30/08/2026
ABL Premier Men Match Report 🔥
Roslyn Wakari - 1 Queens Park Rangers - 2
Southern trip ends in narrow defeat.
After struggling all week to finalise a squad to travel, we had 13 boys make the trip south to Invercargill knowing exactly what to expect from Queens Park Rangers and the way they like to play. We knew their ability to switch play quickly into wide areas, their movement and link-up play, and their ability to play through the thirds would be a big test for us.
The first half proved exactly that.
We struggled to contain QPR’s movement and switches of play, which stretched our midfield and required a huge amount of running off the ball. While we created a couple of opportunities of our own, we were unable to really threaten their goal and eventually found ourselves 1–0 down.
At half time, the message was clear. We needed to be tighter, more compact and lift our work rate if we were going to get ourselves back into the game.
A change of formation to go man-for-man against QPR made an immediate difference. We started the second half brightly, closing players down and, importantly, not allowing them the time and space they had enjoyed in the first half.
The pressure eventually paid off.
Harley pressed high up the pitch to win the ball in midfield before slipping a perfectly weighted ball through to Ben Williams-Davies. Ben used his pace to get in front of his defender inside the box and was brought down, giving us a penalty.
Wilkie stepped up and calmly slotted it away to make it 1–1.
We felt we were starting to get on top of the game and looked increasingly dangerous going forward.
Unfortunately, the game was then interrupted by an injury to Dom Madden, who had to be stretchered from the field — on what can only be described as a rather impressive, World War II-style stretcher. A short break in play followed before the game could continue.
Shortly after the restart, QPR were awarded a free kick inside their own half. The ball was hit long into our box, where a misjudged header resulted in the ball striking the arm of one of our defenders. The referee pointed to the spot, and QPR converted to restore their lead at 2–1.
Despite the setback, the boys continued to push.
We stuck with the style of football that has served us well over the past few weeks — being brave enough to play forward when the opportunity was there and looking to play through the thirds. We began finding more space and created a couple of good opportunities as we searched for an equaliser.
One of the best chances came when Shay Thom played a fantastic through ball into the path of Archie Potter, who had made an excellent run from midfield to put himself one-on-one with the goalkeeper. Unfortunately, Archie couldn’t quite find the finish.
The desire to keep pushing, get bodies forward and find a way back into the game was excellent. The boys continued to work right until the final whistle, but as tiredness began to take its toll, passes and decision-making started to go astray.
In the end, the final whistle went with Queens Park Rangers taking the points in a 2–1 result.
Another huge effort from the boys. We certainly can’t fault the work rate, commitment or desire shown throughout the 90 minutes. Ultimately, we felt the game came down to two moments that unfortunately didn’t go our way.
⭐ Player of the Day
Reid was outstanding at left back, putting in a strong and composed performance across the full 90 minutes.
👏 Special Mentions
Kav — Some quality saves in the second half kept us right in the contest and gave us a chance to get something from the game.
Harley — As player/coach today he put in a massive shift in midfield on his return to playing a Premier League game for the first time in around three years.
Zac — A huge effort to complete the full 90 minutes after being sick for the past two weeks.
A disappointing result, but plenty of positives to take from the performance. The attitude, work rate and willingness to keep fighting until the end were there for all to see.
Next week go again at home for our last game of the season. We look forward to seeing our supporters there.
Coaching team, Tom, Harley, Mike and Scott.
www.roslynwakari.co.nz
