2 Welcome back to another issue of “The Ave”, and in particular a warm welcome to our guests this weekend in this ANZAC day double header Waitemata FC and Western Springs AFC. The Ave has also had a facelift with a brand new cover concept and the return of some features from last year, including Tweet of the Week and now that we are nearing the start of the winter season the return of Upcoming Club Fixtures. Back to our key fixtures, we kick-off the weekend with both Men’s and Women’s Reserves playing on Friday night before the First Teams play on Saturday, with the Women’s team looking for their first win of the season against top of the table Western Springs, while the boys are also looking for their first win of the season, in a game against fellow strugglers Waitemata FC.
Regardless of the results we look forward to teams coming back to the clubrooms after the games for the after-match formalities which will include a cold drink and some football yarns. Lastly I just want to thank all the volunteers and paid staff for their efforts this year so far - we have had a lot to do and it’s been awesome to see everyone get stuck in and help each other out. All the best in Football Tim Adams Chairman FRONT COVER: (from left) Rory Kelly, Mia Grgicevich, Josh Lai and Kim Oosterbeek BACK COVER: Women’s Captain Erin Simperingham in action
3 PAGE NUMBER
PAGE DESCRIPTION
4
SPONSORS & PARTNERS
5
UPCOMING CLUB FIXTURES
6&7
UPCOMING FIRST TEAM GAMES
8&9
NRFL PREMIER SCHEDULE / RESULTS
10 & 11
NRFL DIV 1 SCHEDULE / RESULTS
12 & 13
MENS FIRST TEAM LINEUPS
14-17 18 & 19 20-23 24 & 25
MENS MATCH REPORT EWOMENS FIRST TEAM LINEUPS WOMENS MATCH REPORT MENS AND WOMENS RESERVES LINEUPS
26
SWIMMING AGAINST THE TIDE
27
PHOTO/TWEET OF THE WEEK
The Men’s NRFL team are home next week against Bucklands Beach which will be a big game, so make sure you come down and check it out.
4
5 DATE
TIME
HOME TEAM
AWAY TEAM
01.05
EAFC Men’s First Team
VS
Bucklands Beach First Team
01.05
EAFC Men’s Reserves
VS
Bucklands Beach Reserves
01.05
EAFC Diamonds
VS
Mt Albert Ponsonby Baggies
01.05
Fencibles Utd Morgan
VS
EAFC Colts
01.05
EAFC Iguanas
VS
Drury Utd DIY Hire
01.05
Mt Albert Ponsonby Mohawks
VS
EAFC Sea Dogs
01.05
EAFC Business Time
VS
EAFC Deceptively Slow
01.05
Metro FC Football Friends
VS
EAFC Instituto EFC
01.05
EAFC EPSDS
VS
Western Springs Choppers
01.05
EAFC Red Ruru’s
VS
Mt Albert Ponsonby Freemans
01.05
Lynn Avon Utd
VS
EAFC Screaming Eagles
01.05
EAFC Bonobos
VS
EAFC Black Ponies
01.05
Uni-Mt Bohemians Red Devils
VS
EAFC Red Knights
01.05
Bucklands Beach Dusties
VS
EAFC ZFFC
01.05
Western Springs Go Feet
VS
EAFC Masters FC
01.05
Eastern Suburbs Shambles
VS
EAFC Zephyrs
01.05
EAFC Metro
VS
Hibiscus Coast Renovo Rovers
01.05
EAFC Mustangs
VS
Onehunga Mangere Bulavinka
02.05
Auckland United First Team
