The Waitakere United Sentinel
Squad13 Dec 2027
A falling-out at Waitakere United
Owen Barbarouses and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad13 Dec 2027
Words at Waitakere United training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Liberato Garbett 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.
Match11 Dec 2027
Jake Reid sends Waitakere United past Hawke's Bay United
It finished 1‑0, and it was Jake Reid’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Waitakere United.
Player ratings13 Dec 2027
The afternoon belonged to Jake Reid
A mark of 7.96, and nobody in the ground would argue with it. He was involved in everything that mattered and most of what did not.
The dugout13 Dec 2027
A promise honoured for Liberato Garbett
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Waitakere United told Liberato Garbett something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
The dugout13 Dec 2027
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Jai Sutton, on a 1‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
Looking ahead13 Dec 2027
Liberato Garbett faces his old club
WaiBOP United next, and one man in the Waitakere United dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
Squad13 Dec 2027
Noah Singh, 15, gets his chance
Off the academy pitches and onto a senior team sheet at 15. The debut is the easy part; the second appearance is the one every young player has to earn.
Market13 Dec 2027
The Owen Barbarouses story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Owen Barbarouses signs something — a contract at Waitakere United or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
In brief
- Player ratings Oliver Van Hattum was unplayable
- The dugout Kosta De Vries left out for tactical reasons at Waitakere United
- The dugout Dane Smith knocks on the manager’s door