Melville notched another come-from-behind preseason win with a 2-1 victory over fellow northern premier leaguers Manukau United, under lights on Gower 6 (Friday night).

It was a closely contested match, with Melville falling behind just before half time.

But early in the second spell Jama Boss – who had come off the bench at the break – swept the ball high into the net in the aftermath of a corner.

And shortly afterwards Luis Hamblin scored his third goal in two preseason outings when he nicely rode a tackle to maintain his footing and hit home off the post to complete the scoring.

Melville had more chances to extend their lead, with Lucca Lim having a glorious chance after being played in by Boss and Josh Barrymore-Uden hitting a nice half-volley.

With Max Tommy unwell, Kobe Taylor played in goal for Melville. Other notable starters were Stafford Dowling, one of Melville’s star performers from the 2022 season, after which he went to the US, and Sean Leadley, scorer of six northern league goals for Melville in 2024 and newcomer Sham Chetty (previously with the likes of Franklin, Manukau, Wanderers, Tauranga).

Lucca Lim in action against Manukau United

The starting lineup was: Kobe Taylor, Robbie McNicholas, Luke Searle, Campbell Brown, Sam Chetty, Lucca Lim, Joel McMullan (C), Connor Austin, Sean Leadley, Luis Hamblin, Stafford Dowling. 

Manukau appear to no longer have the likes of Connor Probert, Daniel Bunch, Dylan Morris or Augustin Contratti.

On Saturday March 7 Melville are away to North Shore, then at home to Auckland City at 1.30pm on Saturday March 14. the league starts on Saturday March 21, with Melville hosting Auckland United at 6pm.

Article added: Sunday 01 March 2026