A week ago, Auckland City were sitting in the bottom half of the table and facing a real possibilty of missing out on the New Zealand Football Championship playoffs.
Two crunch games against sides above them could’ve ended their hopes on the weekend but City, led by many of the old guard and a few of the new, notched two vital wins to leap to second.
Captain Ivan Vicelich has been leading from the front in terms of passion and drive in recent weeks and those traits – along with defensive organisation at the back – were key to wins over Hawke’s Bay and Manawatu.
Vicelich’s goal may have proved to be a match winner at Park Island but it was the oft-maligned Ross Nicholson in goal who delivered the man-of-the match performance against Hawke’s Bay with a string of top class saves to protect the lead.
Matt Friel gave the team plenty of impetus from left fullback and was rewarded with his fourth goal of the season in the 3-0 win over Manawatu, while Chad Coombes kept the aggression channelled and delivered an influential performance on City’s right flank.
Waikato FC ended Waitakere United’s year-long unbeaten run and former Waitakere defender and now Waikato captain Graham Pearce was in imperious form against his former club grabbing the equalising goal on the way to a 2-1 upset.
Waikato’s game plan of shutting down the threat of Waitakere’s wide players was well executed and fullback Joel Mathews was another of Waikato’s defensive unit to stand out on Sunday – just two weeks after being sent off against the champions.
The weekend wasn’t all misery for Waitakere; the champions did book a semi-final spot with a 3-0 Waitangi Day win over Otago. Roy Krishna’s second half showing – and fifth goal of the season – took the game away from the Southerners, after Benji Totori squeezed a shot from the edge of the area in off the upright. Totori then continued his form resurgence with a goal against Waikato that began with a dazzling run from the halfway line.
Partnering Totori up front is his Solomon Islands countryman Andrew Abba. The Hawke’s Bay United teenager added plenty of thrust to the Hawke’s Bay attack against Auckland and but for the form of Ross Nicholson, he wouldn’t have had to wait until the 4-0 demolition of Canterbury to get on the scoresheet.
Team mate Cole Peverley – normally one of Hawke’s Bay‘s unsung heroes – gets his dues this week and nails down one of the central midfield roles alongside the more attacking Sam Blackburn who popped up in various – but equally dangerous – roles for Team Wellington in their 4-2 away win over Otago United.
While Waikato’s win over Waitakere stole the headlines, for coach of the week we go back to Auckland City. Midweek, Paul Posa declared that pressure could be healthy, and before back-to-back wins over the weekend, the pressure was certainly building on the caretaker coach and his squad. There will be no let up from Auckland City fans but there was a few more smiles after City moved back up the table.
Visit www.nzfc.co.nz for the table, full results, match reports and stats.
Story and photo courtesy of New Zealand Football Media
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