Sam Cacace

Attacking Midfielder (L) - Team Wellington
6 Feb 2027
Saturday
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Overview Personal Contract News 3 Transfers Relations Events 36 Awards 3 Matches History

Marked for Sam Cacace

15 Edition

The Team Wellington Gazette

9 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Match7 Nov 2026

Cruel end for Southern United as Team Wellington pounce

There is no crueller way to lose a football match. Team Wellington scored in the 91th minute, the restart barely happened, and the away end was still standing when the whistle went.

The dugout9 Nov 2026

Dane McCowatt says Team Wellington went back on their word

“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.

Player ratings9 Nov 2026

Steven Lustica, 35, rolls back the years — 8.15

There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.15 at 35, and nobody on the pitch was better.

Player ratings9 Nov 2026

Up for the corner, and Dan Edwards delivers — 7.94

Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Dan Edwards scored, was marked 7.94, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.

Squad9 Nov 2026

Tempers go at Team Wellington

Steven Lustica was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Squad9 Nov 2026

Words at Team Wellington training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ruon Tongyik is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

Match7 Nov 2026

Team Wellington find a way past Southern United

Southern United made Team Wellington work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑1 at the end and the table does not ask how.

Player ratings9 Nov 2026

Willem Ebbinge was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 19. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.

Market9 Nov 2026

One of our own: Chris Kirwan joins the Team Wellington first team

Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Chris Kirwan is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.

In brief

Back issues
14 Edition

The Team Wellington Gazette

2 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad2 Nov 2026

Words exchanged at Team Wellington

Steven Lustica and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.

The dugout2 Nov 2026

Ryan Kirwan gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Squad2 Nov 2026

Ryan Kirwan wants out of the dugout

“I did not sign to watch. Nobody does.” The oldest complaint in the game, and Team Wellington will have to answer it with minutes or with a move.

The dugout2 Nov 2026

Sam Cacace knocks on the manager's door

“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Team Wellington, and both men came out saying it was fine.

Looking ahead2 Nov 2026

Looking ahead: Southern United at home

A side in position 6 visits next. The result will not make anybody’s season and it could quietly break the shape of one, which is why the manager has been watching the video since Sunday.

Squad2 Nov 2026

Marco Smith finally belongs at Team Wellington

The language has come, the shrug has gone, and he argues in training like a man who expects to be here next year. None of it shows up on a fee and all of it shows up on the pitch.

In brief

2 Edition

The Team Wellington Gazette

10 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad10 Aug 2026

A muscle injury sidelines Hassan El Hattab for 14 days

Nobody makes a documentary about a hamstring and everybody in the game fears one. Team Wellington will be careful with the return date, because the second one is always worse than the first.

Squad10 Aug 2026

A falling-out at Team Wellington

Steven Lustica and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Transfer targets10 Aug 2026

No deal for Jordan Vale at that price

Team Wellington offered $29.0K; Auckland City said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.

Transfer targets10 Aug 2026

Team Wellington rebuffed over Oliver Cacace

Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Southern United have kept their man, and Team Wellington go back to a list with one name crossed off it.

Squad10 Aug 2026

Words at Team Wellington training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ruon Tongyik is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

Market10 Aug 2026

Team Wellington promote Sam Stamatelopoulos from within

The academy exists for exactly this morning. Sam Stamatelopoulos has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.

Market10 Aug 2026

One of our own: Marco Stamatelopoulos joins the Team Wellington first team

Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Marco Stamatelopoulos is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.

Market10 Aug 2026

Sam Cacace steps up from the Team Wellington academy

There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Sam Cacace has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.

Market10 Aug 2026

Deklan De Vries steps up from the Team Wellington academy

There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Deklan De Vries has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.

In brief