Western and Pacific Premierships

I really don't believe New Plymouth Boys High School are doing their boys any favours with how they're scheduling their inter-school games around the Western Prems fixtures. This week they played at 7pm on Tuesday vs Moturoa, then played at 10am on Wednesday against St Patricks Silverstream. Perhaps there was a bit of rotation, but one of their scorers on Tuesday banged a hattrick in on Wednesday morning. Won't be suprised if they drop points on their road trip to Feilding on Saturday.

I guess this is why a few of the younger NP based players I've seen this season already have the pronounced bow leg old pros tend to have. 

Fed Cup Monday 
Just 3 fixtures as Thistle defaulted to Rovers.

NP Rangers v PN Marist - 2pm @Merrilands 1.

Based on league positions, would think PN Marist would be favourites to win this one. Though would depend on how they travel. 

Port Hill v FC Western - 2pm - Skoglund 3.

Both teams sit in 5th on their respective tables. Port Hill play away in Gisborne on Saturday and then have to travel to Palmy on the Monday. How they travel may be the difference. How many first team players FC Western play may also dictate the result. 

Takaro v Marist - 2pm - Skoglund 2.

Hard one to pick, with hotchips saying earlier in the thread that Takaro’s top striker has been suspended. Marist have been super up and down this season. However they have two key players still serving  suspensions which will have an impact on the game. My guess is Takaro will win this as Marist have struggled to get a solid 11 together for away trips. 

10 game ban!!!! What for? 

Napier Marist defaulted to Takaro. Only had 10 players available 

Think it's tough expecting teams to play 2 games in 3 days at this level, nor know physically but commitment as well. The brains trust at central football should really look at that.

Tyler

10 game ban!!!! What for? 

Naughty words shouted at the ref, questioning his sexuality

FC Western too good for Port Hill
4-2. Cracking free kick goal I hear for Western. Though not surprising all 4 goals scored by first team players 


P/Nth Marist 2-1 away win in New Plymouth over Rangers. 

Fixtures this week

PNU vs Feilding, 7pm Friday, Massey
Motorua vs Wanganui City 1230, Onuku Taipari
NPBHS vs Takaro, 245pm, NPBHS Turf
Whanganui Athletic vs NP Rangers 245pm, Wembley

Marist defaulted to FC Western
Levin with the bye

PNU 1 - Feilding 2

Good game, pen save by Feilding keeper before they nabbed a winner late on. Both teams had good chances to score more. Feilding a better team than their results would suggest.

Enjoying the Friday night games in Palmy recently, and a good venue for it up at Massey

Marist defaulted? Ouch. Pretty tame to be defaulting in this league I would have thought 

Results:

PNU 1 - 2 Feilding
Moturoa 4 - 1 Wanganui City
NPBHS 2 - 1 Takaro
Whanganui Athletic 1 - 0 NP Rangers
FC Western WBD - LBD Marist

Really disappointed in Marist. A CL2 team who hoard local talent by paying more than everyone else, bring in overseas imports, can't even get their shark together to send a team to NP. The whole point of CL2 reserve teams being in this league is player development, so pull players up from the seven senior teams they have below their reserves! They even made the rule that the Reserve sides can't be relegated!

Fixtures:

FC Western vs Moturoa, 1230pm, Lynmouth Park
Marist vs NP Rangers, 1230pm, Skoglund
Takaro vs PNU, 245pm, Skoglund
Levin vs Wanganui City, 245pm, Donnelly Park

Feilding and Athletic played their game on the 7th, NPBHS have the bye.

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Only 2 rounds to go until the split, in typical Central Football fashion no-one has a clue what that will actually look like, how many games etc.

Athletic and Levin look miles ahead of everyone else, no surprise with the rumours of how much Athletic are paying. Levin are super impressive, bringing their own young players through rather than turfing them out in favour of foreign imports like Athletic. TBH I can't see either of them making it through the slog of the playoffs.

At the bottom it's going to be really tight, big game Round 10 with NP Rangers hosting Feilding, could be massive for the split. Takaro have really fallen off since Whitmore's suspension, could be in danger if they don't start picking up some points.

Interesting. I don't see any of the Cap Prem teams putting up a fight to get into CL2. Wainui probably best placed ahead of Marist or Vic Uni. 

