By David Larkin
Auckland City’s path to a fourth consecutive Northern League title looks far more straightforward with the five-point gap they’ve opened on their closest rivals.
It’s not in the bag yet but City have a big advantage now over Birkenhead United, who they beat 3-1 in midweek and Eastern Suburbs, who are also five points behind but with a game in hand.
After pressing for the top spot all season, Birkenhead’s loss was compounded by them dropping points in last weekend’s draw with relegation-threatened Hamilton Wanderers, a missed penalty proving to be costly.
City’s run-in involves fixtures against three of the league’s bottom four sides in Hamilton Wanderers (h), Manurewa (a) and Melville United (a).
Eastern Suburbs have kept in sight of City, picking up a couple of wins in the last week, and the Lilywhites have managed three clean sheets in a row.
The East Auckland side will be confident as they travel to Tauranga City’s Links Ave on Saturday, and their opponents have failed to record a win in their last six matches.
Fourth-placed Western Springs were fortunate to win their match against bottom-of-the-table Melville on Saturday.
Dawson Straffon, who recently returned to Springs after a spell with West Coast Rangers, rescued the three points for his side with a brace of penalties in the final ten minutes.
East Coast Bays are a team on the rise, with only two losses in their last nine matches, which has propelled them away from relegation danger.
A hard-fought draw against fifth-placed Auckland United further cemented their improvement this season as they lost the previous fixture 2-0.
There’s still work to be done for the side as they won’t be comfortable sitting three points away from the relegation play–off position and face a tough match-up in the form of Western Springs this weekend.
Bays had a good midweek workout, playing a friendly against A-League side Auckland FC, losing 1-0.
Auckland City play Hamilton Wanderers who have drawn their last five matches, the latest against title contenders Birkenhead.
The Hamilton club still sit four points away from safety and need to start turning these impressive performances into wins if they are to avoid relegation, with the end of the season fast approaching.
Bay Olympic had a tough time last week having to play the top two sides on the table, but will now set their sights on an away game against West Coast Rangers as they look to end their season in style.
The sixth-placed side appears to safe from relegation, but unable to qualify for the National League, so it presents a good opportunity for new head coach Peter Smith to test some fresh tactics for his side.
Manurewa have stretched their winless streak to ten after a goalless draw against Tauranga on Saturday, followed by a 3-0 defeat to Suburbs on Wednesday.
Rewa’s manager Dylan Burns has yet to record a win for the club, and with a tough schedule to finish the season, they look in increasing danger of contesting the relegation play-off spot.
Melville United will need to start converting their chances if they are to avoid the drop, as they have now suffered four successive one-goal losses, and sit last on the table, six points from safety.
They face Manurewa at home on Saturday with the result in the reverse fixture being their worst defeat of the season, a 7-1 drubbing.
Game of the week
Birkenhead United’s title hopes may have been shaken by a horror week which has presented Auckland City with a gilt-edged advantage.
They’ll need to put away a strong Auckland United side on Saturday to avoid dropping further down the table, as third-placed Suburbs also on 40 points, and have a game in hand.
Aukland United will rue last week’s draw against East Coast Bays which left them seven points adrift from National League qualification.
To beat Birkenhead, Olympic will have to shake off the unwelcome stat of not having recorded a win against any of the top four sides this season.
The fifth-placed side are having a few issues in front of goal recently, failing to score more than one goal in each of their previous five matches. More surprising, four of those five matches were against teams in the bottom five.
The reverse fixture between these two sides was closely contested, with Birkenhead snatching it at the death with a goal from midfielder Corban Piper.
Player to watch
Hamilton Wanderers ‘keeper Fernando Orduna made a stunning penalty save and registered his team’s first clean sheet of the season last weekend, earning a crucial point for his side against title contenders Birkenhead.
The Hamilton club have cycled through a few goalkeepers this season, but Orduna seems to have made his mark, making the first team shirt his.
Orduna (34) joined Wanderers from Mt Albert Ponsonby this season as a reserve keeper but made his way into the team in their round 12 fixture against West Coast Rangers, helping his team to their first win of the season on his club debut.
With only one loss in the six appearances he’s made for his side this season, the Mexican-born keeper has certainly made a case for keeping him in between the sticks as Wanderers try to avoid relegation heading into the end of the season.
Bold prediction
I predict Eastern Suburbs and Bay Olympic will beat Tauranga and West Coast Rangers, respectively.
I’ll also predict East Coast Bays will grab at least a point against Western Springs when they face them at Seddon Fields on Saturday.
Last round, I predicted Suburbs, Springs and Manurewa would all win. Suburbs won 2-0 against Ranger, Springs won 2-1 against Melville but ‘Rewa drew 0-0 with Tauranga.
Golden Boot
17 — Jake Mechell (Eastern Suburbs)
14 — Emiliano Tade (Western Springs)
12 — Jonty Bidois (Tauranga City), Monty Patterson (Birkenhead United)
11 — Eber Ramirez (Manurewa)
10 — Sam Philip (Birkenhead United)
9 — Allan Pearce (West Coast Rangers), Liam Gillion (Auckland City)
8 — Ronaldo Munoz (Bay Olympic, now Hamilton Wanderers), Dawson Straffon (West Coast Rangers, now Western Springs)
7 — Corban Piper (Birkenhead United), Josh Tollervey (Auckland United, now Miramar Rangers), Reid Drake (Western Springs), Derek Tieku (Hamilton Wanderers, now Auckland City), Liam Molloy (Tauranga City), Malcolm Young (East Coast Bays), Jerson Lagos Giraldo (Manurewa, now Auckland City), Ryan de Vries (Auckland City)
6 — Ibrahim Nadir (Bay Olympic), Kofi Dwamena (West Coast Rangers), Aston Hurd (Hamilton Wanderers)
5 — Regont Murati (Auckland City)
Fixtures
Game to be played on Friday August 9, 2024
West Coast Rangers v Bay Olympic
Fred Taylor Park, Whenuapai, 7.30pm
Games to be played on Saturday August 10, 2024
Auckland City v Hamilton Wanderers
Kiwitea St, Sandringham, 3pm
Auckland United v Birkenhead United
Keith Hay Park, Mt Roskill, 3pm
Melville United v Manurewa
Gower Park, Hamilton, 3pm
Tauranga City v Eastern Suburbs
Links Ave, Mt Maunganui, 3pm
Western Springs v East Coast Bays
Seddon Fields, Westmere, 5.30pm
David Larkin
Friends of Football writer David Larkin plays community football for Auckland club Manurewa.
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