Match Week 13 of the ISPS Handa Premiership takes place this weekend, check out what’s in store with the official preview.

Southern United vs Hamilton Wanderers 
Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin
Saturday 19 January, 2pm
#ISPSHandaPrem #SUvHW

Referee: C Mills
Assistant Referees: A Verolino, C Marsh
Fourth Official: C Berg

Squads

Southern United: 1. Liam Little (GK), 2. Conor O’Keeffe, 3. Sam Pickering, 4. Stephen Last, 5. Erik Panzer, 6. Danny Ledwith, 7. Rory Findlay, 8. Tony Whitehead, 9. Garbhan Coughlan, 10. Abdulla Al-Kalisy, 11. Ben Deeley, 12. Adam Hewson, 13. Jared Grove, 14. Benjamin Wade, 16. Stewart Catto (GK), 18. Markus Fjortoft
Coach: Paul O’Reilly

Hamilton Wanderers: 23. Jonathan Mannes (GK), 2. James Hoyle, 3. Joe Nottage, 5. Stafford Dowling, 6. Agustin Contratti, 8. Brad Whitworth, 10. Rhys Ruka, 11. Jordan Shaw, 13. Tommy Semmy, 14. Paul Clout, 15. Joseph Terry, 17. Xavier Pratt, 18. Steffano Riley, 20. Derek Tieku
Coach: Ricki Herbert

Lowdown

Both these sides will be looking to bounce back after disappointing outcomes in the previous week but Hamilton Wanderers are in particular need of the points as they have now dropped out of the all-important top four. Their loss to Tasman United was a major upset and coach Ricki Herbert will be hoping the confidence of his charges hasn’t taken an untimely knock as the play-off push enters the home straight. Southern’s 2-1 defeat away at champions Auckland City appears honourable enough but they were leading in that game and suffered great misfortune – Auckland’s scoring came from an own goal and a heavy deflection – so will feel they should have taken something back to Dunedin.

Eastern Suburbs vs Canterbury United Dragons
Riverhills Park, Auckland
Saturday 19 January, 4pm
#ISPSHandaPrem #ESvCU

Referee: CK Kawana-Waugh
Assistant Referees: R Al Rabea, B Norman
Fourth Official: C Trent

Squads

Eastern Suburbs: 1. Andrew Withers (GK), 3. Kelvin Kalua, 6. Harry Moss-Edge, 7. Tim Payne, 8. Owen Parker-Price, 9. Callum McCowatt, 10. Andre de Jong, 11. Mohamed Awad, 14. Elijah Just, 15. Dalton Wilkins, 16. Dominic Wooldridge, 17. Michael Built, 18. Kingsley Sinclair, 21. Justin Biega (GK), 23. Campbell Strong, 24. Jack Duncan
Coach: Danny Hay

Canterbury United Dragons: 1. Edward Ashton (GK), 3. Aaron Spain, 5. Tom Schwarz, 6. Gary Ogilvie, 7. George King, 8. Luke Tongue, 9. Maksym Kowal, 10. Adam Thurston, 12. Daniel McHenery, 15. Andreas Wilson, 16. Cory Mitchell, 17. Stephen Hoyle, 19. Haris Zeb, 20. Jacob Richards, 21. Seth Clark, 22. Conor Tracey (GK)
Coach: Willy Gerdsen

Lowdown

Confidence will be high all-round here as both sides are coming off wins and big ones at that, Suburbs putting four past the Phoenix while Canterbury struck five against Hawke’s Bay. Those results mean Suburbs remain the closest challengers to leaders Auckland City while Canterbury have now leap-frogged Team Wellington into third place. A statement win against one of the top sides in the country would send out a message that Canterbury don’t intend for their stay in the play-off spots to be fleeting but Suburbs will also need all three points if they have any desire to pip Auckland to the minor premiership. Neither side is familiar with losing after being beaten on only two occasions each.

Quotes

Danny Hay (Eastern Suburbs coach): “We’ve played well over the last few games and are really pleased with the performances. But we know the next month is going to be a real challenge with some of the games we’ve got coming up, we’ll be up against a lot of the teams that are jostling for top four positions and the first one is Canterbury. They’ve gone the last six games unbeaten and have a very strong squad so we know it’s going to be a really difficult challenge. We played them in pre-season and in the first round and both games were extremely tough so we’re expecting this to be no different.”

Waitakere United vs Wellington Phoenix Reserves
McLennan Park, Auckland
Sunday 20 January, 2pm
#ISPSHandaPrem #WUvWP

Referee: AM Keighley
Assistant Referees: C Tseng, B Day
Fourth Official: M Batoor

Squads

Waitakere United: 1. Silvio Rodic (GK), 3. Niko Steinmetz, 5. Matt Wood, 7. Oscar Browne, 8. Sam Burfoot, 9. Alex Connor-McClean, 11. Sanni Issa, 13. Dane Schnell, 15. Ignacio Machuca Maturena, 16. Reilly O’Meagher, 18. Lachlan McIsaac, 20. Oliver Bassett, 21. Andrew Abba, 22. Nick Draper (GK), 23. Jake Mechell
Coach: Chris Milicich

