More Premmy Files 2020-21 Season Reviews:

Team Wellington

Eastern Suburbs & Waitakere United

Canterbury United & Hawke’s Bay United

Wellington Phoenix Reserves

Auckland City

Final Standings: First (28 pts) – Lost 4-2 to Team Wellington in Grand Final

Top Scorer: Logan Rogerson (8 goals)

Most Appearances: Cam Brown (15 starts), Adam Mitchell (15 starts), Brian Kaltak (15 starts), Alfie Rogers (15 starts) & Yousif Al-Kalisy (11 starts, 4 subs)

Premmy Files MVP: Brian Kaltak

Feels strange to be writing about Auckland City the Premiership club, the perennial powerhouse of that competition throughout its seventeen years, while Auckland City the newly minted winter league team are already battling away in their new incarnation. Strange days indeed for domestic football in Aotearoa. But Auckland City’s final season as a summer franchise deserves more than a few words as we continue on these season roundups.

Things began okay. They had to work hard for a 1-0 win over Eastern Suburbs to get their campaign up and running but then they took a turn for the worse as a Derek Tieku double a week later down in Hamilton doomed them to a 2-0 defeat. City then needed a last minute goal as they came from behind to beat Hawke’s Bay United at home before a Brian Kaltak red card had them battling for seventy minutes with ten men against Team Wellington, a Logan Rogerson goal on either side of the red giving them a 2-0 lead that was eventually pegged back by the home side with that one ending 2-2. Then after conceding a late winner down in Christchurch in the next one we had the extremely unfamiliar sight of Auckland City sitting outside the top four after five weeks of football. If the season had ended on that day, they still would’ve made the semis because the Wellington Phoenix of course were barred from making the knockouts which was always silly but still, goddamn, it’s like staring at an MC Escher drawing...

A few things were going wrong for them at that point. Emiliano Tade had picked up an injury after the first game (in which he scored the winner from the penalty spot) and the return date kept on being pushed back. Eventually he’d make his way return off the bench in the final regular season game before playing a huge role in the knockouts. And Logan Rogerson was also injured and would miss games two and three before returning with goal-scoring aplomb in the Team Welly match. The absence of both those two dudes led to Maro Bonsu-Maro’s only consecutive starts of the campaign but that didn’t go so well. MBM would feature just six times in total all season (three starts, three sub) as youth grab Dre Vollenhoven and mid-season signing Kayne Vincent pushed him down the pecking order. Bit stink for a guy who showed so much promise with his goals off the bench two seasons ago but this wasn’t a great fit for him (better hopes at Manukau Utd in the Northern League). Plus Mohamed Awad missed the first couple games recovering from a preseason knock. ACFC were twice held scoreless during that dud beginning which makes a lot more sense considering the players they were missing in attack.

The other thing that was going wrong was they didn’t quite have the shape they needed out there to control games... hence why the Team Welly game fourth up saw Jose Figueira abandon his three-CB formation for a 4-3-3 that had Adam Mitchell and Brian Kaltak at CB with Mario Ilich a defensive midfielder behind Cam Howieson and Albert Riera at first... although the game which really turned things around for them was the week six 4-1 win over the WeeNix in which Yousif Al-Kalisy started ahead of Riera. Mohamed Awad was also fit to go by now and suddenly the new and final incarnation of Auckland City was complete. That front three of Rogerson on the left, Dylan Manickum through the middle, and Mo Awad on the right would reach terrifying realms the rest of the way (between them they’d score 19 goals – more than the entire Hawke’s Bay team combined).

4-1 vs WeeNix, 3-0 vs Waitakere, 2-1 vs Hamilton Wands, 1-1 vs Eastern Suburbs (conceding a last minute equaliser), 4-0 vs Hawke’s Bay, 3-1 vs Team Wellington, 2-0 vs Canterbury Utd. Six wins and 19 points from seven games. That’s half the season there in which they took enough points to qualify for the top four alone. Thanks to the ol’ head to head tiebreaker and a convincing 3-1 win over Team Wellington they had the minor premiership wrapped up with a couple weeks to spare (eighth minor prem in a row, and twelfth all up) which allowed for some squad rotation as they faced the WeeNix for a second time. Then the next week Aidan Carey was given a starting debut in midfield, another big talent coming out of the ACFC ranks. Both those games ended up in casual draws - Waitakere’s last minute leveller almost getting them into the top four after ACFC had left the door open with some wasteful shooting – but that didn’t matter.