VS
EAFC Women’s First Team
02.05
Auckland United Reserves
VS
EAFC Women’s Reserves
02.05
EAFC Rebels
VS
Fencibles United
02.05
EAFC Red Fury
VS
EAFC Zamantix Roverines
VS
VENUE
6
7
8 ROUND
DATE & TIME
OPPOSITION
1
28.03.21 @ 3pm
Auckland United
Michaels Ave
2-2
2
02.04.21 @ 3pm
Hamilton Wanderers
Porritt Stadium
1-2
3
11.04.21 @ 3pm
Northern Rovers
Michaels Ave
2-3
4
18.04.21 @ 3pm
Eastern Suburbs
Michaels Ave
0-1
5
25.04.21 @ 3pm
Western Springs
Michaels Ave
6
02.05.21 @ 1pm
Auckland United
Keith Hay Park
7
09.05.21 @ 3pm
Hamilton Wanderers
Michaels Ave
8
16.05.21 @ 1pm
Northern Rovers
McFetridge Park
9
23.05.21 @ 3pm
Eastern Suburbs
Michaels Ave
10
30.05.21 @ 3pm
Western Springs
Seddon Fields
11
13.06.21 @ 3pm
Auckland United
Michaels Ave
12
27.06.21 @ 1pm
Hamilton Wanderers
Porritt Stadium
13
04.07.21 @ 3pm
Northern Rovers
Michaels Ave
14
18.07.21 @ 1pm
Eastern Suburbs
Madills Farm
15
25.07.21 @ 3pm
Western Springs
Michaels Ave
16
01.08.21 @ 1pm
Auckland United
Keith Hay Park
17
08.08.21 @ 3pm
Hamilton Wanderers
Michaels Ave
18
15.08.21 @ 1pm
Northern Rovers
McFetridge Park
19
22.08.21 @ 3pm
Eastern Suburbs
Michaels Ave
20
29.08.21 @ 1pm
Western Springs
Seddon Fields
NOTES • Home Reserves games kickoff at 12:45pm on Sundays • Away Reserves games kickoff at 10:30am on Sundays • Fixtures are subject to change - please check • Check NRF’s website or social pages for updates
VENUE
NRF Website: www.aucklandfootball.org.nz Lotto NRFL Twitter: @LOTTONRFL Lotto NRFL Facebook: @LOTTONRFL
RESULT
9 17/04
HOME TEAM
SCORE
AWAY TEAM
NORTHERN ROVERS
0-1
AUCKLAND UNITED
n/a
18/04
HOME TEAM
SCORE
AWAY TEAM
WESTERN SPRINGS
2-1
HAMILTON WANDERERS
E.Pijnenburg, L.Taitimu
18/04 Place
B.Johnson
M.Foster
HOME TEAM
SCORE
AWAY TEAM
ELLERSLIE AFC
0-1
EASTERN SUBURBS
n/a
R.Head
Team
PL
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
PTS
1
WESTERN SPRINGS AFC
4
4
0
0
10
2
8
12
2
HAMILTON WANDERERS
4
2
0
2
7
7
0
6
3
NORTHERN ROVERS
4
2
0
2
8
9
-1
6
4
EASTERN SUBURBS
4
2
0
2
6
9
-3
6
5
AUCKLAND UNITED
4
1
1
2
4
5
-1
4
6
ELLERSLIE AFC
4
0
1
3
5
8
-3
1
18/04 18/04
HOME TEAM
SCORE
AWAY TEAM
NORTHERN ROVERS
5-5
AUCKLAND UNITED
HOME TEAM
SCORE
AWAY TEAM
WESTERN SPRINGS
1-0
HAMILTON WANDERERS
HOME TEAM
SCORE
AWAY TEAM
ELLERSLIE AFC
1-0
EASTERN SUBURBS
18/04 Place
Team
PL
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
PTS
1
ELLERSLIE AFC
4
3
0
1
14
6
8
9
2
WESTERN SPRINGS
4
2
2
0
4
2
2
8
3
AUCKLAND UNITED
4
2
1
1
13
11
2
7
4
NORTHERN ROVERS
4
0
3
1
10
14
-4
3
5
HAMILTON WANDERERS
4
1
0
3
2
8
-6
3
6
EASTERN SUBURBS
4
0
2
2
4
6
-2
2
10 ROUND
DATE & TIME
OPPOSITION
1
27.03.21 @ 3pm
Takapuna AFC
Michaels Ave
2-3
3
05.04.21 @ 3pm
Manurewa AFC
Michaels Ave
2-1
4
10.04.21 @ 3pm
East Coast Bays
Bay City Park
2-4
5
17.04.21 @ 3pm
Mt Albert Ponsonby
Anderson Park
1-5
6
24.04.21 @ 3pm
