A tough round of fixtures for the Wellington Phoenix in the National League, with just one point taken from their two matches.
The Phoenix women’s reserves again opened the weekend with a Friday night match, this time away to Wellington United.
Still missing a number of players to the first team and international duty, it was always going to be tough for the Nix to compete with senior sides, and a young team went down 4-0.
Meanwhile, the men’s reserves were also on the road, in Hawkes Bay to take on high-flying Napier City Rovers on Sunday.
Despite going down a goal early the Nix fought back, and when Xuan Loke won a penalty on the stroke of halftime, Luke Flowerdew calmly slotted it home.
They had to withstand some heavy pressure in the second half, with Alby Kelly-Heald making a number of impressive saves, but the final result stayed 1-1.
The very creditable draw on the road keeps the Phoenix in fourth place, a third of the way through the campaign.
In the youth National League, the boys’ U-17 team maintained their 100% record, beating Onslow-Wellington 4-2 at Wakefield Park.
Jacob Kleinsmith and Alessandro Marchesse each grabbed doubles, ensuring the Nix remain at the top of Central Group B.
The U-17 girls’ side had a bye this weekend.
Replays and highlights of all senior National League games are available on FIFA+.
