Programme Round 5 CONTENTS Lotto NRFL 2015 3 Lotto NRFL Premier Preview 4 Lotto NRFL Women’s Premier Preview 5 Lotto NRFL Division 1 Preview 6 Lotto NRFL Division 2 Preview 7 Lotto NRFL Premier Squad Lists 8 Lotto NRFL Women’s Premier Squad Lists 10 Lotto NRFL Division 1 Squad Lists 12 Lotto NRFL Division 2 Squad Lists 14 Lotto NRFL Premier Tables 16 Lotto NRFL Division Tables 17 Lotto NRFL Premier Golden Boot 18 Lotto NRFL Division Golden Boot 19 Lotto NRFL 2015 Welcome There was plenty of action in Round 5 of the Lotto NRFL last weekend. The top of the Premier table is looking congested with Birkenhead United, Glenfield Rovers and Hamilton Wanderers all sitting on ten points. Three Kings United are stamping their authority in the Women’s Premier, however Claudelands Rovers, Forrest Hill Milford and Western Springs are all only one win away from the top spot. Newly promoted to Lotto NRFL Division One, Tauranga City United have proven they are more than competitive, their position at the top of the table cemented on Sunday with a 5-0 win over Waiuku. Ellerslie AFC sit in second place but have Forrest Hill Milford and Hibiscus Coast hot on their heels. Whangarei-based side North Force sit at the top of Lotto NRFL Division Two, with their win over Papatoetoe on Sunday giving them four from four wins with only Manukau City close behind, having notched up three wins and a draw. In the programme this week we preview Round 5 of each of the divisions and feature photos from Phototek of North Shore United’s 3-1 win over Mangere United in Division 1 and Western Springs’ 1-0 win over Eastern Suburbs in the Women’s Premier. Our new Lotto NRFL-dedicated social media was running red hot last weekend and we’re looking forward to more coverage this weekend - remember to tag us @LottoNRFL with your updates from the sideline this weekend! Good luck for your game! All photos by Phototek Lotto NRFL Gallery available at: www.phototek.co.nz/aff_picture_gallery.html Social @LottoNRFL Lotto NRFL Governing Federations Lotto NRFL Premier Preview Round 5 Central United vs Glenfield Rovers Croatian Cultural Club | Friday 17 April | Kick-off: 7.45pm | Referee: Cory Mills, Assistant Referees: Mazhar Batoor, Torres Chang vs Both sides secured significant victories on the road last weekend, Central claiming a 2-1 win at East Coast Bays while Glenfield accounted for Bay Olympic 3-1. Central’s result was a timely confidence boost as they had been thumped 6-0 by Hamilton in their previous outing and will be out to prove that crushing defeat was just a blip. Glenfield are the third-top scorers but those strikes have been shared around with no player finding the net more than twice. Waitakere City FC vs Three Kings United Fred Taylor Park | Satuday 18 April | Kick-off: 2.45pm | Referee: Mark Owens, Assistant Referees: Ravinesh Kumar, Eric Yu vs Waitakere’s solid start to the season has suffered a major setback with an 8-2 hammering at Birkenhead and the main task for coach Colin Tuaa will be restoring his players’ confidence levels. The visit of Three Kings is perhaps not ideal in that regard as they are coming off putting six goals past Melville. Allan Pearce and Dylan Manickum are both in good form after netting doubles. Melville United vs Eastern Suburbs Gower Park | Saturday 18 April | Kick-off: 2.45pm | Referee: Mark Fisher, Assistant Referees: Andy Holdsworth, Sean Coon vs These camps will be in contrasting spirits after earning opposite results last time out, Suburbs sweeping Western Springs aside 3-1 in mid-week while Melville fell to a 6-1 humbling at the hands of Three Kings. That was the latest blow in Melville’s winless start and they will be desperate to finally get some points on the board here. The main threat to that appears to be Nathaniel Bowen, who is scoring at a rate of a goal per game for Suburbs. Birkenhead United vs Bay Olympic Shepherds Park | Saturday 18 April | Kick-off: 2.45pm | Referee: Glen Lochrie, Assistant Referees: Ravi Prasad, Dimitry Sabitov vs The Bay have proved hard to break down so far but have not won since the opening day and that was against bottom-placed Melville. Another three-pointer would therefore be most welcome but a trip to last year’s runners-up does not appear to offer great promise of that, especially after Birkenhead’s eight-goal haul against Waitakere. Remarkably, no one scored more than once in that win so Bay Olympic will have to be wary that Birkenhead’s goal threat could come from all over the park. Onehunga Sports vs Hamilton Wanderers Waikaraka Park | Saturday 18 April | Kick-off: 2.45pm | Referee: Steven Black, vs Assistant Referees: