for Suburbs was gargantuan: this was their last game, therefore they had to win by enough to overturn the goal difference damage of that Christchurch defeat (and then hope for Springs to beat CUFC by a narrower margin). That was always an improbable set of circumstances but they gave it a nudge by taking the lead when Fumiya Ito ran onto a dragged shot from Kyle Carr and converted at the back post (19’). However a missed penalty from Carr five minutes later, pushing his attempt wide, spoiled that momentum. Western Springs then levelled up through current NZ U16s international Luke Carter (29’) - almost accidentally so, as goalkeeper Quillan Roberts dropped a simple cross onto his toes and it bobbled over the line. More self-inflicted wounds costing Wests (of the Suburbs variety). Coincidentally, Luke Carter was already in Wellington over the weekend to play for Auckland FC U17s against their Wellington Phoenix equivalents in a two-game series.
That was the end of the scoring. Springs did go close from a few of those Reid Drake long throws and Ito airswung at a tap-in back stick for Suburbs but nobody could find a winning goal. Thing is, there wasn’t a whole lot of imperative in that second half because a narrow win wasn’t any better than a draw for either of them. Western Suburbs weren’t going to overcome the damage from last week while Western Springs likewise would have needed to win by three goals to affect anything. The only jeopardy was that if Springs lost then they’d have to win by two, maybe three, goals next week. A draw it was then. 1-1 final score. That means we’ve effectively got a playoff final next week when Western Springs host Christchurch United.
Simple equation: Christchurch will get the golden ticket with a win or a draw, Springs absolutely have to win (by any margin) but they do have home field advantage. All or nothing at 1pm on the Seddon Fields Turf this Saturday.
Men’s Northern League
Birkenhead United wrapped up the Northern League title weeks ago but there was a second objective that they couldn’t complete ahead of time. That second objective was the prospect of going undefeated throughout the entire league season, matching what Auckland City and Eastern Suburbs did in the 2023 Northern League (yes, in the same season – meaning Eastern Subs went 17-5-0 and didn’t even win the title). Birko could equal that achievement if they avoided defeat against Bay Olympic in their postponed final round fixture.
That objective wasn’t going very well for them when they hit the sheds for half-time with a 1-0 deficit, William Eng having capitalised after a punch from goalkeeper Keegan Smith went nowhere helpful (35’). Birko got back on terms when Dion Buckingham nodded home from a corner kick (51’) but the worries returned when Rafael Conway’s shot took a deflection on its way into the net in stoppage time to put Bay Olympic back in front (90+2’). Only minutes remaining in the season and Birko were suddenly on the brink of defeat against a team they beat 6-0 in the home meeting. Only minutes? They only needed seconds, with Josh Redfearn producing a wonderful finish for his tenth of the campaign (90+4’) to ensure it ended as a 2-2 draw and Birkenhead United’s undefeated status can be written in permanent ink in those history books.
There was also an unplayed game in the Women’s NRFL Premiership... but that one will remain unplayed. Tauranga Moana had already defaulted against West Coast Rangers in the last full round of games so there wasn’t any consequential reason to play their postponed game against Western Springs. Neither team could improve their league standings and it would have meant extending their seasons since neither qualified for the Nats. Plus, most pertinently, it would have clashed with High School tournament week for many players on both those teams (but especially a super youthful Tauranga side). So it goes.
Women’s Central League
There was one catch-up match last week here last week when the Wellington Phoenix U18s, in amongst a busy period of national age-grade footy, were able to squeeze in a 6-0 victory away to Seatoun. It was goalless until shortly before half-time when Elsie Sroufe (40’) got the breakthrough and it turned out to be a very memorable day for Elsie Sroufe because soon enough she’d added two more for a hat-trick (53’, 64’) before Darcey Sutherland (74’), Victoria George (86’), and Maisy McDonald (90+2’) kinda ran away with it in the end.
With that win, the Phoenix U18s were able to jump ahead of Palmerston North United on goal difference to finish fourth. Not quite on par with the second placed shout last season but a nice positive note to end upon anyway. Katie Pugh and Maisy McDonald both played this game having been key figures in that 2025 side before, like many of them, moving up to the U20s this year. It’ll be a different situation next time with the Nix U20s playing National League throughout thanks to the new winter format, while the U18s remain in the Central League. All the regional divisions will be weakened with their top clubs moving upwards but this one less than most since only Wellington United and Waterside Karori are leaving. That hatty from Elsie Sroufe took her to five goals for the season, making her the Nix U18s top scorer above Lily Brazendale who got four during her occasional appearances.
Men’s Southern League
The Chatham Cup final did not pan out the way that Cashmere Technical wanted (nor the Kate Sheppard Cup final, for that matter). But that was not the end of the season for the Tech fellas, not even close. They’ve got National League in a couple of weeks but before that they also had one last game to say farewell to the Southern League and in all likelihood complete an undefeated league campaign.
