It was the most fascinating matchup we’ve seen so far this season: Eastern Sububrs hosting Auckland City. With all due respect to the opener where Auckland City met Team Wellington, those two have played each other so often in 2018 that we sorta knew what we were getting and could just settle in for the ride.
If your perception about this team changed after last night’s defeat then you weren’t paying close enough attention because this is the level they’re at.
Mark Rudan is a defiant kinda person. He wants his players to feel like they’re up against it in this league and he’s apparently driven by those same chips upon his own shoulders himself, as you can tell from a bit of drummed up controversy this week.
Once upon a time West Ham vs Burnley would’ve been appointment viewing for any self-respecting kiwi footy fan. It sure was last season as Chris Wood scored late and he and Winston almost had a friendly tussle about it all tangled up in the goal net.
It’s a tough gig for Paul Temple and the Welly Nix, trying to balance competitiveness with, you know, being a reserve team playing in the National League. Their squad changes heaps from year to year and their best players are all trying to get promoted to the first team.
Two proper games in now, a 2-1 win at home against Newcastle and a 0-0 draw away to Brisbane, and we’re getting a much better idea of what Mark Rudan wants this side to look like.
This Tom Sermanni fella doesn’t mess around, does he? Confirmed in the job on Friday and by Monday morning he’s already named his first Football Ferns squad. It’s the squad that’ll scrap out the Oceania Nations Cup later on this month for a place at the 2019 World Cup in France.
Marinovic ends his season with 24 matches played, earning three yellow cards and keeping those two clean sheets. He conceded 45 times in those 24 starts, making 65 saves. You know what else this means? Bill Tuiloma is the only New Zealander left in the MLS as the playoffs begin.
There must be something in the waters of the great Waikato River because Hamilton Wanderers are only two games into the new term and they’ve won them both. Repeat: The Tron Wands are on a winning streak!
Three weeks or so after the Muir Report was released – you know the one that came about after twelve different players said they’d never play for the Football Ferns coach again? – New Zealand Football have announced that Tom Sermanni will be the new Football Ferns coach.
It was only a cup tie against a lower league team but Tyler Boyd is off the mark for the season with a goal in Vitoria’s 7-0 win over Valenciano. Old mate got the start and he cashed in.
It was a gutsy move from the top brass at Eastern Suburbs to welcome Ole Academy into their warm embrace this season. In some regards it was a dead simple decision, getting some of the best young talent in Aotearoa involved and all, but it was still brave because it meant gutting a squad that made the semi-finals last season.
They didn’t need to be fluent here. They needed instead to show that they’ve turned a corner and that the manager is having a positive influence. The Phoenix turned up and played with organisation, grinding out a result at home.
You wanted a promising young kiwi player to be given a chance with the Wellington Phoenix, well you’ve got one. Callan Elliot, according to reports, is about to be offered a much deserved contract after lasting basically the whole of preseason on a trial basis with the club.
Something odd happened this week: the Colorado Rapids won a game. While it’s long overdue and good for Tommy Smith finally breaking through after having been involved in every minute of the eight consecutive games without victory… it would’ve been nice if they didn’t do it against Michael Boxall, another kiwi comrade.
And thus it has begun. Auckland City against Team Wellington in the Charity Cup and the 2018-19 Premiership season is underway. Just the one game to get the ball rolling with both teams still trudging through a few preseason cobwebs but don’t worry too much about that, all it did was enhance the spectacle at Kiwitea Street.
The Premiership squads have been confirmed and the new season is about to begin. Better dig on in then, aye?
We’re now just ten days and counting away from the Wellington Phoenix’s first game of the new A-League season and they still haven’t signed another… oh wait, what? They have!
On Sunday afternoon the 2018-19 NZ Premiership season kicks off, Auckland City hosting Team Wellington in that Charity Cup thing they always do at the start of things which is really just a way of sneaking a game in early that they’d otherwise have to postpone when the World Club Cup comes around.
Liam Ridgewell got sent off last week for Portland in a nil-all draw at home against FC Dallas. That meant an open spot at centre-back and there’s one dude in this squad who’s made an impressive fist of stepping in as cover in that position: Billy T.