Despite the reputation that Auckland United bring with them, making them favourites everywhere they go, there was actually nothing between them and Eastern Suburbs during the National League regular season
Joe Bell’s international break came and went without damage, in fact he was even rested for New Zealand’s game against Ecuador to keep him fresh. Now the business of winning the Norwegian Eliteserien could resume.
The blokes still have another fortnight to go. That means that there wasn’t quite the same desperate jostling for spots in the top two... although there will be soon because this whole round was bonkers.
Sorry to say this but we’ve come to the end of the Women’s National League. This was the final round of the regular season (with just the grand final next week to follow)
We got what we should have expected from these games. The All Whites were competitive enough to hang around against two of South America’s current best, but not good enough – especially with half their starting eleven out injured – to withstand them the whole way through
The last time we beat Australia was in 1994 when Wendy Sharpe scored a double in Port Moresby for a 2-1 victory. There are only two players in the current squad who were even born when that happened (Esson and Longo).
On Friday night at Fred Taylor Park we witnessed one of the most consequential games of the entire season. Eastern Suburbs were five games unbeaten. West Coast Rangers had won five of their last six.
While it does seem like Western Springs and Wellington Olympic are headed towards a grand final showdown, having pulled away from the chasing pack, there’s still time for that to change
There isn’t a story in the Flying Kiwis realms more significant than this one at the moment. Joe Bell’s Viking FK side are now just two wins away from lifting the Norwegian championship – something the club hasn’t done for 34 years
Old mates at Wests had gone loss, win, loss, win, loss this season so it stood to reason that they’d beat Auckland FC Reserves... except for the pesky fact that AFC were buzzing after a 3-0 win against Birko
Next up for the All Whites, in their final tour of 2025, is a trip to the United States of America where they’ll meet Colombia and Ecuador on neutral soil. And guess what? The All Whites have never won against a South American nation.
With the way that the last couple weeks of results have broken, Wellington United are right back in the mix for the final. They’re also smack bang in the middle of a run of fixtures that sees…
We’re three games into the new A-League Men’s season and both New Zealand teams remain undefeated. Auckland FC are a little higher up on the ladder, in as much as the standings are even worth bothering with this early on…
Gabi Rennie was straight back from Footy Ferns action (earning her first caps in over a year) and immediately chipping in with another goal (and also an assist) as Eskilstuna United cruised to another victory.
The parity around this competition meant that Christchurch United and Auckland City were both within three points of second place as this game kicked off so technically they are both still title challengers... but the vibes have been peculiar.
Last Saturday, Auckland United nearly got stuck against a magnificent defensive display from West Coast Rangers until a controversial late penalty maintained their 100% record... and it wasn’t going to get any easier having to play four days later, on a Wednesday night, away against an Eastern Suburbs
Three games played, three defeats, zero goals scored, nine conceded. The numbers don’t look pretty but to be fair they were mostly spoiled by the needless game against the USA
For all his brilliant start to life as a Motherwell player, Elijah Just hadn’t actually scored for Motherwell yet. He’s third in the Scottish Premiership with three assists and he’d had several close calls for goals of his own
Birkenhead were grand finalists last year. Wellington Olympic just won the Chatham Cup. Both have intentions of getting back to North Harbour Stadium (or wherever the final happens to be) in a few weeks but they also both lost last in round four. Gotta bounce back.
Now, this was one of those games that you circle on the fixture list. The premier dynastic club in the country against the team that pipped them to the NRFL Premiership title.