Grand Final 2021

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Grand Final 2021

Wellington Claims Final ISPS Handa Premiership Title

by Jeremy Ruane

Team Wellington overpowered Auckland City 4-2 in front of 1487 fans at North Harbour Stadium on March 21 to win the very last ISPS Handa Premiership Grand Final in what was the franchise's last-ever match.

With the National League as we've known it for the past seventeen years now being consigned to the history books in favour of a winter-based, club-based, Superclub-style competition, the likes of representative-styled sides such as Team Wellington, Hawkes Bay United, Canterbury United and Waitakere United are now consigned to NZ footballing history.

So the Wellingtonians' triumph, while deserved on the day, presents an interesting conundrum for NZ Football and the Oceania Football Confederation, along the lines of who will join Auckland City in representing New Zealand in the next OFC Champions League competition?

That's for the future, however. For now, Wellington had slightly the better of a cagey opening ten minutes, but it was City who fired the first shot in anger in the thirteenth minute, a sizzling eighteen yard daisy-cutter from Emiliano Tade which fizzed past Zac Jones' right-hand post, moments after the Argentine had been tripped twenty-five yards out from goal. The "Navy Blues" squandered the resulting free-kick.

From the resulting goal-kick, Wellington opened the scoring after Alfie Rogers took out Jack-Henry Sinclair in the penalty area. Referee Matt Conger instantly pointed to the spot, from where Hamish Watson's bid to open the scoring was thwarted by Cameron Brown's fine parried save.

Unfortunately for City's 'keeper, Andy Bevin was first to react to the rebound, and promptly steered the ball into the bottom far corner of the net to give an early edge to the Wellingtonians.

Unperturbed, Auckland set about the task of dragging themselves back into the contest. Dylan Manickum brought the ball out of defence, aided by Yousif Al-Kalisy and Mohamed Awad.

Manickum, on the occasion of his fiftieth appearance for City, clipped the ball across to Tade, whose pass ricocheted off a defender and fell invitingly for Al-Kalisy to let fly. Taylor Schrijvers blocked the effort to safety.

Two minutes later, Tade and Cameron Howieson worked a slick free-kick on the left which saw City's captain's cross blocked. Tade latched onto the rebound and lashed a twenty-yarder goalwards, a strike which Jones spilt. Much to his relief, no one in a navy blue shirt was following in.

City continued to press, Mohamed Awad leading the charge this time, the speedster setting up Tade for a shot which Scott Midgley blocked to safety as Wellington held off a spirited Auckland riposte.

More "Navy Blues" pressure followed. Rogers made a great break out of defence before picking out Awad with a cross-field ball. He took on the Wellington rearguard before bringing Tade into play. His attempt was blocked, but that struck by Al-Kalisy was more of a threat to the scoreboard than the goal defended by Jones.

Auckland had a penalty denied them on the half-hour as Al-Kalisy went down under pressure inside the area, to which Wellington responded by doubling their lead in the 31st minute, punishing a defensive blunder in imperious fashion.

Sam Mason-Smith swooped on the loose ball, then brought Bevin into play. He slipped a pass into the stride of Rory McKeown, whose low cross back into the danger zone was brilliantly converted by Sinclair, the midfielder cleverly back-heeling the ball in off the post to put Wellington on easy street.

Or was it? For two minutes later, Auckland was awarded a penalty when Mario Barcia felled Tade in the box. The Argentine fair hammered the spot-kick past Jones, the shot hit with such ferocity that the ball was rebounding off the netting as the goalkeeper was still diving in an effort to keep the shot out.

Buoyed by this lifeline, City pressed again, earning a free-kick on the right in the 41st minute. With everyone anticipating an aerial delivery, Tade came up with a low ball towards the edge of the D which Manickum, anticipating well, lashed first time through a forest of legs.

Jones did well to see the shot, let alone parry it, but he did so into the stride of Al-Kalisy. Sadly for City, the midfielder steered his shot across the face of goal and agonisingly past the far post.

The reigning champions weren't to be denied sixty seconds later, however, drawing level with a quite outstanding strike. Tade started the move with a pass to Rogers inside his own half. The fullback worked a one-two with Manickum before breaking down the left.

Upon being challenged, he brought Manickum into play again, the striker evading two challenges with quick feet before delivering a low cross to the far

post for Awad. He played the ball back to Al-Kalisy, who slipped it inside to Tade.

