Source: Radio New Zealand
Auckland FC fans, crowd and supporters aka The Port. Andrew Cornaga / www.photosport.nz
Auckland FC’s season is on the line this Saturday – and their patchy home form means survival is far from certain.
Win the A-League Elimination Final against Melbourne City at Go Media Stadium and Auckland will progress to the two-legged semi-finals against Adelaide United. A loss will end their second season in the league in disappointment.
From 13 home games this season Auckland have won five, drawn four and lost four.
A fortnight ago Auckland coach Steve Corica signposted home form “could be crucial in the finals”.
At the time Corica would not have known just how important another win in front of their supporter group would end up being.
Results in the final round of the regular season, away to Sydney FC, meant Auckland are back at their homeground a couple of weeks sooner than they wanted to be.
Going into the last round Auckland could have finished second and had a guaranteed semi-final appearance for the second season in a row, as well as a week off. Instead the team dropped out of contention for direct entry to the semi-finals and have to back up with an undermanned squad in a one-off game against sixth placed finishers Melbourne City.
The last time Auckland won at home was 28 February – against City.
Across the 12-team competition Auckland finished the regular season in third place but in the standings for home form were ranked fifth.
Auckland FC’s Guillermo May scores in their A-League clash against Melbourne City in Auckland on 28 February. Photosport
City’s road form has seen the side win four games, draw six and lose three.
However, the last two times City were in Auckland, in February and before that January last season, the visitors lost 3-0.
City coach Aurelio Vidmar was aware of the record.
“It’s not a place we’ve done well over our last two visits there, but it’s a final, obviously they’re going to have a fair crowd behind them but anything can happen and we just have to go there with the sleeves rolled up and ready to compete for every single ball that’s the kind of game it’s going to be,” he said of Saturday’s clash.
Auckland could have a psychological advantage, but Corica said both teams would feel the pressure.
“For us, it’s just about maintaining focus.
“It’s a big match. Obviously, there’s going to be pressure on the players but it’s how they deal with that pressure and they don’t get too overwhelmed with it.
“Being excited is great, but having a calm head when the pressure is on to finish the job is going to be vital.”
It has been five games since Auckland last won but finals football was the backs against the wall situation that forward Guillermo May said he wanted to be involved in.
“I’m the type of player that came here to play this type of game,” the Uruguayan said.
“The stats are not going to give us a victory or a defeat, so I don’t care what happened before.
“Sometimes, because you have to play different, playing at home than away, you have to be responsible for the game, you have to lead the game.
“Maybe most of the teams come and play on their own half, so we need to understand that and play better with the ball.”
Louis Verstraete of Auckland FC after a game against Sydney FC. Andrew Cornaga/www.photosport.nz
Some of May’s team mates had been confident that Auckland would finish in the top two but he was not shocked with where they finished the regular season.
“I was expecting something difficult.
“When you don’t perform as good as you have to, the luck is not going to be with you.
“I was expecting that, but it’s no more than preparing one more game and winning it.
“It’s going to give us an extra feeling of pride at the end.”
Corica also wanted a feeling of pride with his team’s fighting spirit in the must-win game that could define their season.
“They’re a really good team, we’ve got to respect that,” he said of City.
“Whether we win after 90 minutes or we have to go all the way and we go to penalties, the aim is to come out of that game and that we’re going to be playing against Adelaide the week after.”
Last season Auckland’s homeground was a fortress and their home form was a significant part of a record-breaking season.
But it was also the place where their inaugural season ended when they could not win the second leg of the 2024/25 semi-finals against Melbourne Victory.
Saturday is a chance to change the narrative around must-win games at home. If Auckland win against City they would get one more home game this season as part of the home and away semi-finals.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
