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010325
Auckland And Adelaide Share Eight Goals In Thriller
by Jeremy Ruane
Auckland FC and Adelaide United played out an Isuzu Ute A-League thriller at GoMedia Mt Smart Stadium on March 1, the 16,709 fans present treated to an eight-goal extravaganza as this top-of-the-table clash concluded in dramatic fashion with honours even, 4-4.
As is usual when on home turf, Auckland hit the ground running, with Guillermo May volleying over the bar in the sixth minute after a teasing Jake Brimmer cross was punched out to him by Ethan Cox.
That proved to be a sighter for the Uruguayan, for four minutes later, he opened the scoring with a belter! Brimmer fed the ball to him thirty yards out from goal, and May evaded a challenge before unleashing a twenty-five yard screamer for which Cox was still diving when the ball rebounded off the net and back into the goalmouth.
Adelaide looked to hit back straight away, Zac Clough lashing a twenty-yarder into "The Port" - much to their delight - after Archie Goodwin caught Felipe Gallegos in possession halfway inside his own half.
Auckland's response was deadly - a second goal just fourteen minutes into play. Francis de Vries delivered a long throw-in into the goalmouth which arced over the double-teamed Max Mata, who found himself in between two defenders at the near post. Stealing in behind the trio was May, who gleefully tucked home from two yards for his second goal in four minutes.
And so nearly a nine-minute hat-trick for the striker soon after, May's header looping just past the far post after Adelaide failed to clear a long throw-in, allowing Brimmer to float in another cross which Jordan Elsey could only head in the direction of the game's lone goalscorer to this point.
United coach Carl Veart responded to the problems May was causing them by changing his formation, Ethan Alagich dropping in beside Jay Barnett to form a defensive duo in front of the back four, thus stifling the spaces Auckland had exploited so effectively early doors.
The change in tactics saw a change in the balance of play, with Adelaide soon assuming the ascendancy, the first hint of which saw Clough's free-kick from the left flank being pawed out from underneath his crossbar by Alex Paulsen in the twentieth minute.
Three minutes later, Ryan Kitto worked an opening with Ben Folami which resulted in the latter picking out Yaya Dukuly with his cross. De Vries blocked his shot at close quarters, but when Adelaide next attacked, they halved the deficit on the scoreboard via a corner on the half-hour.
Goodwin lost his marker at the near post as Clough delivered the set-piece into that area of the goalmouth, affording Goodwin the chance to direct a header goalwards. It hit the upright and ricocheted across goal to the far post, where Elsey, following in, tapped in for 2-1.
That put the cat amongst the pigeons in "The Port"'s supporters base, but they were soon singing again, albeit a tad nervously as United proceeded to take charge of the game, with Folami working an opening which saw Clough send a twenty-yarder narrowly past the top far corner of the net six minutes before half-time.
Auckland responded to this with the first sighting of Neyder Moreno as an attacking force in the contest. Down the left he stormed before whipping in a cross which found Cox wanting, but which May was unable to control and turn home from a tight angle.
Adelaide came desperately close to levelling the scores in the 43rd minute. Folami and Clough combined again, the latter's shot being parried by Paulsen, who will feel he should have held it.
Smith, Nando Pijnaker and Goodwin all converged on the loose ball on the edge of the goal area, with the United man complaining that he was fouled in the midst of it all. The ball broke kindly for Clough, who drilled a low shot against the base of the near post from an acute angle - a let-off for Auckland, who came out all guns blazing at the start of the second spell.
Moreno signalled their intentions with a forty-yard thunderbolt which careered narrowly past Cox's right-hand post in the 48th minute. Three minutes later, the Colombian sent May hurtling through the inside right channel, where he found himself confronted by Kitto and Bart Vriends, the latter blocking his shot to safety.
It only delayed the inevitable, however, as de Vries' pinpoint corner landed on the head of Rogerson, who was virtually on the goal line - 3-1, and he will
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never score an easier headed goal than this one.
