On a bitterly cold but sunny afternoon, Auckland City FC opened the scoring on the half hour mark when Dae Wook Kim’s cross from the right allowed Joao Moreira to finish from close range.
Moreira nearly doubled the advantage in bizarre circumstances when he clipped the ball over an onrushing goalkeeper only for the ball to rebound off a post.
The striker could only look on as his follow-up shot was then deflected onto the other post by Tsubasa Shibuya.
The visitors paid for that missed double chance when Yosuke Nazaki headed home a quickly taken short corner in additional time at the end of the first half.
With both teams unloading their respective benches the match became fragmented with chances going begging at both ends.
The most notable when substitute goalkeeper Danyon Drake watched Michael Den Heijer head clear with an empty net exposed after Drake was forced into a tackle outside his penalty area.
Both Den Heijer and Jesse Edge enjoyed good performances with Edge impressing after scant opportunities in the ASB Premiership given the form of Marko Dordevic and Angel Berlanga.
The former Vicenza and New Zealand U-20 international said the match was a good hit out.
“It was a good game, they were a good team and they gave us a good run around we really got the legs working,” he said, “It was a good start by the boys, the first half, it dropped off in the second half but it was a good run out overall.”
“A lot of the players were on the longer flight coming here, there were heavy legs, our timing was a little bit off, but it was a good run out and the match was a good one for us,” he said.
Edge has had to wait for his chance but he has no complaints.
“Auckland City FC is a good team I understand that I have to patient, there are good players and they’ve beeen here for a long time but I’m very happy to be involved, I love training and playing here,” he said.
One moment he couldn’t quite get his head around was Moreira’s double post hit in the first half.
“That was crazy, I can’t believe it didn’t go in, it was like ping pong with the ball going everywhere, I don’t know how it didn’t go in. But from here I just want to get training again , get over that flight and get some good sessions in before the Club World Cup,” he said.
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