THE AVE - ISSUE 2 05.04.21
ELLERSLIE AFC VS MANUREWA AFC
2 Welcome to Round 3 of the Lotto NRFL, this weekend sees our men’s team host Manurewa AFC who have built an impressive team for this season, welcome to Rhys and his Rewa team. Special mention to ex-Ponies Dylan Horgan, Dasgteer Lai-Sai and Divikesh Deo who line up in the royal blue of Manurewa today - good luck guys. Just a quick note to let everyone know our 4th round game has been reversed so it’s now an away game at Bay City Park against East Coast Bays, it would be great to see a big crowd come and support the lads in their first away game of the season. After some interesting results on Good Friday, there might be a pattern emerging but also it’s very early to know who will be in the battle at each end of the table come the end of the season. The clubrooms are open for the first time this season during the after the game so please join us up there after the games for the after-match formalities and a few cold ones! Cheers Tim Adams FRONT COVER: Conrad with the ball last time we hosted Rewa BACK COVER: Our final pre-season game, a internal 3 team comp Chairman
3 PAGE NUMBER
PAGE DESCRIPTION
2
Welcome
3
Contents
4
Sponsors
5
Next Men’s NRFL Game
6
2021 NRFL Div 1 Season
7
NRFL Div 1 Results
8
Swimming Against the Tide (Opinion)
9
Match Photos
10
Ellerslie AFC First Team
11
Manurewa AFC First Team
12-15
Men’s First Team Match Report
16
Ellerslie AFC Reserves
17
Manurewa AFC Reserves
18-19 20
Next week “The Ave” focuses on Northern Rovers and their visit to Michaels Ave in NRFL Women’s Premier League
NRFL Squad Announcements Back Cover
Check out our wrap up of round 2 of the Men’s Div 1 NRFL action on page 7
4
5
6 ROUND
DATE & TIME
OPPOSITION
1
27.03.21 @ 3pm
Takapuna AFC
Michaels Ave
3
05.04.21 @ 3pm
Manurewa AFC
Michaels Ave
4
10.04.21 @ 3pm
East Coast Bays
Bay City Park
5
17.04.21 @ 3pm
Mt Albert Ponsonby
Anderson Park
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
2-3
7 02/04
HOME TEAM
SCORE
AWAY TEAM
Tauranga City AFC
1-4
Mt Albert Ponsonby
C.Higgins
02/04
HOME TEAM
SCORE
AWAY TEAM
Waiheke Utd
1-0
Waitemata FC
A.Villasana
02/04
n/a
HOME TEAM
SCORE
AWAY TEAM
East Coast Bays
2-0
Bucklands Beach
D.Stansfield 2
02/04
n/a
HOME TEAM
SCORE
AWAY TEAM
Manurewa AFC
1-2
Albany Utd
J.Perez
02/04
J.Begeuly 2
HOME TEAM
SCORE
AWAY TEAM
Metro FC
2-3
Takapuna AFC
A.Mohammadi, M.Soffee HOME TEAM
27/06
Place
L.Black 2, M.Gurney, B.Thomas
B.Allan 2, S.Willcox SCORE
AWAY TEAM
BYE
Ellerslie AFC
n/a
n/a
Team
PL
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
PTS
1
EAST COAST BAYS AFC
2
2
0
0
4
0
4
6
2
WAIHEKE UTD
2
2
0
0
4
1
3
6
3
TAKAPUNA AFC
2
2
0
0
6
4
2
6
4
METRO FC
2
1
0
1
6
3
3
3
5
MT ALBERT PONSONBY AFC
1
1
0
1
4
2
2
3
6
ALBANY UTD
1
1
0
0
2
1
1
3
7
MANUREWA AFC
2
1
0
1
2
2
0
3
8
ELLERSLIE AFC
1
0
0
1
2
3
-1
0
9
WAITEMATA FC
2
0
0
2
0
3
-3
0
10
TAURANGA CITY AFC
2
0
0
2
2
7
-5
0
11
BUCKLANDS BEACH AFC
2
0
0
2
0
6
-6
0
8 As promised in our last issue of “The Ave” we are going to take a closer look at some of the changes to football from 2020 to 2021 - there are many many facets to this change (so plenty of topics to cover) but for today we are going to open up by looking at the actual process used to facilitate these changes. To give an accurate portrayal of the timeline this is how it looked. 11th Nov: Meeting scheduled with NRF clubs to discuss the proposal 16th Nov: Deadline for clubs to give feedback on if they support the proposal or not 26th Nov: NZF Executive Committee to meet and consider the proposal 1st Dec: Emailed received from NRF confirming the new National League proposal had been voted in So just under three weeks from telling clubs about a proposal which changes the fabric of football to confirming it’s implementation - leaving aside the fact there was such little information available about how some of the changes would be executed (that’s for another time) this must be a record in terms of getting a major change processed. I appreciate not every club from other federations around NZ may have experienced this exact timeframe but for NRF clubs the majority of them at the 11th of November meeting just asked for more time - bear in mind only one person per club was allowed at this Zoom meeting so there was a fair amount of information for that person to pass on to DOF’s, Presidents, Committees, Coaches etc. And it’s not like NRF or NZF have a great record of executing changes previously… I’m going to grade this issue as an F - purely based on the fact that the process was rushed, didn’t have enough information for clubs and became a box ticking exercise.
