Auckland FC's fairytale start to life in the Isuzu Ute A-League sees them topping the table after two rounds of action, with Nando Pijnaker's last-gasp back-heeled nutmeg of Sydney FC goalkeeper Andrew Redmayne in the seventh minute of stoppage time clinching a 1-0 win for the home team at GoMedia Mt Smart Stadium, to the unconfined delight of the 14,253 fans present on October 27. "We are top of the league!" were among the many chants reverberating from the stands come the final whistle, as Auckland became just the second team in A-League history to win their first two matches. It didn't look likely, however, with Sydney the better side during the early stages of the contest. A lovely piece of skill by Anas Ouahim saw him beat two players in the ninth minute before inviting Patryk Klimala to let fly, only for Auckland captain Hiroki Sakai to block his shot. Two minutes later, Alex Paulsen grabbed a twenty-five yard free-kick from Joe Lolley, who was to depart the fray before half-time with an injury. But not before Sydney threatened again, Leo Sena racing down the left from halfway in the twentieth minute before cutting inside and unleashing a twenty yard drive which flew past the diving figure of Paulsen and grazed his left-hand post. Auckland first fired a shot in anger in the 21st minute, Cameron Howieson sending Logan Rogerson scooting through the inside right channel. Redmayne parried his shot, and was relieved to see Jordan Courtney-Perkins on hand to block a Guillermo May shot seconds later, after Pijnaker and the effervescent Liam Gillion combined on the left. The Uruguayan striker latched onto the rebound following his initial effort, and curled a shot narrowly over the bar. A slick Auckland move on the half-hour saw Howieson and Francis De Vries combine with Felipe Gallegos, whose cross picked out the flying figure of Rogerson. He was unable to direct his airborne effort on target. At the other end of the park, Sydney were coming up against the proverbial brick wall, with Dan Hall - immense in defence - and Pijnaker winning virtually everything in the air as the home team repelled the visitors' raids. Before the interval, both teams went close to breaking the deadlock. De Vries played in May down the left, where he evaded a couple of challenges before fizzing in a low cross for Howieson, whose 41st minute shot was blocked by Alex Popovic. Four minutes later, Corey Hollman - another to depart the fray prematurely due to injury - sent a twenty yard volley careering past the post, to which Auckland responded with the last attack of the half, May releasing Gillion down the left with Rogerson steaming through the middle in support. The winger ignored his team-mate, however, instead evading the clutches of Rhyan Grant before directing a shot over the bar. Auckland went close to breaking the deadlock in the 49th minute. Hall released Gillion on this occasion, and he cut in off the left before under-hitting a pass towards the overlapping figure of de Vries, whose enforced loss of momentum resulted in a cross which Howieson would likely have capitalised upon had the fullback not had to adjust his run to accommodate the poor service he received on this occasion. Seven minutes later, Sydney made a meal of a goal kick, and Auckland secured possession halfway inside their half through Gallegos. He promptly split the defence with a peach of a pass for Gillion, who found himself with Redmayne standing between him and the goal. The winger instinctively lifted the ball over the stranded custodian, who was extremely grateful to grab the sphere after it struck the crossbar and rebounded back towards him. Sydney looked to capitalise on that let-off before the hour mark, Courtney-Perkins crossing from the left towards Klimala, who had De Vries all over him like a cheap suit! It looked a cast-iron penalty, but nothing was given by either referee Shaun Evans or the Video Assistant Referee, much to the ire of the

visitors. While they were giving the referee an earful, Gillion played to the whistle - or, rather, the absence of one - and scurried away downfield, only to have his progress curtailed by the alert figure of Hayden Matthews. Twenty minutes from time, Sydney twice threatened to break the deadlock, Paulsen forced into a hurried clearance after Hall's headed pass back to him was of the under-powered variety. From the resulting set-piece, Matthews sent a volley flying past the post - 0-0 it remained. The visitors were finishing the stronger, however, despite their recent travel patterns - AFC Champions League duties saw them playing in Japan during the week. Eight minutes from time, Courtney-Perkins, Pat Wood and Ouahim combined to prise open Auckland's defence on the right. The fullback found himself in on goal with just Paulsen to beat, but the 'keeper produced a fine reflex save to maintain the scoreless scoreline. The resulting corner wasn't cleared, prompting Ouahim to fire the ball back into the penalty area. Matthews instinctively stuck out a leg and steered the sphere through a crowded goalmouth and into the net via the base of the far post, to Sydney's undisguised delight. The goal silenced the Auckland faithful, but they weren't silent for long, as a lengthy VAR check of the goal discovered Klimala was in an offside position in the thick of the action - an almighty roar greeted the denial of Sydney's goal, and parity was restored. Stoppage time saw Auckland pressing for a dramatic winner, with Max Mata directing a header at Redmayne after Gillion and De Vries had teamed up on the left. Pijnaker then had a shot blocked following a long throw-in from Sakai, while Grant stepped in to deny Gillion after he had been picked out by Gallegos' lobbed pass. Grant, Sydney's captain, featured again in the dying minutes, handling the ball just outside the penalty area in the 97th minute. Jake Brimmer had wasted an earlier free-kick opportunity, but he learnt his lesson from that miss, and delivered a gem of a set-piece right into the danger zone, specifically onto the head of Pijnaker. His header struck a Sydney player's arm before striking Pijnaker on the hand, prompting penalty appeals and free-kick claims from both sets of players. But Pijnaker had the ball at his feet, albeit with his back to the goal some four yards away. Cue a cheeky back-heeled effort which nutmegged Redmayne and crossed the line before anyone in a white shirt could react, a goal which was greeted by an almighty roar from "The Port", Auckland's prime support crew, directly in front of whom Pijnaker had performed his good deed for the day, a goal which earned the home team victory and propelled Auckland FC to the outright league lead, the only team with a perfect record from two games. Their next match sees them heading south, rather than west, for their first game on the road - the "Kiwi Classico", as their clash with third-placed Wellington Phoenix has been labelled. With this game in mind, a Wellington fan, who clearly has more money than sense, arranged for a light aircraft to fly over the ground during Auckland's encounter with Sydney. Trailing from its tail was a message which, from a supporter's perspective, was tantamount to a declaration of war - "NZ Is Yellow - See You Next Week!" Needless to say, Auckland fans will be hoping their new heroes roundly disprove that falsehood at "The Caketin" on Saturday. Auckland:     Paulsen; Sakai, Hall (booked, 78), Pijnaker, de Vries; Howieson (Brimmer, 65), Verstraete, Gallegos (booked, 24 (Smith, 90); Rogerson (booked, 61 (Randall, 65), May (Mata, 89), Gillion Sydney:     Redmayne; Grant (booked, 67), Matthews, Popovic, Courtney-Perkins (King, 89); Sena, Ouahim, Hollman (Segecic, 50); Lolley (Wood, 35 (Kucharski, 89)), Klimala, Caceres Referee:     Shaun Evans