Three weeks ago, Ben Waine was in the footballing wilderness. He was so far out of the frame at Port Vale that he hadn’t even made a matchday squad since late-August, with the exception of getting unused-subbed in an early FA Cup tie against non-league Maldon/Tiptree
Just like in the Women’s National League, the two most recent champions made it to the Men’s National League grand final. There had been wobbles along the way for both Wellington Olympic and Auckland City but…
Five losses in a row for Swansea City meant they more from anyone who could spare it, so more was what Marko Stamenic provided...
As the final round of the Men’s National League began, there were four clubs still in with a mathematical chance of qualifying for the grand final. These two clubs were at the forefront of those convos…
The Football Ferns are at a crossroads right now... in fact they’ve been stuck there for a wee while. Ever since the World Cup in 2023, they’ve been trying to figure out where they’re going having previously given absolute focus to that co-hosted tournament
There were some sweaty moments for Viking FK down the home stretch of this title challenge but when it came to the final round, needing simply to win to claim the club’s first Norwegian championship since 1991, it was never in doubt.
It’s an incredible situation that we’ve got ourselves into where four separate teams held their grand final fates in their own hands ahead of the penultimate weekend. Any combination of Western Springs, Auckland City, Wellington Olympic, or Miramar Rangers could end up in the top two
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…