Auckland City continue strong form
As they wing their way to the United Arab Emirates for the Club World Cup, Auckland City can sit satisfied, alone at the top of the national men’s football league table.
They have been in dominant form over the past five weeks, after beginning the season with a loss and a draw, scoring 23 goals and conceding just one while racking up five wins - their best effort over that many games in the history of the competition.
Five of those goals were scored at Kiwitea St on Saturday, where they beat Hawke’s Bay United 5-0, with forwards Emiliano Tade and Ryan de Vries both nabbing braces and fullback Dan Morgan the spare.
Tade and de Vries have been in fine form so far this season, scoring 10 and eight goals respectively, and they seem to have found a promising hunting partner in the form of young Kiwi Callum McCowatt, who has scored three time himself, and created plenty otherwise.
Defending champions Team Wellington beat City to begin the ISPS Handa Premiership season, and had been level on points with them as the round began, but are no longer, after losing 2-1 to Waita¯ kere United at Douglas Field.
Yuki Ohtsuka and Keegan Linderboom gave Waita¯kere a halftime lead, and they were able to hang on and claim their second win of the season, despite conceding a soft penalty late, when Eric Molloy converted from the spot after he was deemed to have been fouled by Ryan Cain.
Team Wellington now have 13 points, three fewer than the leaders.
Eastern Suburbs and Tasman United round out the top four at present, with 10 and nine points respectively, and they couldn’t be separated at Trafalgar Park in Nelson on Saturday, where they drew 2-2.
Reese Cox poked the ball home to give Suburbs’ an early lead, and while import striker Kieran Smith levelled the scores with a looping header, Derek Tieku restored the visitors’ advantage just before halftime.
Paul Ifill came off the bench in the second half for Tasman, and with 13 minutes to play, he scored his third goal of the season to ensure the points were shared, after a smart run from team-mate Tinashe Marowa.
Suburbs have now picked up one point from their last three games to go with the nine they picked up in their first three games, despite leading for large stretches in their two most recent outings.
Right behind Suburbs and Tasman are Southern United, who fought back to earn a 2-2 draw against the Wellington Phoenix reserves on Saturday at Westpac Stadium, in a Hyundai A-League curtainraiser
An Alex Rufer penalty in the first half and a James McGarry strike in the second half had given the Phoenix reserves a two-goal buffer, but they weren’t able to hold on and claim their first win of the season, as Irish striker Garbhan Coughlan scored twice inside 10 minutes to level the scores.
The Phoenix reserves played the final 10 minutes down a man, after senior professional Ryan Lowry was dismissed after being shown a second yellow card, and did well to escape and earn their second point of the season.
Hamilton Wanderers are the only team behind them, and remain winless and pointless, after losing for the sixth time this season in Christchurch.
James Pendrigh scored twice and Stephen Hoyle once for Canterbury United as they won 3-0 and pulled closer to the pack in the middle of the table.