9
Photos from Saturdays opening NRFL game between Ellerslie and Takapuna - where the niggle was real.
10 #
PLAYER NAME
GAMES
GOALS
1
KYRYL BOLHARYN
22
0
2
LEX DAVIES-CAMPBELL
29
3
3
AALOK PAUDEL
33
0
4
JORDAN BRESLER
33
0
5
JOSH LAI
18
2
6
ALEX CLARK
24
3
7
RORY KELLY
7
2
8
ADAM SCOTT
80
7
9
ERMAL FUSHA
1
1
10
RYAN MORROW
8
0
11
REI OGAWA-BRACEY
8
0
12
ANDRE MUNRO-WILSON
6
3
13
JOSH TORRENS
52
1
14
PATRICK GREY
1
0
15
SEB POELMAN
78
8
16
ROWAN CORBETT
53
13
TYPE OF OFFICIAL
TEAM OFFICIALS
17
CONRAD BENEFIELD
39
1
HEAD COACH
Dave Edmondson
18
JONATHAN DAVIDSON
DEBUT
0
ASSIST. COACH
Fred de Jong
18
TAYLOR HARRISON
DEBUT
0
ASSIST. COACH
Terry Torrens
20
KOJO NORKU
5
0
GK COACH
Tony Jenkins
21
DIRRENESH THIRUKUMAR
DEBUT
0
MANAGER
Tim Adams
22
COBI ALLEN
DEBUT
0
PHYSIO
Aaron Collin
Andre Munro-Wilson With a goal and an assist in our opening game - Andre takes home Man of the Match honours for game 1
11 #
PLAYER NAME
TYPE OF OFFICIAL
MATCH OFFICIALS
1
Diego ORDUNA (GK)
REFEREE
Mark Fleming
2
Sam DE VRIES
AR 1
Binesh Chand
3
Ben HUNT
AR 2
James Brady
4
Ishaq NAZEEM
5
Reece FRANK
6
Alexis VARELA
7
Eyob TEKALION
8
Bayley FOSTER
9
Rhys RUKA
10
Dastgeer LAI-SAI
11
Kevin ESCUDERO
12
Sduduzo NDOKWENI
13
Jake MCCOY
14
Dylan HORGAN
16
Jeremias PEREZ
17
Joshua JEFTHA
18
Krisneel KRISHNA
19
Hamish BONNAR (RGK)
TYPE OF OFFICIAL
TEAM OFFICIALS
20
Michael DAY
HEAD COACH
Rhys Ruka
ASSIST. COACH
Ants de Vries
ASSIST. COACH
Tashreeq Davids
ASSESSOR
TBC
WEBSITE: www.manurewaafc.org.nz TWITTER: @manurewa_afc FACEBOOK: @ManurewaAFC INSTAGRAM: @manurewaafc
PHYSIO
12 TAKAPUNA TAKE ALL THREE POINTS AS PONIES FAIL TO EQUALISE IN SEASON OPENER BY EAFC MEDIA With a new coach at the helm, Ellerslie kicked off the Men’s NRFL Division 1 season with an opening fixture against Takapuna AFC at The Ave on Saturday afternoon. Having beat them 4-1 in our last game of 2021, a repeat result wasn’t meant to be as the lads went down 3-2. With the score 2-1 at half time, Takapuna managed to put one more on the home side in the second half. The Ponies were able to close the gap to one, but despite the waves of pressure they threw at Takapuna, they couldn’t find that equaliser. Pre-season for the Ponies brought about a few changes, the biggest one being the exit of our previous coach. However, this made room for a new signing in Dave Edmonson, as he returned to New Zealand after a stint overseas. Edmonson brought about a two tier upgrade, as he holds a Pro Coaching License; the highest license you can obtain in global football. The club are excited to have such a highly respected and experienced coach for the 2021 season. With the departure of a couple players, we welcomed fresh new faces over the summer, but at the same time were lucky to retain a lot of the same starting team as last year. Round 1 saw us welcome Chris Milicich and his boys back to The Ave. We welcomed Takapuna back after hosting them last season and we welcomed Milicich back after coaching at Ellerslie 23 years ago. It was awesome to see him back here, albeit in the other technical area.
