PREVIEW: Eastern Suburbs push to keep alive their Northern League title hopes

By David Larkin

With the Northern League’s top two sides focussed on the Chatham Cup, third-placed Eastern Suburbs get the chance to gain ground with a crucial match against Western Springs.

Suburbs can move within five points of leaders and defending champions Auckland City, while a win for Western Springs will ensure they qualify for the Men’s National League.

Auckland City, Birkenhead United and Suburbs have already clinched their places in the national competition.

Suburbs nailed their qualification last weekend, handing Tauranga another heavy defeat; the 5-1 victory for the East Auckland side was their highest-scoring win of the season.

*Eastern Suburbs celebrate their qualification for the Men’s National League after their win against Tauranga City. Photo credit: Eastern Suburbs FC social media.*

Western Springs’ hopes of staying in the title race faded after dropping points at home to East Coast Bays.

Manurewa have fallen to their lowest table position of the season, having gone 11 games without a win. Their latest misfire resulted in a 4-2 defeat to bottom-of-the-table Melville United.

They now hold the unwanted relegation play-off spot after West Coast Rangers leapfrogged on the table.

The South Auckland side have a tough run of fixtures to end the season, with games against Auckland United, Auckland City and Bay Olympic.

*Hamilton Wanderers (pink strip) put Auckland City goalkeeper Conor Tracy under pressure in last week’s game. Photo: Shane Wenzlick / Phototek.*

Auckland United’s hopes of repeating last season’s feat of National League qualification are in tatters after again failing to beat a top-four side.

They can secure fifth place on the table with a win against the hapless Rewa on Saturday.

Tauranga City have continued their grim run of form in the second half of the season with a seven-match winless streak.

The Bay of Plenty side’s defence has floundered in recent weeks as they have conceded 24 goals across the last seven rounds, the highest by any team in the league during this period.

East Coast Bays have continued their formidable late-season form with a third consecutive draw,

Bays have made a resurgence in recent weeks that has seen them rocket away from the relegation zone, and are now to confirming their place in next season’s competition.

Hamilton Wanderers were unable to keep up their string of draws as they fell to Auckland City last time out.

With tough games coming up against Eastern Suburbs and Western Springs, Wanderers will need all three points when they host Tauranga City this round.

If successful, it will be only Wanderers’ second win in a difficult season.

A late goal from midfielder Sam Burfoot eased West Coast Rangers’ nerves last weekend, giving them a 1-0 win against Bay Olympic.

The win takes them out of the relegation play-off position with three rounds left in the season.

Rangers face Bays on Saturday in a match in which the victor will take a big stride to securing their safety in the league.

Game of the week

Eastern Suburbs hosts Western Springs at Madills Farm on Saturday in a match that is pivotal to the success of both teams’ seasons.

Third-placed Suburbs still have a shot at dethroning Auckland City as they sit five points away from the defending champions, while also having a game in hand.

Springs’ chances of a maiden title are slim after dropping points on the weekend, but a win in this fixture would provide a solid opportunity to snatch a spot on the table above either Birkenhead or Suburbs.

Suburbs are in excellent form coming into this match with five wins from their last five matches and only two goals conceded in that period.

These two sides couldn’t be separated in the reverse fixture this season, a 1-1 draw at Seddon Fields with both teams top scorers (Spring’s Emiliano Tade and Suburb’s Jacob Mechell) slotting second half goals for their sides.

One of Sean Leadley’s goals against Manurewa has been judged to be NZ Football’s Goal of the Week.

Player to watch

Melville United’s Sean Leadley led his side to an important victory against Rewa last week — a stunning hattrick from the young midfielder ended up being the difference as the Hamilton side ended their five-match losing streak.

Leadley (21) played for the Wellington Phoenix youth side before joining Melville and has ended up back at the Hamilton club after spells at Bay Olympic and Manurewa.

Leadley’s recent return means he’s only made seven appearances for his side this season. Despite this, the central midfielder is now his club’s top scorer for the season with four goals.

This stat demonstrates the scoring issues faced by the relegation-threatened side who are managing an average of only 1.05 goals per game, the lowest in the league.

With only three games left to gain the necessary points for survival, Melville will increasingly count on players like Leadley to find the back of the net and give their fans something to cheer.

Bold prediction

I predict Eastern Suburbs will beat Western Springs in the crucial top-four clash at Madills Farm on Saturday.

I’ll also predict that East Coast Bays can continue their strong form with a win over West Coast Rangers at Bay City Park.

Additionally, I’ll pick bottom-of-the-table Hamilton Wanderers to record their second win of the season when they play Tauranga City.

Last round, I predicted Suburbs and Olympic would win and Bays would get at least a point against Springs. Suburbs won 5-1 against Tauranga, and Bays drew 2-2 against Springs. Bay Olympic lost 1-0 to West Coast Rangers.

Golden Boot

18 — Jake Mechell (Eastern Suburbs)
14 — Emiliano Tade (Western Springs)
13 — Monty Patterson (Birkenhead United)
12 — Jonty Bidois (Tauranga City)
11 — Eber Ramirez (Manurewa)
10 — Sam Philip (Birkenhead United)
9 — Allan Pearce (West Coast Rangers), Liam Gillion (Auckland City), Dawson Straffon (West Coast Rangers, now Western Springs)
8 — Ryan de Vries (Auckland City), Ronaldo Munoz (Bay Olympic, now Hamilton Wanderers), Liam Molloy (Tauranga City)
7 — Corban Piper (Birkenhead United), Josh Tollervey (Auckland United, now Miramar Rangers), Reid Drake (Western Springs), Derek Tieku (Hamilton Wanderers, now Auckland City), Malcolm Young (East Coast Bays), Jerson Lagos Giraldo (Manurewa, now Auckland City), Sean Leadley (Manurewa, now Melville United)
6 — Ibrahim Nadir (Bay Olympic), Kofi Dwamena (West Coast Rangers), Aston Hurd (Hamilton Wanderers)
5 — Regont Murati (Auckland City), Daniel Atkinson (Auckland United)