Waitemata FC
Michaels Ave
7
01.05.21 @ 3pm
Bucklands Beach
Michaels Ave
8
08.05.21 @ 3pm
Albany United
Michaels Ave
9
22.05.21 @ 3pm
Metro FC
Phyllis Street
10
29.05.21 @ 3pm
Waiheke United
Michaels Ave
11
12.06.21 @ 3pm
Tauranga City
Links Ave
12
26.06.21 @ 3pm
Bucklands Beach
Lloyd Elsmore Park
14
10.07.21 @ 3pm
Manurewa AFC
Memorial Park
15
17.07.21 @ 3pm
East Coast Bays
Bay City Park
16
24.07.21 @ 3pm
Mt Albert Ponsonby
Michaels Ave
17
31.07.21 @ 3pm
Waitemata FC
McLeod Park
18
07.08.21 @ 3pm
Takapuna AFC
Taharoto Park
19
15.08.21 @ 3pm
Albany United
Rosedale Park
20
21.08.21 @ 3pm
Metro FC
Michaels Ave
21
28.08.21 @ 3pm
Waiheke United
Onetangi Sports Park
22
04.09.21 @ 3pm
Tauranga City
Michaels Ave
NOTES • Reserves games kickoff at 12:30pm on Saturdays • Fixtures are subject to change - please check • Check NRF’s website or social pages for updates • Round 2 and 13 are BYES
VENUE
NRF Website: www.aucklandfootball.org.nz Lotto NRFL Twitter: @LOTTONRFL Lotto NRFL Facebook: @LOTTONRFL
RESULT
11 17/04
SCORE
AWAY TEAM
TAKAPUNA AFC
3-1
BUCKLANDS BEACH AFC
S.Robertson, T.Miller, W.Heather
17/04
SCORE
AWAY TEAM
TAURANGA CITY AFC
1-0
ALBANY UTD
J.Langton
n/a
HOME TEAM
SCORE
AWAY TEAM
METRO FC
2-0
WAIHEKE UNITED
A.Mohammadi 2
17/04
n/a
HOME TEAM
SCORE
AWAY TEAM
EAST COAST BAYS
2-0
MANUREWA AFC
R.Singh, O.Garcia
n/a
HOME TEAM
SCORE
AWAY TEAM
MT ALBERT PONSONBY AFC
5-1
ELLERSLIE AFC R.Morrow
C.Sinclair, J.Viviani, F.Bono, M.Gurney, B.Billings HOME TEAM
27/06
Place
H.Alfayad
HOME TEAM
17/04
17/04
HOME TEAM
SCORE
AWAY TEAM
BYE
WAITEMATA FC
n/a
n/a
Team
PL
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
PTS
1
EAST COAST BAYS AFC
4
4
0
0
10
2
MT ALBERT PONSONBY AFC
4
3
0
1
15
2
8
12
4
11
9
3
ALBANY UTD
4
3
0
1
7
4
3
9
4
TAKAPUNA AFC
5
3
0
2
11
9
2
9
5
WAIHEKE UTD
5
3
0
2
7
6
1
9
6
MANUREWA AFC
5
3
0
2
5
5
0
9
7
TAURANGA CITY
8
METRO FC
5
3
0
2
6
8
-2
9
5
2
0
3
9
7
-2
6
9
WAITEMATA FC
4
0
1
3
3
7
-4
1
10
BUCKLANDS BEACH AFC
5
0
1
4
5
18
-13
1
11
ELLERSLIE AFC
4
0
0
4
6
14
-8
0
12 #
PLAYER NAME
GAMES
GOALS
1
KYRYL BOLHARYN
25
0
2
LEX DAVIES-CAMPBELL
30
3
3
AALOK PAUDEL
35
0
4
JORDAN BRESLER
33
0
5
JOSH LAI
20
2
6
ALEX CLARK
24
3
7
RORY KELLY
9
2
8
ADAM SCOTT
83
7
9
ERMAL FUSHA
2
1
10
RYAN MORROW
11
3
11
REI OGAWA-BRACEY
11
0
12
ANDRE MUNRO-WILSON
8
3
13
JOSH TORRENS
54
1
14
PAT GREY
2
0
15
SEB POELMAN
81
8
16
ROWAN CORBETT
54
13
17
CONRAD BENEFIELD
41
1
TYPE OF OFFICIAL
TEAM OFFICIALS
18
JONATHAN DAVIDSON
DEBUT
0
HEAD COACH
Dave Edmondson
20
KOJO NORKU
8
0
ASSIST. COACH
Fred de Jong
21
DIRRENESH THIRUKUMAR
1
0
GK COACH
Tony Jenkins
22
COBI ALLEN
3
0
MANAGER
Tim Adams
27
KOSEI HAGINO
2
0
PHYSIO
Aaron Collin
MEDIA’S PICK FOR MAN OF THE MATCH In our last game Adam Scott was the media’s pick for Man of the Match as he adapted well to his new position in the team.
