Waitakere, Wellington Eye Grand Final Rematch

By Bob Pearce for asbpremiership.co.nz

AUCKLAND - New season, new faces – and no looking back. That’s the message from the coaches as Waitakere United and Team Wellington prepare for a rematch of the finalists in last season’s ASB Premiership.

AUCKLAND - New season, new faces – and no looking back. That’s the message from the coaches as Waitakere United and Team Wellington prepare for a rematch of the finalists in last season’s ASB Premiership.

The West Aucklanders won that Grand Final 4-1 at Trusts Stadium on April 28. Six months later Paul Marshall has replaced Neil Emblen as coach of the winners and he will field a squad of his own making which has already shown its potential with a 2-1 victory over Auckland City in the ASB Charity Cup last weekend.

 Matt Calcott remains in charge at Wellington but his squad is much changed with a big injection of youth boosted by the Phoenix Academy and a rather truncated pre-season preparation  as the Phoenix have called up players such as Luke Rowe and Tom Biss.

“We have a very young squad and we haven’t had a lot of time together,” said Calcott. “It is a different group of players to those who played in the final and some haven’t played a lot in the ASB Premiership.”

Familiar names who will provide the experience for another strong challenge for the title include defenders Jamie Duncan and Karl Whalen and midfielder Wiremu Patrick. Adam McGeorge has migrated south from Auckland City and Cory Chettleburgh has come from Manawatu. New faces include two Danes, Andreas Damgaard and Karsten Viborg.

In contrast to Waitakere, Wellington’s last pre-season encounter was a 3-1 loss to Hawke's Bay. Injuries and availability for the first foray north may narrow Calcott’s selection options but the capital side can never be underestimated – just ask Auckland City!

Preview continues at asbpremiership.co.nz...