Auckland City v. Eastern Suburbs, 14/03/21

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City Edge Suburbs In "Gridlock Derby" Semi

by Jeremy Ruane

Auckland City and Team Wellington will contest their fifth ISPS Handa Premiership Grand Final on March 21 at QBE Stadium, bringing the curtain down on this latest version of National League football in New Zealand after both teams won their respective semi-finals in contrasting fashion on the second weekend in March.

The Wellingtonians, who have been beaten in five of the seven Grand Finals they've contested, advanced to their fifth successive Grand Final with a convincing 4-1 rout of Hamilton Wanderers at Dave Farrington Park, led by a Hamish Watson hat-trick.

Sam-Mason Smith also netted for the victors, with Tommy Semmy providing Hamilton's lone moment of solace in their first semi-final on the national stage, achieving the feat just before the format of the competition changes yet again.

Auckland only found out their semi-final opponents on Wednesday, after Eastern Suburbs came from behind to down Hawkes Bay United 2-1 at Bluewater Stadium, where Jorge Akers' goal early in the second half for the home team was responded to in style by the efforts of Kelvin Kalua and Reid Drake.

That set up a semi-final between the 1971 National League winners and the club which has dominated the NZ Football Championship format in which the competition is currently played, City having won a record eight of the twelve Grand Finals they've contested since the outgoing format was introduced in 2004, as well as a record eight successive premierships.

They produced an enthralling encounter, City squandering numerous chances to score a comprehensive victory, before finding themselves hanging on in the later stages of the match after "The Lilywhites" had dragged themselves back into the contest and went all-out in pursuit of an equaliser, a task which proved beyond them, but only just, City edging the contest 2-1.

Suburbs were first to threaten, Brian Kaltak's timely interception preventing Ryan Feutz's pass from reaching Kingsley Sinclair, as he made an angled run in behind City's defence four-and-a-half minutes into play.

City swept downfield in response, Mohamed Awad getting to the by-line on the right before playing the ball back to Andrew Blake, who returned the favour once Awad was inside the penalty area.

The speedster's shot was blocked, but Dylan Manickum was onto the rebound in a flash and drilled the ball between Danyon Drake and his near post almost before the 'keeper could blink!

It was the perfect start for the reigning champions at their predecessors' expense, but the 2019 champions wasted little time in endeavouring to get back into the contest, Sinclair stinging the gloves of Cameron Brown just four minutes after the "Navy Blues" had opened the scoring.

City responded with a scintillating eleventh minute move, started by Alfie Rogers deftly controlling Emiliano Tade's looping cross-field pass. The fullback then played a peach of a pass down the line for Logan Rogerson to exploit, and the speedster duly left Kelvin Kalua in his wake before picking out Tade inside him.

The wily Argentinian picked out Manickum, whose round-the-corner pass opened up Suburbs' defence and allowed Rogerson to bear down on goal with just Danyon Drake to beat. A deft lob of the advancing 'keeper deserved better fate than to drift past the far post - what a goal this would have been!

Unperturbed, Auckland came again three minutes later, Rogers again the catalyst, this time by bursting out of defence and over half-way before inviting Tade to take over. He spread play wide to Manickum, who cut inside prior to returning the ball to Tade, whose sumptuous first time through ball rewarded Rogerson's darting run in behind the defence - if only his pullback into the goalmouth had been as incisive.

Suburbs survived that scare, then began to enjoy a decent spell of dominance. Reid Drake's seventeenth minute free-kick resulted in Josh Rogerson's looping header from the edge of the penalty area landing on the roof of Cameron Brown's net, while after Adam Thomas' timely tackle robbed Rogerson after he had picked Kalua's pocket, "The Lilywhites" went desperately close to levelling the scores.

Kalua picked out Stafford Dowling with a cross which the striker met at full stretch on the half-volley on the edge of the penalty area. The ball flew over Brown's head before ricocheting off the top of the crossbar to safety.

