That bang being delivered from the right boot of Jesse Randall, whose 21st-minute effort was enough to separate them from the visiting Western Sydney Wanderers in their second-round A-League clash.
It was adeserved win for Steve Corica’s side after a goalless draw in their season opener last week away to Melbourne Victory.
It’s the second clean sheet in as many games to start the season for Auckland goalkeeper Michael Woud, who spent the entirety of the club’s debut campaign on the bench behind Alex Paulsen.
“I was really pleased with the game [and] the way it went,” Corica told Sky Sport.
“Two clean sheets for us now in two games, that’s really good for the confidence defensively and I thought we put on a really good performance today.”
Jesse Randall scored the deciding goal in Auckland FC's win over Western Sydney Wanderers. Photo / Photosport
Auckland were the more aggressive team at Go Media Stadium in front of a 14,767-strong crowd, constantly testing the Wanderers’ defensive line and forcing goalkeeper Lawrence Thomas into action.
After having twice as many shots as the Victory in round one, Auckland bettered that output against the Wanderers – getting 19 shots away to the visitors’ 10, with nine of those 19 on target.
Randall’s was the only one that got the better of Thomas; he took advantage of the space given to him by two Wanderers defenders to set up and place the ball into the bottom corner with a powerful strike from just outside the box.
It came after fellow midfielder Louis Verstraete cleverly picked off a goal kick from Thomas after a delay in play where VAR was called upon to determine whether or not Verstraete had been fouled in the box.
Not long before that, Francis de Vries had a great opportunity to open the scoring with a break through the middle. After winning possession in midfield, de Vries carried the ball into the box with support from Sam Cosgrove to his right. He opted to take the shot on himself, sending his left-footed effort wide of the posts.
It was an opportunity resulting from strong defensive work, which was a big factor in the game for the hosts as they made everything difficult for their visitors.
It has been a solid, albeit unassuming, start to the campaign. Corica’s side came into the season with plenty of expectation on them after finishing their first season in the competition at the top of the ladder and locking away the Premiers Plate.
It was the first of back-to-back home games, with Adelaide United in town next week.
