Interesting comment about Awad .Can see some merit in that but he was exciting to watch. You could sense the crowd look closer whenever he had the ball. Hit the post twice in a couple of minutes in the first half - many people around me thought the first one crossed the line but it happened too quick.
On a separate point the pitch at Seddon is a disgrace. Turf pitchs are fine for recreational foootball but for the top level they should be binned. Bobbles , dubious ball speed and hell they reflect a lot of heat in summer for a spectator let alone the players.
Bobbles? Really? Ball hitting those divots and bumps and gouges from knee slides?
Most turfs I've seen have been deceptively flat and inimpeding.
Perhaps poor control and not striking through the centre of the ball might be the reason for bobbling.
And the only thing wrong with the ball speed is it allows poor players to play a pass at the pace it should be played, but they get in the bad habit of hitting it softer and consequently not nearly quick enough when they get back on grass.
Seddon could benefit from occasional use of a grooming machine to lift the pile however.
From this week's Niche Cache.
"Bringing us to the final game of the Premiership’s 2021 return and it was Waitakere United hosting Auckland City at the rotten turf of Seddon Fields. An artificial surface on which the ball doesn’t even roll flat? Yup, that’s the one. Makes you wonder for all the changes coming to this competition next season and all the chat about how to better develop future footballers at this level in Aotearoa... maybe the best thing anyone could do is actually to invest in proper grass playing surfaces and training facilities? Get players coming through who trust their touch, who have confidence to play the ball in tight areas, that kinda thing?
You wanna know what current players and coaches think about it, just look at the unanimous disgust directed at that pitch in the replies to Piney’s tweet here...
https://twitter.com/pineyzb/status/134810587390683...
Worth adding that there are plenty more crap surfaces around the league that NZF allows games to be played on as well. This one is fast becoming the worst – those turfs require way more maintenance than people seem to realise and the technology moves quickly making them swiftly out of date. Personal opinion: there’s no reason why a summer league in Aotearoa should have any artificial surfaces whatsoever. This ain’t Scandinavia in the snow. This is lush, green New Zealand. Then again plenty of the grass ones look awful too... this is what I mean about prioritising the playing surfaces)"