Western Springs 3 - 0 Bay Olympic FT
Birko and City score 3 goals in 3 minutes and the forum doesn't bat an eye lmao
Permalink
Permalink
https://www.friendsoffootballnz.com/2026/06/21/northern-leagues-bay-olympic-farewell-head-coach-peter-smith/
Bay Olympic head coach Peter Smith is leaving the Auckland club for an opportunity in Melbourne.
Bay Olympic head coach Peter Smith is leaving the Auckland club for an opportunity in Melbourne.
Smith (56) will be replaced for the rest of the Northern League season by experienced coach Chris Milicich.
Thanking Smith for his contribution to the club, Bay Olympic chairman Aidan Lovelock said: “Through his involvement with both our men’s first team and Talent Development Programme, Peter has played an important role in supporting the development of our players and strengthening our football programme.”
Smith says the opportunity to move to Australia followed his wife Irene’s acceptance of a role in Melbourne.
Permalink
Permalink
Niche Cache. Auckland City get strengthened, as OPL guys return to amateur football.
Auckland City will be off to the OFC Men’s Champions League in a month’s time so they’ve got to clear up some room in the calendar. That means midweek games and while their meeting with East Coast Bays got rained off last week, they were able to squeeze in an Auckland FC Reserves visit to the Croatian Cultural Club on Wednesday... where City had a frisky time trying to break down the AFC defensive wall but eventually came away with a 2-0 victory thanks to goals from their veteran strikers Angus Kilkolly (51’) and Ryan de Vries (86’). Second consecutive clean sheet for Matthew Foord in there, the 20yo Christchurch keeper who joined after getting some Pro League experience with Fiji’s Bula FC. Before that he was in the Wellington Phoenix Reserves for a spell. Same Nix to Bula to ACFC journey that was also walked by Fergus Gillion, who has also been a prominent figure since joining the club recently.
Auckland City will be off to the OFC Men’s Champions League in a month’s time so they’ve got to clear up some room in the calendar. That means midweek games and while their meeting with East Coast Bays got rained off last week, they were able to squeeze in an Auckland FC Reserves visit to the Croatian Cultural Club on Wednesday... where City had a frisky time trying to break down the AFC defensive wall but eventually came away with a 2-0 victory thanks to goals from their veteran strikers Angus Kilkolly (51’) and Ryan de Vries (86’). Second consecutive clean sheet for Matthew Foord in there, the 20yo Christchurch keeper who joined after getting some Pro League experience with Fiji’s Bula FC. Before that he was in the Wellington Phoenix Reserves for a spell. Same Nix to Bula to ACFC journey that was also walked by Fergus Gillion, who has also been a prominent figure since joining the club recently.
Neither of those two were City players before their Pro League excursions (although Gillion’s older bro Liam once was) however ACFC did lose a few fellas to that competition when squads were picked. Christian Gray was one of those, he rejoined alongside Gillion and Foord a couple weeks ago. And what do ya know, now Mike den Heijer, Nathan Lobo, and Matt Ellis have all done the same. Three lads from the AFC Pro League squad... though none were rushed back to face Auckland FC’s U20s in this match.
Permalink
Permalink
New faces this weekend are:
Auckland City
Auckland City
- Pavel Osmancik (Czech import, was playing in the 3rd division, same level as Leo Hall when he went to Czechia)
- Ryan Watson (Ex Nix prospect and U20 rep for NZ, has moved over from Western Springs)
Fencibles
- Owen Moyo (Has moved from Christchurch Utd, looking for more game time as the OPL players return from SIU?)
Western Springs
- Riley Manuel (Hadn't been playing with Tiahn at Auckland United, so now moved to the other Manuel brother's club)
- Amaan Mohammed (Promoted from the U23 squad)
Thought I might start checking through the teamsheets again, if people are interested. Although I'm still not convinced that Sporty is always 100% correct.
Permalink
Permalink
Endorsed by
New players this weekend:
Birkenhead
Birkenhead
- Kian Donkers (back from an OPL stint with Auckland FC)
Eastern Suburbs
- Jonas Hoffmann (Actually Eastern Suburbs' GK coach, must be running low on goalies over there)
- Luke Robb (Has been around the block in the Championship for a couple of years, was playing for Takapuna at the start of the year)
Manukau
- Kaiki Sawasaka (Japanese CB import who was previously part of the revolving door at Manurewa, having last played in Bosnia)
- Bryan Ung (Promoted from the U23's)
Not too many big results this weekend, although I imagine both Western Springs and Auckland United must be disappointed with a 0-0 as both are still struggling to make National League this season.
Permalink
Permalink
Endorsed by
Birkenhead United beating last year's Champions Western Springs 2-1 means they are 2026 Northern League Champions (I believe their first title?)
Permalink
Permalink
Endorsed by
https://twitter.com/thenichecache/status/2084016234417504591
https://twitter.com/thenichecache/status/2084016234417504591
Permalink
Permalink
Congratulations Birkenhead on what I believe is their 1st title. I see as well that Bay Olympic have lifted themselves out of the relegation zone despite a late comeback from Auckland Reserves.
