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Auckland City FC: 1. Tamati WILLIAMS [GK], 3. Takuya IWATA, 4. Mario BILEN, 5. Angel BERLANGA, 6. John IRVING, 8. Tim PAYNE, 9. Darren WHITE, 10. Ryan DE VRIES,15. Ivan VICELICH, 16. Dae Wook KIM, 20. Emiliano TADE
Substitutes: 24. Jacob SPOONLEY [GK], 2. Simon ARMS, 11. Cameron LINDSAY, 17. Marko DORDEVIC, 21. Kohei MATSUMOTO
Suspended: 25. Fabrizio TAVANO
Unavailable: 22. Andrew MILNE, 14. Sanni ISSA, 23. Sam BURFOOT
Coach: Ramon TRIBULIETX [ESP]
Amicale: 1. Chikau MANSALE [GK], 2. Ian HOGG, 4. Brian KALTACK, 5. Michele GRAZIA, 6. Adrian UCCHINO, 8. Dominique FRED, 9. Panagiotis NIKAS, 11. Fenedy MASAUVAKALO, 13. Francois SAKAMA, 15. Osea VAKATALESAU, 17. Alphonse BONGNAIM
Substitutes: 24. Marc VILLAESCUA, 3. Chanel OBED, 10. Manuel BRIGHNTI, 12. Laitia TUILAU, 16. Amani MAKOE, 18. Sailas NAMATAK, 21. Goshen DONA, 25. Dalong DAMALIP
Unavailable: 19. Esava NAQELECA
Coach: Jean-Robert YELOU [VAN]
Match Officials
Referee: Amitesh BEHARI [FIJ]
Assistant Referee 1: Terry PIRI [COK]
Assistant Referee 2: Folio MOEAKI [TGA]
Fourth Official: Nelson SOGO [SOL]
KICKOFF: The inaugural OFC President’s Cup final between Auckland City and Amicale kicks off at The Trusts Arena in West Auckland. It’s a fantastic evening for football and this repeat of last season’s OFC Champions League final.
1′ Auckland were dealt a blow with Sam Burfoot ruled out of the game shortly before kick-off, meaning Dae Wook Kim slots into midfield for Auckland City. It leaves the Navy Blues with not many options on the bench.
4′ Both teams are finding their way into the game, passing and trying to find space in what promises to be a tight match.
6′ A wildly speculative lob attempt from Tim Payne goes well past the post as Auckland look for the opener.
7′ Slack play from Mario Bilen forces the big defender into some foul play and Nikas Panagiotis will have a chance to float this ball into the box for Amicale.
8′ Great delivery from Panagiotis and Osea Vakatalesau catches it flush but it’s just over the bar.
10′ Amicale continuing to push and Auckland City’s passing won’t be pleasing coach Ramon Tribulietx so far.
11′ The final ball lets Amicale down after good work from Vakatalesau on the Auckland left wing.
12′ Amicale’s Francois Sakama skins Takuya Iwata and hits the byline but his attempted cross is blocked.
14′ Panagiotis knocks another free-kick into the back post but nothing comes of it and Auckland clear their lines.
16′ Close for Auckland City! A slip in defence sends Emiliano Tade clear but Amicale skipper Chikau Mansale in goal blocks the shot.
18′ Amicale are caught in possession and Tade pounces. A beautiful return chest pass from Ryan de Vries gives Tade another shot but it’s blocked for a corner.
20′ Auckland are starting to look dangerous, but Darren White’s cross is too deep and floats out of play. De Vries then puts in another decent cross but it’s just out of the reach of the impressive Tade.
22′ A long ball out of defence catches Auckland napping and Amicale have a corner. It’s deep, and easy for Auckland to clear again.
24′ Vakatalesau again makes some good ground down the right wing, but his cross is terrible and goes out for a goal kick.
26′ The game is halted to allow Vakatalesau to get some treatment. He’s off the pitch. If he can’t get back on it’ll be a massive blow for Amicale.
27′ An Auckland corner breaks outside the box but the rifled shot is well past the post.
28′ Sakama torments Iwata down the right but the deep cross can’t be kept in and Auckland clear again.
30′ Tade is having to come deep to get the ball as both teams look to gain supremacy and find some space in their opponents’ half.
32′ Vakatalesau is back on and earns the ire of the crowd with a nasty looking tackle on Iwata. The Auckland man is off temporarily to get some treatment.
34′ Auckland threaten down the right again – White’s cross can’t beat the man at the front post, but it’s was good work by the Auckland man.
36′ The Navy Blues are peppering the Amicale box with crosses but they’re all finding Amicale players at the moment. Auckland looking slightly more dangerous at the moment.
38′ The ball pingpongs in the Auckland box but it doesn’t break for the Vanuatu team.
39′ De Vries finds himself in plenty of space deep in the Amicale box but his right-footed shot is easily smothered by Mansale.
41′ GOAL! Auckland 0 – 1 Amicale. A great break from Michele Grazia creates space and his ball to Sakama is perfect – and he launches a stunning strike from the right of the box and past Tamati Williams and into the roof of the net.
44′ Auckland are quick on the counter attack but Tade’s final pass is intercepted and Amicale have the chance to close out the first half and head into the sheds with a precious lead.