13 #
PLAYER NAME
TYPE OF OFFICIAL
1
Matthew GUY
2
Hamish MACKAY
AR 1
Lee JUNO
3
Samuel SEDON
AR 2
Trevor MIDDLETON
4
Tom VAN LEEUWEN
Reserves Ref
Trevor MIDDLETON
5
Jordan O’NEILL
6
Jacob TELFORD
7
Scott SELLAR
8
Ian SELLAR
9
Shane TANNER
10
Phoenix SILVER
11
Arnold KOCHASIRA
12
John HIGHT
13
Jesse SMITH
14
Roy VAN LEEUWEN
15
Dean PHOMMAHAXAY
16
Rohan GURUNG
17
Jamie ARMSTRONG
19
Zen BAATJES
TYPE OF OFFICIAL
TEAM OFFICIALS
23
Lobsang SHERPA
HEAD COACH
Hamish MACKAY
ASSIST. COACH
Jonny AALBERS
MANAGER
Stephanie COLLINGWOOD
PHYSIO
Kelly POWELL
REFEREE
MATCH OFFICIALS
Jeremy FERGUSON
WEBSITE: www.waitematafc.org.nz TWITTER: @WaitemataFc FACEBOOK: @WaitemataFootballClub
14 PONIES FALL IN FIXTURE TO FORGET Round 5 of the LOTTO NRFL Men’s Division 1 saw the Ponies head to Anderson Park to take on Mt Albert Ponsonby. Still carrying a long list of injuries, and playing against a strong team, the lads leaked five goals throughout the 90 minutes. With only a consolation goal to take home, our Men’s First Team will want to forget that game quickly. The day got off to a disappointing start as the Men’s Reserves lost their first game of the season. However, one loss isn’t bad in the scheme of things, and the lads still sit comfortably in the top half of their table. We’re sure they’ll bounce back to winning form next week as they play on Friday night under the lights at The Ave. With the wind picking up as the day bore on, and a lot of previous rain, the Men’s First Team took to a wet pitch at 3pm. The line-up stayed similar to the previous week, with only a couple changes. Kyryl Bolharyn took his position between the sticks, and the four in front of him remained the same through Rei Ogawa-Bracey, veterans Adam Scott and Seb Poelman, and youngster Kosei Hagino. With Josh Torrens available again, he slotted into his natural role as a Number 6, with Kojo Norku in front of him. Rory Kelly earned his first start, and Cobi Allen and Ryan Morrow were back for another week. After a week off through injury, Andre Munro-Wilson took back his position on the right wing. MAP enjoyed most of the possession in the opening stages of the game, showcasing their ability to launch a hard press on the ball before stretching the field and shifting it out of danger. Bolharyn was kept busy in goal from the get go but managed to hold his own.
15 When Ellerslie managed to find space down the edge of the pitch, Hagino was dangerous. He enjoyed a few long runs down his left side before whipping the ball into the 18-yard box—some really positive play from the youngster. Munro-Wilson was equally as dangerous down the right, beating players and linking up well with Morrow up top.
