2025 Mens Championship and Reserves Season Preview
Men's Reserves
A strong season in 2024 ultimately led to a little bit of disappointment as the team finished in second place, after losing a tight battle with Takapuna, however with a young side and a number of players getting opportunities in the First Team during the 2024 season, the season can be considered a big success. Highlights include a stellar scoring spell from Will Litchfield where he scored something like 23 goals in 5 games, a second season breakout performance from Sami Mustafa pushed him into First Team contention while we saw players like Kairo, Nick and Finn put in some good performances in Reserves to put pressure on Ben to select them in First Team games. Reserves is a critical cog in how Ellerslie AFC operates and we can’t wait to see how this pans out in the 2025 season.
2025 Season Preview
An exciting start to 2025 kicked off as we welcomed back ex-pony Lewis Parke and with it a rebuild of the the squad for the 2025 season, while some of the leaders in the team in the shape of Monju and Dylan are still in place we have seen a massive change over of players, some promoted up to First Team, some aged out and some moved away – which allows us to bring up a number of players from our U17’s team – which is exciting!
In's and Out's
In's:
Thomas Wrack (Uni-Mt Wellington Bohemians)), Liam Hamil (Uni-Mt Wellington Bohemians), Luc Hamil (Uni-Mt Wellington Bohemians), Tennyson Diaz Campbell (Uni-Mt Wellington Bohemians)
Promoted from Youth: Franco Cruz Palomo, Josh King, Marlon Bayliss, Oscar Forman, Reuben Solomon, Sam Tiplady.
Out's:
Jonathan Santos da Silva (Manukau Utd), Karam Pilkington (injured), Hudson Smith (Otago Uni AFC), Ben Netherclift (Overseas), Jack Brown (Eastern Suburbs*), Mac Smith (Overseas), Theo Wicks (TBC)
*Mid season transfer in 2024
First Five Games
22.03.25 Takapuna vs Ellerslie AFC 12:30pm at Taharoto Park
29.03.25 Ellerslie vs Northern Rovers 2:30pm at Michaels Ave
05.04.25 Ellerslie vs Melville Utd 11:30pm at Michaels Ave
12.04.25 Ellerslie vs Hamilton Wanderers 12:30pm at Michaels Ave
17.04.25 Ellerslie vs Manukau Utd 12:30pm at Michaels Ave (Good Friday)
Full Draw available here: https://ellersliefootball.org.nz/senior-fixtures/2025-mens-reserves
2025 Men's Reserves Squad + Training Players
1. Kyryl Bolharyn (GK)
2. Josh King
4. Tennyson Diaz-Campbell
5. Reuben Solomon
6. Dylan Riminton
7. Sami Mustafa
8. Sam Tiplady
9. Franco Cruz Palomo
10.Luc Hamill
11. Thomas Wrack
13. Liam Hamill
14. Liam McLachlan
15. Oskar Rimmer
16. Ben Whiting
18. Jackson Gilbert (GK)
24. Peter Hargrove
25. Marlon Baylis
26. Monju Shohei (c)
27. Adam Bolland
28. Oscar Foreman
45. Stephen White (GK)
Men's First Team
A similar story to previous seasons, some very impressive performances, a few close results against the top teams and then dropped points against lower placed teams and then ultimately finishing 7th – but that doesn't show the progress we made again in this season. A positive goal difference was one of the main targets in terms of improvement from 2024 and we managed to tick that box, we also reduced the amount of cards from 2024. In terms of being competitive there was probably only 1 game where we were conclusively outplayed, which was Manukau at Michaels Ave. Despite losses against Ngaruawahia twice we competed with them in both games, the same applied when we played eventual champions Fencibles.
2024 was also an exciting year for player development, we saw opportunities handed to a bunch of reserves players, with all of them impressing in their opportunities – we used a tad under 30 players in the 2024 season, which is pleasing to see opportunities handed to so many players.
2025 Season Preview
A bit of a refresh of the coaching staff to assist Ben and returning coaches Trent and Lex is a promising sign for 2025 – as is the amount of players promoted up from the clubs Youth Development Programme. It’s also the first time since the 2013 season we have seen so many players be picked up by Northern League teams – so far we have three players picked up, Tom Durkin to West Coast Rangers and Tawanda Marowa and Astor Perez Baldoni both to Bay Olympic – which reflects well on what the club is doing in this space. If we gaze into the crystal ball we can see players from our 2025 group being picked up by either some Northern League teams or by Auckland FC for their pathway, both of which help cement our reputation as a place where players can develop to the brink of professional football!
Our recruitment in 2025 has focused on replacing some experience in the team, players who have played in this league before are vital to add to our team and a number of the players coming in have that experience. On the flip side we are also super excited with the promotion of 3 of our U17 Red players into the First Team environment, they will add some infectious enthusiasm and quality to the group.
In's and Out's
In's:
Alfie Massey (Tranmere Rovers Academy – Season Loan), Kyryl Bolharyn (returning from injury), Sam Lonergan (Bucklands Beach), Josh Marshall (Otago Uni AFC), Ellis Breadmore (South Auckland Rangers), Kai Paetz (Uni-Mt Bohemian), Muhammad Mohebbie (Onehunga Mangere), Ronan Hutchings (Egham Town)
Promoted from Youth: Benjamin Perez Baldoni, Vicente Perez Baldoni, Ryan McIntyre
Out's:
Oliver Kelly (not playing), Thomas Holmes (unknown), Tawanda Marowa (Bay Olympic), Tom Durkin (West Coast Rangers), Jono Ansley (not playing), Leon van der Heijden (Overseas), Huw Emery (FCV Grace Dieu, UK), Devon Andrews (Takapuna*), Axel Andersson (Overseas), Eli Smith (Overseas), Astor Perez Baldoni (Bay Olympic).
*Mid season transfer from 2024
First Five Games
22.03.25 Takapuna vs Ellerslie AFC 3pm at Taharoto Park
29.03.25 Ellerslie vs Northern Rovers 5pm at Michaels Ave
05.04.25 Ellerslie vs Melville Utd 2pm at Michaels Ave
12.04.25 Ellerslie vs Hamilton Wanderers 3pm at Michaels Ave
17.04.25 Ellerslie vs Manukau Utd 7pm at Michaels Ave (Thursday Night)
Full Draw available here: https://ellersliefootball.org.nz/senior-fixtures/2025-mens-first-team
2025 Men's First Team Squad
1. Keegan Hansen (vc)
4. Finn Rathbone
5. Alfie Massey
6. Nick Shaw
7. Jordan Oosterhof
8. Sam Lonergan
9. Will Litchfield
10. Shukrullah Rezaie
11. Ellis Breadmore
12.Kairo Jacobs
13. Jack Rathbone (vc)
14. Kai Paetz
15. Seb Poelman (c)
16. Rowan Corbett
17. Josh Marshall
18. Jackson Gilbert
19. Levi Johnson
20. Vicente Perez Baldoni
21. Ben Perez Baldoni
22. Ege Ozturk
23. Ryan McIntyre
24. Muhammad Mohebbie
25. Ronan Hutchings
45. Kyryl Bolharyn
#UpThePonies
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