\n\u00a9 Photo\/ Photosport<\/p>\n
Captain Hiroki Sakai added some polish in the last 20 minutes, though was perhaps fortunate to stay on the field after an uncharacteristic two footed lunge. But the key was the defensive effort \u2013 with Dan Hall and Nando Pijnaker prominent \u2013 while Callan Elliott and Jake Girdwood-Reich did well on the flanks. <\/p>\n
Corica was forced into a late change, with Hilton brought into the XI. The former Marconi Stallions custodian was a mid-season recruit, after the injury to Oli Sail. Girdwood-Reich was used at left back, while Pijnaker returned from injury. Louis Verstraete and Brook were also reinstated. <\/p>\n
Auckland dominated the first half, without reward. They were sharp in the pass and hungry in the tackle but couldn\u2019t make the most of several promising situations. The visitors were unlucky too, especially when a goal bound Girdwood-Reich effort was blocked by teammate Guillermo May, as the striker ran across the penalty area. Girdwood-Reich had his hands full with Yaya Dukuly and was booked early as the speedy winger got away. <\/p>\n
The opening goal came against the run of play, as Adelaide won the ball near halfway. They broke quickly and while the initial shot was blocked by Hall, Ethan Alagich thundered home from 25 metres on the rebound. It was a ominous sign, as Auckland had yet to win this season when conceding first.<\/p>\n
From there the game opened up. Brook looked well placed \u2013 on his magical left foot \u2013 but scooped his shot over the bar from a handy angle. Pijnaker needed a vital block \u2013 as Adelaide started to find space on both flanks and Hilton managed a timely interception, as Luka Jovanovi\u0107 almost wriggled free. <\/p>\n
Felipe Gallegos of Auckland FC celebrates a goal.
\n\u00a9 Photo\/ Photosport<\/p>\n
The equaliser, just after the break, was one of the best goals of the season. Not just for the finish \u2013 a sumptuous volley from Gallegos from just inside the area \u2013 but also the buildup, with neat work from Brook, Elliott and May before an inch perfect cross from Elliott. It was a special moment for the Chilean, just his second goal in 49 A-League appearances. <\/p>\n
The intensity lifted from there, with Cosgrove and Verstraete booked in quick succession, followed by a yellow to Corica, who disagreed with the latter. Sakai made his return in the 65th minute, while May somehow stayed on the field, despite a suspicion of concussion, as his head was jarred violently against an opponent\u2019s hip, then hit the ground. <\/p>\n
Hilton was brave to regather after a bobble, before May forced an outstanding save from Joshua Smits, then Brook was incredulous after an apparent trip on the edge of the area was ignored. A two footed Sakai tackle sparked an all in melee, before May was booked for grabbing the throat of an opponent. <\/p>\n
The various stoppages stalled Auckland\u2019s momentum, before Hilton foiled Jovanovi\u0107 \u2013 again \u2013 after a fumble. Adelaide had the final chance, as burly replacement Anselmo de Moraes headed wide from close range. <\/p>\n
Adelaide United1 (Ethan Alagich 25\u2019)<\/p>\n
Auckland FC 1 (Felipe Gallegos 48\u2019)<\/p>\n
Halftime 1-0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Captain Hiroki Sakai added some polish in the last 20 minutes, though was perhaps fortunate to stay on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":361852,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[14846,27500,51,1558,3019,124,40671,11766,26845,64600,4999,5267,6101,16773,305,78,111,139,69,213,12825,1361,9938,9717],"class_list":{"0":"post-361851","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-adelaide","9":"tag-aleague","10":"tag-auckland","11":"tag-been","12":"tag-clash","13":"tag-could","14":"tag-draw","15":"tag-earns","16":"tag-fc","17":"tag-fiery","18":"tag-friday","19":"tag-goal","20":"tag-good","21":"tag-great","22":"tag-have","23":"tag-in","24":"tag-new-zealand","25":"tag-newzealand","26":"tag-nz","27":"tag-sports","28":"tag-stunning","29":"tag-that","30":"tag-united","31":"tag-visitors"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/361851","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=361851"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/361851\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/361852"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=361851"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=361851"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=361851"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}