Source: Radio New Zealand
Auckland FC v Wellington Phoenix
Saturday, 6 December
Kick-off: 5pm
Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland
Live blog updates on RNZ
Auckland FC may be the most vulnerable they have ever been ahead of a New Zealand derby game in the A-League.
Saturday’s fifth edition of the derby with the Wellington Phoenix is the only one of this season’s three head-to-heads that will be played in Auckland.
Auckland have dominated the previous four derby games, over two seasons, including a 2-1 win in November in the first clash this season.
But the Phoenix come into the round seven game with momentum on their side. While the Phoenix upset Adelaide United 2-1 in Wellington last week, Auckland lost for this first time this season going down to the Newcastle Jets in heavy rain.
Will the second derby of the season live up to the first?
An opening goal scored less than 30 seconds into the game, red cards and injuries, the first New Zealand derby of the 2025/26 season was a spectacle at Sky Stadium.
Auckland silenced the Yellow Fever fans after just 28 seconds when Sam Cosgrove scored the first of his two goals. The Phoenix levelled the scores through their own import striker, Ifeanyi Eze, in the ninth minute before Cosgrove scored the winner just after the half hour mark.
The second half was punctuated by two red cards for Auckland players – first centreback Dan Hall and then Logan Rogerson – as well as a dislocated shoulder for stand-in skipper Jake Brimmer.
For the Phoenix, it was another painful chapter in the growing rivalry – a night when numerical advantage, home support and near-total dominance could not deliver a first victory against their rivals.
The second derby of the season, just four weeks (or two games) after the first, comes on a big day for New Zealand football.
On Saturday morning the All Whites will find out who they will play at next year’s Football World Cup when the draw for the global tournament is made in Washington DC. Less than 12 hours later potential All Whites team mates will face off, or play alongside each other, at Mt Smart Stadium with their attention needing to be firmly on what is in front of them over the next 90 minutes rather than the next six months.
Will the Phoenix capitalise and end the Auckland dominance on a day when football is a focus in New Zealand?
What they said
Rogerson is good mates with Phoenix captain and fellow All White Alex Rufer, and is a former Phoenix player but said he tried to keep to himself before the derby games.
“It’s hard to not give [Rufer] a little look but by the time we’re in the tunnel all the boys are pretty much in the zone and then once we cross the white line it’s full noise.”
Rogerson’s two match suspension from his red card picked up in the last derby game was his first suspension in his career but it will not change his approach.
“I’m just going to go out there and try and do the same things as I do normally,” Rogerson said.
“It happened so quick, half a second, like a little brain explosion, so I’ve just got to think about it like that and play more normal game really.”
Auckland FC coach Steve Corica said derby games were “special” and he wanted to keep the dominance going.
“For us it’s about winning at every opportunity and so far we’re doing a great job but that can turn around very quickly if we don’t do the right thing and to make sure that there’s no complacency, there shouldn’t be because we just had a loss last week, and we should be all hungry to want to get back on track and back to winning ways. It’s going to be an important game for both teams,” Corica said.
Phoenix coach Giancarlo Italiano said he was “confident” ahead of this derby game.
“I’ve spoken to the group about evolving and part of that evolution is maturing as a collective and I felt like we were a little but undone the last game when we played Auckland, we played the moment and played 30 minutes like it was the last minute and we’ve addressed that and I think there is a sense of maturity coming within in the group now and I’m really looking forward to the challenge tomorrow.
“Any victory against them would be satisfying… outside of Auckland I think most people are cheering for us. I haven’t heard anyone outside of Auckland say they like Auckland.
“Losing four is probably not a reflection of where both teams are at.”
Squads ins and outs
Auckland FC’s Jake Brimmer will captain the side in Hiroki Sakai’s absence. RNZ / Marika Khabazi
Auckland captain Hiroki Sakai will miss his second derby in a row as he recovers from a hamstring injury.
The Phoenix have a long injury list including All White Tim Payne as well as Paulo Retre, Hideki Ishige, Nikola Mileisnic, Nathan Walker and Luke Supyk.
Auckland FC: 1. Michael Woud, 3. Jake Girdwood-Reich, 4. Nando Pijnaker, 6. Louis Verstrate, 7. Cameron Howieson, 8. Felipe Gallegos, 9. Sam Cosgrove, 10. Guillermo May, 11. Marlee Francois, 14. Liam Gillion, 15. Francis de Vries, 17. Callan Elliot, 19. Oliver Middleton, 20. Oli Sail, 21. Jesse Randall, 22. Jake Brimmer, 23. Dan Hall, 27. Logan Rogerson, 35. Jonty Bidois, 77. Lachlan Brook.
Wellington Phoenix:1. Josh Oluwayemi, 3. Corban Poper, 4. Manjrekar James, 5. Fin Roa Conchie, 7. Ifeanyi Eze, 11. Carlo Armiento, 12. Dan Edwards, 14. Alex Rufer (c), 15. Isaac Hughes, 17. Gabriel Sloane-Rodrigues, 18. Lukas Kelly-Heald, 20. Ramy Najjarine, 24. Xuan Loke, 25. Kazuki Nagasawa, 27. Matt Sheridan, 29. Luke Brooke-Smith, 30. Alby Kelly-Heald, 37. Anaru Cassidy, 39. Jayden Smith, 40. Eamonn Mccarron.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
