The Ultimate New Zealand Soccer Website | home
310724 | 191024 | 271024 | 021124 | 241124 | 301124 | 071224 | 151224 | 211224 | 281224 | 010125 | 110125 | 180125 | 220125 | 260125 | 010225 | 150225 | 220225
220125
Last-Gasp Leveller Earns Auckland Deserved Point
by Jeremy Ruane
For previous 2024-25 match reports, go here and click on the date
A dramatic equaliser with the last touch of the ball earned Auckland FC a deserved point from a terrific Isuzu Ute A-League top-of-the-table clash with Adelaide United at Coopers Stadium, where a 2-2 draw resulted when it appeared that the table-topping home team was poised to secure a come-from-behind win.
Chances were few and far between during the first spell, with a titanic midfield tussle and imperious defensive play from both teams restricting the goalscoring opportunities to less than a handful, although had referee Alex King given Auckland the corners they clearly earned inside the first six minutes - he wrongly awarded goal kicks on both occasions - things might have been a little different.
The first opening materialised in the nineteenth minute, and it was the visitors who engineered it. The charging figure of Guillermo May was closed down, but the ball broke for Logan Rogerson, whose inviting cross saw Max Mata rise between defenders to head narrowly over the crossbar.
United responded within two minutes, Alex Paulsen forced to tip a teasing Dylan Pierias cross-shot over the bar. From the resulting corner, the ball was cleared to Pierias, whose angled ball in from the right picked out Javi Lopez, six yards out from goal. Paulsen produced a terrific parried save to deny him, but in vain, as the offside flag was aloft.
His opposite number had to deny friendly fire on the half-hour to maintain parity. Francis de Vries' crosses were a menace all night long as far as Adelaide was concerned, and this one found Mata attempting to meet it with a diving header.
He failed to connect, however, but the ball struck the retreating figure of Lopez behind him and was heading towards the far corner of the net when Cox plunged to his left to maintain parity on the scoreboard.
This sparked a brief spell of end-to-end action, with Ben Folami just failing to get on the end of a Pierias cross before Jesse Randall was thwarted by Panagiotis Kikianis' clearance after he had evaded a challenge upon receipt of a pass from May.
Pierias again caused Auckland problems in the 34th minute, picking out the well-performed Jonny Yull with a cross which saw him pull the trigger, only to see the ball ricochet to safety off the omni-present Louis Verstraete - he was a monster in midfield in this contest, with Felipe Gallegos his partner in crime as they jousted with Isaias and Stefan Mauk in the Adelaide engine room. It was worth the admission money just to see that battle within the battle alone.
With half-time looming large, Kikianis again intervened to spare United's blushes, preventing a low cross from Verstraete being capitalised upon by May, who played an instrumental role in the final attack of the half, which was ignited by de Vries.
He picked out the Uruguayan, who held play up well before the supporting run of Rogerson saw the winger afforded possession. He returned the favour to May, who unleashed a curling delivery from the right which arced just beyond the diving figure of Mata - he was attempting to head it home - then narrowly past Cox's right-hand post to bring the first half of a proper contest to a close.
There was more of the same in the second spell, with Auckland this time being awarded their early corners. De Vries delivered both of them, the first picking out the head of the immensely performed Nando Pijnaker. His header was tipped over the bar by Cox, who punched out de Vries next delivery from right beneath his crossbar.
Back came Adelaide, Yull free-kicks providing tests for Auckland's defence. Paulsen dealt well with the first one while under pressure from two opponents, but the second delivery found its way beyond the far post to the unmarked figure of Mauk, who thundered an eight yard volley against the crossbar.
|
To which Auckland responded by taking the lead in the 67th minute, but only after the interventions of both a referee's assistant and the Video Assistant Referee. Jake Brimmer and Neyder Moreno had just been introduced to the fray when the former won the ball and fed May, who sent his fellow South American scurrying through the centre of the park with Adelaide's defence for once found wanting.
Along the way, the ball struck a hand, prompting the raised flag, and as Moreno rammed the ball home, it appeared that the goal would be ruled out for a handball offence by the scorer. Cue the VAR check, which revealed that the hand the ball struck belonged to Pierias - 1-0 Auckland, much to Moreno's delight, amongst others.
Adelaide started getting a head of steam up in response, but not before Moreno stung the gloves of Cox eighteen minutes from time. United finally found a way through Auckland's rearguard eight minutes later, Ethan Alagich and Yull combining to present Pierias with a chance which he slammed into the far post side-netting.
United came again, and equalised in hugely controversial fashion in the 81st minute. The substitutes combined to score the goal, but the first of them, Yaya Dukuly, clearly pulled the shirt of Callan Elliot, hampering the fullback's mobility, before racing past him and delivering a cross which Archie Goodwin fired home in fine style.
Needless to say, VAR had a long look at the pre-goal incident, in tandem with referee King, who wasn't convinced that Elliot had been impeded enough by Dukuly's shirt-pulling antics for the goal to be denied, even though the Auckland player ended up nose first on terra firma in the immediate aftermath …
Having drawn level, Adelaide now had the bit between their teeth and, urged on by the crowd, went for the winner. And in the fifth minute of time, they appeared to have scored it. There was no need to involve the VAR this time, with Zach Clough's ball over the defence finding Pierias racing in behind de Vries, the flying fullback's measured pass being emphatically swept home by Goodwin to the undisguised delight of the "Red Army" behind the goal.
2-1 Adelaide, but there was still time for Auckland, a lot more time, it turned out. A minimum of seven minutes of stoppage time had been signalled, but play was still going in the ninth additional minute of play when the visitors earned a corner, having pinched a few yards when taking a couple of throw-ins as they progressed down the right, which incensed United coach Carl Veart, particularly as these had been well policed throughout by referee King, until now.
De Vries fired in the corner to the near post, where Rogerson rose above all-comers to head home from four yards, much to the delight of Auckland coach Steve Corica, who was well pleased to give some Adelaide fans behind the visitors' dug-out a taste of their own medicine as the visitors understandably celebrated this last-gasp leveller wildly.
So much so, in fact, that there was no time to even kick off again, referee King's final whistle concluding a cracking contest between the league's top two teams, who, on the evidence of this display, occupy the positions they do on merit, with parity a fitting outcome on a night when neither team deserved to lose.
Adelaide: Cox; Pierias, Vriends, Kikianis, Lopez; Mauk (Clough, 74), Isaias, Alagich; Yull (Barnett, 90), Jovanovic (Goodwin, 63), Folami (Dukuly, 63)
Auckland: Paulsen; Elliot, Smith, Pijnaker (booked, 59), de Vries; Rogerson, Verstraete, Gallegos (Brimmer, 66 (booked, 85)), Randall (Moreno, 66)); May (Howieson, 75), Mata (booked, 57 (Bidois, 85))
Referee: Alex King
|