The 2018–19 New Zealand Football Championship season (currently known as the ISPS Handa Premiership for sponsorship reasons) was the fifteenth season of the NZFC since its establishment in 2004. Ten teams competed in the competition with Auckland City and Team Wellington representing the ISPS Handa Premiership in the 2019 OFC Champions League after finishing Champions and Premiers (Auckland City) and runner-up (Team Wellington) respectively in the 2017–18 competition.
Clubs Team Location Stadium Capacity Manager Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsorAuckland City Auckland Kiwitea Street 3,250 Ramon Tribulietx Kappa Trillian Trust Inc (Front) Carters (Back)Canterbury United Christchurch English Park 9,000 Willy Gerdsen Nike Robbie's Bar and BistroEastern Suburbs Auckland Riverhills Park 5,000 Danny Hay Lilywhites Winger MotorsHamilton Wanderers Hamilton Porritt Stadium 5,000 Ricki Herbert Kelme The Soccer ShopHawke's Bay United Napier Bluewater Stadium 5,000 Brett Angell Adidas Thirsty WhaleSouthern United Dunedin Sunnyvale Park 1,000 Paul O'ReillyLotto Sport Italia Freshwater SolutionsTasman United Nelson Trafalgar Park 18,000 Andy Hedge NikeNelson Pine LVL (Front) Sprig & Fern (Back)Team Wellington Wellington David Farrington Park 2,250 José FigueiraNike Stonewood HomesWaitakere United Auckland The Trusts Arena 4,900 Chris Milicich Lotto Sport Italia Mitre 10 Mega - Henderson (Front) Heritage Hotels (Back)Wellington Phoenix Wellington Porirua Park 1,900 Paul Temple Adidas Huawei
Regular season
League table
Positions by round
Notes: The match between Southern United and Auckland City in Round 3 was abandoned at 0–0 after 47 minutes due to the pitch becoming unplayable, it will be rescheduled for 14 February 2019. Waitakere United were tied with Wellington Phoenix Reserves at the end of Round 3 in last place. The match between Canterbury United and Tasman United was cancelled due to the Christchurch mosque shootings and awarded as a 0–0 draw.
Fixtures and results The 2018–19 season sees every team play the other both home and away. With the finals series being played at the end of March 2019
Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Round 4
Round 5
Round 6
Round 7
Round 8
Round 9
Round 10
Round 11
Round 12
Round 13
Round 14
Round 15
Round 16
Round 17
Round 18
Round 19
Round 20
Round 21
* The match between Canterbury United and Tasman United was cancelled due to the Christchurch mosque shootings and awarded as a 0–0 draw.
Finals series
Semi-finals
Grand final
GK 1 Andrew Withers DF 16 Dominic Wooldridge DF 3 Kelvin Kalua DF 4 Nando PijnakerMF 15 Dalton Wilkins MF 7 Tim Payne (c)MF 6 Harry Edge MF 8 Owen Parker-PriceFW 14 Elijah Just FW 10 Andre de Jong FW 9 Callum McCowatt Substitutes:GK 21 Justin BiegaDF 2 Alex Clayton DF 5 Adam ThomasMF 23 Campbell Strong MF 17 Michael Built MF 12 Kingsley Sinclair FW 11 Mohammed Awad Manager: Danny Hay GK 1 Scott BasalajDF 11 Bill Robertson DF 4 Mario Ilich DF 16 Taylor Schrijvers MF 14 Jack-Henry Sinclair MF 17 Alex Palezević MF 12 Andy Bevin (c) MF 18 Aaron Clapham MF 15 Joel Stevens FW 10 Nathanael Hailemariam FW 16 Angus Kilkolly Substitutes:GK 22 Marcel KampmanDF 3 Adam Mitchell MF 7 Eric Molloy MF 8 Henry Cameron MF 13 Daniel Mulholland FW 19 Ross Allen Manager: José Figueira Steve Sumner Trophy: Callum McCowatt
Statistics
Top scorers RankPlayerClubGoals 1 Callum McCowatt Eastern Suburbs 182 Andre de Jong Eastern Suburbs16 Sam Mason-Smith Hawke's Bay United 4 Garbhan Coughlan Southern United 13 5 Martín Bueno Hamilton Wanderers 126 Stephen Hoyle Canterbury United10 Tommy Semmy Hamilton Wanderers8 Javier López Auckland City8 Ahmed Othman Tasman United Ben Waine Wellington Phoenix Reserves Hamish Watson Team Wellington
Hat-tricks Player For Against Result Date Ref Martín Bueno Hamilton Wanderers Waitakere United 4–3 Sam Mason-Smith Hawke's Bay United Wellington Phoenix Reserves 4–1 Callum McCowatt Eastern Suburbs Wellington Phoenix Reserves 4–0 Garbhan Coughlan Southern United Hamilton Wanderers 3–1 Alex Connor-McLean Waitakere United Hawke's Bay United 7–2 Andre de Jong Eastern Suburbs Waitakere United 5–1 Callum McCowatt Eastern Suburbs Team Wellington 3–0
Own goals PlayerClubAgainstRoundJordan ValeAuckland CityTasman United2Sean LiddicoatCanterbury UnitedEastern Suburbs4Sean LiddicoatCanterbury UnitedTeam Wellington8Boyd CurryWellington Phoenix ReservesSouthern United8Erik PanzerSouthern UnitedAuckland City12James HoyleHamilton WanderersHawke's Bay United14
References
External links ISPS Handa Premiership website