Auckland FC v Wellington Phoenix recap: A-League Men round three

Auckland FC celebrate their second goal against the Phoenix. Photo / Photosport

All the action from the inaugural Kiwi Clasico - Auckland FC v Wellington Phoenix from Sky Stadium.

To say the inaugural Auckland FC v Wellington Phoenix A-League Men’s derby has been highly anticipated would be like saying All Whites captain Chris Wood has an eye for goal.

There can be only one first derby and both sides will be keen to begin what will hopefully be a long and storied rivalry by drawing first blood on Saturday afternoon.

Why is it called the Kiwi Clasico?

It’s a play on the famous El Clasico played between Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona - another iteration is El Trafico between LA Galaxy and LA FC in the States - names like that tend to develop over time but it appears the whiteboard junkies in marketing couldn’t resist stamping this one before a ball had been kicked.

Where is the match? When is kickoff?

Te Whanganui a Tara Wellington has the honour of hosting the first Clasico at Sky Stadium aka The Cake Tin. Organisers are hoping for a crowd of more than 20,000 with about 15,000 tickets sold already so a few walk-ins are predicted. Kiwis are notoriously fair weather sports fans and you know what they say about Wellington on a good day.

The Auckland FC v Wellington Phoenix derby will kick off at the family friendly hour of 5pm on Saturday afternoon.

The A-League Men’s season has just started, how have the two teams gone so far?

Wellington Phoenix are coming off the back of their best ever season in 2023/24 and have picked up pretty much where they left off. Their first match against Western United saw them ahead 1-0 through Kosta Barbarouses until a 76th minute equaliser meant the points were shared.

Second up they faced Perth Glory away from home - goals either side of half time from Scott Wootton - as he nodded home a well delivered free kick - and Tim Payne - who also headed home a dangerous looped ball into the area - saw the Phoenix home and to the top of the table - briefly.

Auckland FC’s first match in their history had them hosting Brisbane Roar at a sold out Go Media Stadium. An early own goal set up by captain Hiroki Sakai settled a few nerves but the home crowd had to wait until the 74th minute for Logan Rogerson to coolly slot home a cross and seal the three points with a 2-0 win.

Second time out and there are few bigger tests in the A-League than Sydney FC.

Auckland spurned a couple of good chances in the first half and almost were made to pay for it as Sydney had a late go ahead goal ruled out for offside by VAR.

The Auckland faithful will be pleased with the resolve their side showed and they were rewarded for that faith with a bedlam-inducing 97th minute winner via a backheel nutmeg from defender Nando Pijnaker to steal the three points and send them to the top of the table outright.