It was Wānaka who came to visit, seeking to cause the upset of the season to put a lone notch in the loss column for Cashy Tech. But any hopes of that outcome were soon blunted when they found themselves 4-0 down after 20 minutes. It only got worse from there. Cashmere Tech romped home with an 11-0 win thanks to goals from: Roy Hibbert (6’), Garbhan Coughlan (13’), Coughlan (15’), Alex Ballard (20’), Coughlan (34’), Hibbert (50’), Hibbert (54’), Charlie Peacocke (63’), Coughlan (73’), Hibbert (75’), Edy Belingher (90’).
If you lost count there, that was four goals each for Garbhan Coughlan and Rory Hibbert. Takes Coughlan to a cheeky 32 goals for the season (it’s an 18-game league so... yeah). Hibbert also took a boost up to 15 goals - he’s been excellent for them as an extra scorer since joining from Northern AFC. That puts Hibbert second equal in the Southern League alongside Omar Cameron of Ferrymead Bays, whom we’ll see in National League shortly.
That was the biggest win of the season for Cashy Tech, topping the 9-0 win they had away against… Wānaka. Yikes, just a cheeky 20-0 aggregate for the season. Nomads United were the only team to avoid defeat against this lot with a 2-2 draw. Otherwise they won all 17 other matches. 91 goals scored and only 7 conceded. Wellington United went a perfect 18/18 in last year’s Women’s Central League so this wasn’t quite on that level... but close enough. Three undefeated teams across the six top regional leagues in 2026: Birkenhead United men and both Cashmere Technical men and women. Funnily enough, Fencibles United knocked both Birko and Cash Tech out of the Chatham Cup. Tech Women, of course, lost to Eastern Suburbs in the final.
2026 National League Fixtures
In other news, the fixtures for the 2026 National League were released last week. Both the women’s and men’s competitions begin the weekend after next (26 September) with the nine-team women’s comp playing through until a grand final in the last week of November while the eleven-team men’s comp will go two weeks longer into mid-December. This is the last edition in this format, therefore the last time for the foreseeable future that we’ll have summer domestic football. A reminder of the confirmed teams...
MNL: Auckland City, Auckland FC Reserves, Auckland United, Birkenhead United, Cashmere Technical, Eastern Suburbs, Ferrymead Bays, Miramar Rangers, Napier City Rovers, Wellington Olympic, Wellington Phoenix Reserves
WNL: Auckland United, West Coast Rangers, Eastern Suburbs, Waterside Karori, Fencibles, SU University of Otago, Wellington United, Wellington Phoenix Reserves, Canterbury United Pride
The most curious aspect of all this is not that they’ve kept the WNL season shorter without Central Football. That was the probable outcome all along – it’s cheaper and the Central team was usually a glorified bye round anyway (just 2 wins from their last 47 matches) – although apparently Capital Football did lobby for a third entrant from their region to take that place. Presumably that would have been Petone who were next up in the standings.
Nah, the most curious aspect was Otago University popping up in collaboration with Southern United. This is the last year of federation teams, it’ll all be club based once the league reforms next year. Central Football had already said that’s one too many when they withdrew a few months ago and opted instead to focus on the Youth National League with their young squad. Canterbury United seem keen to have another swing at it but Southern United, it would appear, are happy to speed up the process by slipping into their next incarnation and allowing Otago Uni to take the controls.
This is very reminiscent of a couple years ago when the Women’s Central League club qualifiers replaced the old Capital Football team. In those initial couple seasons, Wellington United and Waterside Karori competed as themselves, with their own squads, but with Capital Football included in the branding while offering a bit of structural support (including an added allotment for loan players from other Capital sides). Sort of a hybrid club-federation, though in a football sense the balance was much more towards the club.
We’ll find out what this looks like for Otago Uni in a fortnight. There has been a call for “expressions of interest” for players keen to be involved, suggesting it won’t entirely be the Otago Uni squad that finished third in the South Island League (after being second in 2025, consolidating a really strong few years for the club). The strange part of this is that Otago Uni weren’t even the best team from the Southern region... that was Dunedin City Royals who finished four points above them and have gained entry into next year’s National League. But perhaps they wanted to focus on getting ducks in order for next season, leaving the Southern United spot up for grabs for Varsity.
It all works out fine for the neutrals as we get slightly more variety in the teams represented. And it’s fantastic for Otago Uni who’ll be able to use this as a taster for what they’re aspiring towards in the future. Hold their own in the 2026 Nats and then try to get promoted for the 2028 edition. Would imagine we do see a few DCR players pop up in Otago Uni colours though – Georgia Nixon would be an obvious one after she transferred from Otago Uni to Dunedin City this year, with a Southern United stint in between. Anyway, up the Scarfies, let’s see what they’ve got to offer.
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