Match week three of the new ISPS Handa Premiership season takes place this weekend, check out what’s in store with the official preview.

For the full draw and more information please click here

Eastern Suburbs vs Wellington Phoenix
Riverhills Park, Auckland
Saturday 27 October, 4pm
#ISPSHandaPrem #ESvWP

Referee: A Wilson
Assistant Referees: M Batoor, R Al Rabea
Fourth Official: C Mills

Squads

Eastern Suburbs: 1. Andrew Withers (GK), 2. Alex Clayton, 3. Kelvin Kalua, 4. Nando Pijnaker, 7. Tim Payne, 10. Andre de Jong, 11. Mohamed Awad, 12. Kingsley Sinclair, 14. Elijah Just, 15. Dalton Wilkins, 16. Dominic Wooldridge, 18. Patryk Misik, 19. Tinashe Marowa, 21. Justin Biega (GK), 23. Campbell Strong, 24. Jack Duncan
Coach: Danny Hay

Wellington Phoenix: 1. Zac Jones (GK), 3. Boyd Curry, 4. Liam Moore, 5. Kurtis Mogg, 6. Gianni Stensness, 8. Tacettin Kumsuz, 9. Calvin Harris, 10. Willem Ebbinge, 11. Sam Sutton, 12. Oliver Valentine, 13. Noah Tipene-Clegg, 16. Ronan Wynne, 17. Benjamin Waine, 19. Maximilian Batchelor, 21. Owen Smith, 40. Alexander Paulsen (GK)
Coach: Paul Temple

Lowdown

These sides had vastly contrasting opening days, Suburbs going on the goal rampage with a 5-0 dismantling of Hawke’s Bay while the Phoenix slumped to a 4-1 defeat against Team Wellington. But there were plenty of positives to take out of that match for the WeeNix, who took the lead through a Calvin Harris screamer and competed well for long periods. This clash is likely to be one for the purists as some of the country’s most promising young players feature in both line-ups.

Quotes

Danny Hay (Eastern Suburbs coach): “I watched the Phoenix last weekend and I thought the score didn’t really reflect their performance. They’re very dangerous on the counter attack and have some good young players, the likes of Calvin Harris is a real threat. So they’re going to cause us some challenges but I’m confident that we’ll be up to the task.”

Hawke’s Bay United vs Canterbury United
Bluewater Stadium, Napier
Sunday 28 October, 1pm
#ISPSHandaPrem #HBvCU

Referee: N Waldron
Assistant Referees: G Sheehan, E Cook
Fourth Official: M Rule

Squads

Hawke’s Bay United: 1. Mackenzie Waite (GK), 2. Anders Eriksson, 4. Cameron Lindsay, 5. Joseph Zupo, 6. Daniel Allan, 7. Cory Chettleburgh, 8. Paul Ifill, 9. Sam Mason-Smith, 10. Sho Goto, 11. Maxime Oliveri, 12. Ben Lack, 15. Dilan Nanayakkara, 17. Jordan Lamb, 22. Karan Mandair, 23. Jorge Akers, 26. Alexander Britton (GK)
Coach: Brett Angell

Canterbury United: 1. Edward Ashton (GK), 2. Dan Terris, 3. Aaron Spain, 5. Tom Schwarz, 6. Gary Ogilvie, 7. George King, 9. Maksym Kowal, 10. Adam Thurston, 11. James Pendrigh, 12. Reese Cox, 14. Sean Liddicoat, 16. Cory Mitchell, 17. Stephen Hoyle, 21. Seth Clark, 22. Conor Tracey (GK)
Coach: Willy Gerdsen

Lowdown

Hawke’s Bay’s bid to return to their playoff-making days did not get off to an ideal start last week as they were swept aside by a rampant Eastern Suburbs. Coach Brett Angell felt his side were their own worst enemy at times, gifting Suburbs goals rather than making their opponents work hard to break them down. They will not be able to make the same mistakes with the likes of Stephen Hoyle and Maksym Kowal about as Canterbury look for their second successive victory.

Quotes

Brett Angell (Hawke’s Bay United coach): “We’re under no illusions about our first five games because they were always going to be very tough. Whatever we get we’re going to have to earn but the boys want to rectify what happened last week and put on a show for the fans. We have to take the lessons from last weekend but we also have to move on.”

Willy Gerdsen (Canterbury United coach): “It’s coming together very well, we have a good blend of young, local guys and those we have brought in. We had a good first win and a good performance, both with and without the ball. So we were very happy with that but the preparation has continued as normal. Hawke’s Bay is always a tough place to go, they lost last weekend but that means nothing at this early stage.”

Southern United vs Auckland City
Caledonian Ground, Dunedin
Sunday 28 October, 2pm
#ISPSHandaPrem #SUvAC

Referee: C Mills
Assistant Referees: A Verolino, J Henderson
Fourth Official: C Berg

Squads

Southern United: 1. Liam Little (GK), 2. Conor O’Keeffe, 3. Jared Grove, 4. Stephen Last, 5. Erik Panzer, 6. Danny Ledwith, 7. Omar Guardiola, 8. Tony Whitehead, 10. Abdulla Al-Kalisy, 11. Benjamin Wade, 12. Sam Pickering, 14. Adam Hewson, 15. Blake Weston, 16. Stewart Catto (GK), 18. Markus Fjortoft
Coach: Paul O’Reilly

Auckland City: 1. Enaut Zubikarai (GK), 3. Takuya Iwata, 4. Mario Bilen, 5. Angel Berlanga, 6. Brian Kaltak, 7. Cameron Howieson, 9. Javier Lopez, 10. Micah Lea’alafa, 14. Jordan Vale, 15. Daniel Morgan, 16. Yousif Ali, 17. Reid Drake, 20. Te Atawhai Hudson-Wihongi, 21. Maro Bonsu-Maro, 22. Cameron Brown (GK), 23. Alfie Rogers
Coach: Ramon Tribulietx

Lowdown

Auckland City have had a flying start as they look to defend their title, recording back-to-back wins against Team Wellington and Tasman. But their second victory was soured somewhat by a horrific head injury to David Browne, who is now out for the foreseeable future. Also unavailable for this weekend’s lengthy trip south are Albert Riera, Fabrizio Tavano and Dylan Manickum, meaning this is as good a time as any for Southern to upset the reigning champions and get off the mark after last week’s narrow loss to Canterbury.