The game started with intensity from both teams, and Ellerslie had come out firing. It was unfortunate then, that a costly mistake at the back lead to the Ponies conceding their first goal in the 21st minute. Loss of focus punished the Ponies, and a slow back pass to Bolharyn was picked up by Marshall Gurney, who made no mistake in finding his mark. Ellerslie did their best to claw a goal back, but lots of niggly fouls from either side stopped the men in red from keeping consistent possession. Their big chance came after a pinpoint ball from Munro-Wilson found Allen, who was steaming through. He was unable to keep his shot on target though and the chance fell through their fingertips. Another unfortunate goal saw the Ponies go down two nil in the 39th minute. The ball went out for a throw in that was clearly Ellerslie’s, and despite the linesman signalling this, the referee decided he knew better and called it as MAP ball. The boys in gold and blue then went onto score straight off this play. The lads went into the sheds only two nil down, but still very much in the game. They showcased this by coming out with some higher intensity play and more hunger to go forward. Norku showcased his nifty feet in the midfield and Torrens did well to steady the ship behind him. Ellerslie seemed to be doing the right things but just couldn’t find that last execution they needed. MAP were relentless in their playing and punished the boys in the 52nd and 79th minute a third and fourth time. Despite being 4 nil down, the lads still gave it their all—going in hard for every tackle and still trying to launch attacks of their own.
16 The niggly tackles from the first half carried over to the second but the referee decided nothing warranted him dipping into his pocket. The only time he did was to send Dave Edmondson away for chatting a bit too much. Interesting call after the amount of borderline tackles happening on the field. Funnily enough, the first and only yellow card came from First team debutant Dirrenesh Thirukumar after his first and only “bad” challenge of the game. After working tirelessly to earn this debut, at least he’ll have something to remember the game by. Thirukumar marks the 200th Men’s First Team player for the club, another awesome milestone to note. The midfielder brought some urgency to the pitch and a keenness to go forward and we’re excited to see what he brings to the table in the games to come. Some more urgency resulted in Ellerslie managing to get a goal of their own after a huge goalmouth scramble. The media team thought it may have been a Torrens goal, but it was confirmed as one for Morrow in the official match report. However, MAP didn’t ease off one bit and scored back one of their own a few minutes later to maintain their four goal lead. The game ended at 5-1 and it’s going to be a game to forget for the Ponies. They’ll look to put it behind them and focus on their upcoming fixture against Waitemata. Waitemata aren’t far ahead of the boys on the table, and with a home crowd, the men in red will definitely be looking at this as a winnable game. We’re overdue for some points, and we have full faith this Saturday is going to be it, so make sure you get on down to The Ave and support.
17 Media Picks Man of The Match: Adam Scott Having moved to centre back just last week, Scott may have found his new spot at home on the field. Despite the score line, you really can’t fault his game. Making some good clutch tackles and showcasing his pace and passing, Scott looked comfortable in his partnership with Skipper Poelman. Even better, Ginny the Women’s First Team Player of the Day Pony made an appearance at the Men’s Game and Adam Scott got his picture with her.
18 #
PLAYER NAME
GAMES
1
Erin SIMPERINGHAM
55
4
Leigh AITKEN
42
5
Tayla HAWES
25
6
Kim MESIAS
4
7
Deb TUTTY
171
8
Annabelle PAKIETO
10
9
Kim OOSTERBEEK
29
10
Hollie LEONA
20
11
Anita TRUDGEN
57
15
Courtney ROWSE
11
16
Britney CUNNINGHAM-LEE
12
17
Cat PRETTY
4
18
Lauren MCKENZIE
0
18
Lulu LANCE
0
19
Maddy MCCORMICK
29
TYPE OF OFFICIAL
TEAM OFFICIALS
21
Holly MARX
9
HEAD COACH
Ryan Shiffman
24
Kezia KELLY
50
ASSIST. COACH
Callum McKenzie
25
Mia GRGICEVICH
3
ASSIST. COACH
Mark Thompson
27
Charli COLLARD
33
GK COACH
Nadia Olla
28
Kat GOW
5
MANGER
Kevin Green
MANAGER
Donna Collard
PHYSIO
Kojo Norku
MEDIA’S PICK FOR PLAYER OF THE DAY In our last game Erin Simperingham was the media’s pick for POD as she made a sack full of saves against Eastern Suburbs.