The starting XI on Saturday was full of familiar faces as Kyryl Bolharyn took up his spot between the sticks. Seb Poelman paired with injury returnee Josh Torrens, and they were flanked by Rei Ogawa-Bracey and Adam Scott. Scott
13 made his 80th appearance for the first team, and added to the highly experienced combined total of 218 appearances amongst the back four. Conrad Benefield, Alex Clark and Josh Lai made up the middle three, pushing Andre Munro-Wilson to a new spot on the right wing. Alexei Davies-Campbell settled on the left and Ermal Fusha debuted up top for the Ponies. It was Fusha’s first outing for our Men’s First Team but not an unfamiliar feeling in the he red kit, as he was apart of our 2014 winning U17 National Tournament team. Ellerslie got off to a shaky start, defending a few corners early in the game. With the windy conditions at The Ave, it favoured the Takapuna corner-taker, adding a dangerous whip to the ball as it travelled into the box. The men in red survived the first couple, but disaster struck after a collision in the box between Clark and another player. Clark seemed to land awkwardly and it wasn’t a good sign when the surrounding players were urgently signalling for the team physio. In only the 9th minute, Clark walked off the pitch with a suspected dislocated elbow. An immense loss for the team, but we hope the recovery for him is speedy and we’ll see him back again soon. This meant an unexpected early substitution in the form of Kojo Norku. Not the best scenario to work with, but something Edmonson and the boys had to take in their stride. It’s not unsurprising that Ellerslie conceded only mere minutes later, after being forced to defend a couple more corners. A well-whipped in ball went into the mix and wasn’t dealt with by our men in red. It was flicked on to a waiting Jonathan Lewis at the back post, who headed it straight into the back of the net much to Bolharyn’s dismay.
However, only minutes later, our equaliser came through midfielder turned right -winger, Munro-Wilson. Play started on the left and was switched out through Norku, who gave possession to Ogawa-Bracey on the right. Lai checked to re-
14 ceived and bounced the ball out to Munro-Wilson first time. A bit of individual brilliance saw the Number 12 beat a few players as he drove diagonally towards the box. Popping out at the edge of the 18-yard, Munro-Wilson fired a low and hard early shot to the bottom right corner. Despite the diving attempt, there was nothing Liam Smith could do as the ball found its mark. Cue the heroic celebrations, Ellerslie were right back in it. The goal gave our lads some confidence, and they were able to find their footing in the game and claw back some of the possession. Each team had their fair share of attacking opportunities, including a 2v1 situation where Bolharyn made a brave decision to come out and smother the Takapuna forward after a bad touch. Munro-Wilson was also unlucky to not have the chance for a second after he was called offside by an inch, running onto a pinpoint ball by Lai. Takapuna broke the deadlock in the 43rd minute after winning a foul 10 yards outside the box. Lewis stepped up to take, curling a left-footed shot around our wall and into the back of the net. Bolharyn could only look on. The scored stayed at 2-1 going into the half. Despite the score, there were some positives to take away from the first spell. Poelman and Torrens were dealing with all the balls floating over the top, and as the season continues I’m sure their partnership will strengthen. OgawaBracey looked comfortable as always, linking up well with Munro-Wilson and Lai to create some danger down the right. Scott was happy to play to DaviesCampbell, who often beat his defender by cutting onto his right before feeding balls to a waiting Ermal. Benefield was grinding out in the midfield and Norku slowly built himself into the game the more the minutes ticked on. The boys came out firing at the start of the second spell and were unlucky to not convert their opening chances. Unfortunately, they were left on the back-
