Category: Sport

Source: Radio New Zealand

Wellington Phoenix women’s coach Bev Priestman says making the most of the home advantage is what they need to do if they want any chance of reaching the A-League Grand Final.

The Phoenix return to Porirua Park this week 2-1 down in the tie against Brisbane Roar.

She said they now need to make the most of being at home.

“We need to play our game on our pitch with our fans and mentally we have to be all-in, no regrets,” Priestman said on their return to Wellington.

She admits they got dragged into Brisbane’s game a bit last weekend and that can’t happen again.

“We play our game, do what we’ve done all season, keep a clean sheet and having a Pia Vlok back (up front) will be a boost to the side.”

Vlok started on the bench in the first leg as she recovered from an injury suffered during international duty.

Priestman said it is about going into this game with the right mentality.

“We can be defeated or we can stand up and be counted. I’d much rather it this way than having to get on a plane and go with a 1-nil goal margin down.

“If we show up with the right mentality then there is no reason why. We’ve seen much greater margins where teams come back in knock-out football so if we get that bit right then I think we can go on.”

Having to go on the attack is an attitude that sits well with Priestman and the style she’s tried to get her side playing this season.

“It’s now standing up and being counted, I’ll learn a lot about this team for next year in this game. We absolutely imagine a comeback.

“I’m excited, I’m not daunted, I know what we need to fix.”

A crowd of around 5000 is expected at Porirua Park on Sunday and Priestman said they need them.

“Imagine if we get to a grand final, that is absolutely within our reach.

Melbourne City lead Melbourne Victory 1-0 in the other semi-final.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

The Black Sticks women have finished fourth out of five teams at the Changzhou Invitational Tournament following a 1-0 loss to China A in the bronze medal match.

New Zealand end the tournament with two wins and four defeats, including a 7-0 defeat to Argentina in their penultimate game.

Both China A and the Black Sticks were keen to end their campaigns on a high and the first half was an even contest, with both sides creating opportunities.

Despite both teams pushing hard, the match remained locked at 0-0 at halftime.

Both teams continued to create chances in the third quarter, but China A found the breakthrough with a field goal.

The Black Sticks thought they had equalised through a penalty corner variation, only for the goal to be overturned following a review for dangerous play.

New Zealand tried desperately to find an equaliser, but China A held firm to seal the one goal victory.

A fourth place finish isn’t what the Black Sticks would have hoped for as they build towards the Nations Cup at home in June.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Auckland FC place so much importance on penalty shootout preparation in A-League knockout matches, they devote part of the week practising their walk from the halfway line to the penalty spot.

The Black Knights emerged victorious against Melbourne City in their elimination in Auckland on Saturday, thanks to winning a tense penalty shootout 7-6. The scores were locked together 1-1 after fulltime and extra time.

The first 12 shots in the shootout all found the net until Melbourne defender Nathaniel Atkinson had his shot saved by Auckland goalkeeper Michael Woud.

Dan Hall brought the home crowd to their feet when he then converted from the spot, the defender sending Auckland through to a two-leg semi-final against Adelaide United.

Auckland FC Director of Football Terry McFlynn told Morning Report he wasn’t surprised his players were a perfect seven-from-seven in the shootout, given their preparation during the week.

“For us, we knew there was a big possibility of penalties, so we have to replicate that as best we can,” he said.

“We worked on that during the week. Players walking from the halfway line to the penalty spot just to familiarise themselves with that walk.

“You try and replicate that and you try and make the players familiar with it, so that when it comes game day, it’s not new to them.

“They’ve done it before, they’ve practised it, they’ve visualised it and then just visualise the ball hitting the back of the net.

“I thought all our players was very clinical and very concise with their penalties.”

Prior to the match, Hall had yet to score a goal in his two seasons at Auckland but held his nerve under accute pressure.

McFlynn said he had full confidence the Australian-born Fijian international was capable of doing the job.

“I’ve always thought he’s been a big threat for us at set pieces. So I was hoping he would get a goal from open play, but it wasn’t to be and it came down to the penalty shootout,” he said.

“So it’s good for him to get on the score sheet for us finally.

“I’m very confident in all our boys. We practiced them during the week and I’d watched the penalties and I knew Dan was very clinical in his conviction of where he was going to go with the penalty shot. I was very confident that he would score.”