19 #
PLAYER NAME
1
TYPE OF OFFICIAL
MATCH OFFICIALS
Alisha PERRY
REFEREE
James LOGAN
2
Sophia DYER
AR 1
TBC
3
Jolene MUIR
AR 2
Peter MANNING
4
Tayla O’BRIEN
Reserves Ref
Peter MANNING
5
Casey BERRIER
6
Jaedeci ULUVILI
7
Lily TAITIMU
8
Emma PHELPS
9
Samara DULLABH
11
Rina HIRANO
12
Arisa TAKEDA
13
Gerri GIBSON
14
Jess INNES
15
Maggie PEDERSEN
18
Emma PIJNENBURG
19
Rosa CAIRD
22
Siena Avani COHEN-PARIKH
24
Lily JERVIS
TYPE OF OFFICIAL
TEAM OFFICIALS
25
Lara COLPI
HEAD COACH
Ryan FAITHFULL
32
Kitty JACOBS
ASST. COACH
Alec FLOOD
MANAGER
Kelly BOLUS
PHYSIO
Suzanne FALCONER
GK COACH
Doug ROBINSON
WEBSITE: www.wsafc.org.nz
TWITTER: @WspringsFC
FACEBOOK: @wsafc
INSTAGRAM: @wsafc_club
20 ELLERSLIE HELD SCORELESS FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE JUNE 2019 AS SUBURBS WIN THE EAST AUCKLAND DERBY A lone strike from Eastern Suburbs was the difference in this important clash at Michaels Ave, a cagey game from both teams where the GK’s excelled in their crafts for their respective teams but Ellerslie Women’s Club Captain Erin Simperingham could do nothing about the winning goal as Rachael Head slammed the ball home from close range in the 48th min. Earlier in the day the Reserves who have been on a hot streak this season found Eastern Suburbs hard to break down but finally broke through in the 76th minute to take their 3rd consecutive win, with a goal to Sarah Robinson. Ellerslie started the Premier game in last place with 2 losses and 1 draw, with both losses by only 1 goal margins, so while in some periods of those games we had not played our best and switched off at times, we knew we were competing with these teams and it was a case of fine tuning rather than back to the drawing board. With that in mind the team this weekend had a few little changes to the starting lineup as Maddy dropped out of the squad all-together as an injury precaution and Hollie Leona came in for her Women’s Premier League starting debut after impressing off the bench last week, Leigh dropped into midfield and Charli switched flanks to right back and Taylor had a rest on the bench as Deb came back into the starting team. It seemed like we were on point straight away as we attacked Suburbs right from the kickoff and within a minute of kickoff we had our first shot on target, a left foot effort from outside the box from Cat Pretty However within 7 minutes Suburbs had their first chance after they had dealt with the hot start
21 from the Ponies as they flicked a high ball on at the edge of our box which left a Suburbs player with a pretty good chance with just Erin in her way in the Ellerslie goal, but the contact wasn’t great on the finish and Erin dealt with the bouncing shot easily. Jade Parris had a couple of chances in the next couple of minutes as Suburbs turned the screws on the Ponies, firstly she had a shot from the edge of the box blocked and from the resulting corner she ended up free at the back post, but her choice of finish which was a lobbed effort had too much on it and didn’t really trouble the Ponies GK. Suburbs continued to put the pressure on and in a play almost identical to the first chance they had, which translated into a great chance for the Suburbs #7 to open the scoring but while she got some power into her shot it was too close to Erin in goal who gobbled the shot up, in what would not be her last good save of the game. Erin earned her spot shortly after as she was required to dive down to her left to stop a powerful low shot and then get straight back up and make another save as the loose ball was picked up by Suburbs, her fellow Ponies were able to sweep in and clear the loose ball after the second save much to the relief of the coaching staff who were witnessing a real period of pressure from the Lilywhites. In the 30th minute Ellerslie had another great chance to open the scoring as a errant back pass from Suburbs was picked up by the lively Leona who drove towards goal and unleashed a powerful shot towards the near post – unfortunately for the Ponies the Suburbs GK who had been watching her counterpart make a bunch of saves was not in a giving mood and easily made the save and moved to start the counter-attack. That chance seemed to spur a mini momentum shift as we cracked off a few more chances at the Suburbs goal, but nothing that was able to test Corina Brown. It’s probably no co-incidence that our best period of pressure resulted in our best chance of the game as Cat Pretty found Charli high on the right flank, she combined with Hollie who shrugged
22 off some challenges and found a pocket of space just inside the box to fire off a powerful cross which found Annabelle, but her shot was blocked – that was not the end of the chance as Annabelle quickly recovered and won the loose ball and slid a perfect left foot pass across the box to Britney who was unmarked in the box (just inline with the left post). She picked power for her finish and just couldn’t keep it under the crossbar – it would have been an interesting second half if we had scored this and gone into halftime at 1-0 up.
