Exploring Waiheke Island
For the first game this Northern League season I was not there to cheer on Mellvile United. In March my partner had said she wanted to go to Waiheke Island to do some vineyard tours, and we agreed that since Melville were unlikely to draw Waiheke United away in the Chatham Cup, that we would go for the Waiheke United vs. Ngāruawāhia United in the Northern Regional Football Leagues Championship.
We drove up from Hamilton on Friday afternoon and caught the car ferry from Half Moon Bay.
45 minutes later we were on the island, and after a short 18 minute drive, arrived at our accommodation at Woodside Bay Chalets. As I type this I am looking out the window enjoying a Sunday morning coffee, and to be honest the view is not too hard to put up with.
Fish and chips for dinner, and then I made the mistake of staying up late to watch the Phoenix lose another away game in Adelaide - another first round finals exit. I should have known better, especially with Alireza Faghani refereeing, who the Nix have never won with. But maaaaybe?… No. It’s the hope that kills you!
Next morning after coffee on the deck we had a bath in the open air cabana. Wow. Nice way to start a Matchday!
Before the game we had a few hours to kill so we went exploring down towards Stony Batter. We stopped at the beautiful Man-O-War Bay
and have coffee and brunch at Man-O-War vineyard featuring hands-down the best olives we have ever tasted! Marinated in red wine and honey, we could’ve eaten those until we popped.
But there was wine to taste. Ooopps, finger slipped and we had some loot to take home!
Next stop was Waiheke Distillery where the views overlooking Pakatoa, Rotoroa, and Ponui Islands are outstanding.
We enjoyed a great seafood chowder and a gin taster tray:
Followed by a vodka taster tray:
Finger slipped again. More loot! Oh well.
After that it was on to the Onetangi Sports Complex for the main reason we came to Waiheke — Waiheke United v Ngāruawāhia United in the Northern Regional Football Championship. Having been to Onetangi Sports Complex before I knew to be wary of the Psycho-Bansai-Demon-Chickens that patrol the gate, we drove through quickly and arrived at the clubrooms unscathed!
It was not ideal weather for watching foootball, with constant rain, and a fresh chilling breeze. But the upside of that was it made Waiheke’s flags snap for photos, and Panhead Brewery’s Supercharger makes any day seem brighter.
Waiheke United got us underway playing left to right, with the wind and rain at their backs.
The first 20 minutes saw both sides feeling each other out, with 2 or 3 chances at both ends that could’ve seen the 0–0 scoreline broken if the finishing had been clinical. Then in the 24th minute Ngāruawāhia lobbed one from the centre circle over the central defence and the striker beat Waiheke’s keeper to the bouncing ball and deftly touched it over him and sent it bouncing into the open net.
Coming into the game Ngāruawāhia had 3 wins, 2 draws and 2 loses from their 7 fixtures, while Waiheke were bottom of the table with just two draws and five loses to their name, so the visitors were favoured to win this game. They controlled the game nicely through to about 40 minutes, but Waiheke lifted in the closing stages of the half, but couldn’t quite find an equaliser.
There was a rather eye-cathcing distraction just before half time as a streaker invaded the pitch!
As the teams headed off at half time, the hosts to the inside of their 40 foot shipping container, and the visitors into the changing rooms in the clubhouse, Ngāruawāhia held their 0–1 lead.
In the club rooms there is a nod to Waiheke’s history with their previous club logo on one wall, and opposite their current logo:
Half time saw a brief break in the weather. The rain stopped and there was even sunshine, for a few minutes. But sadly by the time the players re-emerged the rain had returned and they kicked off for the second half in wet grey conditions.
In the 68th minute Ngāruawāhia doubled their lead with some lovely dribbling resulting in the ball being tucked into the empty net to raucous cheers from the Ngāruawāhia U23 squad and the travelling fans.
Tensions began to rise, with some “hearty” challenges threatening to spark some testosterone exchanges…
…but then Waiheke United pegged a goal back in the 75th minute, which brought them back into the contest, and changed the focus back to trying to play football. The home team literally finished with a wet sail but despite Ngāruawāhia visibily tiring the final whistle came before Waiheke could level the scores.
Final score Waiheke United 1–2 Ngāruawāhia United, another valuable 3 points for the visitors which takes them into the top 4 after 8 rounds.
We headed home and had a sauna to warm up and then went out to enjoy dinner at Fenice Cafe. Outstanding food! Try it if you are on the island.