Back came City, Tade's raking pass for Manickum, charging through the middle on the half-hour, being cut out at full stretch by Christian Gray. Cameron Howieson then combined with Rogerson to present Tade with a chance, but he scuffed his first-time effort, much to Danyon Drake's relief.

Suburbs counter-attacked immediately, forcing a corner which Reid Drake delivered to the far post. Cue an almighty scramble, City somehow surviving a situation in which an equaliser looked a racing certainty.

That was to be the visitors' last chance until right on half-time - not the case for the home team, who carved out three openings before the interval, from the second of which they should have doubled their lead.

Manickum was the first to threaten, in the 37th minute, cutting in from the left before being closed down, only for Awad, in close support, to pick up the pieces and rattle the side-netting with an acute-angled effort.

Sixty seconds later, Gray misjudged a probing ball from Tade, and through stormed Manickum, with Awad in support on his right. Instead of luring the 'keeper and slipping in his team-mate for a tap-in, however, Manickum went for glory, only for Danyon Drake to dispossess him via his outstretched leg - a glorious change spurned!

From the resulting corner, City went close again, Kaltak this time letting fly with a fierce twenty yard volley which sizzled narrowly past the base of the far post. Then, on the stroke of half-time, we were treated to the startling sight of Danyon Drake storming well out of his goal with ball at toe, before picking out Feutz with a fine pass.

The striker turned and ran at the Auckland defence before linking with Reid Drake, who spread play wide to the overlapping figure of Kalua. His cross careered across the goalmouth, but no-one in white was in a position to capitalise and equalise on the stroke of half-time.

It seemed, throughout the first half, that every time Auckland played a ball in behind Suburbs' defence, the visitors were in grave danger, and that trend continued in the second spell.

Suburbs' chief nemesis was Tade, who was producing some quite exquisite tricks and flicks to unhinge "The Lilywhites"' rearguard, as well, at times, as the intended beneficiaries, who, with Tade having been absent for almost the entire season, weren't used to the silver service quality the Argentine was providing.

As a result, some seeds sown were lost before they'd had a chance to germinate and prosper. Others, however … of which more later. Before then, Tade fired in a fiftieth minute corner to the far post which was headed across goal by Adam Mitchell - he had a fine game - to Manickum.

He hooked the ball back inside for Kaltak, whose downward header looked in for all money until Danyon Drake produced the save of the season to somehow tip the bouncing ball onto the bar and to safety - it was a quite incredible denial!

Sixty seconds later, however, it was in vain, as Auckland doubled their lead. Rogerson won the ball on half-way in front of the dugouts and set sail down the left at a great rate of knots, defenders trailing in his slipstream en route to the by-line, from where he fizzed in a cross across the bows of the incoming Manickum at the near post.

Beating a hasty retreat beyond him was Gray, who had the misfortune to be in the right place at the wrong time as the ball struck him and ricocheted straight into the net - 2-0, much to the delight of the City faithful, whose goal celebrations had been cut short by Drake's stunning save seconds earlier.

Further chances to twist the knife soon followed, with Rogerson guilty of greed in the 54th minute. Picked out by a raking cross-field ball from Mitchell, he left Kalua standing before cutting inside and lashing a twenty-five yarder high, wide and far from handsomely over the target, rather than slipping a pass into the stride of Tade, who was scooting through the inside right channel with the defence beaten.

Dowling replied in kind finish-wise at the other end of the park seconds later, before a poor Danyon Drake clearance was pounced on by Howieson in the 56th minute. Rogerson was the ultimate beneficiary of this opening, but Campbell Strong's splendidly timed tackle foiled the striker on this occasion.

Cue the menace of Tade, his quite scrumptious return pass in a one-two with Awad - Drake blocked at the speedster's feet - being followed up by a pass from City's playmaker which would have sent Awad storming through on goal had Gray not executed a timely interception in the 58th minute.

Five minutes later, Auckland were guilty of overcooking the omelette with a sure-fire contender for miss of the season. Gray's attempted clearance ricocheted off Tade to Manickum, who drew the defence before slipping the ball to his elder team-mate.

