But in the cold light of day, this is another painful defeat, continuing an unfortunate pattern for the Phoenix in these domestic clashes. The first derby last November was defined by Wellington keeper Josh Oluwayemi’s late blunder, which gifted Jake Brimmer’s 89th-minute goal.
The second derby saw Isaac Hughes’ own goal, before Auckland extended their lead after Oluwayemi failed to claim a deep cross. In the third derby, Neyder Moreno grabbed an early brace – both brilliant finishes – but the defensive positioning and urgency left a lot to be desired.
Saturday’s concessions were probably the worst yet. The first came after just 28 seconds, as Jesse Randall beat the offside trap before squaring to Sam Cosgrove. The Phoenix did well to recover mentally – and grabbed a spectacular equaliser through Ifeanyi Eze – before their defensive high line was undone again in the 34th minute, through the timing of the pass and the blistering pace of Randall. Wellington’s high line has been a major talking point and was something Auckland were always going to target, as an obvious Achilles heel.
“Obviously a lot of teams are speaking about it, even Chief [Giancarlo Italiano] is speaking about the high line,” Auckland FC coach Steve Corica said. “We did it really well.”
However, Corica was surprised at the instant success with the rapid first goal.
“I didn’t expect that,” he said. “But obviously we work on it at training, the high line and trying to get in behind. It worked out perfectly. The timing of the run was good. The ball was great over the top, Sam was in a great position also to tap in.”
It was a brave tactic by the Phoenix, especially without key defenders Manjrekar James and Tim Payne, which left them with four players aged 21 or under in their backline. Phoenix coach Giancarlo Italiano felt his players has been too eager to step forward and simply got their timing wrong.
“I was very disappointed. It felt like we actually gave them the two goals,” Italiano said.
“Look at this way. If we execute and the line gets beaten because our players are still in sync then that’s on me, but when we don’t execute or the players are going away from what we instruct then it’s more about correcting that.”
Italiano added there will be teething issues with the strategy and they will have to be persistent and patient.
The Phoenix always looked a bit fragile, especially with the speed of Randall, who broke the game open in the first half. It was another reminder of his progress and particularly sweet for the 23-year-old, who came through the grades in the capital but was unable to get a shot with the Phoenix.
“Obviously we’re very happy to have him in Auckland,” Corica said. “He’s finding his feet, after last season, being his first year in the A-League. He’s doing a great job for us defensively, working hard, but now he’s starting to pop up with some very important goals for us.”
Randall is already shaping as one of the biggest movers of the season and his form will be increasingly hard to ignore, especially in the All Whites equation.
Jesse Randall of Auckland and Xuan Loke of the Phoenix battle for the ball. Photo / Photosport
Overall, Corica was thrilled with the application and resilience from his team, reduced to 10 men in the 52nd minute with Dan Hall’s red card, then seeing out 20 minutes with nine players, after Logan Rogerson was dismissed.
“I’m extremely proud,” Corica said. “Derbies are never easy with 11 men and when you go down to nine obviously it made it extremely hard. But they dug deep, they put their bodies on the line and they defended their box really well”.
He had no issue with Rogerson’s dismissal but questioned the validity of the Hall red card, claiming that Corban Piper had handled as he chased a through ball and also felt that Francis de Vries was close in cover.
“So out of the two, take your pick, so hopefully they can have a look at it, maybe take it off him,” Corica said. “But I don’t know what the rules are for that.”
After the international break, Auckland FC host the Brisbane Roar on November 23 (3pm), while the Phoenix return to action against Macarthur on November 22 (5pm) in the capital.
Michael Burgess has been a Sports Journalist for the New Zealand Herald since 2005, covering the Olympics, Fifa World Cups, and America’s Cup campaigns. He is a co-host of the Big League podcast.