Papamoa FC 0, Claudelands Rovers 11 Gordon Spratt Reserve, Papamoa, April 6 2012 It’s Easter 2012, and what better way to spend Good Friday than to watch some Northern Regional Football League – Women’s Premier action? The top level of Women’s club football in New Zealand was entering its second […]
“The government’s objective, broadly expressed, is that all persons, whatever their level of ability, whether they live in town or country, have a right as citizens to a free education of the kind for which they are best fitted and to the fullest extent of their powers.” – Peter Fraser […]
Wellington Phoenix FC 3, Sydney FC 2 Westpac Stadium, Wellington, March 30 2012 Last night I was extremely fortunate to be in our nation’s capital for the first match of the Wellington Phoenix’s third straight A-League finals series appearance. It was a fairly typical finals encounter in the first half, […]
“First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.” – Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi [Previous instalments in the ‘Scarves on Statues’ series can be found here]
Ngaruawahia United 0, Birkenhead United 2 Centennial Park, Ngaruawahia, March 24 2012 It’s always a difficult thing, a promoted side’s first game in a new league. The moment of truth when they begin to find out how good they really are. Do they have to take a big step up, […]
[Previous instalments in the ‘Scarves on Statues’ series can be found here] New Zealand’s first Governor General named Auckland after the man who awarded him command of the ‘HMS Rattlesnake’ in 1834. George Eden, 1st Earl of Auckland, never once set foot here. His greatest claim to fame is that he was Governor […]
I’m quite conscious that I am long overdue for a post on local New Zealand football. I was all set to get along to a game this weekend, but I had forgotten that the NZFC is taking a break for the Oceania Olympic Qualifying Tournament. Next weekend, I’ll be in […]
[Previous instalments in the ‘Scarves on Statues’ series can be found here] So many of Auckland’s statues are of little relevance to Auckland. Even Lord Auckland, the city’s namesake whose monument stands outside the municipal building, never set foot in New Zealand in his life. Too often they stand up […]
Lazio have completed their first double against Roma since 1997/98 but their victory has been somewhat marred by an unfortunate incident to say the least. Juan, Roma’s gladiatorial Brazilian central defender, a man of African descent, was subjected to racist monkey noises by Lazio’s notoriously right wing ultras. This has […]
[After doing one of these as a bit of a joke back in January, I got such a childish kick out of it that I felt compelled to do it a couple more times. Now I have a strong urge to turn it into a series. Perhaps it’s a passing […]