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010225
Auckland Stay Top With Another Late Winner
by Jeremy Ruane
Auckland FC retained their place at the top of the Isuzu Ute A-League on February 1, overcoming the challenge of Macarthur Bulls 2-1 in front of 14,051 fans at GoMedia Mt. Smart Stadium, their winning goal coming ten minutes from time.
A lively start by both teams saw both defences under pressure inside the first five minutes, with Marin Jakolis firing the first shot in anger, a lofted effort which Alex Paulsen grabbed in front of "The Port", who have quickly succeeded any other supporters group as the country's best.
Auckland responded by taking the lead in the ninth minute. Hiroki Sakai's long throw-in was headed on by Max Mata to Neyder Moreno, who swivelled to hook home from close range, directing his shot between Kealey Adamson and the near post.
Macarthur weren't going to take this lying down, and pounded away in search of a swift equaliser. Valere Germain couldn't get the ball out from under his feet when picked out by Jakolis' fourteenth minute cross, while three minutes later, Luke Brattan's charging run from halfway came to a shuddering halt when Nando Pijnaker intervened for Auckland's cause.
The visitors were denied a clear-cut penalty in the eighteenth minute when Moreno upended Chris Ikonomidis - this despite a review by the Video Assistant Referee - but Macarthur played on and were rewarded with the equaliser sixty seconds later.
Brattan spread play wide to Jakolis, who delivered another angled ball into the danger zone. This one picked out the near post run of Germain, whose header was parried by Paulsen at the precise moment that the striker collided with Pijnaker, an incident which ended the defender's afternoon.
As both were going to ground, Hollman was striding onto the loose ball, and deftly tucked it into the far corner in front of Auckland's fanbase, briefly silencing them, although no doubt some of that was due to their concern for Pijnaker, who until now, hadn't missed a minute's play for the team so far this season.
His departure had an effect on the game for the next fifteen minutes or so, but once the tackles started flying in again, and referee Lachlan Keevers saw fit to book a couple of the principal offenders, the contest got back on track.
Auckland finished the stronger of the teams, and in Francis de Vries, had the game's most dangerous supplier of crosses in their ranks. The fullback's 35th minute delivery was a peach, Mata's resulting header being grabbed by Filip Kurto, who produced a fine reflex save to keep out Guillermo May's superb diving header when de Vries whipped in another cross to the near post just before half-time.
Following de Vries' example, Logan Rogerson made his first noteworthy contribution to proceedings in first half stoppage time, a burst down the right followed by a cross to the far post which prompted May to launch into another flying header, this time one he couldn't quite direct on target, the ball ending up clearing the crossbar while he ended up where he'd intended to head it.
The home team were into it from the first whistle in the second spell, Mata breaking down the right before under-hitting a cross towards May. It confused the Macarthur defence, however, with Kurto and the immensely performed Tomislav Uskok getting in a mix-up which eventually saw a corner conceded.
From it, another tantalising de Vries delivery forced Kurto into a scrambling save low at his near post. And in the 55th minute, more de Vries devilry caused chaos in Macarthur's goalmouth, with Josh
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Domevski throwing himself in the way of Moreno's shot to present the first goalscorer from doubling Auckland's tally.
Macarthur responded through Jakolis once more, with Ivan Vujica racing up inside him to deliver a cross which picked out the unmarked figure of Hollman. Tommy Smith ensured that wasn't the case for more than a second, stepping in to block the midfielder's shot as he looked to double his own and his team's score in the 57th minute.
Jake Brimmer and Moreno combined with the overlapping figure of de Vries soon after, the fullback's cross picking out Mata. Vujica intervened to ensure parity on the scoreboard this time round, a situation which remained in the 63rd minute as Ikonomidis fired a shot on the turn past the far post after combining with Adamson and Brattan.
Cue another tantalising de Vries cross, this one arcing beyond May, Uskok and Kurto to Mata, who marginally overran it but instinctively - and unsuccessfully - attempted a back-heeled flick to divert it goalwards.
Back came the visitors, Sakai's super tackle stopping substitute Harry Sawyer in his tracks in the 69th minute. The newcomer retrieved the ball and picked out Germain. Louis Verstraete blocked his shot, while Callan Elliot, Pijnaker's replacement, intervened to prevent Jakolis from unleashing a shot on goal.
Within seconds, Vujica had fired in a cross which Sawyer headed goalwards, only for Paulsen to smother the danger, which was very real for Auckland, given Macarthur headed east having won their last four fixtures on the road.
How to snuff out the prospect of a fifth such victory? Score a trademark late Auckland winner - not quite as late as they've been netted in recent fixtures, but there were no complaints from the natives when the net bulged with ten minutes remaining.
Inevitably, de Vries was the architect of Macarthur's downfall, delivering a gem of a free-kick - earned by the lively Marlee Francois - to the far post where Verstraete swooped to conquer, heading home from three yards before celebrating his first goal for the club with the Auckland fans behind the goal.
That strike gave Auckland renewed vigour, and they finished with a wet sail. Francois was narrowly astray with a twenty-five yarder, then couldn't direct Jesse Randall's driven cross home due to the presence of Adamson.
Vujica blocked a May header in the 87th minute, then just failed to get on the end of a Jakolis corner as the visitors looked to level the scores in stoppage time. But Auckland kept on coming, Felipe Gallegos' great work on the left culminating in an opening for May, whose shot on the turn was blocked by Uskok.
It would have been somewhat fitting had de Vries supplied the delivery which finally settled the contest - his stoppage time free-kick was just pawed to safety by Kurto - but the league leaders had done enough to retain their grip on the top rung on the ladder thanks to this hard-earned 2-1 win over one of their top four rivals.
Auckland: Paulsen; Sakai, Smith, Pijnaker (Elliot, 23), de Vries; Rogerson (Howieson, 83), Verstraete (booked, 90), Brimmer (Gallegos, 72), Moreno (Francois, 72); Mata (Randall, 72), May
Macarthur: Kurto; Adamson, Damevski (Scott, 81), Uskok, Vujica (booked, 31); Deli (Sawyer, 66), Hollman (Randazzo, 88), Brattan (booked, 34); Ikonomidis (Bosnjak, 66), Germain, Jakolis
Referee: Lachlan Keevers
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