Auckland FC will host the first leg of their semi-final against Adelaide on Saturday night, followed by return match in Adelaide the following Friday.

The Black Knights were eliminated at the same stage last season, beaten over two legs by Melbourne Victory.

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

Wellington Phoenix will need to overcome a one-goal deficit at home, if they hope to progress to the A-League women’s final.

The Phoenix return home to Porirua for next week’s semi-final return leg, trailing Brisbane Roar 2-1, after their opening encounter across the Tasman.

Wellington needed only two minutes to grab an early advantage, when Grace Jale soared above her rivals in the goalmouth to head home a corner from Manaia Elliott.

Two minutes later, American forward Makala Woods somewhat squandered a chance to extend the lead, bursting clear with just the keeper to beat, but driving her shot into the right post, before Spaniard Lucia Leon guided a header wide.

Brisbane equalised from a corner, when midfielder Momo Hayashi ran from deep and fired a powerful header into the back of the net.

Phoenix coach Bev Priestman handed an A-League debut to teenager Mikaela Bangalan in the second half and she was lucky to escape an early yellow card, with two over-enthusiastic challenges on goalscoring ace Hayashi.

As the contest wore on, the home side gained a clear upper hand, and Phoenix keeper Vic Esson was required to make more and more saves.

That pressure inevitably saw Brisbane take a lead, when the Wellington defence failed to clear the ball and McKenzie Barry deflected a cross into the path of teenage Roar striker Daisy Brown, who made no mistake.

The Roar dominated statistically, unleashing 18 shots, including eight on goal, while the Phoenix managed just five and two.

More than 3000 fans packed into Brisbane’s Imperial Corp Stadium and the soldout signs are already out for the second game at Porirua Park next Sunday.

Follow the live action here:

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Source: Radio New Zealand

The ANZ Premiership comeback of former Silver Ferns legend Casey Kopua has been cut short by injury.

The 40-year-old answered a call from Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic to return as an interim replacement for the struggling side.

On Sunday, the defender played strongly, as the Magic trailed Northern Stars by just three at halftime in Auckland, but the return was short-lived, as Kopua hobbled off the court early in the third quarter with a lower leg injury.

At the other end of the court, the Stars benefitted from the introduction of another veteran defender, assistant coach Leana de Bruin.

She brushed aside any pre-game nerves to make an impact against Magic shooter Grace Walsh (nee Namana). Walsh was another replacement recruited by the Magic for sidelined shooter Saviour Tui.

The Magic’s strong first-half challenge fell away when Kopua left the court, with the Stars posting a dominant 17-10 third quarter effort.

The Stars extended their lead to win by a massive 56-39 scoreline.

An injury blow has also struck Southern Steel, after goal shooter Aliyah Dunn fell awkwardly in Saturday night’s 54-47 win over Central Pulse in Invercargill.

Steel coach Wendy Frew said Dunn had likely sustained a calf tear.

In a tight ANZ Premiership competition, Mainland Tactix, the Stars and he Steel all have three wins and one loss, after the opening four rounds.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

Wellington Phoenix play Brisbane Roar in an A-League women semi-final at Spencer Park in Brisbane.

Wellington finished second after the regular season and are away to third-placed Brisbane in the first of two semi-finals.

The Phoenix will then return home and host the Roar in the second leg on 10 May.

Kickoff is at 7pm.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Analysis: NZ Warriors coach Andrew Webster has broken from tradition, giving his under-siege halves combination a ringing endorsement to continue their work, after steering their team to a 36-14 win over Parramatta Eels.

“I don’t normally select teams in the press conference after the game,” he told media… but then he did.

Make no mistake, Tanah Boyd and Chanel Harris-Tavita have done nothing to deserve the axe during a four-game winning streak – and that’s the point.

With marquee signing Luke Metcalf now recovered from injury and sitting unused on the interchange, Webster was responding to questions over when the former Dally M leader might re-enter the starting line-up.

“They deserve to stay there, they’ve done a good job,” he said of Boyd and Harris-Tavita. “We’re just picking the team on form.

“Luke’s done nothing wrong, he’s a good player and, if the opportunity comes, he’ll take it.

