OK this week’s rankings summary from North to South
goes like this.
In the NRPL it was East Coast Bays with a confidence
boosting 4-2 away win over reigning champions Bay Olympic, and a stunning 8-0
for Mark Cossey’s Hamilton Wanderers over Waitakere City that caught the eye.
In the CPL ‘The Greeks’ laid down an early marker with
an impressive home win over 2012 champs Napier City Rovers; both sides will
surely be in contention for the much-coveted title come the business end of the
season. Olympic’s arch-rivals
Miramar Rangers will doubtless be there as well – and Rangers started well with
a 2-0 win over Petone.
In the MPL, an important win for Cashmere Tech and a
surprise home loss for 2012 South Island Champions Ferrymead Bays means
Cashmere take the number one national spot – the strong presence of MPL teams
in the top 10 is a bit artificial at this early stage of the season because those
teams have now played four games whereas the rest of the country are only just
off the mark. But let’s not in any
way underestimate the recently formed Cashmerians - I for one am looking forward to their Chatham Cup
performance this year.
In the FSPL perennial champions Caversham AFC gave
new coach Tim Horner an opening day win over Invercargill’s Old Boys – no big
surprise there. But ‘The Train’
will face a tougher ride to the title this season, so I’m duly informed. Dunedin Tech and the youthful Green
Island side look likely contenders, and both scored comfortable away wins. But it was Rosyln-Wakari, in their 125th
Year, who had the most impressive victory in the FSPL; 4-1 over Mike McGarry’s ‘Plainsmen’.
One question that will doubtless be in some of your
minds is: ‘How come the rankings don’t always reflect the positions on the league
table?’ Well the rankings have a
factor that allows for the ‘home advantage’. Hence, for example, an away win is worth more points than a
home win. This is why Green Island
is on slightly more points than Onehunga Sports, even though both sides won their
opening games 2-0. I’m not so sure
about the home crowd advantage in the New Zealand setting, but regardless - get
out there and support your local team this coming weekend; who knows!
|
No comments:
Post a Comment