There was one more event which could have resulted in a goal, a muddle at the back from Ellerslie ended up with a backpass being called just inside the 6 yard box – Ellerslie brought every player back and formed a wall across the goal for the indirect free kick. Suburbs decided a direct shot and a deflection was their best chance of scoring as Jade Parris blasted a shot which was blocked by the Ponies wall – however with the loose ball sitting there ready for a Suburbs attacker to pounce the referee decided it was halftime and robbed the visitors of the chance of scoring – very strange. Halftime the teams re-grouped and the coaches no doubt tried to adjust the their teams to be more effective in a half that featured chances but not any composed finishing. If the Ponies started the first half on fire then Suburbs did that in spades in the second half as within 2 minutes of the restart they had grabbed the game winning (spoiler alert) goal. A good run down the right flank from the Suburbs #2 was supplemented by an excellent square ball across goal which skipped both Pony centrebacks and perfectly into the path of the Suburbs #10 who slammed the ball home from the edge of the 6 yard box.
The two teams traded shots for the next period of play with neither team being able to force any saves of note from the respective keepers, but then Suburbs had another great chance to score and double their lead when a little clipped ball from midfield found Jade Parris in the box running right at Erin in the Ponies goal, but her shot on the half volley, low and to Erin’s left wasn’t enough to beat her on this day – such was her performance in goal.
23 Ellerslie were not able to create a last chance in this game – it seemed our chances game earlier in the game and while we managed to wrestle back some possession and territorial equality we couldn’t find a late equaliser and registered our first game without scoring since our 3-0 loss to Hamilton Wanderers in the Kate Sheppard Cup in 2019. That’s almost the first round of games to go, with only Western Springs left to play which is a big challenge as the Hoops currently sit top of the table and in amazing form this season – that final game of the first round is at home on SATURDAY at 12noon as part of a double header with the Men’s First Team who play Waitemata FC at 3pm on the same ground. The player of the day in this game was awarded to Cat Pretty for another great performance in midfield, a real rock in there and well deserved – for the media team special mention to Erin Simperingham as our player of the game, we lost track of how many times we used her goal graphic during live coverage – that speaks volumes.