Quotes

Danny Ledwith (Southern United): “I think we were a little bit disappointed last week against Canterbury, we battled quite hard for most of the game but unfortunately just couldn’t get the goal and probably a draw might have been a fairer result. Auckland City always have large spells of possession but we were undefeated against them last year and that will give us a lot of confidence.”

Ramon Tribulietx (Auckland City coach): “It’s always a difficult game down there and it can become a big battle. They’re a very well organised team and will make our life hard. We will need to be focused on set pieces because they are very good at those and, if you look at the games we’ve played so far, we’ve conceded a couple of goals from crosses so we need to improve in that third of the pitch.”

Tasman United vs Hamilton Wanderers
Trafalgar Park, Nelson
Sunday 28 October, 2pm
#ISPSHandaPrem #TUvHW

Referee: B O’Connell
Assistant Referees: C Gruschow, M Love
Fourth Official: R Malcolm

Squads

Tasman United: 1. Keegan Smith (GK), 2. Sam Ayers, 4. Thomas Hickey, 5. Fox Slotemaker, 6. Bertie Fish, 7. Corey Larsen, 8. Matt Tod-Smith, 10. Kiernan Hughes-Mason, 11. Alex Ridsdale, 12. Ahmed Othman, 13. Daniel McClay, 14. Ryan Worrall, 17. Simon Wilson, 19. Chester Gaskin, 20. Nick Stanton, 21. Jordan Yong
Coach: Andy Hedge

Hamilton Wanderers: 1. Matt Oliver (GK), 2. James Hoyle, 3. Joe Nottage, 5. Stafford Dowling, 6. Agustin Contratti, 7. Gensei Nakamura, 9. Martin Bueno, 10. Rhys Ruka, 11. Jordan Shaw, 13. Tommy Semmy, 14. Paul Clout, 15. Joseph Terry, 18. Steffano Riley, 19. Aaron Bayliss, 20. Derek Tieku, 23. Jonathan Mannes (GK)
Coach: Ricki Herbert

Lowdown

Word coming out of those in and around the Hamilton Wanderers camp in pre-season was that they would be far more competitive in this campaign and that was backed up on the opening weekend, Ricki Herbert’s men earning a 3-1 win over Waitakere. Remarkably, they have already matched their meagre tally of one victory from last season and, if they can make it two on the trot here, may begin to emerge as dark horses for a playoff push. Tommy Semmy scored twice against Waitakere – one of his strikes an early contender for goal of the season – and is the main danger for a Tasman defence that had three put past them by Auckland.

Waitakere United vs Team Wellington
The Trusts Arena, Auckland
Sunday 28 October, 4.35pm
#ISPSHandaPrem #WUvTW
Live on SKY Sport

Referee: A Reilly
Assistant Referees: C Trent, C Tseng
Fourth Official: A Wilson

Squads

Waitakere United: 1. Danyon Drake (GK), 2. Luke Jorgensen, 3. Kohei Matsumoto, 4. Ben Gordon, 5. Alec Solomons, 7. Oscar Browne, 8. Sam Burfoot, 9. Alex Connor-McClean, 10. Eder Franchini Pasten, 11. Sanni Issa, 14. David Parkinson, 17. Jake Butler, 19. Bill Robertson, 20. Oliver Bassett, 21. Andrew Abba, 22. Nick Draper (GK)
Coach: Chris Milicich

Team Wellington: 1. Scott Basalaj (GK), 2. Justin Gulley, 3. Scott Hilliar, 4. Mario Ilich, 5. Liam Wood, 6. Taylor Schrijvers, 8. Henry Cameron, 10. Nathanael Hailemariam, 11. Mario Barcia, 12. Andy Bevin, 14. Jack-Henry Sinclair, 16. Angus Kilkolly, 17. Alex Palezevic, 19. Ross Allen, 21. Hamish Watson, 22. Marcel Kampman (GK)
Coach: Jose Figueira

Lowdown

Team Wellington bounced back from their first-up loss to Auckland in impressive fashion, coming from behind to defeat the Phoenix 4-1, and seem certain to again be there or thereabouts in the title race. Aside from earning a victory, coach Jose Figueira will be keen to record a clean sheet as Wellington have failed to do so in either of their two matches. But that is never easy against a side featuring the prolific Sanni Issa, who wasted no time in getting off the mark for his new side in Waitakere’s disappointing loss to Hamilton.

Quotes

Jose Figueira (Team Wellington coach): “In these early rounds, it’s always tricky to find out exactly what you’re going to come up against but we’ve looked at the footage and done our homework on the players we know. Playing Waitakere away has always been a difficult challenge for many teams and that won’t be any different this weekend. So we have to make sure we’re right at the top of our game.”

Article added: Saturday 27 October 2018