15 foot after a costly mistake at the back allowed Thomas Miller to punish the boys in the 53rd minute. Miller’s goal took Takapuna to a two goal lead. At the restart, Ellerslie used their second substitution to bring off Scott, making way for Patrick Grey to make his debut for the Ponies. Tension ramped up as they entered the final third of the game, culminating in more than a few yellow cards. Munro-Wilson might have found a new home at right wing with all the danger he caused. Latching onto a brilliant ball over the top by Benefield, he drove down the right before squaring it to Fusha who was running into the box unmarked. The Number 9 took a touch before netting it neatly, marking himself down for a goal on his debut. The tension doubled as Ellerslie closed the gap to one. Ryan Morrow came onto replace Davies-Campbell in the 64th minute and injected some much needed energy into the team. The earlier 9th minute substitute proved lethal though as the fatigue started to show in the boys. With no interchange opportunities left, the on-field eleven had to push through to try find that equaliser. It wasn’t meant to be though, and after a bit of kerfuffle on the stroke of full time and another couple yellow cards, the referee signalled the end of the match. Unlucky to not come away with at least a point, the men in red made for an entertaining opening game at The Ave. Credit to Takapuna, who looked like a different team to the one that went down to us last time. With a Bye on Good Friday, Edmonson and the boys will look to regroup and prepare for their Easter Monday clash against Manurewa AFC. With a couple of ex-Ellerslie players in their team, this is shaping up to be a big game as Manurewa picked up an opening win against Mt Albert-Ponsonby over the weekend. Our lads are going to need all the support they can get so make sure you come on down for some Monday madness.
16 #
PLAYER NAME
GAMES
GOALS
18
TAYLOR HARRISON
0
0
24
BEN ALEXANDER
0
0
26
MONJU SHOHEI
18
0
27
KOSEI HAGINO
0
0
29
ANDREW HOLDSWORTH
0
0
30
DANIEL EVANS
0
0
32
RYAN RIFAI
0
0
34
SHUKRULLAH REZAI
2
0
35
MICHAEL MOORE
0
0
36
JORDAN ROBERTS-RADFORD
0
0
37
BROCK GUNSON
0
0
38
ATHAN RATNAM
0
0
39
LIAM BUYCK
0
0
40
JAYDEN BUSH
0
0
Daniel Evans Came off the bench and scored our only two goals playing right wing, what a club debut! Man of the Match honours for the Reserves for sure.
43
RYAN ROBINSON
0
0
TYPE OF OFFICIAL
TEAM OFFICIALS
44
PATRICK FAHEY
17
1
HEAD COACH
SEB BOUVIER
ASSIST. COACH
n/a
GK COACH
TONY JENKINS
MANAGER
TIM ADAMS
PHYSIO
AARON COLLIN
Games and Goals are First Team games and goals only! Players do float between teams, but will always wear their dedicated number in First Team games
17 #
PLAYER NAME
2
Viraf DARUKHANAWALLA
3
Krishi TRIVENI
4
Ishaq NAZEEM
5
Juan LAYTON
6
Jamiel TE WHARAU
7
Travis OVALSEN
9
Rhys RUKA
10
Mumin ALI
12
Sduduzo NDOKWENI
13
Elias GERRITSEN-FRIDH
14
James HALE
16
Marion KARIMO
17
Joshua JEFTHA
18
Krishneel KRISHNA
19
Hamish BONNAR (GK)
20
Michael DAY
TYPE OF OFFICIAL
MATCH OFFICIALS
REFEREE
James Brady
ASSESSOR
TBC
WEBSITE: www.manurewaafc.org.nz TWITTER: @manurewa_afc FACEBOOK: @ManurewaAFC INSTAGRAM: @manurewaafc TYPE OF OFFICIAL
TEAM OFFICIALS
HEAD COACH
Tashreeq DAVIDS
ASSIST. COACH MANAGER PHYSIO
Chelsea STRICKLAND
18
19
ELLERSLIE ASSOCIATION FOOTBALL CLUB Michaels Avenue Reserve
Photo’s supplied by Tim Adams
P.O. Box 11 328
Ellerslie, Auckland 1542 P: 09 579 8910
Program Editor Tim Adams
E: chairman@ellersliefootball.org.nz W: ellersliefootball.org.nz
facebook.com/EllerslieAFC
twitter.com/EllerslieAFC