Football

Two plays four here with plenty on the line for both teams. Auckland FC are gunning for the Premiers Plate, while the Victory, despite being in the top six, aren’t guaranteed a playoff spot. Auckland, fresh off their 1-1 draw with Adelaide, will still have some PTSD from last time the Melbourne side visited… yes, that semi-final second leg… The Black Knights scraped a point last week, but it was Melbourne who couldn’t capitalise on the opportunity, going down 1-0 at home to the Nix. Their first loss since February. Auckland FC will be keen to not only rewrite their…

Auckland dropped points back before the International Break against Macarthur, and they need to bounce back on the road this week if they want to stay in the hunt at the top of the ladder. However, they’ll be without one of the stars in Francis De Vries, who looks like he will be sidelined for six weeks after suffering an injury against Finland. On a more positive note for Auckland, their goal scorers have stayed in fine form after Jesse Randall found the back of the net against Chile. Adelaide United sit two spots below Auckland in fourth spot and…

Sam Cosgrove was again in the action early last weekend for Auckland FC, and this time he got his double scoring his second of the game in the 52nd minute. In a huge game for Auckland, they took all three points away from Newcastle to move within one point at the top of the ladder. This weekend, back at home, they host Macarthur, who are coming off three heavy defeats and only have two wins in 2026. When these sides met in January, it ended 1-1, but now we’re into the business end of the season, and Cosgrove’s boot heating…

As a Nix fan, before facing Adelaide last week, you’d be happy with a point. But after watching that game, you probably felt they deserved more, so it’s hard to tell whether that’s a good or bad result for them. They’re in for a massive few weeks if they want to keep their season alive, and a key catalyst to it will be the young man up top, Corbin Piper. Piper finds himself in very good goalscoring positions, but as a defender turned forward, he lacks finishing. With more time in the saddle, he’s gotten better, and I think he…

After a routine kick around down in Wellington last week, Auckland FC are back in business in front of home fans on Saturday. AFC are still four points behind Newcastle at the top, but they host Melbourne City, who sit 10 points below them in 8th. The Black Knights haven’t had it all their own way against City. A draw away, a win at home and a loss away earlier in January this year. In fact, that’s the last game in the A-League Melbourne City won. I think at even money, the smart play here is to back Auckland FC…

The third and final derby of the year for the two Kiwi teams kicks off at 5pm Saturday night at the Cake Tin. The Nix are 0-5 against Auckland FC, and I get the feeling Chiefy’s side just doesn’t know how to get over the speed bump that is Auckland FC. Both sides are coming off draws, Wellington with Western Sydney and Auckland with Macarthur. If the sweep and continued domination over Wellington wasn’t enough motivation for the Black Knights, they’ve also been dethroned at the top of the table. Wellington hasn’t seen a win in their last four games,…