That wastefulness was a common theme though. Logan Rogerson was utterly unstoppable at times yet it’s no secret that clinical finishing is a weak point of his. That he still scored eight goals shows how fantastic he was and his speed in behind was a huge part of how City played. But the others were also to blame for some of the chances that went begging along the way. It didn’t make much difference in the regular season as their overwhelming pressure tended to lead to another chance before long... but it did leave them scraping through for a 2-1 semi-final win over Eastern Suburbs in a game in which the first seventy minutes could have had them 4-0 up and outta sight.

As to what happened in the grand final... well that was as much a supreme Team Wellington performance that stumped them there as anything they did wrong. But the Navy Blues left some chances uneaten on the table for sure. Emiliano Tade had returned to the starting team with immaculate results for the semi, sitting deeper and pulling strings, but Logan Rogerson had to depart in the days leading up to the final with his deal in Finland at HJK all sorted. Couldn’t delay it any longer and without his aforementioned searing pace and penetration... that left City looking a few pages short of a finished manuscript. When they needed a goal they lacked the variety to find one. Tade scored a penalty but he also missed one, looking tired after so long out. Then the defenders couldn’t keep the goals from flowing in at the other end and Auckland City were outplayed, basically. Ah well, so it goes.

The grand final puts some stink on their season and clearly ACFC weren’t at their imperious best the entire way... but it’d be a shame to see this campaign as a failure. City had to be adaptable and they had to bring new players into key roles. Dylan Manickum is an example of a guy who has been around for quite a while but this was probably his best ever Premiership season, definitely his best for Auckland City. He worked so well in that front three as a guy who can drop in from centre forward to link up and along with his five regular season goals he also scored in each of the two finals games. Yousif Al-Kalisy is another. Been at the club a fair while but never quite so influential as he was bringing some more attacking impetus to the City midfield (he even played one game at right back but that was an odd one). And Awad as a new signing, he was excellent after his delayed start. Their best player in the grand final. That level of vision you don’t find lying on the street like a loose dollar coin.

To say that the City squad was stacked would be an underestimation. Midway through the season they picked up All Whites internationals Sam Brotherton and Kayne Vincent coming back from pro situations overseas... and neither could even crack the starting team consistently. Where’s a dude like Brotherton gonna get in when Adam Mitchell and Brian Kaltak are playing as well as that? Kaltak was stunning from day one. Always been a strong and skilful defender (or defensive midfielder) but the Vanuatu international has never been so consistent as this. Dominant in the air or on the ground, great passer of the ball, capable of scoring goals well above a defender’s rate. He was the Navy Blues’ MVP – if the Canterbury loss was the low point of the season, well that was the game Kaltak was suspended for. And while Adam Mitchell started slowly by his lofty standards, by the end of things he was putting in man of the match calibre performances too and if anybody tells you there was a better CB pairing than those two then they’re lying.

Then how about Cam Brown? Conor Tracey had been the main man with the gloves last season and impressed heaps with his panther-like goalkeeping prowess. Then Cam Brown gets the go to start this term and is so good that Tracey only gets one start in that rotated game. Brown looks perhaps a more stable keeper than Tracey. Less likely to make a mistake if also possibly less likely to do something amazing. Both are fantastic goalies in the hunt for an Olympic spot later in the year. It’s almost a bit of a shame to have them both at the same club, to be honest. No surprises that Browny led the league in clean sheets with four of the bad boys.

One area where things were much quieter than usual was the fullback spots (so... two areas, technically). Jordan Vale and Alfie Rogers were the main men. Andrew Blake got quite a few games. Tom Doyle featured a little but then disappeared. Rogers was the top performer of the group but that wasn’t such a dynamic position for ACFC once they moved to four at the back. However the midfield engine room remained as crucial to the ACFC style of play as ever. Cam Howieson. Mario Ilich. Albert Riera’s legs aren’t what they once were but he had his moments. There’s nothing needs to be said that hasn’t already been said there.

