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Kiwitea set to host Wanderers

Words: ACFC Media

Friday 18 August 2023

AUCKLAND, New Zealand - Auckland City FC will face the Hamilton Wanderers for the second time in ten days in Round 20 of the Northern League on Saturday afternoon.

Going into Saturday’s match at Kiwitea Street the Navy Blues are two points clear at the top of the competition ladder following last weekend’s round that saw Albert Riera’s men defeating Takapuna 2-0 while their title rivals Eastern Suburbs were held to a 1-all draw by Bay Olympic.

It’s been a busy period for the defending champions who played three games in seven days including a midweek catch-up game from Round 9 against this weekend’s opponents in Hamilton last Wednesday night.

On that occasion City produced a clinical performance to overcome the Wanderers 2-0 with Christian Gray and Liam Gillion on target for the visitors.

And with only three rounds to go in the Northern League City will be hoping for a similar outcome on Saturday in front of their fans.

The two clubs have a long rivalry dating back to 2016 with 15 previous meetings between them.

Aukland City FC won 13 of those matches while the Wanderers claimed just a single victory that ended 2-0 in Hamilton in 2021 as well as a 1-1 draw at Porritt Stadium last season.

All three of those crucial Hamilton goals were scored by the visitors’ danger man Derek Tieku who is again shaping up as the main threat for the the Navy Blues.

Top scorer in the Northern League in 2022 with 17 goals, Tieku carried on with his prolific scoring form throughout the 2023 campaign to be joint leader in the race for the Golden Boot alongside City striker Ryan De Vries with both players netting 16 times so far his season.

“It’s very clear the threat Hamilton pose, especially having people like Tieku scoring a lot of goals and they are very good in transition and set pieces,” Riera explained.

Meanwhile Gillion, who scored against the Wanderers last week, is also expecting a tough contest.

“They are always a tough team, they are very hard to break down, it’s always a good match-up and this time at Kiwitea it should be a great pitch, always a good game and hopefully a win,” he said.

Meanwhile the Auckland City FC-23 side, who are three points clear at the Lotto NRFL U-23 Premiership table, will host the Hamilton Wanderers youngsters at the Croatian Club on Saturday from 12:00pm.

Ends

Match Details
Northern League Round 20
Saturday, 19 August 2023
Auckland City FC v Hamilton Wanderers
Kiwitea St, Sandringham, Kick-off: 3;00pm

AC SQUAD: 1-Conor TRACEY (GK), 2- Mario ILICH, 3- Adam MITCHELL, 4-Christian GRAY, 5-Michael DEN HEIJER, 6-Dan MORGAN, 7-Cam HOWIESON (c), 8-Gerard GARRIGA, 9-Angus KILKOLLY, 10-Dylan MANICKUM, 11-Ryan DE VRIES, 12-Regont MURATI, 13-Nathan LOBO, 14-Jordan VALE, 15- Aidan CAREY, 16-Joseph LEE, 18. Sebastian CIGANDA (GK), 19-Liam GILLION, 20- Emiliano TADE, 21- Adam BELL, 22-Tong ZHOU. 24-Joe WALLIS (GK), 25-Takuya IWATA, 26-Rayan TAYEB, 27-Stipe UKICH

COACH: Albert RIERA
ASSISTANT COACH: Ivan VICELICH
GK COACH: Enaut ZUBIKARAI
TECHNICAL: Adria CASALS
TECHNICAL: Jarrod WALLACE
LOGISTICS: Keith COTON
PHYSIO: Matt PAYNE