Wellington United secured second place in the Men's Ultra Football Capital Premier Division and a spot in the Central League playoff with a comfortable 3-0 win over Upper Hutt City at Maidstone Park on Saturday.
Wellington United's latest centurion, Asha Strom, is something of an unsung hero. Playing in a defensive midfield role she doesn't get in the spotlight like those that score the goals, she just gets on with her job, a job she does so well and has set a very high standard in she really has to have an exceptional game to get noticed. 2018 Dutch import Suzanne Giesen, commented on her time at the club "it was fantastic playing with Asha, as she did all the hard work which allowed me to push forward and attack more" Playing in the role she does, Asha doesn't get many chances to score goals, and while she has scored just four in her 100 games they have all been memorable shots from about 25-30 meters. Goals that her teammates have dubbed "Asha specials"
Diamonds may have come away with a 5-1 victory, but they were made to work hard for it by a determined Seatoun side that was looking for their first victory over United since 2015. It was Diamonds that dominated the early possession and territory and they went ahead in the 13th minute with youngster Pepi Olliver-Bell netting her first goal for the team. After this Diamonds tried to settle into their usual quick short passing game but Seatoun managed to disrupt them and they never really got into their normal rhythm.
Supersub Birhanu Taye scored a penalty in the last minute of the game to give United a deserved point against the league leaders, Upper Hutt City, at Newtown Park on Saturday. Taye, who has been recovering from a serious knee injury has played just 24 minutes for United, but his return of two goals in that time has delighted his coach Guillermo Schiltenwolf and the Wellington United fans.
The first half of the season, Wellington United couldn't get a win for trying, with six single goal defeats seeing them rooted to the bottom of the table despite having a positive goal difference. A common mantra from the players and fans was the results will come and thats what they have been doing with four wins in a row, the latest a 2-0 win over second place Wainuiomata at Newtown Park on Saturday in the Capital Premier division. It was a satisfying win for United, who had gone done 3-2 in the reverse fixture in Wainuiomata earlier in the season, despite leading 2-0 with 15 minutes to go. Wainui were on a roll having won seven in a row and beaten league leaders Upper Hutt City 2-0 the week before.
Wellington United Diamonds had their third five goal win in a row on Saturday as the downed Petone 5-0 in a W-League game at Newtown Park. The win means they stay in first place on goal difference, but Palmerston North Marist have managed to close the gap to just one goal with a 6-0 win over Seatoun. It took Diamonds just nine minutes to open the scoring through Charlotte Wilford Carroll. It wasn't long before Jemma Robertson thought she had got on the scoresheet tapping in a cross from Dani Ohlsson, but it was somewhat inexplicably called offside and she had to wait to the second half, getting two goals in four minutes to take her tally for the season to 22.
Seemingly not content with a hat-trick last week, Jemma Robertson bagged five goals this week as Diamonds crushed Wairarapa United 6-1 in Masterton on Saturday
Wellington United Sapphires went down 3-0 to Seatoun in the first round of the 2020 Kelly Cup, while the Diamonds went through when their opposition defaulted to them
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The portrait room, Nga tai whakarongorua | Encounters, has been at the heart of Te Papa’s Toi Art galleries since their opening in 2018. We’ll be saying goodbye to these […]
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