Match Week 16 of the ISPS Handa Premiership takes place this weekend, check out what’s in store with the official preview.

Auckland City vs Wellington Phoenix Reserves
Kiwitea Street, Auckland
Sunday 10 February, 2pm
#ISPSHandaPrem #ACvWP

Referee: B O’Connell
Assistant Referees: C Tseng, R Al Rabea
Fourth Official: C Trent

Squads

Auckland City: Match day squad not yet available  
Coach: Ramon Tribulietx

Wellington Phoenix Reserves: 1. Zac Jones (GK), 3. Kurtis Mogg, 5. Ronan Wynne, 6. Boyd Curry, 7. Benjamin Waine, 8. Tacettin Kumsuz, 9. Gianni Stensness, 10. Willem Ebbinge, 11. Sam Sutton, 13. Noah Tipene-Clegg, 14. Oskar van Hattum, 15. Stephen Sprowson, 17. Callan Elliot, 18. Henry Hamilton, 20. Zachary Dean (GK), 21. Owen Smith
Coach: Paul Temple

Lowdown

This clash between the only team with a perfect record and another sitting at the bottom of the table appears a miss-match under normal circumstances. But Auckland City will have only just touched down from a gruelling exertion to Hong Kong, where they took part in the Chinese New Year Cup and have now played three games in six days, travelling nearly 20,000 kms in the process. While Ramon Tribulietx has managed the workload of his players very carefully, the squad may struggle to shake off the effects of playing two matches against professional opposition followed by a 12-hour flight, perhaps opening the door for the Phoenix to spring a surprise. No other team has managed to even take a point from City so far this season though so it would still take a massive performance from the ‘WeeNix’. They didn’t fare very well against the Navy Blues last time out, falling 3-0.

Quotes

Ramon Tribulietx (Auckland City coach): “The Wellington Phoenix have a young, talented side that haven’t scored many points but they can always give you a hard game. They can hold onto the ball quite well and they keep pushing teams regardless of the result which is something that will be challenging for us off the back of our efforts in Hong Kong. It represents three very important points for us given Eastern Suburbs and Team Wellington are playing each other as well.”

Team Wellington vs Eastern Suburbs
David Farrington Park, Wellington
Sunday 10 February, 2pm
#ISPSHandaPrem #TWvES

Referee: A Wilson
Assistant Referees: A Clarke, A Davenport
Fourth Official: C Bennett

Squads

Team Wellington: 1. Scott Basalaj (GK), 3. Scott Hilliar, 4. Mario Ilich, 6. Taylor Schrijvers, 7. Eric Molloy, 8. Henry Cameron, 10. Nathanael Hailemariam, 12. Andrew Bevin, 13. Daniel Mulholland, 14. Jack-Henry Sinclair, 15. Joel Stevens, 16. Angus Kilkolly, 17. Alex Palezevic, 18. Aaron Clapham, 19. Ross Allen, 22. Marcel Kampman (GK)
Coach: Jose Figueira

Eastern Suburbs: 1. Andrew Withers (GK), 2. Alex Clayton, 3. Kelvin Kalua, 4. Nando Pijnaker, 6. Harry Moss-Edge, 7. Tim Payne, 8. Owen Parker-Price, 9. Callum McCowatt, 10. Andre de Jong, 11. Mohamed Awad, 14. Elijah Just, 15. Dalton Wilkins, 16. Dominic Wooldridge, 17. Michael Built, 21. Justin Biega (GK), 23. Campbell Strong
Coach: Danny Hay

Lowdown

With Eastern Suburbs having seemingly usurped Team Wellington as the main challenger to reigning champions Auckland City, the hosts will be determined to prove that is not the case and send out a message that their title-winning days are far from over. Despite going through a sticky patch recently, Wellington are only three points behind the in-form Suburbs and would draw level with a win. While Auckland City appear to have wrapped up the minor premiership, the fight to finish second is still of vital relevance as it brings a home semi-final and could even provide OFC Champions League qualification. Suburbs’ only losses so far this season have come against Auckland City and Team Wellington so cynics would suggest they still need to show they can compete against the very best the league has to offer.