Tyler

Interesting. I don't see any of the Cap Prem teams putting up a fight to get into CL2. Wainui probably best placed ahead of Marist or Vic Uni. 

I'm not sure Athletic would cope with the two legged game against the Eastern Prem winners, then have to face the top Cap Prem team. Vic Uni did pretty good against PNU in the cup, whereas Athletic couldn't get out of their own half against Marist.

Results:

FC Western 4 - 1 Moturoa
Marist 0 - 1 NP Rangers
Takaro 5 - 2 PNU
Levin 4 - 0 Wanganui City

Fixtures

NP Rangers vs Feilding, 1230pm, Merrilands Domain
NPBHS vs Wanganui City, 1230pm, NPBHS Turf
Levin vs FC Western, 245pm, Donnelly Park
Moturoa vs Marist, 245pm, Onuku Taipari Domain
Whanganui Athletic vs Takaro, 245pm, Wembley

PNU have the bye and will find themselves in the bottom half for the split should Boys High and Moturoa win, if Takaro don't lose to Athletic by 3 goals or more.

Still no-one knows how many games post split, even how many teams will be relegated - CF stated at the start of the season that the goal was for a 10 team league by 2027, if Athletic get promoted you'd imagine they would want their reserve team in this league.

With NP Rangers 2nd team just about having the Taranaki Championship wrapped up I don't think there is anyone eligible for promotion as the respective championship leaders are all Prem reserve teams.

Most likely scenario is bottom placed team is relegated and no-one comes up to replace them.

And it appears Wanganui City have defaulted their game against Boys High. They were never going to win that one but now an extra week of rest and recuperation in their relegation battle.

2nd default in this league this season with Marist defaulting against FC Western. I think it is ridiculous that teams are defaulting games at this level.

And another one bites the dust. FC Western default to Levin

Crikey. I do know lots of teams are struggling for numbers this week tho.

The season might come down to one game between Levin and Whanganui huh?

No games today in the West, all postponed because of the rain earlier in the week. Didn't end up raining today in Palmy, forecast looks a lot worse for next weekend...

With the first games of the second round postponed due to weather, the first post-split games are as follows:

Top 6:
PNU vs NPBHS, 1230pm, Massey
Levin vs FC Western, 245pm, Donnelly
Moturoa vs Whanganui Athletic, 245pm, Onuku Taipari

Levin sit 3 points behind Athletic at the top, the rest pretty much unable to catch them with a 9 point gap between 2nd and 3rd. Western defaulted to Levin in the first round, will be interesting to see what kind of team they put out.

Bottom 5:
NP Rangers vs Feilding, 245pm, Merrilands
Wanganui City vs Marist, 245pm, Wembley

Merrilands was under water this week, and there is significant rain forecast for this upcoming weekend, will be interesting if these games go ahead. 
Wanganui City sit in the relegation spot at the moment, three points behind Feilding. Marist don't seem to travel well so City will be looking to get off the bottom this week.

hotchips

With the first games of the second round postponed due to weather, the first post-split games are as follows:

Top 6:
PNU vs NPBHS, 1230pm, Massey
Levin vs FC Western, 245pm, Donnelly
Moturoa vs Whanganui Athletic, 245pm, Onuku Taipari

Levin sit 3 points behind Athletic at the top, the rest pretty much unable to catch them with a 9 point gap between 2nd and 3rd. Western defaulted to Levin in the first round, will be interesting to see what kind of team they put out.

Bottom 5:
NP Rangers vs Feilding, 245pm, Merrilands
Wanganui City vs Marist, 245pm, Wembley

Merrilands was under water this week, and there is significant rain forecast for this upcoming weekend, will be interesting if these games go ahead. 
Wanganui City sit in the relegation spot at the moment, three points behind Feilding. Marist don't seem to travel well so City will be looking to get off the bottom this week.

Most grounds around New Plymouth were absolutely hammered. My very local Woodleigh FC ground had the stream running along side it flood up over the playing pitches before draining away relatively quickly when the rain eventually stopped (sand based).

Merrilands is a dog of a pitch after heavy rain, but it also drains quite well as it's elevated, with the back fields sloping off into the Waiwhakaiho River which helps the water get down and away. Although it does need a couple of days to really dry out. If the forecast stays the same, I can see it being another washout though.