Wellington Phoenix Reserves: 1. Zac Jones (GK), 2. Kurtis Mogg, 4. Boyd Curry, 5. Ronan Wynne, 6. Gianni Stensness, 7. Benjamin Waine, 9. Maximilian Batchelor, 10. Willem Ebbinge, 11. Sam Sutton, 13. Noah Tipene-Clegg, 14. Oskar van Hattum, 15. Stephen Sprowson, 16. Kieran Richards, 18. Henry Hamilton, 21. Owen Smith, 31. Caleb Emmens
Coach: Paul Temple

Lowdown

After a disappointing start to the season results-wise, Waitakere pulled off one of the upsets of the campaign last weekend with a 2-1 win at Team Wellington. While that shocked most onlookers, it came as no surprise to coach Chris Milicich, who felt that performance had been coming for a while. It remains to be seen whether the former heavyweights can use that confidence-boosting win as the launch pad for an improved set of results. But they certainly have a good chance of at least going back-to-back against a Phoenix side that has matched most of their opponents and enjoyed plenty of possession but is still to pick up a point.

Tasman United vs Team Wellington
Lansdowne Park, Blenheim
Sunday 20 January, 2pm
#ISPSHandaPrem #TUvTW

Referee: B O’Connell
Assistant Referees: R Malcolm, S Reilly
Fourth Official: N Burnett

Squads

Tasman United: 20. Nick Stanton (GK), 2. Sam Ayers, 4. Thomas Hickey, 5. Fox Slotemaker, 7. Corey Larsen, 8. Matt Tod-Smith, 10. Kiernan Hughes-Mason, 11. Alex Ridsdale, 14. Ryan Worrall, 15. Max Winterton, 19. Chester Gaskin, 21. Jordan Yong, 23. Keegan Smith (GK), 24. Liam MacDevitt, 25. Jake Williams, 26. Joe Ellul
Coach: Andy Hedge

Team Wellington: 1. Scott Basalaj (GK), 2. Justin Gulley, 3. Scott Hilliar, 4. Mario Ilich, 5. Liam Wood, 6. Taylor Schrijvers, 7. Eric Molloy, 11. Mario Barcia, 12. Andrew Bevin, 14. Jack-Henry Sinclair, 16. Angus Kilkolly, 17. Alex Palezevic, 18. Aaron Clapham, 19. Ross Allen, 22. Marcel Kampman (GK)
Coach: Jose Figueira

Lowdown

These sides were on opposite ends of shock results last weekend, Team Wellington being stunned at home by Waitakere while Tasman picked up just their second win of the campaign at the expense of play-off-chasing Hamilton. Wellington have now dropped down to fourth and their title prospects would be seriously threatened by another loss so this has now become a crucial game for the men from the capital. The most pleasing aspect of Tasman’s long-awaited win for coach Andy Hedge would have been the scoring of three goals as finding the net has been a real issue for the South Islanders, who had scored three times in a game on only one previous occasion.

Quotes

Jose Figueira (Team Wellington coach): “There has been an extra level of focus and intensity this week with the players ready to face the next challenge against Tasman head on. Tasman are a new side this season under Andy Hedge, a team that has been rebuilding during the season and continuing to add a blend of experienced foreign players alongside young exciting kiwi players. This mix has proved fruitful for them of late, as they come off the back of a very narrow loss against Canterbury and an impressive win against Hamilton, both games away.”

Hawke’s Bay United vs Auckland City
Bluewater Stadium, Napier
Sunday 20 January, 4.35pm
#ISPSHandaPrem #HBvAC
Live on SKY Sport

Referee: A Wilson
Assistant Referees: M Rule, G Sheehan
Fourth Official: A Riley

Squads

Hawke’s Bay United: 1. Mackenzie Waite (GK), 3. Liam Schofield, 4. Cameron Lindsay, 5. James Marsh, 7. Cory Chettleburgh, 9. Sam Mason-Smith, 10. Sho Goto, 11. Maxime Oliveri, 12. Ben Lack, 14. Birhanu Taye, 16. Gavin Hoy, 19. Luis Toomey, 20. Josh Murphy, 22. Karan Mandair, 23. Jorge Akers, 26. Alexander Britton (GK)
Coach: Brett Angell

Auckland City: 1. Enaut Zubikarai (GK), 4. Mario Bilen, 6. Brian Kaltak, 7. Cameron Howieson, 8. Albert Riera, 10. Micah Lea’alafa, 11. Fabrizio Tavano, 12. Dylan Manickum, 14. Jordan Vale, 15. Daniel Morgan, 16. Yousif Ali, 17. Reid Drake, 18. Ruben Parker (GK), 19. David Browne, 21. Maro Bonsu-Maro, 23. Alfie Rogers
Coach: Ramon Tribulietx

Lowdown

Hawke’s Bay are still in reach of the play-off places but can’t afford for the six-point gap to get much bigger if they have any hope of sneaking in, especially as fourth-placed Wellington have a game in hand. The hosts therefore need to find a way to become the first team to take anything from defending champions Auckland City, who have now strung together ten straight victories. The Bay have been hard to handle going forward with the nine goals of golden boot leader Sam Mason-Smith helping them match the scoring feats of most of the top four. But their Achilles heel so far has been at the other end of the park, where their record is the second worst in the league.

Quotes

Ramon Tribulietx (Auckland City coach): “Hawke's Bay have been very competitive this year and they’ve slightly changed their approach but they have a good team with very good players. We played them in the first round and they are a difficult team who got a draw with Team Wellington. We understand we’re in their conditions and if they want to get close to the play-offs they’ll provide a very tough challenge.”

Article added: Friday 18 January 2019