Cue a pass which left Rogerson in on goal with just Drake to beat. But instead of doing what any striker worthy of the role would do, he abdicated his responsibilities, driving the ball back at Tade who, not expecting to be further involved in the attack, fired wildly over.

Would Rogerson's failure to pull the trigger come back to haunt the title-holders? Time would tell, but in the 66th minute, a delightful one-two between Rogers and Manickum saw the fullback deliver a lovely weighted pass in behind the defence for Tade to exploit. For once, his touch deserted him, and the balance of play began to swing Suburbs' way once more.

They had begun calling on the cavalry by this time, but in the 68th minute, players who were on the park from the outset contrived an opportunity. Strong fed Kalua on the right, the fullback evading a challenge before getting into the penalty area, where he was swiftly closed down. The ball broke for Sinclair, however, prompting a shot which the little-tested figure of Brown turned over the bar.

Five minutes later, Feutz cut in off the left and unleashed a shot which deflected past the far post. Cue a corner, which was cleared to Tade, who promptly lost control of the sphere.

Feutz was onto it in a flash, and set off on a driving, diagonal run towards the inside right channel, from where he angled a shot across Brown and in by the far post - 2-1, and a fine solo strike to give Suburbs renewed hope when all had seemed lost.

It could so easily - and should - have been 3-1 seconds later. Straight from the kick-off, City stampeded downfield, Rogerson leading the rampage. To the by-line he tore, luring Drake out of goal.

The pair collided, the ball breaking to Manickum, who simply couldn't miss with the goal at his mercy and the 'keeper AWOL. But miss he somehow did, rattling the near post of an open goal with his shot, the ball ricocheting to safety.

Suburbs knew that they could not afford not to exploit this lifeline. Throughout the remainder of the match, there was only one team in the contest from an attacking perspective, the "Navy Blues" now the team under the cosh as "The Lilywhites" threw everything but the kitchen sink at the title-holders in pursuit of an equaliser.

Kalua weaved past three on the right before picking out Stephen Hoyle with a cross which the substitute swiftly converted into a close-range shot at the near post. The lunging figure of Mitchell timed his intervention to perfection, albeit at the expense of a corner.

Reid Drake duly delivered it, substitute Jake Mechell meeting the ball with a thumping header which also deflected wide. Take two from Drake was cleared to the edge of the area, where Mechell was lurking with intent. A twenty yard drive careered over the crossbar.

A cross-shot from Mechell, in the 82nd minute, hit the crossbar, further strengthening Suburbs' resolve to level the scores against a City team now employing all the time-wasting methods in the book in order to eke out victory.

Referee Nick Waldron was wise to their tactics, and added a further seven minutes of stoppage time to aid Suburbs' cause. But they failed to make the most of it, Mechell heading a Daniel Edwards cross over the bar and Sinclair a Feutz cross wide of the post with the last act of a compelling contest, one which saw players from both teams collapse on the turf come the final whistle, those in blue with smiles on their faces.

So to QBE Stadium we head on Sunday, 21 March, for a 3.10pm duel between the teams which have occupied the top two spots in this league for the bulk of the last ten years.

It's fitting that Auckland City and Team Wellington will meet one last time in the NZ Football Championship, which will pass into history when the final whistle is blown. Thus 'twill be a bitter-sweet Grand Final, the last match the travelling side will ever play, and for City, a chance to make further history, something at which they've become rather adept over the course of the last seventeen years.

Auckland: Brown; Blake, Mitchell, Kaltak, Rogers (booked, 45); Ilich (booked, 26) (Al-Kalisy, 71), Tade (Vincent, 86), Howieson; Awad, Manickum, L. Rogerson

Suburbs: D. Drake; Kalua (Built, 85), Thomas (booked, 84), Gray, Edwards; R Drake, J. Rogerson (Hoyle, 58), Strong; Sinclair, Feutz, Dowling (Mechell, 68)

Referee: Nick Waldron

National League