New players this week:
Auckland City
New players this week:
Auckland City
- Michael den Heijer (Yet another OPL returnee)
East Coast Bays
- Max Drake (Last spotted at West Coast Rangers in 2024)
Eastern Suburbs
- Prithvi Sidhu (Promoted from U23s, although he had made an appearance in goal for Fencibles earlier this season)
Manukau
- Yuto Kono (Another player who arrived in NZ to play for Manurewa then moved over to Manukau, seems to happen a lot)
Western Springs
- Luke Carter (Born in 2010, just got back from the OFC U16 tournament)
Permalink
Permalink
Big result for Auckland United, jumping both Fencibles and East Coast Bays for the National League qualification spots. Other than that a quiet week it seems.
Western Springs
Western Springs
- Ben Anderson, Will Robinson (Both academy players on the bench for the first time)
Permalink
Permalink
I believe ECB's loss confirms Auckland City's spot in the National League this year (Fencibles & Akl Utd play each other, so can't both overtake City)
Eastern Suburbs, Auckland United, Fencibles United & East Coast Bays all contest the last two spots (and for East Subs & Akl Utd, possible 2027 qualification on the line)
Eastern Suburbs, Auckland United, Fencibles United & East Coast Bays all contest the last two spots (and for East Subs & Akl Utd, possible 2027 qualification on the line)
Permalink
Permalink
I didn't really notice it until now, but Hamilton isn't all that well represented. Just Melville United in the Northern League (9th atm), and the Wanderers (3rd) in the NRFL Championship. Considering they're the 4th biggest city in NZ by population (Not far behind Wellington) I feel like they should have a larger presence. Is there a reason they seem so weak?
Permalink
Permalink
Noah4thenix wrote:
I didn't really notice it until now, but Hamilton isn't all that well represented. Just Melville United in the Northern League (9th atm), and the Wanderers (3rd) in the NRFL Championship. Considering they're the 4th biggest city in NZ by population (Not far behind Wellington) I feel like they should have a larger presence. Is there a reason they seem so weak?
I assume it’s just Auckland dominance. Auckland is almost 10x bigger than Hamilton.
Hamilton much more comparable in size to Tauranga than any other Northern city. Tauranga only has the 1 club in the top 2 divisions compared to Hanilton’s 2. There’s also Cambridge in the Championship and if you want to go down to the Conference then Ngāruawāhia is dominating the BoP clubs.
It also looks worse because Wanderers got relegated 3 years ago iirc. Used to be 2 Hamilton clubs in. The league.
Proportionally it seems about right, though I would like to see more non Auckland teams in the Northern League.
Hamilton much more comparable in size to Tauranga than any other Northern city. Tauranga only has the 1 club in the top 2 divisions compared to Hanilton’s 2. There’s also Cambridge in the Championship and if you want to go down to the Conference then Ngāruawāhia is dominating the BoP clubs.
It also looks worse because Wanderers got relegated 3 years ago iirc. Used to be 2 Hamilton clubs in. The league.
Proportionally it seems about right, though I would like to see more non Auckland teams in the Northern League.
Permalink
Permalink
Endorsed by
Noah4thenix wrote:
I didn't really notice it until now, but Hamilton isn't all that well represented. Just Melville United in the Northern League (9th atm), and the Wanderers (3rd) in the NRFL Championship. Considering they're the 4th biggest city in NZ by population (Not far behind Wellington) I feel like they should have a larger presence. Is there a reason they seem so weak?
No Palmerston North sides in the central league either
I think travel fatigue is an issue. Those road trips every second weekend eventually wear you down. I think with the youth teams currently doing it as well, that will become a bigger issue in years to come.
Also aritificial turfs maybe a factor, Auckland has had plenty for years. Hamilton/Tauranga only got their first in last few months. More training hours as young players as a result.
I think travel fatigue is an issue. Those road trips every second weekend eventually wear you down. I think with the youth teams currently doing it as well, that will become a bigger issue in years to come.
Also aritificial turfs maybe a factor, Auckland has had plenty for years. Hamilton/Tauranga only got their first in last few months. More training hours as young players as a result.
Permalink
Permalink
reubee wrote:Noah4thenix wrote:No Palmerston North sides in the central league either
I didn't really notice it until now, but Hamilton isn't all that well represented. Just Melville United in the Northern League (9th atm), and the Wanderers (3rd) in the NRFL Championship. Considering they're the 4th biggest city in NZ by population (Not far behind Wellington) I feel like they should have a larger presence. Is there a reason they seem so weak?
I think travel fatigue is an issue. Those road trips every second weekend eventually wear you down. I think with the youth teams currently doing it as well, that will become a bigger issue in years to come.
Also aritificial turfs maybe a factor, Auckland has had plenty for years. Hamilton/Tauranga only got their first in last few months. More training hours as young players as a result.
In the first two years of the reformed CL Palmy actually had two sides (PNM and RSM) although over the 36 matches RSM had 2 draws and 34 defeats (HNW withdrew after 2005 so RSM stayed up ... and lost all their matches in 2006). Palmy lost its CL spot after 2017 season and has not regained it (PNU came close a couple of years ago in the play off vs Upper Hutt City). The list of non Wellington sides in CL since 2005 are ...