Quotes

Danny Hay (Eastern Suburbs coach): “We know it’s a massive game, second vs third as it stands in the table. Both sides will clearly be wanting to win with potential Champions League qualification up for grabs and a home semi as well. So it’s going to be big, the players are in a good space at the moment and had a good win last weekend. But we know it’s going to be a really tough battle, they’ve got some real threats going forward and hurt us last time we played against them. We have to deal with those threats a bit better but I think we’re a better team than when we first played them.”

Hamilton Wanderers vs Canterbury United Dragons
Porritt Stadium, Hamilton
Sunday 10 February, 4.35pm
#ISPSHandaPrem #HWvCU
Live on SKY Sport

Referee: P Linney
Assistant Referees: S Merriman, B Norman
Fourth Official: M Batoor

Squads

Hamilton Wanderers: 1. Matt Oliver (GK), 2. James Hoyle, 3. Joe Nottage, 5. Stafford Dowling, 7. Martin Maybin, 9. Martin Bueno, 10. Rhys Ruka, 13. Tommy Semmy, 15. Joseph Terry, 17. Xavier Pratt, 19. Adam Luque, 20. Derek Tieku, 23. Jonathan Mannes (GK)
Coach: Ricki Herbert

Canterbury United Dragons: 1. Max Collingwood (GK), 2. Dan Terris, 3. Aaron Spain, 5. Tom Schwarz, 6. Gary Ogilvie, 8. Luke Tongue, 9. Maksym Kowal, 10. Adam Thurston, 12. Daniel McHenery, 14. Sean Liddicoat, 16. Cory Mitchell, 17. Stephen Hoyle, 18. Juan Chang Urrea, 20. Jacob Richards, 21. Seth Clark, 22. Conor Tracey (GK)
Coach: Willy Gerdsen

Lowdown

With time running out for Hamilton to sneak into the play-offs and Canterbury being the side they need to overhaul, this is an absolutely crucial match for their prospects of extending their season. Nothing less than the full reward will do as Canterbury are seven points ahead and, even if Wanderers can claim a victory, the Dragons would still need to drop their bundle in the remaining matches to give Hamilton any hope. All Ricki Herbert’s men can do is look to triumph in all four of their remaining matches and that will be some ask given their current win tally stands at only five. Every one of those wins came in the first half of the season and Hamilton are now paying the price for a poor start to the new year which has seen them pick up just one point in five matches.

Southern United vs Auckland City
Sunnyvale Park, Dunedin
Wednesday 13 February, 5.30pm
#ISPSHandaPrem #SUvAC

Referee: J Henderson
Assistant Referees: A Verolino, C Marsh
Fourth Official: L Robinson

Squads

Southern United: 1. Stewart Catto (GK), 2. Connor O'Keeffe, 3. Alexander Cox, 4. Stephen Last, 5. Erik Panzer, 6. Danny Ledwith, 7. Sam Pickering, 8. Tony Whitehead, 9. Garbhan Coughlan, 10. Abdulla Al-Kalisy, 11. Ben Deeley, 12. Adam Hewson, 13. Azariah Soromon, 14. Antony Cibilich, 16. Liam Little (GK), 18. Markus Fjortoft
Coach: Paul O’Reilly

Auckland City: 18. Ruben Parker (GK), 3. Takuya Iwata, 6. Brian Kaltak, 8. Albert Riera, 9. Javier Lopez, 11. Fabrizio Tavano, 12. Jackson Woods, 13. Patrick Lundemo, 15. Daniel Morgan, 16. Yousif Ali, 19. David Browne, 20. Te Atawhai Hudson-Wihongi, 21. Maro Bonsu-Maro, 22. Omar Guardiola, 23. Alfie Rogers, 24. Cameron Brown (GK)
Coach: Ramon Tribulietx

Lowdown

The depth of Auckland City’s squad will be severely tested by this point after their exploits in Hong Kong were swiftly followed by Sunday’s clash against the Phoenix Reserves. If the ‘WeeNix’ manage to cause an upset, City may already be coming into this game on the back of relinquishing their proud perfect record but, if it is still intact, Southern will fancy their chances of becoming the first team to take any points off the defending champions. The longest away trip in the league is the last thing Auckland City need right now and they won’t be facing a team with nothing to play for as Southern can still launch a late bid for the play-offs. If they can earn a win here and Canterbury fail to pick up any points, Southern would then be just four points behind their fellow South Islanders and with a game still in hand.

Article added: Friday 08 February 2019