Thanks to JC Photography for some of the images: © image by Jean Christophe Varnier/ www.jcphotographynz.com
24 #
PLAYER NAME
18
Jonathan DAVIDSON
24
Ben ALEXANDER
26
Monju SHOHEI
28
Rai-Arii HENDERSON-ENOKA
29
Andrew HOLDSWORTH
30
Daniel EVANS
32
Ryan RIFAI
35
Farhan AZIM
36
Jordan ROBERTS-RADFORD
37
Brock GUNSON
38
Athan RATNAM
39
Liam BUYCK
40
Jayden BUSH
42
Ben HUGHES
43
Ryan ROBINSON
TYPE OF OFFICIAL
TEAM OFFICIALS
44
Patrick FAHEY
HEAD COACH
SEB BOUVIER
ASSIST. COACH
n/a
GK COACH
TONY JENKINS
MANAGER
TIM ADAMS
PHYSIO
AARON COLLIN
Jordan Bresler Stepped up to skipper the Reserves last week and had a strong game at centre back in a surprising loss
25 #
PLAYER NAME
18
Lauren MCKENZIE
18
Lulu LANCE
2
Anna HOWDEN
3
Chante’ DU PLESSIS
4
Marie GREEN
5
Maggie JAQUES
6
Sarah ROBINSON
7
Ruth BOWERMAN
8
Abby NICOLSON
9
Caitlin TURNER
10
Ella WIEBE
11
Dalila MOSCA
12
Tove BENNETT
15
Stephanie JONES
21
Holly MARX
22
Jemma MCCORMICK
24
Kezia KELLY
TYPE OF OFFICIAL
TEAM OFFICIALS
25
Mia GRGICEVICH
HEAD COACH
Ian Davidson
27
Charli MARVIN
ASSIST. COACH
Callum McKenzie
31
Claire ALDERTON
GK COACH
Nadia Olla
35
Faith MOA
MANAGER
Kevin Green
TBC Katjana GRGICEVICH
MANAGER
Donna Collard
TBC Jessica GALLAGHER
PHYSIO
Kojo Norku
Sarah Robinson In her first game this season after missing all of pre-season Sarah grabbed the only goal of the game against Suburbs and with it Player of the Day honours
26 This is our second article covering the NZ Football National League changes - in our first article we covered the process used to facilitate the change (you can view that in Issue 2 of the Ave). For today we are going to look at the financial aspect of the change. In the proposal for the changes prepared for us by NRF we were told these factors were a key consideration for why the change was being proposed: • Competitions/Entries must be financially viable and sustainable. • Covid-19 had a profound effect at all levels of the game.
As we know there have been clubs/franchises in the ISPS Handa Premiership that have struggled to meet the entry fees and costs involved in competing in the league—which we understand was somewhere in the realm of $60$80k. NZF’s plan to make entries (being clubs) more financially sustainable is to apparently spread the load of cost across more clubs and provide a lesser product? When asked about what kind of money NZF were committing to this new league the answer was (from Andy Boyens): NZF Contribution to the league is significant and higher than the combined club entry fee contribution An interesting answer - if you consider that each club in the 3 Premier Leagues across NZ is contributing minimum $10k per club, so that’s 12 in the Northern League, 10 in the Central League and 8 in the Southern League. So in theory that’s 30 clubs and $300k from clubs. There is an anomaly in the South Island as we are lead to believe that all clubs in the Mainland Premier League and the Southern Premier League (the leagues which feed the Southern League) are all paying $10k each as that is what they paid previously anyway for regional league football. Putting that to one side for clarity’s sake - that means NZF are contributing more than $300k into this league for what amounts to a 8 or 9 game season National League season - for context in the previous iteration clubs would play a double round-robin and pay a $30k entry fee—so $300k but from 10 clubs (not sure if the Wellington Phoenix Reserves paid an entry fee or not). So about the same amount of revenue then - which might support NZF’s point about spreading the financial load, however I estimate that of the additional 20 clubs (assuming the 10 existing franchises/clubs assimilate back into club life) a fair few of them won’t find an entry fee of $10K ontop of their existing costs that sustainable. Perhaps it would have been better to open the current model up to more clubs who can afford $30k, I’m sure clubs like Auckland United, Northern Rovers and Western Suburbs could all afford this. It’s seems to me we have basically asked some clubs in the three Premier Leagues to subsidise the ambitions of the rest while NZF contributes a small fortune either way… not sure how that is sustainable.
27
TWEET OF THE WEEK The Football world went mad this week with the announcement of the super league. Fans quickly condemned the concept and in all the drama Spurs sacked Jose Mourinho who might be the first and only “Super League” manager ever to get the sack.
PHOTO OF THE WEEK An indirect free kick in the Ellerslie 6 yard box gave Suburbs photographer Jean Christophe Varnier a chance to take this epic shot through the net. Photo Credit: JC Photography
ELLERSLIE ASSOCIATION FOOTBALL CLUB
Photo’s supplied by Tim Adams JC Photography
Michaels Avenue Reserve P.O. Box 11 328
Program Editor
Ellerslie, Auckland 1542 P: 09 579 8910
Tim Adams
E: chairman@ellersliefootball.org.nz W: ellersliefootball.org.nz
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