Napier City Rovers 2005-26
Havelock North Wanderers 2005, 2008, 2022
Gisborne City 2005-07
Maycenvale United 2011-12
Marist Palmerston North 2005-11, 2014-17
Red Sox Manawatu 2005-06
Whanganui Athletic 2023
Team Taranaki 2007-10, 2017
FC Western 2026
Wairarapa United 2009-21
Napier City Rovers 2005-26
Havelock North Wanderers 2005, 2008, 2022
Gisborne City 2005-07
Maycenvale United 2011-12
Marist Palmerston North 2005-11, 2014-17
Red Sox Manawatu 2005-06
Whanganui Athletic 2023
Team Taranaki 2007-10, 2017
FC Western 2026
Wairarapa United 2009-21
Permalink
Permalink
Endorsed by
Tartan Kiwi wrote:reubee wrote:In the first two years of the reformed CL Palmy actually had two sides (PNM and RSM) although over the 36 matches RSM had 2 draws and 34 defeats (HNW withdrew after 2005 so RSM stayed up ... and lost all their matches in 2006). Palmy lost its CL spot after 2017 season and has not regained it (PNU came close a couple of years ago in the play off vs Upper Hutt City). The list of non Wellington sides in CL since 2005 are ...Noah4thenix wrote:No Palmerston North sides in the central league either
I didn't really notice it until now, but Hamilton isn't all that well represented. Just Melville United in the Northern League (9th atm), and the Wanderers (3rd) in the NRFL Championship. Considering they're the 4th biggest city in NZ by population (Not far behind Wellington) I feel like they should have a larger presence. Is there a reason they seem so weak?
I think travel fatigue is an issue. Those road trips every second weekend eventually wear you down. I think with the youth teams currently doing it as well, that will become a bigger issue in years to come.
Also aritificial turfs maybe a factor, Auckland has had plenty for years. Hamilton/Tauranga only got their first in last few months. More training hours as young players as a result.
Napier City Rovers 2005-26
Havelock North Wanderers 2005, 2008, 2022
Gisborne City 2005-07
Maycenvale United 2011-12
Marist Palmerston North 2005-11, 2014-17
Red Sox Manawatu 2005-06
Whanganui Athletic 2023
Team Taranaki 2007-10, 2017
FC Western 2026
Wairarapa United 2009-21
Being a Central Football side is geographically, drastically challenging. Even if you can find the money and sponsorship needed to travel each week, convincing a group of guys to travel up to 10 hour roundtrips some days, for multiple seasons, is a huge challenge.
Permalink
Permalink
bigfudge wrote:Tartan Kiwi wrote:Being a Central Football side is geographically, drastically challenging. Even if you can find the money and sponsorship needed to travel each week, convincing a group of guys to travel up to 10 hour roundtrips some days, for multiple seasons, is a huge challenge.reubee wrote:In the first two years of the reformed CL Palmy actually had two sides (PNM and RSM) although over the 36 matches RSM had 2 draws and 34 defeats (HNW withdrew after 2005 so RSM stayed up ... and lost all their matches in 2006). Palmy lost its CL spot after 2017 season and has not regained it (PNU came close a couple of years ago in the play off vs Upper Hutt City). The list of non Wellington sides in CL since 2005 are ...Noah4thenix wrote:No Palmerston North sides in the central league either
I didn't really notice it until now, but Hamilton isn't all that well represented. Just Melville United in the Northern League (9th atm), and the Wanderers (3rd) in the NRFL Championship. Considering they're the 4th biggest city in NZ by population (Not far behind Wellington) I feel like they should have a larger presence. Is there a reason they seem so weak?
I think travel fatigue is an issue. Those road trips every second weekend eventually wear you down. I think with the youth teams currently doing it as well, that will become a bigger issue in years to come.
Also aritificial turfs maybe a factor, Auckland has had plenty for years. Hamilton/Tauranga only got their first in last few months. More training hours as young players as a result.
Napier City Rovers 2005-26
Havelock North Wanderers 2005, 2008, 2022
Gisborne City 2005-07
Maycenvale United 2011-12
Marist Palmerston North 2005-11, 2014-17
Red Sox Manawatu 2005-06
Whanganui Athletic 2023
Team Taranaki 2007-10, 2017
FC Western 2026
Wairarapa United 2009-21
For the Northern Premier League since 2011 there have only been 4 teams from outside of Auckland as far as I can tell and they are closer to Auckland than New Plymouth/Napier/Havelock North/Gisborne are to Wellington so the Northern Federation (at NPL level hasn't had the same travel issues as CL). In the CL four sides have pulled out rather when they weren't actually relegated - HNW pulled out after 2005, Gisborne after 2007, Team Taranaki after 2017, Wairarapa United after 2021.
The NPL figures for non Auckland sides are ...
Tauranga City 2016, 2024-26
Melville United 2011-12,2015-16,2019-24,2026
Hamilton Wanderers 2011-24
Ngaruawahia United 2014
Permalink
Permalink