Gotta be stoked to see City’s youth pathways showing through as well. There are always one or two emerging faces, the idea that Auckland City don’t play young players is a myth, but that was more of a factor this term for sure as Vollenhoven and Carey emerged as legit options. Vollenhoven especially, the South African prospect who scored the last-minute championship-winning goal in the final NYL season a year and a half ago, he made six appearances including being the first man called upon off the bench in the final and scored his first (and last) Premiership goal in a big win over HBU.

Along with fellow youngsters like Addison Stewart and Matt Ellis those dudes will likely play even bigger roles as the winter season goes deeper. Speaking of which... that Northern League team is frightening. Guys like Al-Kalisy and Awad have stuck around, having previously played their winter stuff elsewhere, while Angus Kilkolly and Reid Drake have also returned to the club (Kilkolly previously playing under Figueira at TW and having played for Central United before, Drake an ex-ACFC dude). They’ll be favourites for that title. No doubt about it. And with that prospectus one era comes down and another... another has already started, it would seem. With Auckland City taking up Central United’s place in the Northern League, keeping the brand alive, only the journey needs to change, not the destination.

Hamilton Wanderers

Final Standings: Third (20 pts) – Lost 4-1 to Team Wellington in Semi-Final

Top Scorer: Derek Tieku (12 goals)

Most Appearances: Matt Oliver (15 starts), Adam Davidson (15 starts), Joe Harris (15 starts), Brad Whitworth (15 starts), Derek Tieku (15 starts) & Mark Jones (11 starts, 4 subs)

Premmy Files MVP: Derek Tieku

There were many strange campaigns this season but few rival Hamilton Wanderers’. Kane Herbert’s team won each of their first three games – including a stunner 2-0 win against Auckland City - to be leading the comp after three weeks with eight goals scored. They then spent the entire rest of the time trying to recapture that magic. Three wins from three to start, just two wins from eleven after that. Two clean sheets to begin things and none the entire rest of the way. The Tron Wands were a team that relied on the fine margins and that perhaps proved not to be the most reliable way to do things.

The standout initially was just how strong that starting eleven was and how well they worked together. You had Joe Harris at right back, Brock Messenger and Tino Contratti in the middle. Adam Davidson on the left. Matt Oliver in goal, of course. Brad Whitworth anchored a midfield trio with Xavier Pratt and Josh Signey also doing their things. And up front Mark Jones played on one side, Tommy Semmy on the other, and Derek Tieku through the middle. That was the dream team. And the further they got from that eleven the worse things became (though incredibly five of them started every match).

After the initial three wins, they dominated the WeeNix at home only to be trailing down the stretch after Riley Bidois scored on the break. It took a 94th minute Tommy Semmy penalty to salvage a draw. Next they were leading away to Waitakere late on... only for Angus Kilkolly to score an 86th minute leveller. A week later they were unable to find an equaliser in the second half as they went down 2-1 to Eastern Suburbs which ended their unbeaten start to the season. Rock bottom was a 4-1 loss at home against Hawke’s Bay United in which Josh Signey was sent off and some abysmal set piece defending doomed them (despite an outrageously good free kick goal from Harris, who’d been teasing one like that for several weeks). At that point they’d lost three outta four and hadn’t won for six games straight. They were in position to break that streak against the Cantabs at the following attempt only for Jake Richards to score a literally stunning injury time equaliser in front of the Porritt Stadium crowd, making it seven games without a win for HW. Having started off looking like title contenders, now they were scrapping merely to stay in finals contention.

To make matters worse, Brock Messenger had been injured against Auckland City and would miss six games. That led to Joe Harris sliding into the middle and a procession of right backs followed. Paul Clout got one game. Dylan Morris got four (until he was sent off in the fourth). Then Liam Fellowes had a decent couple at the end, including a semi-final. Josh Signey also missed two games with suspension for that red card. But worst of all was an ongoing muscle complaint from Tommy Semmy that saw him only start two of the final eight regular season games, coming off the bench three times so he didn’t miss a heap of games but he clearly wasn’t a hundy percent and that was brutal. The Tron Wands of the first three rounds were outstanding at switching the ball quickly in possession to get Semmy isolated against a single defender. Derek Tieku could then work off that while Mark Jones weaved his way in and out, Joe Harris got up in support to swing in a cross, and the midfielders put the clamps on to keep the ball in that attacking half. With one injury to Tommy Semmy, that whole vision crumbled and the creative stuff got much rougher.

