Auckland FC v Western Sydney Wanderers: Forwards vie for starting roles as coach Steve Corica sets challenge

Logan Rogerson of Auckland FC celebrates a Round 14 goal. Rogerson has made his way back into the starting XI. Photo / Photosport

Steve Corica wants the Auckland FC forwards to prove they’re worthy of a spot in the starting XI.

Liam Gillion, Guillermo May, Jesse Randall, Max Mata, Logan Rogerson, Neyder Moreno and Marlee Francois are all vying for a spot at the top of the park - as the new A-League side attempts to improve their goal count.

Coach Corica said it’s an opportunity for the attackers rather than a selection headache.

“For me, it’s up to the players.

“They know what we’re looking for, they know what we expect from them in their areas there and [it’s about] really who stands up and and takes the positions,” Corica said.

Auckland FC’s offensive end has struggled compared to the defence in their inaugural season.

Of the current top six sides, the Aucklanders have scored the fewest.

On the flipside, they’ve conceded the least.

In a potential means to fix that, Corica dropped Gillion, 22, from the game-day squad against Adelaide United on Wednesday.

It comes after Gillion’s impressive A-League debut which saw him start their first 11 games and earn a national team call-up.

Corica explained how Gillion’s form has declined.

“His performances probably has gone down a little bit to what we expected from him.

“What we’re looking for in [forward] positions is to create opportunities to score goals and right now [Liam’s] probably needed a little rest from that.

“Sometimes when players like Liam come in, you know he had a very good start to the season, people were talking about him a lot and I think [players] hit the wall at some stage and they need a little bit of a freshen up and that’s what he’s going through at the moment.”

A similar approach was taken to All Whites forward Rogerson, 26, earlier in the season after starting the first seven fixtures before being moved to the bench for the next four.

“Logan’s come back in - he needed a little freshen up as well - he looked a little bit tired.

“He’s freshened it up and he’s come back into the side [and] I think he does an amazing job defensively, working hard and obviously he popped up as well with a very important goal.

“If players keep doing that, then they’ll start.”

Kiwis’ Randall and Mata have earned starts in the attacking line for the last two fixtures, while import Moreno has ticked a box as an impact player.

“We obviously brought Jesse in the last couple of games and I think he’s he’s done pretty well in the games and obviously Neyder coming off the bench again and scoring.

“I think [Max has] was probably one of our best against Adelaide.

“With Max, he’s had a little bit time especially in preseason and during the season with little calf problems so we’ve sort of tried to build him up and I think he’s getting stronger and stronger each game.”

The second-place Black Knights meet eighth-place Western Sydney Wanderers away on Sunday marking their third match in seven days.

“With short turnarounds now we look at also who looks tired and who maybe we need to give a little bit of a rest to because it is tiring.

“We will look to freshen up the squad if we can a little bit - one or two, maybe three players from the starting team.”

Corica’s expecting a “very attacking” mindset from the hosts.

“They score a lot of goals - they’re a good team playing at home in front of their home fans, so it’s going to be difficult.

“If we take our chances and we’re very strong defensively and we don’t give them opportunities - we’ve got a very good chance of winning the game.”

Bonnie Jansen is a multimedia journalist in the NZME sports team. She’s a football commentator and co-host of the Football Fever podcast, and was part of the Te Rito cadetship scheme before becoming a fulltime journalist.