The opening round of the Men’s National League provided fans with a few surprises as teams fielded players transferred into their squads ahead of the competition.
Competition regulations allow clubs to sign up to three players from clubs that had failed to qualify for the National League’s championship phase.
Interesting moves included:
- East Coast Bays striker Malcolm Young turned out for Wellington’s Western Suburbs.
- Miramar Rangers’ Sebastian Barton-Ginger was also in the first round squad for Western Suburbs.
- Daniel Bunch and Jodie Nicol, who both scored 16 goals for Lotto NRFL Men’s Championship winners Fencibles United, have signed with National League clubs. Bunch is with Birkenhead United, while Nicol is at Eastern Suburbs.
- David Yoo, who scored 10 goals for Christchurch United in the Southern League, is in the Coastal Spirit squad.
One of the biggest surprises in Round 1 was the appearance of first-team striker David Ball in the Wellington Phoenix Reserves line-up.
Ball (34) joined the club’s young players for an hour of game time as he prepares for the upcoming A-League season.
Also in the side was new Phoenix signing Corban Piper (from Birkenhead United) who played a full 90 minutes.
Here are the squads from Round 1:
Auckland City
Nathan Garrow, Mario Ilich, Adam Mitchell, Marco Lorenz, Gerard Garriga, Angus Kilkolly, Dylan Manickum, Ryan De Vries, Jerson Lagos, Michael Den Heijer, Stipe Ukich, Areya Prasad, Kentaro Ozaki, Joe Lee, Adam Bell, Tong Zhou.
Birkenhead United
Marcus Nevin, Everton O’Leary, Dino Botica, Andrew Cromb, Leon Van Den Hoven, Luke Jorgensen, Haris Zeb, Daniel Bunch, Jaylen Rodwell, Joby Reid, Curtis Hughes, Dylan Connolly, Troy Putt, George Brown, Ardri McArthur, James Taylor.
Cashmere Technical
Danny Knight, Alex Ballard, Aidan Barbour-Ryan, Garbhan Coughlan, Matt Tod-Smith, Lyle Matthysen, Declan Tyndall, Benjamin Lapslie, Yuya Taguchi, Sam Richards, Finn Caughey, Zander Edwards, Lachie McIsaac, James Brittain.
Coastal Spirit
Ellis Hare-Reid, Alex Meaclem, Joe Hoole, Mason Stearn, Matthew Bergin, Alejandro Steinwascher, Weston Bell, Riley Grover, David Yoo, Daniel Maclennan, Daniel Boys, Jake Hale, Jack Mitchell, Liam Cotter, Kenshin Hayashi, Satsumi Hirano.
Eastern Suburbs
Vadym Patkevych, Kelvin Kalua, Aaryan Raj, Kodie Nicol, Joshua Galletly, Campbell Strong, Ralph Rutherford, Jake Mechell, James Mitchell, Matthew D’hotman, Luke Mitchell, Jackson Jarvie, Thomas Golding, Daniel Atkinson, Dejaun Naidoo, Dylan Laing-McConnell.
Napier City Rovers
William Tonning, Adam Hewson, Ethan Richards, Jack Albertini, Matthew Jones, Liam Schofield, Cameron Emerson, Kieran Richards, James Hoyle, Oscar Faulds, Stephen Hoyle, George Andrew, Sam Lack, Fergus Neil, Kees Mackirdy, Harry Mason.
Wellington Olympic
Scott Basalaj, Hamish Watson, Adam Supyk, Justin Gulley, Joseph Hopper, Gianni Bouzoukis, Edward Wilkinson, Jack-Henry Sinclair, Ben Mata, Dan McKay, Aaron O’Driscoll, Tor Davenport Petersen, Jonty Roubos, Kaelin Nguyen, Gavin Hoy, William Vincent.
Wellington Phoenix Reserves
Dublin Boon. Daniel Makowem, Dylan Gardiner, Fergus Gillion, Luke Supyk, David Ball, Lewis Partridge, Nathan Walker, Gabriel Sloane-Rodrigues, Corban Piper, Lachlan Candy, Joseph Cornille, Ryan Watson, Luke Flowerdew, Nicholas Murphy, Hayden Thomas.
Western Springs
Oscar Mason, Patrick Tobin, Aidan Carey, Kurtis Mogg, Jackson Manuel, Wan Gatkek, Oscar Browne, Reid Drake, Benjamin Wallace, Matt Ellis, Riley Manuel, Regan Diver, Matthew Thomas, Oscar Ramsay, Max Beullens, Caspar McGavin.
Western Suburbs
Quillan Roberts, Thomas Scott, Cameron Brown, Alifeleti Peini, Bruce Izumi, Sebastian Barton-Ginger, Noah Tipene-Clegg, Cameron Mackenzie, Connor Wilson, Finn Diamond, Lucas Meek, Jamie Wildash-Chan, Harry Fautley, Flynn Cave, Lewis Miller, Malcolm Young.
Results from Round 1
Games played on Saturday September 28, 2024
Wellington Phoenix Reserves 0
Eastern Suburbs 2 (Tom Golding 81′, Dejaun Naidoo 90′)
Coastal Spirit 0
Wellington Olympic 0
Games played on Sunday September 29, 2024
Western Suburbs 0
Cashmere Technical 4 (Aidan Barbour-Ryan 10′, Yuya Taguchi 55′, Lyle Matthysen 64′, Garbhan Coughlan 66′)
READ MORE: Technical’s Matt Tod-Smith hungry for success in National League campaign >>>>
Auckland City 3 (Angus Kilkolly 44′, Ryan De Vries 53′, Stipe Ukich 60′)
Birkenhead United 1 (Ardi McArthur 57′)
Napier City Rovers 4 (Oscar Faulds 8′, Kieran Richards 16′, Adam Hewson 27′, 75′)
Western Springs 0
PREVIEW: Star striker back at Napier City Rovers for National League campaign >>>>
This story was first published on September 30, 2024.
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