But Wanderers managed to grind out a 2-1 win over the WeeNix in week eleven, coming from behind thanks to goals from Tieku and Jordan Lamb – the latter getting most of the starts while Semmy was out and providing some very handy trickery and directness in the Papua New Guinean’s absence. Next up was an amazing game in which Derek Tieku scored a 94th minute winner to complete his hat-trick, beating Waitakere 3-2... and with that Wanderers were a point out from a first ever semi-final appearance. A point which they dutifully held on for against Eastern Subs at the subsequent attempt (despite Dylan Morris’ red card). For a club that once went and entire calendar year (spanning half of two different seasons) without a win... hard to understate that achievement.

Previous HW Premiership Seasons:

• 2016-17: Ninth | 13 points (18 games) | -26 GD

• 2017-18: Tenth | 6 points (18 games) | -26 GD

• 2018-19: Sixth | 17 points (18 games) | -10 GD

• 2019-20: Sixth | 20 points (16 games) | -15 GD

• 2020-21: Third | 20 points (14 games) | +2 GD

Steady improvements year on year with a lot of player continuation as well as clever additions to the crew and plenty of locally developed depth. It’s impressive work. Might not get to take it any further in this format but it sets them up for a strong winter season to try and get back. Arguably no other team has more continuity between this summer season and the new winter season than Hamilton Wanderers.

The Premmy stuff ended with a pair of games against Team Wellington. First in the final regular season contest in a battle for second and third, with a belter of a game ending up going Team Wellington’s way in a 4-3 result. Derek Tieku drawing level with Hamish Watson in a head to head Golden Boot scrap too – although Teeks was robbed by a technicality giving it to Watson for having played one fewer game rather than letting them share it... granted Watto slammed home his case with emphasis in the semi-final rematch with a magnificent hat-trick as Wanderers were outclassed.

Tino Contratti missed the semi with yellow card accumulation and although Brock Messenger returned from injury to lessen that blow, it wasn’t enough. 4-1 to Team Wellington as Hamilton Wanderer’s only Premiership knockout game ended in without fortune. It was a closer game than the scoreline suggests but no doubt whatsoever about the result. At least HW can chill in the knowledge that Team Welly went and did the same thing to Auckland City a week later.

Team MVP is a real toss up between Derek Tieku and Tino Contratti. A Ghanaian/English striker and an Argentine defender. Tieku can have it for his goals, such a reliable source of attacking prowess, especially since he had to carry so much of that attack while Semmy was hobbled. But Contratti also deserves massive credit as one of the very best centre backs in the competition, hurling himself at everything. Wanderers were a very physical team whose penalty area was like a biker bar. Enter at your own peril. And though he only got the one goal, Contratti was agonisingly close to a few more along the way.

Elsewhere Brad Whitworth is a guy to highlight as a really slick defensive midfielder. Same with Adam Davidson as a young left-back who came through the team’s academy. Superb in the first three games, pretty good the rest of the way too. Already mentioned Lamb as a breakout player. Owen Comber is in that category also as the next man up in the midfield whenever someone was unavailable. Josh Signey had some top quality performances. Joe Harris was as reliable as they come. Mark Jones also. As already mentioned, when Hamilton Wanderers were at full strength they were a match for everybody. They just maybe didn’t have the depth to handle things when they weren’t and the way they played does lead to a lot of cards and injuries.

Keeping things in perspective though, who picked Hamilton Wanderers as the Best of the Rest coming into the season? Because that’s exactly what they were. The strongest team not named Auckland City or Team Wellington and that’s a hell of an achievement right there. Plus another thing that counts for heaps but isn’t always recognised: they were fun. So much fun. Hamilton Wanderers were involved in some crazy dramatic finishes going both ways and their games as much as anyone’s were the hardest to predict. You just never knew what might happen. There were some sloppy mistakes, sure, but there was also the potential for something great throughout and that’s worth shouting out. 2020-21 season’s Most Enjoyable Award recipients... though they were heavily rivalled for that by the final team to get the debrief treatment, but you can wait another couple days for that one (and for the Team of the Season to follow late in the week).

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