Football: Auckland City beaten at their own game

Ramon Tribulietx. Photo / Getty Images.

In the end, it felt like Auckland City were beaten at their own game last night.

During their forays to the Club World Cup in recent years and especially in 2014 in Morocco, the ASB Premiership club have prided themselves on a staggering level of preparation on their opponents - they knew what to expect in almost any given scenario.

That was a point of difference last year, allowing the New Zealand club to shock two continental champions, as well as the best team in Morocco.

That never looked likely on Thursday night. Sanfreece Hiroshima had done their homework - in a typically meticulous Japanese way - and left nothing to chance.

They were ready for Auckland City's high pressing style, and often managed to escape it.

They knew what to expect from Auckland's attacking weapons, with Joao Moreira, Ryan De Vries and Micah Leaalafa given no latitude in possession. And - unlike Moghreb Tetouan, ES Setif, San Lorenzo and Cruz Azul last year - they didn't become frustrated by Auckland City's ability to keep possession for long periods. Instead, they recognized it as a strength of the Oceania champions and were content to sit deep and lock up their defensive third of the field.

It had felt ominous for Auckland City on the day before the match, as Hiroshima coach and captain answered questions about their upcoming opponents.

Instead of the usual platitudes about 'respecting the opposition' and 'anything can happen in football', these guys were seriously informed. They went into detail about Auckland's style and strengths, indicating that some study had been going on for weeks, if not months.

That level of preparedness - combined with Hiroshima's sheer ability in and out of possession - meant it was always going to be a bridge too far. Auckland City didn't help themselves either though.

Their execution - which had been almost perfect 12 months ago - was slightly off . Delivery from corners and set pieces was poor and defensively they couldn't match the impeccable standards set last year. Jacob Spoonley had a difficult night in goal and fullbacks Takuya Iwata and Daewook Kim struggled to contain the flying Japanese wingers. And the visitors left it too late to change their attacking approach in the second half, as they looked dangerous when they pushed players higher up the field.

But we shouldn't lose perspective. In terms of resources, technical ability and match conditioning, yesterday's game was similar to the kind of mismatch we saw when the All Whites played Mexico at the Azteca Stadium - but a very kind of performance.

Ricki Herbert's team lived off scraps for 90 minutes and defended in depth, with only an heroic effort from Glen Moss preventing the scoreline from blowing out further than 5-1. But Auckland City took the game to their much vaunted opponents last night, dominating possession on the night. That was an illustration of the progress made over the last few years and gives hope for the future.