Aotearoa Domestic Football Roundup – July 14
Sound the bells because we have a new leader in the Men’s Northern League…
Sound the bells because we have a new leader in the Men’s Northern League…
Sarpreet Singh has landed in Serbia, ready to add another language to his Duolingo lessons. In a career that’s already taken him from Wellington to Germany to Portugal, he’s now signed a two-year contract with TSC Bačka Topola in the Serbian SuperLiga.
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.
Michael Boxall may have told reporters that he didn’t want the spotlight of MLS All Star status but the voters didn’t listen, sending him on the way to his first ever selection. The squad was announced last Thursday NZT and…
What do ya know, the old mates at Auckland FC have made another couple of reserves signings. They already added Benjamin Perez Baldoni (15, Ellerslie) and Nathan Martin (17, Fencibles) a few weeks back and in the last few days…
This was a week for transfers... but there are a few stray games involving kiwi footballers sprinkled in here. Like, for instance, another silky victory for Joe Bell’s Viking FK as they continue to hang out at the very top of the Eliteserien.
Let us begin at the summit, where Birkenhead United have been hanging out for a couple of months. Birko remain first after this week’s fixtures... but the lead has been narrowed after they only drew 3-3 against West Coast Rangers.
Gabi Rennie was in a generous mood for Eskilstuna United’s penultimate game before the summer break. She didn’t score as Esky won 4-0 against Gamla Upsala, instead she simply set all four of them up.
It was only a fortnight ago that the previous cup rounds took place but the games keep flowing so it was time for third round fixtures in both the Chatham Cup and Kate Sheppard Cup
There’s a Men’s U20 World Cup happening in a couple of months, if you didn’t know, and the New Zealander team has been busy in preparation. They just popped over to Chile for a couple of games.
Getting over that initial barrier and proving you can get results against top sides is one thing, but a World Cup group stage involves three matches in a short space of time and one good result usually doesn’t cut the mustard.
Dunedin City Royals had won seven outta seven heading into this week but a trip to face Cashmere Technical away posed one of their trickiest fixtures yet. Nevertheless, they did in this game what they did in all the other games.
This two-game trip to Canada marks a new phase for the All Whites, going from qualifying for the World Cup (by beating lower-ranked nations) to preparing for the World Cup (with games against much higher-ranked nations)
What were we hoping to see from the Football Ferns as they took on Venezuela? Probably just the usual objectives of scoring goals and winning games, alongside some more clues as to how Michael Mayne’s vision for this team will look.
Even in what ought to be a down week, with most European seasons wrapped up and the women all on an international break, the Flying Kiwis shelves can still produce bangers like this
It was a long weekend and it was a very busy weekend. We had cup games all over the country and somehow the Northern League managed to squeeze in a full round of fixtures on top of that
The last time we saw the All Whites, they were busy qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Now that they’ve booked their tickets for that event it’s time to start preparing for it.
Auckland FC didn’t carry any baggage or trauma into their second leg semi-final against Melbourne Victory. They were home at Mt Smart Stadium with more than 29,000 fans packed in – their biggest crowd of the season.
It all came down to this. Nottingham Forest versus Chelsea on the final day of the season with Champions League football on the line. It’s a situation that would have been inconceivable to Forest fans at the beginning of the campaign.
Another unbeaten record has fallen. Christchurch United have been looking imperious this year but they got popped 2-1 by Coastal Spirit on Sunday in a crazy finish.