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Auckland City FC versus Otago United
Played on 17/01/2010 at Kiwitea Street |
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City Too Hot For Otago To Handle
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Goals |
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Daniel Koprivcic |
1 |
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Grant Young |
1 |
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Ivan Vicelich |
1 |
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Matthew Williams |
1 |
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Paul Urlovic |
1 |
Clean Sheet |
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Jacob Spoonley |
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City Too Hot For Otago To Handle
by Jeremy Ruane
with the compliments of www.sportswebsoccer.com
Photographs courtesy of www.phototek.co.nz
Four goals in the final fifteen minutes saw Auckland City score an emphatic 5-0 victory over Otago United in their NZ Football Championship encounter at Kiwitea Street on January 17, a result which has fired the reigning champions back to the top of the table with a superior goal difference and two games in hand.
Auckland started brightly against opponents who ultimately wilted in the heat and humidity of a mid-summer Sunday afternoon in the Queen City, with James Waggett forced into a flying fifth minute save to prevent Matt Williams’ twenty-five yard screamer from sailing into the top far corner.
Chad Coombes then sent one whizzing past the post before James Pritchett ignited a right-wing raid which featured some lovely wing-play from Jason Hayne and a smart shot on the turn by Coombes which brought the best out of Waggett in the thirteenth minute.
Seconds later, Coombes was in again, this time after Otago failed to clear a Ki Hyung Lee corner. His close-range effort beat Waggett, but not Andy Coburn, who was perfectly placed to clear off the line.
After this initial rush, City lost their way for a brief period, their lack of movement up front compounded by some fine defensive play by Otago, who plugged all the gaps to prevent Auckland from making many in-roads at all.
Save for the 22nd minute, when Pritchett rampaged down the right and clipped in a cross to the vicinity of the near post for Coombes. Waggett got there first, however, and repeated the dose on the half-hour after another City raid down the right.
Hayne chased a lost cause on the half-way line and managed to get the ball back to Pritchett before joining his team-mates in the dug-out as his momentum briefly took him off the park.
The fullback, meanwhile, rolled the ball into the feet of Daniel Koprivcic, who cleverly evaded three challenges at close quarters before releasing Coombes to the by-line and dashing forward in anticipation of a cross, only for Waggett to beat him to it.
Otago hadn’t truly threatened Jacob Spoonley’s goal in the first half - theirs was a solid, unspectacular but nonetheless impressive effort - but six minutes before half-time, a surging run by Stu Kelly through three challenges took him into the Auckland penalty area.
Ivan Vicelich calmly mopped up the threat he posed, and sparked a counter-attack which culminated in a driving run past five players by Hayne, whose angled shot at the end of it fizzed past the upright.
On the stroke of half-time, Tom Sadd kept the smiles on the visitors’ faces with a timely challenge to thwart Ian Hogg, as his darting run into the penalty area culminated in a smart one-two with Coombes and set the fullback up for a shot he never got to fire, thanks to the stopper’s intervention.
City were quickly into their stride in the second half, Coombes robbing Coburn in the centre circle and angling a sumptuous pass into the stride of Hayne in the 48th minute. The fleet-footed winger lashed a vicious low drive goalwards which Waggett got down well to and turned round his near post - a top quality save.
Four minutes later, the deadlock was broken. Lee spread play wide to Hogg, roaming down the left once more, and he evaded a challenge before whipping in a cross to the far post. A tentative headed clearance directed the ball straight to the feet of Williams, whose low drive through a crowded goalmouth from the edge of the penalty area left Waggett diving in vain.
City looked to build on their lead before the hour mark, Coombes and Lee working an opening on the left for Koprivcic, who powered into the penalty area before pulling the ball back for the incoming Williams. But his pass went behind the midfielder, and a great chance went begging.
On the hour, Auckland introduced Grant Young to the fray, and his first sight of goal came six minutes later, from a Lee corner. The substitute sent this effort blazing high over the crossbar from the edge of the penalty area, but if you thought that was bad, he missed an absolute sitter in the 74th minute, after dashing in off the left flank and jinking past two defenders en route to the six-yard box.
With Waggett to beat, Young missed the target completely, at a time when Otago had been applying some pressure at the other end of the park, thanks to the inspiration of their own number ten, substitute Dave Dugdale.
He chased a lost cause twenty minutes from time and managed to gather possession before picking out fellow replacement Morgan Day, who set up Nathan Knox for a curling twenty-yarder which cleared City’s crossbar by a yard at most.
Two minutes later, Spoonley did well to parry to safety a swerving twenty-five yard volley from Dugdale which was destined to fly inside the far post and level the scores, but for the ‘keeper’s timely intervention.
With fifteen minutes to go, Auckland doubled their advantage. Vicelich and Pritchett combined to break down another Otago raid and sparked a counter-attack which involved a deft touch from Young and a defence-splitting through ball from Hayne. Koprivcic took the latter’s pass in his stride and thrashed it across Waggett into the far corner of the net.
2-0 swiftly became 3-0, Lee playing the ball forward to Koprivcic, whose darting run across the defence opened up the space for Young to exploit, and the substitute finished with aplomb in the 77th minute.
After the offside flag had ruled out a second Young goal two minutes later - Hayne’s shot ricocheted off the striker into the net, but Young was in an offside position - City were awarded the softest of penalties six minutes from time when Riki Van Steeden, whose first involvement in the match this was, found himself playing the role of the meat in an Otago sandwich as he looked to break into the penalty area.
Young referee Campbell-Kirk Waugh - a solid officiating display - had no hesitation in pointing to the spot, much to the ire of those clad in yellow, but substitute Paul Urlovic calmly fired home goal number four from twelve yards six minutes from time.
Kelly and Dugdale were two Otago players who weren’t prepared to accept a duck-egg as the visitors’ return for their efforts, and both sought to reduce the deficit before the final whistle.
Kelly brought the best out of Spoonley in the 87th minute, while Dugdale lobbed the ‘keeper sixty seconds later, only to see his effort drift narrowly past the far post. And in stoppage time, Kelly lashed a thumping twenty yarder inches past the right-hand upright of Spoonley’s goal, a shot about which the ‘keeper knew very little.
Probably because he was still celebrating Auckland having gone nap, a goal scored seconds earlier. Lee fired a corner beyond the far post to Greg Uhlmann, who headed the ball back across the face of goal to the edge of the goal area.
Vicelich, his central defensive partner, timed his leap to perfection and headed home the champions’ final goal of the day to complete City’s third 5-0 win of the season, two of which have been recorded in the NZFC, this one against opponents who battled hard but ultimately found the reigning champions too hot to handle.
Auckland: Spoonley; Pritchett, Vicelich, Uhlmann (booked, 69), Hogg; Williams (Van Steeden, 83), Lee, McGeorge; Hayne, Koprivcic (Urlovic, 77), Coombes (Young, 60)
Otago: Waggett; Abbott (booked, 35) (Connor, 55), Sadd, Horner, Pratley; Faichnie, Kelly, Coburn, Knox; Ede (Dugdale, 55), Reichwein (Day, 68 (booked, 73))
Referee: Campbell-Kirk Waugh
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Club World Cup December 2009 - UAE |
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