North Harbour Stadium, Auckland
Friday, January 23rd, 7pm
Written by Jonno Ross
Auckland FC have now made it two wins from two games after beating a stubborn Vanuatu side on Tuesday night. Tomorrow night could be their toughest test yet, when they come up against Bula FC, a side with danger men all over the park. Auckland FC will hope to make it three wins on the bounce, before heading over to Papua New Guinea in 8 days.
On Tuesday night, the boys came away with a vital three points against Vanuatu. It wasn’t the best performance from our side, and the result could have easily been different if Vanuatu had made the most of their chances. A top performance by our goalkeeper, Blake Callinan, had a big influence on the game, making key saves to thwart the opposition.
A little under the pump for the first 60 minutes, despite being 2-0 up, head coach Luke Casserly made an important tactical change – he switched Reid Drake from his usual centre midfield role, and put him as a defensive midfielder. What a difference that made. The game became much more stable for our boys, and we controlled the game from there. Vanuatu managed to score a somewhat lucky goal, with Jordy Tasip shooting at goal, the ball deflecting off our player, sending Callinan the wrong way, with the ball nestling into the back of the net.
That was all Vanuatu could muster, and Matt Ellis sealed the victory in the 69th minute with a beautiful shot across the keeper and into the bottom left corner. Full-time 3-1. As player of the match, Luka Vicelich said in his post-match interview, the team didn’t have the best performance, but a win is a win, and we focus on the next match.
Our attention focuses on tonight’s fixture against Bula FC, who have played just the one time in the competition so far. They were unlucky not to come away with the win, conceding in the 96th minute via a goalkeeping error from Didier Disprez.
Our boys will have to be wary of Fijian legend, Roy Krishna. The 38-year-old, despite his age, is a powerhouse. He still has a deadly pace and is a lethal finisher in front of goal. A tough player to defend against, and our defenders can’t afford to take their eyes off him.
We look to make it three from three, potentially topping the leaderboard by nine points, depending on other results from the sides below us. A loss could see us drop to third, depending on the other side’s goal difference.
Tune into FIFA+ or TVNZ+ to support the lads.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Look out for the attacker, Isa Prins. Last year’s Central Leagues player of the year with Wellington Olympic, will look to open his account for Auckland FC. The 20-year-old has goals in his locker, last year scoring 16 goals across the Northern League and National League for Wellington Olympic.
Player of the match, Luka Vicelich, capped off a fine defensive performance on Tuesday night, with his glancing header into the net to open the scoring. It’s no surprise where he gets his defending pedigree from, with former NZ international Ivan Vicelich being his father. Always a player to look forward to watching. His class on the pitch does not reflect his age (just 17). He’s got a big future ahead of him.