Whanganui the team to beat huh? Will they beat Wainui? You would think so 

Results:
Top split:

PNU 1 - 1 NPBHS
Levin 0 - 1 FC Western
Moturoa 1 - 5 Whanganui Athletic

Bottom split:

NP Rangers vs Feilding postponed to 16th August
Wanganui City 2 - 2 Marist


Athletic effectively wrap up the league, can't see them dropping points and now a six point gap over Levin. Looks like Havelock North have the East wrapped up, don't know enough about them to say how that two legged playoff will go. It pains me to say it as Athletic are a massive set of bellends from top to bottom but they are too good for this league. Suppose with the money they have paid out they should be.

Wanganui City have to win next week now to stand a chance of staying up, threw away a 2 goal lead with 10 minutes to go against Marist who have been hopeless for about 3 months now.

Fixtures:

Top:

FC Western vs NPBHS, 7pm Friday, NPBHS turf
PNU vs Moturoa, 1230pm, Massey
Levin vs Whanganui Athletic, 245pm, Levin

Bottom:

Feilding vs Wanganui City, 1230pm, Feilding
NP Rangers vs Takaro, 245pm, Merrilands


Levin must beat Athletic to stand a chance at denying them the title.
Game of the round at Feilding. Two point separate the sides at the bottom, if Feilding win they will open up a 5 point gap with a game in hand. City will only have two games to claw back that lead, with a tough trip to Rangers next up.

Results:

FC Western 2 - 0 NPBHS
PNU 4 - 4 Moturoa
Levin 0 - 0 Whanganui Athletic

NP Rangers 3 - 1 Takaro
Feilding 2 - 1 Wanganui City

Title pretty much in the bag for Athletic, six points clear with 3 games to go.

City all but relegated, have to beat Rangers next week to stand a chance of staying up.

This weeks fixtures:

Moturoa vs FC Western, 7pm Friday, NPBHS Turf
Whanganui Athletic vs PNU, 245pm, Wembley
NPBHS vs Levin, 245pm, NPBHS
Takaro vs Marist. 1230pm, Skoglund
NP Rangers vs Wanganui City, 245pm, Merrilands
Feilding with the bye

Athletic seal the league with three points, and a two-legged playoff with Havelock North for the right to play the best placed Cap Prem team for a place in Central League 2.

Wanganui City will be confirmed in bottom spot should they fail to beat Rangers. Not sure whether that will mean relegation, the Taranaki and Manawatu Champs likely to be won by reserve teams so unless Athletic are promoted and CF want another reserve team in the league they won't go down. CF have said they want this to be a ten team league, so they're definitely stuffed if Athletic don't go up.

Results:

Moturoa 3 - 2 FC Western
Whanganui Athletic 8 - 2 PNU
NPBHS 2 - 3 Levin
Takaro 1 - 2 Marist
NP Rangers 6 - 0 Wanganui City 

Opposite emotions for the two Whanganui teams with Athletic claiming the title and City securing bottom spot. Athletic now have a one legged playoff with Havelock North, the winner going on to face the top eligible Cap Prem side.

City are very young, just about the youngest team in the league even with the reserve sides, and it shows in their footy at times. They've been unlucky with some results, but with some seasons under their belt they could be a good team -providing Athletic don't take back all the young players they turfed out to start the season.

Fixtures:

PNU vs FC Western, 1230pm, Massey
NPBHS vs Whanganui Athletic, 245pm, Webster
Levin vs Moturoa, 245pm, Donnelly
Feilding vs Takaro, 1230pm, Timona
NP Rangers vs Marist, 1230pm, Merrilands

Not much to play for but bragging rights now, some teams on bad runs of form and would have been in real trouble if it was a straight 18 game league.

Takaro go to Feilding having lost 7 games in a row, since star striker Whitmore got his lengthy ban. PNU have lost 5 drawn 2 in their last 7. Athletic will be looking to take another step towards an unbeaten season, having dropped points only in their draw to Levin.