45′ A massive shout for a penalty for Auckland City – de Vries goes down in the box and it looked a penalty every day of the week – but referee Amitesh Behari waves play on to the disgust of de Vries.
45′ YELLOW CARD: Vakatalesau is yellow carded for deliberately handling the ball as he tried to create a chance for himself on the counter attack.
HALFTIME Amicale will be delighted with their halftime lead, but Auckland will rightly be fuming after what looked like a clear-cut penalty for Auckland was denied just before the break.
46′ The second half kicks off with the sun going down in West Auckland and the floodlights on – but it’s still perfect conditions for what promises to be an exciting second half of football.
47′ Another bit of luck for Amicale? Vakatalesau handles the ball again, but he’s on the blindside of the referee and he waves play on. The Auckland bench are up in arms!
48′ A great pass from Tim Payne sends de Vries clear down the left win. He finds Tade with the cutback, but the Argentinian loses the ball trying to make space for the shot.
50′ Mario Bilen is loose with his passing but Amicale can’t take advantage.
51′ De Vries gets space down the left and lashes in a shot which Mansale does well to clear. Close for the Navy Blues.
53′ Corner for Auckland City as they look to get back into the game. Tade takes but Mansale punches clear and Iwata can’t take advantage down the left wing.
55′ Great ball from Dae Wook Kim sends Tade clear, but scrambling defence from Amicale puts the ball out for a throw.
56′ Kim then comes close to scoring for Auckland – his shot from just outside the box isn’t too far past.
58′ Mansale scrambles from his goal to get ahead of David White and clear as Auckland continue to pressure the Ni-Vanuatu.
60′ The game is being played in Amicale’s half at the moment, but they haven’t been able to turn that pressure into a goal and Amicale must be growing in confidence.
63′ GOAL! Auckland City 1 – 1 Amicale: Emiliano Tade all but secures the Golden Boot with a stunning strike. Lovely play by de Vries gave Tade space on the edge of the box, he took it on to his left side and unleashed an unstoppable strike. The goal had been coming.
66′ YELLOW CARD: Former Auckland City player Ian Hogg goes into the book for a tackle on Payne on the byline. That was an easy decision for referee Behari. The resulting free-kick is cleared.
68′ Sakama latches onto a long ball out of defence but he can’t match his brilliant first-half strike and Williams gathers easily in the Auckland goal.
70′ It’s end to end football in West Auckland and the crowd are right into this clash between the two best teams in the OFC.
71′ Vakatalesau is sandwiched by the Auckland defence and Amicale have a free kick about 35 yards out from goal. Panagiotis is lining up a shot.
72′ It’s on target but Williams has no problem gathering it on the bounce on
his right post.
74′ De Vries does brilliantly to create space in the Amicale box and hits the byline, but his cross is cut out by Brian Kaltack.
75′ Amicale break quickly through Grazia but Hogg’s centre is claimed by Williams under pressure.
76′ Payne gets the ball in the Amicale box but opts for the pass instead of a shot – possibly the wrong decision there from the Auckland City man.
78′ Iwata is making a menace of himself down the left wing but his cross is cut out by Kaltack and Tade can’t gather the loose ball.
79′ GOAL! Auckland City 2 – 1 Amicale: Auckland claim a deserved lead through the impressive and industrious Ryan de Vries. De Vries played a one-two with Payne and chipped it over Mansale to the delight of the partizan home crowd.
80′ Corner for Amicale after good work from Vakatalesau – but the final ball is poor.
81′ Tade is called offside by the assistant referee – he turns and remonstrates after putting the ball into the back of the net, and Amicale breathe a sigh of relief.
82′ YELLOW CARD: Payne goes into the book after a poor tackle – the All White will have to be careful in the last eight minutes.
83′ de Vries has another shot at goal as Auckland look to secure their first trophy of the season – but it’s sliced high and wide of the target.
84′ Amicale have another corner but Vakatalesau and Irving clash heads and the Auckland man is down and looking a bit groggy.
86′ Hogg might consider himself a touch lucky to still be on the park after another shoddy tackle on Payne. He must be on his last warning.
87′ The free-kick from Tade finds skipper Ivan Vicelich at the back post, but Mario Bilen can’t connect in the middle and Mansale collects.
88′ YELLOW CARD: Angel Berlanga goes into the book as Amicale look to break.
89′ SUBSTITUTIONS: Sakama departs to be replaced by Dalong Damalip, Grazia is off for Manuel Brighenti as Amicale try and rescue the game. Meanwhile Tade limps off to be replaced by Kohei Matsumoto.
90′ Four minutes of added time to be played in the first ever President’s Cup final.
90’+3 Amicale continue to look for an equaliser – but Hogg’s ball drifts over his teammates and that might be the last chance for the Ni-Vanuatu.
90+4 RED CARD: Drama at the death as Vakatalesau sees red for a second yellow card in the box. He kicked the Auckland defender going for the ball and while it wasn’t particularly nasty, he was on a final warning. That came seconds after the ball came off the Auckland bar following a speculative ball in the box. Amicale were mere centimetres from sending the final into extra time.
FULLTIME: Auckland City have come from behind to claim glory in the inaugural OFC President’s Cup. Two second half strikes from Emiliano Tade and Ryan de Vries helped the Navy Blues to their first trophy of the new season.