City's most prolific marksman split the defence with a sumptuous inch-perfect pass which he couldn't have placed better had he tried. Manickum, darting in on the blindside of the defence, wasted no time in thumping the ball beyond Jones - 2-2, a great note on which to conclude the first half.

Having finished the first half on the front foot, Auckland looked to carry that momentum into the second spell, and Mario Ilich's probing 53rd minute ball allowed Tade to get the better of Schrijvers and unleash a drive which Jones could only parry. Schrijvers was first to the rebound, otherwise it would almost certainly have been 3-2 Auckland.

Instead, it was 3-2 Team Wellington two minutes later. Watson, later confirmed as the winner of the Golden Boot for the season, took on City's defence but was held in check.

The striker then used his physique to fend off all-comers before deftly back-heeling the ball into the stride of Ollie Whyte, who fair slammed the ball into the top corner of Brown's net to give Team Wellington the advantage once again.

They went close to scoring a fourth goal on the hour, Brown diving to his left to keep out a Watson volley following McKeown's cross-field ball. And after Tade had curled an effort over the top from a short corner at the other end of the ground, Whyte and McKeown combined on the left, the latter's cross being misjudged by Adam Mitchell. Brian Kaltak was on hand to spare his team-mate's blushes this time round.

McKeown was in on the left again in the 66th minute, this time engineering space for a cross to the far post. Watson rose above all-comers to head the ball goalwards, but his attempt was blocked to safety.

There was to be no denying the Wellingtonians the fourth goal they were seeking, and in the 69th minute, it materialised. McKeown delivered a free-kick from the right, near the corner flag, to the near post, towards which Bevin was making a darting, unchecked run.

His movement off the ball was spotted by Jordan Vale, who dashed out to cover Bevin's run. As both players and the ball converged on the same spot, the sphere struck the shoulder of the defender and ricocheted into the far corner of the net - 4-2, to the delight of Bevin, who led the celebrations and was later crowned winner of the Steve Sumner Trophy as Grand Final MVP.

Could Auckland go back to the well and come back from two goals down again, as they had in the first half? Alas for the "Navy Blues", the answer was no. Indeed, that fourth goal seemed to snuff out any initiative and imagination from their play, as for the bulk of the last twenty minutes, Wellington contentedly kept their arch-rivals at arm's length.

Indeed, if another goal was going to come, Wellington looked the team more likely to score again, and five minutes from time, they were prevented from doing so by Brown's fine denial, diving to his right to keep out Barcia's twenty-five yarder after McKeown and substitute Joao Moreira - a former City star - had combined on the left.

After Awad worked an opening at the other end which substitute Dre Vollenhoven was unable to exploit, the champions-elect pressed again, substitutes Haris Zeb and Moreira combining on the left. The latter lured Brown out of goal and slipped the ball past him, but much to City's relief, it rolled agonisingly across the face of goal before being cleared.

Brown then dealt with Watson's latest bid to get on the scoresheet, before late drama ensued as City were awarded a stoppage time penalty following Whyte's tired foul on Awad, who was weaving his way into the area when unceremoniously upended.

Cue Tade, scorer of the first half penalty which gave City their lifeline then. There was to be no repeat, however, the striker going for a "Panenka" from twelve yards which completely deceived Jones, only to hit the crossbar. Tade converted the rebound, but the goal didn't count, as the ball has to be touched by another player before the penalty taker can touch it again.

That miss ended any hopes of retaining their title which City still held. Yellow and black ribbons were swiftly tied to the handsome EFA Trophy, and when the final whistle sounded soon afterwards, Team Wellington wasted little time in lifting it aloft, for their last time in their club's and the competition's history.

Auckland: Brown; Vale (Blake, 74), Mitchell (booked, 90), Kaltak, Rogers (booked, 78); Al-Kalisy (Vollenhoven, 70), Ilich (Vincent, 89), Howieson (booked, 51); Awad, Tade, Manickum

Wellington: Jones; Gulley, Schrijvers, Midgley; Sinclair (Zeb, 82 (booked, 86)), Whyte (booked, 90), Bevin, Barcia (booked, 71) (Gatkek, 88), McKeown; Mason-Smith (Moreira, 68), Watson

Referee: Matt Conger

National League