Red cards connected the three biggest games of the weekend for New Zealand football fans.
Despite playing a third of the game with only 10 men, New Zealand still beat New Caledonia in the final of the OFC U-17 Championship on Saturday.
This was only a few hours after the Wellington Phoenix managed a 2-2 with Perth Glory at Palmerston North, after defender Tim Payne was given what coach Ufuk Talay called a ‘soft’ red card.
On Sunday, after a weekend of travel disruption, the Wellington Phoenix women’s team came back from Brisbane Roar with a remarkable 3-3 draw, after being 0-2 down and losing Fern Kate Taylor to a straight red in the first half.
Here’s how the results turned out from this tumultuous but entertaining weekend of football:
OFC U-17 Championship
Games played on Saturday January 28, 2023
Final
New Caledonia 0
New Zealand 1 (Niko Bruce 24′)
READ MORE: 10-man New Zealand hang on to win OFC U-17 Championship in tense final >>>>
Play-off for third
Tahiti 3 (Vaitea Seguy 51, Titouan Guillemant 56’, Ariiheivarau Tama 68′)
Fiji 0
Men’s A-League
Game played on Saturday January 28, 2023
Wellington Phoenix 2 (Oskar Zawada 11′, Kosta Barbarouses 20′)
Perth Glory 2 (David Williams 22′, 80′)
READ MORE: Wellington Phoenix extend unbeaten men’s A-League run despite ‘soft’ red card >>>>
Women’s A-League
Game played on Sunday January 29, 2023
Brisbane Roar 3 (Shea Connors 14′, Katrina Gorry 28′, Larissa Crummer 86′)
Wellington Phoenix 3 (Michaela Foster 33′, Milly Clegg 66′, Grace Wisnewski 78′)
READ MORE: Phoenix women overcome the odds to grab 3-3 draw against Brisbane Roar >>>>
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