Steve Merriman, Caleb Moffatt Wanderers have set the early benchmark, charging out of the blocks with three wins and scoring 20 goals in the process, comfortably the best attacking record in the league. Mark Cossey’s men have scored at least three goals in every match so far – including the only encounter they have failed to win – so Sports have every reason to approach this fixture with trepidation. Jama Boss and Federico Marquez have nine goals between them for Wanderers. Western Springs vs East Coast Bays Seddon Fields | Saturday 18 April | Kick-off: 5pm | Referee: Carl Watkins, vs Assistant Referees: Rajesh Kumar, Greg Woo Springs’ promising start to their Premier League adventure has hit a significant stumbling block in recent weeks with a pair of convincing losses, 7-1 to Hamilton and 3-1 to Eastern Suburbs. Prior to that, Neil Emblen’s charges appeared a difficult side to get the better of after drawing their first two matches. He will want to see a return to that stubborn resistance as Springs look to chase their first win against an East Coast Bays outfit struggling for points themselves. 4 | Programme 2015 50 Years of Local Pride Lotto NRFL Women’s Premier Preview Round 5 Three Kings United vs Claudelands Rovers Keith Hay Park | Sunday 19 April | Kick-off: 1pm | Referee: Johanna O’Connor, Assistant Referees: Rhys Kimber, John Kimber vs There are no prizes for guessing which match deserves top billing in the Women’s Premier as it can only be this top-of-the-table clash at Keith Hay Park. Three Kings have wound the clock back to their title-winning days with a perfect start to the campaign while Claudelands are one of three sides breathing down their necks. These teams are dominating the golden boot race but also have the league’s meanest defences so it is difficult to predict what sort of game will unfold. Lynn Avon United vs Eastern Suburbs Ken Maunder Park | Sunday 19 April | Kick-off: 1pm | Referee: Chris Casey, vs Assistant Referees: Dave Doidge, John Keen These sides have both started slowly but were always likely to after going through wholesale changes of personnel in the off-season. The opening weeks have now given the new-look squads time to gel so an improvement in results will be expected over the coming fixtures. Suburbs’ position on the table would be far healthier if they hadn’t lost the points from their victory over Papatoetoe so they will be favoured to claim their second win here.. Glenfield Rovers vs Fencibles United vs McFetridge Park | Sunday 19 April | Kick-off: 1pm | Referee: Wendy McNeely, Assistant Referees: Kieran Withers, Jordan Morrow Fencibles finally got the winless monkey off their back with a 1-0 triumph over Papatoetoe last week and coach Angela Wallbank will be looking to use that as a launchpad for a run of good results. It will be tough against a talent-packed Glenfield squad though, particularly as the hosts will be keen to get back on track after losing to local rivals Forrest Hill. Papatoetoe AFC vs Norwest United vs Murdoch Park | Sunday 19 April | Kick-off: 1pm | Referee: Neil Tobin, Assistant Referees: Allan Tobin, Greg Woo Norwest appeared out of their depth on the opening day in being despatched 11-0 by Claudelands but went on to find their feet with a win and a draw. Coach Chris Acott will therefore be frustrated to have gone backwards with last week’s double-digits loss to Three Kings and will want a positive reaction from his players in a match they are more than capable of taking something from. vs Western Springs vs Forrest Hill Milford AFC Seddon Fields | Sunday 19 April | Kick-off: 1pm | Referee: James Ashford, Assistant Referees: Jessie Dale, Charles Nothnagel Springs’ previous meeting with a northern club ended in their only loss so far – a 3-2 defeat by Glenfield – and coach Rico Wilson will be hoping that doesn’t turn into a pattern as the champions come to Seddon Fields. Springs lost both games to Forrest Hill by five-goal margins last season so have a score to settle but few of the current squad were involved in those encounters. The visitors possess the league’s most in-form scorer in eight-goal Tayla O’Brien. | 5 Lotto NRFL Division 1 Preview Round 5 Mt Albert Ponsonby vs North Shore United Anderson Park | Friday 17 April | Kick-off: 7pm | Referee: Rajesh Kumar, Assistant Referees: Khalid El Gana, John Schipper vs Mt Albert’s season went from bad to worse last weekend with a 10-0 loss to Hibiscus Coast. Such a heavy defeat does not occur often at this level but there were extenuating circumstances as Mt Albert were reduced to nine men after the dismissals of goalkeeper Neil Dayal and Barry Donachie.