New Zealand teams dominate A-League early in season

Analysis – I always thought that the letter “A” in the A-League stood for Australia. But that now means Aotearoa as New Zealand dominates the early stages of the Trans-Tasman domestic league.

Following their respective wins over Macarthur and Melbourne Victory over the weekend, Auckland and Wellington Phoenix are currently first and second in the Men’s A League.

It was the perfect counterpoint to the failure of the Unite Round which, with the exception of the Sydney Derby, failed to capture the imagination of fans in the Harbor City. What better way to prove this than to have two in-form league teams not even play in the same country, let alone in NSW, where there are five representatives in the competition.

Even Phoenix topping the table is a relatively rare occurrence, and thanks to Auckland’s remarkable start to life as a football organization, our two professional clubs now lead the way ahead of their Australian rivals.

It’s certainly a good time to be a football fan in New Zealand, and what’s even more interesting is how under-reliant both teams have been on Australia to get to this point.

Of the two 22 players who made up the Kiwis’ starting XI at the weekend, only three Australians made it, neither of whom are currently in the Socceroos squad. Even the benches were empty: two for Phoenix and one for Oakland.

For Wellington it is testament to their impressive youth system, with five recent recruits coming into play. Players such as Alex Rufer, Costa Barbarouses and Marco Rojas also began their professional careers with the Knicks, albeit in a different era.

For Auckland, it demonstrates how they have learned from the mistakes of previous football incarnations in the city. The New Zealand Knights have been criticized for being overly reliant on foreign talent and failing to recognize what is happening at home. There is no such problem for Auckland, with the likes of Francis de Vries, Liam Gillion and Cam Howieson key players.

And this applies not only to the club level. On the men’s international scene these days, you’d rather be an All Whites fan than a Socceroo fan.

New Zealand, led by the region’s top player Chris Wood, are racing towards their first World Cup appearance since 2010 and are now available in Oceania. Meanwhile Australia, which left the confederation in 2005, finds the gradual rise in standards in Asia, where they now play their qualifiers, difficult to cope with.

A disappointing draw with Bahrain last time out, as well as draws against Indonesia and Saudi Arabia, as well as defeat to Bahrain in September, means they are in a five-team battle for the second automatic qualifying spot from their third round group, behind runaway leaders Japan. .

Of course, things can change very quickly in football, but New Zealanders should enjoy the moment. Compared to our Trans-Tasman rivals, we now have the best teams, the best player and the best chance of qualifying for the World Cup. Bragging rights in football are often short-lived, so don’t waste this time, Aotearoa.

Women’s A-League, Premier League news

New Zealand’s great weekend of football continued with Wellington Phoenix claiming their first Women’s A League win. Maya McCutcheon’s goal before half-time proved to be the only goal of the game as they defeated Adelaide United away.

Chris Wood did nothing to help Nottingham Forest this weekend. His side were given a reality check at the top of the Premier League table as a Bukayo Saka-inspired Arsenal cruised to a 3-0 win this weekend.

Manchester City have lost five games in a row as Pep Guardiola struggles to solve the puzzle of how to succeed without Rodri. Tottenham Hotspur ran rampant at the Etihad this weekend with a 4-0 win as Pep, who has signed a deal to stay at City beyond the end of the season, will begin to consider a new incarnation of this City team.

The result leaves Liverpool firmly top of the Premier League but had to work to beat Southampton 3-2. Mohamed Salah is once again an inspiration – another man who is months out of work. I am absolutely sure that he will not have problems finding an employer.

Manchester United got off to a sensational start under Ruben Amorim with Marcus Rashford scoring after just two minutes. But football is a 90-minute game, not a 90-second game, and they ended up drawing 1-1, with Andre Onana to thank Amorim for not suffering a losing debut. The Portuguese coach has a lot of work to do.

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