“Right now, this is the best thing for the team and those two deserve it.”

With the Warriors now on a bye week, the incumbents seem safe in their jerseys, until injury or a severe lapse of form dictate otherwise.

Here’s what else we learnt from the win over Parramatta.

Best player

Front-rower Jackson Ford just continued to build on his growing reputation with another yeoman effort that saw him make 50 tackles, run for 178 metres and score a try in another 80-minute effort.

“I thought he was a bit soft, he went off,” Webster joked, before giving Ford a big State of Origin plug. “I’d pick him for sure, they would be mad not to.

“We love him and we want our players to play rep football. We want them to play for New Zealand, Samoa, Tonga, New South Wales… preferably not Queensland, but if Kurt [Capewell] plays the way he played tonight, he’ll get himself picked too.”

Wing Alofiana Khan-Pereira scored his third straight try double for the Warriors and has now gathered 59 tries across his 58-game NRL career. His speed to the corner for his first try was eye-popping.

The other Warriors middles – James Fisher-Harris and Erin Clark – both acquitted themselves well, while Roger Tuivasa-Sheck topped run metres (201) from centre, and was rewarded with a try and almost another, when he lost the ball over the line.

Key moment

Eels five-eighth Ronald Volkman has just scored his second try to bring his side within four points, when Erin Clark came back on the field for his second stint of the night.

The 2025 Dally M Lock of the Year has been warming to his task in recent games and his playmaking skills give his team a decided edge in the middle of the park.

Clark immediately got his hands on the ball and sent second-rower Jacob Laban on a run towards the line, before sliding into first receiver. He ran hard towards the posts, committing a couple of defenders with his body language, before finding Ford on his left shoulder with an open path to the line.

Boyd slotted the conversion from in front, triggering an 18-0 run that finished off plucky Parramatta.

Best try

Clark also featured in two previous tries, linking with Fisher-Harris in midfield in the build-up to Khan-Pereira’s first effort in the left corner and then providing momentum with a quick play-the-ball, as Dallin Watene-Zelezniak scored on the other side of the park.

The second again highlighted the impact of Taine Tuaupiki from fullback, as he entered the line outside Boyd, swerved in and then out, wrongfooting the defence, before finding his wing cutting inside with a cheeky back flick pass.

The Warriors have the luxury of two wings in redhot form right now, but Watene-Zelezniak blotted his form book in the second half, when Eels fullback Joash Papalii spilled a kick on his goal-line, but DWZ botched a simple pick-up with an open line ahead.

Injuries etc

The bye round couldn’t come at a better time for hooker Wayde Egan, who has absorbed his usual amount of damage through the opening two months of the season, but could not pass a concussion check during the first half against Parramatta.

He actually seemed in trouble early, but lasted half an hour, before making way for Sam Healey.

Egan would have missed next week, but now gets to rest up and recover for their next fixture.

Front-rower Tanner Stowers-Smith was initially named on the bench, but could not shrug off the hamstring niggle that has now kept him sidelined for three games. He’s obviously close and should be back after the bye.

Instead, Eddie Ieremia-Toeava enjoyed some extended gametime (36 minutes), running 11 times for 96 metres and making 20 tackles, while Kayliss Fatialofa had a sniff of first grade, unused on the interchange.

Metcalf also sat idle on the bench, covering any backline injuries. He desperately needs gametime, but the reserves also have an NSW Cup bye next week, so he won’t get it there.

Parramatta Eels

Obviously, injury-plagued Parramatta have struggled this season and they now slide to 3-6, continuing to leak points at an alarming rate. They have now let through an average of 35 points a game, more than any other team in the league.

From a handy angle, Mitch Moses hit the left upright with his conversion of Ronald Volkman’s second try and that relatively regulation kick seemed to take the wind out of any momentum they had built.

They were their own worst enemies, shooting themselves in the foot time and time again. During the first half, they gave away two penalties for obstructing kick chases.

In the second, they had the Warriors pinned deep in their own half, but Volkman put undue pressure on kicker Boyd, conceding a penalty that allowed their opponents to escape upfield, where Boyd slotted an important two points to steady the nerves.

