PREVIEW: Five rounds left and Northern League title looks set to be cliffhanger

By David Larkin

Northern League rivals Birkenhead United and Auckland City play twice in the next five days as their race for the title looks set to go to the wire.

With five games left, there’s little room for slip-ups, and the table leaders go head-to-head next Wednesday.

Only the slimmest goal differential separates the clubs on the table, with Birkenhead scraping the advantage with a 3-1 midweek win against Bay Olympic.

If both the leading pair stumble, it will give hope to their nearest rivals.

Third-placed Western Springs maintained the four-point gap to the leaders last weekend by dispatching a Tauranga City side that has struggled for recent form.

Fourth-placed Eastern Suburbs — who have a game in hand on their rivals — will take heart going into their last six matches, having gained ground with wins over both Birkenhead and Auckland City in recent matches.

Suburbs host West Coast Rangers at Madills Farm on Saturday with both teams fighting for vital points for their respective campaigns. Rangers are 10th on the ladder and want to escape the relegation play-off position they now found themselves in.

Rangers can consider themselves unlucky not to pick up points in their last two matches, foiled by a habit of conceding late goals.

The previous match between these Suburbs and Rangers was also a close affair, with Suburbs claiming a 1-0 win after a late goal from right-back Kelvin Kalua.

*West Coast Rangers … expected to have a closely-fought game with Eastern Suburbs. Photo: Shane Wenzlick / Phototek.*

At the other end of the table Hamilton Wanderers have climbed ahead of Melville into 11th place after a fourth consecutive draw, their match finishing 2-2 against East Coast Bays last Saturday.

They’ll again be bitterly disappointed to not have taken more points as they have only five matches left to stage a resurgence, to overcome the six-point gap to safety.

Wanderer’s remaining fixtures will prove difficult, with away games at the grounds of title contenders Birkenhead and Auckland City, in the next two weeks. It will take a monumental effort for them to stay up.

They face Birkenhead on Saturday.

Auckland United snuck another 1-0 win on the weekend when they defeated Melville United at home.

They’ll be setting their sights on the top four.

The Central Auckland side are four points adrift from the top four, and will need to win at Bays this weekend to fuel their National League aspirations.

Manurewa host Tauranga on Saturday in a match that could end either team’s unwanted winless streak.

Tauranga have plummeted down the table after five successive defeats, and will need to improve their defence if they are to reclaim winning form. They’ve conceded four or more goals in four of their last five matches.

Manurewa have gone eight matches without a win and were unceremoniously knocked out of the Chatham Cup by Central League champions Wellington Olympic who beat them 4-0.

Rewa are now in danger of ending up in the relegation play-off spot as they are tied on points with 10th-placed Rangers.

Melville United are now bottom of the table.

It’s been a case of fine margins for the Waikato side, as their last three matches were all one-goal defeats.

They travel to play third-placed Springs on Saturday, having been comprehensively beaten 4-1 in the reverse fixture earlier this season.

Bay Olympic will be quietly confident heading into their clash against Auckland City on Saturday, as they have made a turnaround recently with only one loss in their last five, and having also handed City one of their only two defeats this season in the reverse fixture between these sides.

*Birkenhead United’s Luke Jorgensen … will face Auckland City in a crucial Northern League game next Wednesday, as well as their upcoming Chatham Cup semi-final. Photo: Shane Wenzlick / Phototek.*

Game of the week

Birkenhead United host Auckland City at Shepherds Park next Wednesday night in what could be the title decider. Both teams are currently tied on points and separated on goal difference at the top of the table.

City have struggled somewhat of late, recording draws against both Birkenhead and Springs before avoiding a third consecutive draw when a 94th minute goal from defender Regont Murati rescued the extra two points against West Coast Rangers.

Both teams progressed to the semi-finals of the Chatham Cup — in which they’ll meet — after impressive away wins last weekend.

Birkenhead had a successful trip to Napier, beating Central League title hopefuls Napier City Rovers, while City easily beat Otago University in Dunedin.

The reverse fixture between these two top sides finished all square at 2-2 only a month ago, as City managed to overturn a two-goal half-time deficit, to clinch what could be an important point in their quest to claim a fourth consecutive Northern League title.

Birkenhead will be wary of the effect fixture congestion can have on their players as this will be their fourth match in two weeks.

Player to watch

Western Spring striker Dawson Straffon’s hat-trick against Tauranga City last week proved to be the difference. His side came away with a 4-1 victory, which helped keep his club’s title aspirations alive.

It was his third start for the club after transferring from West Coast Rangers ahead of the June 30 transfer deadline.

For Straffon, it’s a return to Seddon Fields where he was Western Springs’ first team Player of the Year, Players’ Player of the Year and the Supporters’ Male Player of the Year in 2022.

He headed to the United Kingdom but returned to join West Coast Rangers.

Straffon (20) has six goals for the season and could certainly increase that tally if given the opportunity.

With only five matches left to play, the young striker looks set to make his presence felt for the rest of the season.

Bold prediction

I predict Eastern Suburbs and Western Springs will beat West Coast Rangers and Melville, respectively.

I’ll also predict ‘Rewa will break their eight-game winless run and claim victory over Tauranga City when they play them at War Memorial Park on Saturday.

Last round, I predicted Western Springs, Auckland United and Birkenhead United would all win. Springs won 4-1 against Tauranga, United won 1-0 against Melville and Birkenhead won 3-1 against Olympic.

Golden Boot

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