Auckland FC head coach Steve Corica in his side's 4-0 defeat to Western United. Photo / Getty Images
Auckland FC coach Steve Corica is confident one mauling won’t turn into a malaise.
Saturday’s 4-0 defeat at the hands of Western United was a shock on multiple levels, as the home side were completely dismantled. It wasn’t just the result but also the performance, as the home team were played off the park in the first half. There were down 3-0 after 34 minutes and the visitors could have had one or two more before the interval, such was their dominance.
It was hard to reconcile with what we’ve seen from the Black Knights over the last two months. Gone was the confidence, the cohesion, the composure and the competitiveness, replaced by confusion and chaos.
Corica didn’t hold back in his assessment, describing the first-half output as “terrible” and “not acceptable”, adding that the team “didn’t turn up.” He admitted his side got “bullied” in the first period, lacking physical presence across the park.
Corica also felt the team may have been complacent – forgetting each result needs to be earned – after their exceptional start to the season, which had yielded six straight wins before last week’s gutsy draw in Melbourne.
“They just weren’t there – maybe a little bit of complacency settled in,” said Corica. “They think they don’t have to do the basic work that we expect from them. If you are going to do that against a good team, they are going to punish you.”
But the Australian wants to maintain perspective, adamant Saturday’s shortcomings can be repaired quickly.
“It’s only one loss,” said Corica. “We obviously have to look at it and work on some stuff. But the basic things we didn’t do well, and they’re very easily fixed. Obviously they’ve got to have the right attitude and mentality going into games and be ready for the start of games, but that’s easily fixed as well.”
Auckland remain in a strong position, with the 6-1-1 record. They are still at the top of the A-League table and have belief in their strategy, their structure and their squad. Saturday was jarring, no doubt, precisely because it was so uncharacteristic.
But if you dig a little deeper, there are some explanations. Injured centre back Dan Hall has left a massive vacuum, as their quickest and most complete defender. Captain Hiroki Sakai is capable of playing centrally but brings much more as a fullback, while back up Callan Elliott has barely played in the last two years.
Midfield dynamo Louis Verstraete is returning from a back strain and the attacking four were neutralised by the strong Western United defence. Auckland have also been accustomed to being frontrunners and couldn’t adapt to chasing a game so early. For one of the few times this season, Auckland looked like the brand-new squad they actually are, uncertain and unsure.
“Three goals before halftime – it’s obviously tough and they didn’t have their heads right,” said Corica. “They start doing things that we don’t expect and they’re chasing the game. We were just off – you could see. It wasn’t one or two players off. It was basically the whole team.”
It was one of those matches where nothing went right, from the penalty for the first goal following Elliott’s handball to Jake Brimmer running into the referee, which gifted Western United a quick transition just before their third goal.
Corica was taking the defeat hard – clearly chastened – and didn’t hold back with the message to his team, either publicly or privately.
“I’m honest with them,” said Corica. “If they don’t turn up, I’m going to tell them. If they do well, I’m going to tell them, which they have done for six or seven games now. But we weren’t good enough in the first half and that’s not acceptable, so we need to be better.”
But he is also realistic.
“This is how football is – you have your ups and downs,” said Corica.
Counterpart John Aloisi was thrilled with his side’s endeavour, off the back of a 4-3 win at Sydney FC a week ago. He has sensed belief ahead of the game and their plan had been executed perfectly, in an “outstanding performance”.
But he was also complimentary of Auckland’s early impact – and expected them to bounce back.
“I’m sure they’ll keep growing,” said Aloisi. “They’re doing a fantastic job off the field and also on the field. Take this result away and they’ve been excellent. Who would have expected them, from the first seven games, to win six and draw one?”
Auckland travel to Gosford to face defending premiers Central Coast Mariners next Saturday, before hosting Melbourne Victory on January 1.