Timing can can be slippery aspect of any endeavour. The National League is no different. This weekend saw the hosting of the annual Napier U19s national tournament, as well as a full round of men’s and women’s Nats fixtures
Say would you look at this? A rematch of last year’s grand final, held under lights on a Friday Night at Seddon Fields. Western Springs versus Eastern Suburbs and both teams had a point to prove.
A point on the road. You can’t argue with it. Tim Payne said afterwards that he was buzzing with a 0-0 draw away to Western Sydney…
Aussie are a few steps above. A good dose of experience for the lads... but not a game we can expect to win quite yet. That day is coming though. Hold on.
It’s been a slow start to the term for Ria Percival, still getting up to full speed after her knee injury and having to begin the term outside the first choice eleven. New coach Robert Vilahamn has named the same XI for all three league games
The interactive week wha extravaganza of National League footballing action began at Wakefield Park where Wellington United hosted Southern United on a dark and gloomy Saturday morning in the capital city
Here we go at the always immaculate Kiwitea Street for a game that… you know what? This one had some upset potential. Maybe not on the surface but Auckland City hadn’t been entirely convincing in their victories so far
The All Whites aren’t yet in a place where they need to be winning regularly against good international sides... but they’re getting there. That’s the next stage in this team’s evolution. Score some goals and win some games
The Champions League returned to Rajko Mitic Stadium in Belgrade as Crvena zvezda faced Young Boys of Switzerland in what shaped as their most winnable game in this group stage
Three teams entered week three having lost both games and two of them were playing each other. They couldn’t possibly both lose…
Week three began with a clash between the two highest scoring teams in the MNL. Very early days there but Wellington Olympic just put seven past Napier City looking unstoppable on attack while Cashmere Technical took a five-for against Petone for the win
The squad is complete. 23 players are on board for season three with the club’s stated aim being a maiden finals appearance. Two straight wooden spoons don’t lend too much faith towards that possibility but there’s a lot to like about the Wellington Phoenix’s A-League Women’s team this year
Friday night lights at Seddon Field, shimmering off those little black pellets that they stick in the artificial turf. Actually on this particular night it was more like shimmering off the falling raindrops
When we last checked in on Libby Cacace, he’d been dropped along with half his Empoli team and nothing had improved thus the manager got sacked a mere four games into the new season
Christchurch United began their MNL campaign by laying down another statement in a year that’s been full of them. A commanding Southern League title defence. A Chatham Cup title…
For Darren Bazeley’s first tour as the permanent All Whites head coach he’s picked a 22-man squad without a single A-League player. Those fellas are busy in their preseasons, still building up their match-fitness…
The Football Ferns went to Chile and they lost both games. The first was a disappointing tactical approach in front of a pretty decent local crowd. The second had no crowd at all, in fact it was played behind closed doors.
Returning to us unspoiled from the golden shores of the beyond, the 2023 Men’s National League season began with an enticing clash at Fraser Park between the two most professional-adjacent teams in the competition
Returning from the others realms to bless us with its presence once again, the 2023 National League kicked off on a soggy Palmerston North afternoon with the freshly-crowned Kate Sheppard Cup champions up against the perennial wooden spooners
Play that Champions League anthem and play it loud because Marko Stamenic just took on UCL title-holders Manchester City (again). Matchday one of the 2023-24 UCL and Man City hosted Red Star Belgrade