Back came Adelaide, a Folami shot on the run flying over the crossbar before another attack saw half-time substitute Louis Verstraete and Alagich tangling just inside the penalty area. Auckland were able to clear their lines and launch a counter-attack which culminated in May's shot being blocked by Kitto, but while that was going on, the Video Assistant Referee was assessing matters.
Referee Daniel Elder - far from his finest hour-and-a-half, this match - was invited to view an incident which took place directly in front of him, and which he'd seen no reason to stop play for a foul.
Upon seeing footage of the incident, however, the official saw fit to change his original decision, deeming that a penalty was in order. Paulsen got a hand to Clough's spot-kick, but not enough to prevent the scoreline changing again in the 61st minute - 3-2.
Buoyed by this, the visitors pressed again, Dukuly seeing a shot blocked by Gallegos in the 67th minute after working a one-two with Clough on the left. Auckland responded four minutes later, de Vries sending substitute Marlee Francois down the right, from where he picked out May with a cross. The striker's shot was again blocked to safety was Vriends.
Thirteen minutes from time, Francois failed to meet a Verstraete pass, his decision to let it come to him allowing Kitto to steal in, secure possession and spark a counter-attack, Barnett leading the charge.
He got into the penalty area before slipping the ball inside to Stefan Mauk, who knows all the tricks when it comes to earning spot kicks when under pressure from an opponent. Pijnaker was the unwilling victim of his ploy, Mauk going to ground rather too easily, but enough to convince referee Elder to point to the penalty spot for a second time in the half. Clough sent Paulsen the wrong way from twelve yards - 3-3, and a grandstand finish in store.
Oh boy, was there a grandstand finish in store! Auckland, having twice been pegged back by United, piled on the pressure in a bid to take the lead again. Concerted attacks abounded, with that produced in the 88th minute the best of them all.
De Vries' cross arced just over the head of Randall and Francois on the far post, but was gathered by substitute Callan Elliot. He delivered a cross to the near post which Randall directed goalwards, only for Cox to block with his leg at point-blank range.
Soon after, de Vries delivered a free-kick from the left which picked out the head of Smith. He was unable to cap off the 550th game of his professional career with a goal, Cox grabbing the ball to prevent Auckland from taking the lead as the game headed into what turned out to be twelve minutes of stoppage time.
More than enough for a goal or two, as these teams proved when they met in Adelaide earlier in the season. As that game entered stoppage time, the scoreboard read 1-1, but come the full-time whistle, both teams had doubled their numbers.
As then, so now, with Auckland taking the lead in the second minute of stoppage time. Randall delivered a cross to the far post which arced beyond Francois, but was retrieved by Hiroki Sakai.
He linked with Verstraete, and moved in-field as the half-time substitute brought the overlapping figure of Elliot into the game again. His cross to the near post was perfect for Sakai to head goalwards, then react swiftly to stab home the rebound after Cox had fumbled his attempt to keep out the original effort.
4-3 Auckland, and it remained that way until the eighth minute of stoppage time, when United pulled a rabbit out of the hat to clinch a point from this riveting encounter. In the aftermath of a corner, Mauk invited fellow substitute Austin Ayoubi to surge to the by-line, from where he delivered a cross which ricocheted off another late replacement, Ryan White.
Crucially, this took the ball past Paulsen, and allowed Vriends to prod home from close range and conclude the scoring in this barnstorming affair, which certainly lived up to its top-of-the-table billing - when has a 4-4 draw not been considered a cracking contest, inconsistent officiating notwithstanding?
Auckland: Paulsen; Sakai, Smith, Pijnaker, de Vries; Rogerson (Francois, 70), Brimmer (Verstraete, 46), Gallegos (Howieson, 70), Moreno (Elliot, 84); Mata (Randall, 46), May
Adelaide: Cox; Crawford, Vriends, Elsey, Kitto; Clough (White, 90), Barnett, Alagich; Dukuly (Tatu, 82), Goodwin (Ayoubi, 90), Folami (Mauk, 63)
Referee: Daniel Elder
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