Live updates of the Australia Cup quarter-final between Auckland FC and Sydney FC.
Last match result
Auckland FC have continued their serene progress in the Australia Cup.
They are into the quarter-finals of the knockout competition, after an impressive 3-0 win over South Melbourne on Wednesday night.
They were pushed at times by the Victorian NPL team, especially in the first half but gradually took control of the match. The final margin could have been greater, given Auckland had 22 shots to seven (11 to four on target).
Jesse Randall added to his pre-season tally with a well-taken brace, before Marlee Francois confirmed the result in the 70th minute. The Black Knights will face fellow A-League club Sydney FC in the last eight, another special occasion for coach Steve Corica, given his long history with Sky Blues.
Auckland again showed their professionalism, weathering some early pressure before Randall pounced in the 17th minute. But it was a well contested affair for the first hour or so as South Melbourne – who reached the semifinals last season before being eliminated by eventual winners Macarthur FC – were up for the contest.
They caused some problems, were physical and had some sharp moments on attack, though paid the price for the ineffectual defending for all the goals, on each occasion unable to clear a long throw.
New Auckland FC signing Lachlan Brook was introduced in the last 20 minutes, while 17-year-old Luka Vicelich (son of All Whites great Ivan Vicelich) also got his club debut off the bench.
Corica made only one change from the starting XI that beat Gold Coast Knights two weeks ago, with Hiroki Sakai moving to centre back to replace Nando Pijnaker, who didn’t travel due to an injury niggle.
In front of a crowd of almost 4000, goalkeeper Michael Woud was forced into a strong save at his near post after just 90 seconds, as the home side made a promising start. They were into it – and this was obviously a much greater challenge than the previous round. Francois went close – drawing a good stop from the keeper after a late run onto a Randall cross.
Randall opened the scoring seven minutes later, with an instinctive finish. The goal owed much to his quick reactions, a snapshot on the turn after Francis de Vries had latched on to an attempted clearance, following an Auckland throw-in.
Guillermo May was marginally offside – and put his shot wide anyway after being released by Francois – while a big deflection almost caught out Woud but spun wide of his far post after he had dived the other way just before halftime.
Auckland continued their dominance after the break, with centre back Dan Hall producing a daisy cutter from 20m, which the keeper could only parry away. Randall’s second goal just before the hour mark was a bit of a gift, as a defender’s attempted clearing header fell at his feet. But it was a reward for his alertness and anticipation, as he was lurking in the right place and tucked away from six yards.
Randall was close to completing his hat trick minutes later but was unable to push home a rebound from a Cameron Howieson shot. But the third goal arrived soon afterwards, with Francois steering his shot from the edge of the area, after another set piece. From there, the game opened up, and de Vries was unlucky to strike the post with an angled effort.
Corica emptied his bench, with Brook and Vicelich among five introduced while fellow substitute Liam Gillion went close in added time.
Michael Burgess has been a Sports Journalist for the New Zealand Herald since 2005, covering the Olympics, Fifa World Cups, and America’s Cup campaigns. He is a co-host of the Big League podcast.