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190425
Premiers' Plate Heading To Auckland
by Jeremy Ruane
Representatives of the Isuzu Ute A-League's management will board a flight to Auckland late this week, bringing some precious cargo with them - the Premiers' Plate, the prize for winning the league phase of the competition.
And if all goes according to plan, they'll be presenting it to Auckland FC at the conclusion of their final home game in the round-robin phase of the league next Sunday evening, because Steve Corica's charges are in an almost unassailable position atop the table after overcoming Melbourne Victory 2-0 at AAMI Park on Easter Saturday.
That win, combined with Melbourne City's draw at Western Sydney Wanderers, means Auckland need just a point to claim the silverware, and they may not even need that - City has to convincingly win their last two games just to draw level on points with the league's newest side, which extended its unbeaten run to thirteen games and bolstered its goal difference advantage over its only rival for the title with this victory.
Just five minutes into the contest, Auckland came desperately close to opening the scoring. Francis de Vries slipped a pass inside to Nando Pijnaker, whose raking diagonal ball found Callan Elliot on the right flank. He turned the ball inside to Jake Brimmer, who unleashed a fulminating fifteen yard volley which crashed off the far post to safety.
Melbourne's first attacking threat in this contest materialised nine minutes later via Nishan Velupillay, whose twenty-five yard free-kick flew narrowly past the right-hand post of the diving Alex Paulsen.
Chances were at a premium in the first spell, but the home team carved out the next opening in the 32nd minute. Zinedine Machach and Nikos Vergos combined with Daniel Arvani, whose cross was punched off Vergos' head by the flying figure of Paulsen.
Seconds later, Arzani dragged a shot across the face of goal after working a one-two with Alex Badolato, to which Auckland responded in the 39th minute via Logan Rogerson. He spread play wide to Elliot, whose teasing cross, targeting de Vries' arrival on the far post, was averted by the covering Josh Rawlins.
Elliot himself was next to thwart trouble, cutting out the danger posed by a counter-attack led by Arvani, Machach and Badolato, before a crude off-the-ball challenge - nay, charge - on Guillermo May by Roderick Miranda earned Auckland coach Steve Corica a booking for his reaction. For Melbourne's captain, not even a talking-to for an offence which was well out of order, and has no place on a football ground.
On the stroke of half-time, and after Felipe Gallegos had hobbled off the park following another off-the-ball incident, his replacement, Cameron Howieson, volleyed over at full stretch after the charging figure of Elliot had teamed up with overlapping captain Hikori Sakai, who had a terrific game, particularly where it came to marshalling a defence which was in "Thou Shalt Not Pass" mode throughout the contest.
Auckland came out of the blocks swiftly in the second half, May sending a twenty-five yarder sizzling past Mitch Langerak's left-hand post after working a one-two with Brimmer five minutes after the resumption of play.
Two minutes later, Langerak dashed off his line to save at the feet of Rogerson, but was powerless to prevent Auckland from opening the scoring in the 53rd minute. Elliot worked a one-two with Louis Verstraete on the right, the wingback going on to deliver a deep cross to de Vries, whose weighted
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pass inside found Verstraete arriving on cue to steer home a well-placed shot into the bottom left-hand corner of Langerak's net from inside the 'D' - 1-0.
Melbourne looked to hit back straight away, with Paulsen swiftly off his line to prevent Badolato from playing in Velupillay in the 55th minute, before the latter's through ball for Vergos was cut out by Dan Hall, who was immense at the heart of Auckland's rearguard.
On the hour, Melbourne contrived a super six-man move which culminated in Kasey Bos buccaneering down the left before inviting Arvani to take on the defence. He jinked his way past two opponents before unleashing a shot which struck Vergos and rebounded to the offside figure of Velupillay, who was brilliantly thwarted at point-blank range by Paulsen.
The home team threatened again soon after, Bos and Vergos combining to present Arzani with another opening. Hall swiftly closed him down, but he linked up with Vergos again, this time for the benefit of Badolato, whose shot on the turn flew narrowly past the right-hand post of Paulsen's goal.
Following a good spell of containment play by Auckland - their defensive work in this match was exemplary, Melbourne fashioned another opening fourteen minutes from time after a couple of players from both teams slipped on an area of the pitch near the edge of the penalty area.
Substitute Bruno Fornaroli's shot didn't trouble Paulsen greatly, but when the goalkeeper was next called upon, he produced arguably the save of the season. Substitute Jing Reec played the ball back to Valadon, whose angled cross was met by Vergos' downward header.
He was starting to celebrate when Paulsen, plunging low to his left, somehow flicked the ball out from behind him and away from goal - a phenomenal save which had shades of Gordon Banks' denial of Pele's header in the 1970 World Cup Finals clash between England and Brazil about it. It really was that good!
And within seconds, he was in position to keep out a deflected shot from Machach - how Auckland will miss Paulsen when his loan from Bournemouth concludes at season's end. But how they will celebrate next Sunday, should the Premiers' Plate be clinched.
They took a giant stride towards doing so in the 89th minute via the match-clinching goal. Verstraete anticipated and intercepted Miranda's pass to Machach and stormed into the penalty area, where he sidestepped Miranda's challenge and lured Langerak out of goal before inviting May to apply the coup de grace - 2-0.
May nearly bagged a third in stoppage time via a twenty yard volley following the strivings of Neyder Moreno, while Valadon sent a volley sailing over the bar in the dying minutes as Melbourne looked for a late consolation goal. None was forthcoming, and when the final whistle blew, the Auckland players made a beeline for "The Port" contingent in the far corner of the stadium - the Premiers' Plate is all but theirs, and in their debut season, too.
Melbourne: Langerak; Rawlins (Inserra, 81), Miranda, Jackson, Bos; Valadon, Badolato (Fornaroli, 74), Machach; Arzani (Reec, 81), Vergos, Velupillay
Auckland: Paulsen; Sakai (booked, 79), Hall, Pijnaker; Elliot (booked, 59 (Smith, 61)), Verstraete, Brimmer (Francois, 81 (booked, 90)), Gallegos (Howieson, 44), de Vries; May, Rogerson (Moreno, 61)
Referee: Ben Abraham
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