“I don’t think the scoreline reflected the fight and effort we displayed tonight,” coach Jason Ryles pleaded. “A lot of our fundamental errors – escort penalties and pressure penalties – hurt us, after we’d done good things.

“We can’t keep continually putting ourselves under pressure with those fundamental errors.”

Parramatta face high-flying North Queensland Cowboys in Townsville next week

What the result means

Their fourth straight win propels the Warriors to the top of the competition table, although trailing Penrith Panthers on points differential.

The Panthers face Manly Sea Eagles on Sunday, but they would need to lose by 60 points to concede their position.

The Warriors have now scored more points (278) than any other team this season, although they have only five more than Penrith, who have that game in hand.

Importantly, the 22-point margin of victory this week boosts their points differential to +108, with Wests Tigers (+82) and South Sydney Rabbitohs (+72) breathing down their necks in that regard. Both those teams will play three more times, before the Warriors return to the field again.

Victory sees them match their record to this point last season (7-2), which was also the best start through nine rounds in their history. That run extended to 8-2, before it was snapped by Canberra Raiders in round 12.

What’s next

Warriors players and staff can enjoy a few days off, before they start preparing for their next assignment – the champion Brisbane Broncos at Suncorp Stadium for ‘Magic Round’ on Sunday, 17 May.

“Nine games is a good time for a bye to freshen up a bit and then go again,” Webster said. “It’s a challenge for us to come out the other side better – not just hold our form, but come out a better team.

“I don’t think we’ve handled byes as well as we’d like in the past.”

Webster’s Warriors are 4-4 after byes over the past three seasons and will want to improve on that return.

The Broncos have not kicked on from their comeback win in last year’s grand final, but threatened to erase a 30-point deficit against Sydney Roosters later on Saturday, before succumbing 38-24.

Their 5-4 record matches where they were last year, before they won 13 of their last 15 games to finish fourth on the table and take the championship.

Shockingly, ‘Magic Round’ counts as a Warriors home game, which means they will have to face the defending champions twice in Brisbane this season.

The NRL just keeps finding new ways to stick it to the Kiwis.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

The Black Caps beat Bangladesh by six wickets in a rain-affected third and final T20 in Dhaka.

The series finished tied 1-1 after Bangladesh won the first match and the second game was washed out.

Batting first, Bangladesh’s innings was interrupted by wet weather for nearly two hours, with the match reduced to 15 overs a side.

The hosts eventually posted 102 runs, with Towhid Hridoy top-scoring with 33.

Nathan Smith and Ben Sears took two wickets each with Josh Clarkson snaring three, and Ish Sodhi and Jayden Lennox bagging one each.

Clarkson ended with figures of 3 for 9, while Smith helped New Zealand make a strong start with two wickets off consecutive deliveries in the fifth over.

New Zealand Captain Nick Kelly was pleased with the way they bounced back from their opening match defeat.

“We spoke quite a bit about the last game, the areas we got wrong or maybe didn’t quite hit the mark on,” Kelly said.

“I think a big part of that was our death bowling and I thought Josh was exceptional there. His plans were very clear and he executed beautifully.”

New Zealand then chased down the victory target with 20 balls to spare on the back of a half century to Bevon Jacobs, who scored an unbeaten 62 off 31 balls, including five fours and three sixes.

Jacobs helped the tourists recover from 33 for 4, combining with Dean Foxcroft in an unbeaten stand of 71. Opener Tim Robinson contributed 23 runs at the top of the order.

“Bev, he’s a very, very clean ball striker,” Kelly said.

“We see him in the Nets training very hard and he hits the ball a long way. So it was cool for him to get himself in and then cool to see a bit of power at the end there.”

Kelly said the rain break wouldn’t have helped Bangladesh.

“We spoke about it at the toss. Before the rain came, we were going to have a bat first. But then with a bit of weather, we were like, we’ll probably look to bowl just because it is a little bit nigglier. And that’s how it played out.

“It’s always tough when you come off and then you lose five overs because you probably would have gone a little bit harder had you known it had been a 15-over game. So that was sort of the reasoning behind what we did at the toss. And lucky for us that’s sort of worked in our favour.”

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Dreams and manifestation were behind Auckland FC’s penalty shootout win that has sealed back-to-back A-League semi-finals appearances.

