By David Larkin
Fencibles United increased their lead to six points after Ngaruawahia United dropped points to Hibiscus Coast last weekend in the Lotto NRFL Men’s Championship.
Fencibles didn’t falter when they played relegation candidates North Shore last weekend, cruising to a comfortable 3-1 victory.
They host another relegation candidate, Franklin United, at Riverhills Park this week. Their previous meeting resulted in a 10-0 demolition by Fencibles.
Ngaruawahia United dropped points with a draw with Hibiscus Coast last weekend, in a match that saw both teams finish the encounter with 10 men.
Ngaruawahia are six points from top spot and only three points ahead of Manukau United in third place.
Onehunga Mangere have struggled for form recently. They have lost their last three matches, including a 4-1 defeat to 10th-placed Metro last weekend.
They’ve slipped down two places on the table as a result and now sit in fifth spot.
They play Ellerslie this week. The last match between these sides resulted in Onehunga’s worst defeat of the season, a 4-0 drubbing at Mangere Domain.
Mt Albert Ponsonby pulled off an upset victory against Northern Rovers last round and will be pleased to come away with two wins from their last four matches, which were against the top four teams on the table.
They need to avoid repeating previous results when they host North Shore this weekend. as they lost 2-1 to them in the reverse fixture.
North Shore are back in the relegation zone after Metro’s upset win against Onehunga Mangere.
They’ve lost their last two against tough opponents — Manukau and Fencibles — and will search for their first away win of the season this weekend at Anderson Park.
Manukau have claimed third spot after beating bottom-of-the-table Franklin and will be delighted with their defensive efforts as they have produced clean sheets in each of their last three matches.
They have the opportunity to complete a league double against Takapuna on Saturday as they won the reverse fixture 1-0.
Despite Takapuna’s inconsistent performances, they have lost only one of their last eight matches.
They also seem to have found scoring form of late, averaging three goals over their last three matches.
Takapuna forward Sean Willcox will miss their match against Manukau due to suspension, as he was shown a second yellow card in the 82nd minute of their draw with Ellerslie.
Coast had an excellent week last week, managing to pick up a win and a draw against top sides Onehunga and Ngaruawahia.
They will be missing striker Trent Mayes this week as he’ll be serving a suspension after being sent off in the 85th minute of that match.
Their opponents this week, Metro, also pulled off an upset last week against Onehunga Mangere, ending their 12-game winless run in style with a 4-1 victory.
Adam Creaney helped his side to victory with a hat-trick in the match.
Game of the week
Ngaruawahia United host Northern Rovers at Centennial Park on Saturday in what’s set to be a tightly contested match — the reverse fixture was decided by an 89th-minute strike by Ngaruawahia’s Reuben Henderson.
They will be without Henderson for this week’s match as he’s suspended after he was sent off in the 90th minute in last week’s draw with Coast, when he received a second yellow card.
The Waikato side’s previous win against Rovers started a six-match winning streak, which gave them a firm grip on second place.
Rovers also dropped points last weekend, losing 2-0 to Mt Albert Ponsonby.
It was only their third loss of the season and ends their nine-match unbeaten streak, which also started after their loss to Ngaruawahia.
Winning on Saturday would put them in striking distance of second place and provide them a chance of joining the race for promotion.
Player to watch
Will Litchfield (18) has been in fine scoring form for Ellerslie since breaking into the starting line-up a couple of weeks ago.
He scored four in his first start, against Franklin United, and then scored another last week as Ellerslie came from behind to snatch a draw at Takapuna.
Former Eastern Suburbs youth player and Selwyn College first XI member Litchfield has recently broken into Ellerslie’s first team.
He made his debut off the bench in his side’s victory over Waikato Unicol in the Chatham Cup.
He is now tied for Ellerslie’s top scorer this season, despite the last three matches being his only appearances for the season. He has scored 20 goals for the first and reserves teams combined.
Litchfield has certainly made a case for his name to be one of the first on the team sheet now, after excelling with the limited opportunities he’s had.
Bold prediction
I predict Ellerslie will beat Onehunga Mangere when they host them at Michaels Ave Reserve on Saturday.
I’ll also predict Manukau will secure a league double and beat Takapuna when they host them at Walter Massey Park.
Last week, I predicted Onehunga Mangere, Northern Rovers and Manukau Unitd would all record victories. Onehunga Mangere and Rovers both lost, while Manukau claimed a win.
Golden Boot
18 — Darius Palma (Ngaruawahia United)
11 — Kodie Nicol (Fencibles United), Daniel Bunch (Fencibles United)
9 — Joao Moreira (Takapuna)
8 — Dylan Horgan (Manukau United)
7 — Sam Freeman (Metro), Aston Burns (Fencibles United), Reuben Henderson (Ngaruawahia United)
6 — Brodie Putt (North Shore United), Hamsa Moosvi (Manukau United), Levi Clark (Ngaruawahia United), Tinotenda Mupemhena (Franklin United)
5 — Adam Creaney (Metro), Sam Tutton (Mt Albert Ponsonby), Rowan Corbett (Ellerslie)
Fixtures
Games to be played on Saturday July 20, 2024
Ngaruawahia United v Northern Rovers
Centennial Park, Ngaruawahia, 3pm
Mt Albert Ponsonby v North Shore United
Anderson Park, Mt Albert, 3pm
Fencibles United v Franklin United
Riverhills Park, Pakuranga, 3pm
Manukau United v Takapuna
Walter Massey Park, Manukau, 3pm
Metro v Hibiscus Coast
Phyllis St, Mt Albert, 3pm
Ellerslie v Onehunga Mangere United
MATCH POSTPONED
David Larkin
Friends of Football writer David Larkin plays community football for Auckland club Manurewa.
