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Age-Old Record Tumbles As Auckland Wins Again
by Jeremy Ruane
A near-fifty-year-old Australian National League record came to grief at GoMedia Mt. Smart Stadium on November 30 as Isuzu Ute A-League leaders Auckland FC continued their incredible start to life in their debut season by downing Newcastle Jets 2-0 in front of 13,138 rain-soaked fans.
This was the fifth match played by Steve Corica's team, and they've won every single one of them. What's more, they haven't conceded any goals along the way, which saw them surpass Western Suburbs' record of 324 minutes set in 1977 - the longest time before conceding their first-ever goal.
But they were made to work for this victory by a Newcastle side which didn't cross the Tasman just to make up the numbers - the sight of a New Zealand team topping the table on t'other side of ditch is not something which goes down too well among the diehard Australian footballing fraternity, so there's pride on the line in these encounters, as well as all the usual bells and whistles.
The sound of Tim Danasakos' Acme Thunderer prompted the visitors into action, and they were first to threaten in the inclement conditions. Eli Adams' rampaging forty yard run through the middle of the park culminated in a through ball which left Ben Gibson in on goal with just Alex Paulsen to beat.
No one has achieved that feat so far this season, and Gibson became the goalkeeper's latest unwilling victim, Paulsen dashing out to block the shot to safety, a denial which was heartily cheered by "The Port", the Auckland FC support crew whose lair is handily located to the goal Paulsen was defending.
The league leaders quickly got into gear, Felipe Gallegos firing a twenty-five yarder past the post following an angled in-field run from Liam Gillion, who, in the tenth minute, combined with Jake Brimmer on the left before unleashing Guillermo May down that flank.
His driven cross was too far in front of Gillion for him to capitalise upon, but Logan Rogerson, who should have been racing in on the far post in support of the attacking spearhead, was conspicuous by his absence in this attack - he was a tad too anonymous throughout proceedings for this writer's liking.
Newcastle weathered this storm, then launched one of their own, with Brimmer an unwilling contributor to it. Auckland's captain for the day - usual skipper Hiroki Sakai picked up an injury in their previous match - was caught in possession just outside the penalty area, but Adams was unable to capitalise on the opening, firing well wide of the mark.
That scare sparked renewed vigour in Auckland's attacks, with May evading three challenges before unleashing a curling twenty yarder which stung the gloves of Ryan Scott, who was relieved to see Mark Natta intervene in the 22nd minute as May looked to pick out Rogerson with another cross to the far post.
Two minutes later, a Brimmer free-kick was flicked on by Nando Pijnaker to the far post, where Dylan Hall was lurking with intent. The central defender improvised superbly, executing an acrobatic volley which prompted a superb reflex save from Scott, the 'keeper tipping the ball over the bar.
Auckland continued to make good in-roads down their left flank, but it was down the opposite wing from which their next goal threat came. Callan Elliot teamed up with Rogerson and Brimmer to present May with another shooting chance, but Dane Ingham stepped in to deny this opportunity just shy of the half-hour mark.
The conditions were proving trying for both teams, and chances were at a paucity, but it was the home side who were looking the more likely to break the deadlock before the interval. Scott was forced to save at the feet of Gillion in the 38th minute, then looked on as Gallegos won the ball in a tackle and worked a slick one-two with May before slicing his
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shot at goal.
The cagey nature of the contest continued into the second spell, with Gillion firing the half's first shot in anger past the post in the 57th minute. Three minutes later, Louis Verstraete strode through midfield before picking out Rogerson, whose teasing cross to the far post, intended for Gillion, was cut out by Natta, Newcastle's best-performed defender throughout this match.
How Auckland failed to open the scoring in the 62nd minute defies logic! Francis de Vries and Gillion combined down the left, with the latter's cross to May seeing the striker unleash a superb six-yard volley which had 'Goal!' written all over it, only for Scott to produce a blinding denial at point-blank range which had to be seen to be believed - an incredible save!
Natta once more mopped up after his goalkeeper's heroics, but Scott certainly didn't appreciate being given more work to do by Aleksandar Susnjar two minutes later, with the defender sliding into Brimmer just outside the area. Had referee Danaskos not taken the conditions into account, it's a fair bet that the card colour he showed Susnjar would have been red, not yellow.
Auckland failed to capitalise on this free-kick opportunity, and on a handful more openings before the final whistle. Witness Gillion's 72nd minute attempt, which he steered past the far post on receipt of Brimmer's cross. Or Brimmer himself two minutes later, catching Phillip Cancar in possession outside the area, only for Cancar to retrieve the situation before the midfielder could let fly.
In between times, Newcastle had gone close to breaking the deadlock, which, truth be told, would have been very much against the run of play had they done so. A fiercely struck shot by Clayton Taylor was parried by Paulsen, with Daniel Wilmering, following up, lashing his attempt narrowly past the far post.
The deadlock was finally broken seven minutes from time, with Gillion and Gallegos combining to send de Vries down the left on the overlap. The fullback's cross was headed out to the edge of the penalty area where Neyder Moreno was lurking with intent, and his fulminating volley thundered into the back of the net, prompting an explosion of joy from the rain-soaked fans, their discomfort turning to delight in an instant.
Newcastle hit back four minutes later, only for the offside flag to come to Auckland's rescue, Justin Vidic the player denied. The home team promptly went down the other end of the park and doubled their advantage, although Newcastle's stubborn defence initially thwarted the danger, blocking Gallegos' free-kick.
The rebound fell to de Vries, who, from the edge of the penalty area, steered a shot through the gathered throngs. The ball took a deflection off Matthew Scarcella to leave Scott wrong-footed, and powerless to prevent Auckland securing the final 2-0 scoreline.
Both teams could have altered that result in stoppage time, with Scott and Paulsen respectively denying Gillion and Susnjar. But the league leaders, and the more attack-minded team on the day, were not to be denied, rewarded for their efforts with another three points and another clean sheet as Auckland FC continues to make every post a winning one with five games of competitive football under their belts.
Auckland: Paulsen; Elliot, Hall, Pijnaker (booked, 69), de Vries; Verstraete, Brimmer (Mata, 78), Gallegos; Rogerson (booked, 58 (Moreno, 70)), May (Smith, 87), Gillion
Newcastle: Scott; Ingham (booked, 61), Susnjar (booked, 63), Cancar, Natta; Timmins (booked, 22 (Vidic, 85)), Bayliss (Wilmering, 61), Grozos; Adams (Scarcella, 85), Gibson (Taylor, 68), Aquilina
Referee: Tim Danaskos
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