Final standings for the east

Havelock Nth
Napier City Reserves 
Gisborne United
Maycenvale 
Taradale 
Gisborne Thistle 
Port Hill
Western Rangers 
Napier Marist 
HSOB

Unbelievably tight league. Honestly any team in that league (other than HSOB) could have potentially won it. Marist had a great starting 11 and could have beaten anyone. Thistle were arguably the favourites and came 6th. 
Congrats to havelock for consistency and I’m hoping they push on to play the cap Prem side to qualify for CL2

Results:

PNU 9 - 1 FC Western
NPBHS 2 - 1 Whanganui Athletic
Levin 6 - 1 Moturoa
Feilding 0 - 4 Takaro
NP Rangers 6 - 1 Marist

The High School boys hand Athletic their first loss of the season! Unfortunately it would take another Athletic defeat and a 14 goal swing in goal difference for Levin to overtake them, Levin's chances ruined by losing to FC Western a few weeks ago.

Western took no subs to PNU and got hammered for it. 

Fixtures:

Levin vs PNU, 245pm, Donnelly
Whanganui Athletic vs FC Western, 245pm, Wembley
NPBHS vs Moturoa, 245pm, NPBHS Turf
Feilding vs Marist, 245pm, Timona
Takaro vs Wanganui City, 245pm, Skoglund

Its all over really with one round to go, the only teams that can change positions on the table are NP Rangers and Feilding, who play each other next weekend.

Whanganui Athletic - deserved champions, surprising result this week, hopefully for their sake not coasting to the end of the season as that will make it hard in the playoff slog.

Levin - great young team who've been building over past few years, an unfortunate loss a few weeks ago ruining their title hopes, will be up there next year providing they hold onto Toby and Olly James.

FC Western - wildly inconsistent depending on how many 1st teamers they have available. Defaulted one game this year and barely field any subs. They may be flying high in CL2 but with only 3 senior teams they are too small for a team in this comp too.

NPBHS - Again wildy inconsistent but capable of beating anyone on their day. Standout player is Bruno Bisaga who makes them tick. Hector Pulford another one to watch.

PNU - The only reserve team in this league I have any time for, as they seem to use it to develop their young players. Inconsistent line-ups with a lot of their youngsters pushing up into the first team has seen different 11's every week.

Moturoa - Carried by the Webber brothers Tyler and Ethan, poor results at the start of the season really cost them any momentum from winning the Taranaki Champ last year. Could be one to watch for next year.

NP Rangers - Horrible start to the season which can't really be explained. Very well drilled team coached by Juliano Schmelling, play some great football and have some top players. Will be very disappointed with their placing in the league.

Takaro - Wheels fell off when Michael Whitmore got a ten game ban, they won 5 in a row to start the season but since then only 2 wins from 8. Probably the oldest side in the league, they seem to lose a couple of players every year, not many young players coming through.

Marist - Completely dependent on 1st teamers who don't want to travel - they tend to win when they are at home and the 1st team are away, dropping multiple players. Defaulted a game this season, which for a club that touts itself as one of the biggest in the country is really unacceptable.

Feilding - Youngest team in the league bar Boys High, with only 3 or 4 from last year's 1st team. Play some great high paced attacking football, but the lack of experience shows. Will be a top team in a year or two.

Wanganui City - Another brand new squad, with multiple refugees from Athletic. Standout player is Charlie Meredith, who despite his best efforts couldn't drag them to more than one win. Could be hard for them to bounce back from relegation depending on whether Athletic's Reserves are promoted.

Has a date and venue been set for the playoff between Whanganui Athletic and Havelock North?

Not yet, still a round to go in the West.

Al locked up now, you’ll be happy hot chips, it’s your favourite team against havelock north 

Results:

Levin 1 - 0 PNU
Whanganui Athletic 5 - 0 FC Western
NPBHS 1 - 1 Moturoa
Feilding 2 - 4 Marist
Takaro 4 - 4 Wanganui City

Playoffs are in Comet and it's now a two legged tie between Athletic and Havelock North, with the first game this Saturday at Guthrie Park 2pm kickoff. 2nd leg at Wembley on the 23rd.

Mane_event_fever

Al locked up now, you’ll be happy hot chips, it’s your favourite team against havelock north 

From their socials you'd think they'd done the job already. Come on Havelock Wanderers 🤣

hotchips

Mane_event_fever

Al locked up now, you’ll be happy hot chips, it’s your favourite team against havelock north 

From their socials you'd think they'd done the job already. Come on Havelock Wanderers 🤣

A comfortable win to Athletic on the day. Havelock were very poor apart from a couple of plyers they looked like a social team.