Last season, goalkeeper Michael Woud was sitting on the bench while his team-mates were playing finals football.

This season he has played a big part in why Auckland is back in the final four.

A crucial penalty save in the Elimination Final win over Melbourne City on Saturday at Mt Smart was a situation Woud believed keepers played for.

Auckland and City were level at 1-1 after extra time, sending the game to a penalty shootout.

“It’s a goalkeeper’s dream to get to a penalty shootout and it’s a little bit selfish but it’s kind of an opportunity to be a hero. Lucky enough for me and for Auckland it went our way.”

Woud and his opposite Patrick Beach were beaten six times before Woud saved City’s seventh attempt.

Cue an early celebration from an over zealous Jake Girdwood-Reich who believed that was enough for Auckland to seal victory after a hard fought game in front of their home fans.

“I didn’t know what he was doing, he counted wrong but that doesn’t surprise me,” Woud said of his 22-year-old Australian team-mate.

However, it was actually the experienced defender Dan Hall finding the back of the net with Auckland’s seventh penalty that ended City’s championship defence and sent Auckland to the next stage of the finals.

Coach Steve Corica said Hall was confident to be called on in the match defining moment.

Hall has been in the A-League since 2020, has played 135 games and scored four goals previously for Central Coast Mariners.

He chose a big moment to score his first for Auckland.

“Pretty surreal to be honest,” Hall said of his match winner.

“After Woudy made that great save, I said to Nando [Pijnaker] ‘you know, I think I’m going to win it here’, and luckily I manifested it.”

In the lead up to the game Hall had mixed success in penalty taking during training, including missing one the day before the game.

“I’m lucky I scored today.”

After being 1-0 up until the fourth minute of added time, Hall said it was “gutting” to concede late and send the game to extra time.

“I’m very impressed with so many of the boys because I didn’t know that we had the legs in us.

“The team talk after the extra time was just keep pushing. If we have to win it in pens, we have to win it in pens.

“We showed that we can fight and win games and it’s obviously great for the confidence.”

After an injury-hit season, Corica is starting to get some players back on the park at the right time, including Pijnaker and Jake Brimmer who returned to action off the bench on Saturday.

“Hard work for them, they haven’t done a lot of training so they had to probably play longer than we expected as well,” Corica said.

“They showed courage, they dug in, they defended obviously that 30 minutes really well. I think we had a couple of good chances ourselves to maybe win the game in that last 30 minutes but obviously we’ve got to do it the hard way.”

Despite taking the game down to the wire Corica was still confident of success.

“We always believed that we were going to win.

“Obviously, the way it happened you can’t predict that. But we’re full of confidence as a team.

“This was a do-or-die match, next couple of games we don’t have to win it in the first game at home.

“We’d like to, but we know it goes over two legs and if we have to do this in the second leg in Adelaide we’ve got to show bravery when we take our penalties and hopefully we come out on the best side and we make it to a final.”

Auckland are next expected to face Adelaide United, in the first match of the home and away semi-finals.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Flying wing Alofiana Khan-Pereira scored his third straight try double for NZ Warriors, as they pulled away from Parramatta Eels 36-14 in Sydney.

Leading 16-6 at halftime, the visitors allowed their hosts back into the contest at 18-14 midway through the second half, but finished the stronger, piling on three unanswered converted tries to bury the Eels.

Former Warriors Ronald Volkman scored two tries for Parramatta and seemed on a one-man mission to bring his old outfit crashing to earth, but he also proved his team’s undoing, throwing a long, attacking pass that was picked off and ultimately led to the clinching try by centre Roger Tuivasa-Sheck.

The Warriors started both halves sluggishly, with Volkman grabbing an early lead for the Eels.

Needing a try to get them back into the contest, Parramatta scored a miracle in the right corner, when wing Brian Kelly chased a kick, won the ball in the air and smuggled an offload for centre Will Penisini to score.

Volkman’s second brought them closer, but Warriors half Tanah Boyd kept their noses in front, before the injection of Erin Clark for the final quarter lifted them to another gear.

The Warriors are now level with Penrith Panthers atop the NRL table, trailling on points differential, and they will bank two more competition points with their first bye next week.

Relive the action here:

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