Self belief drives Navy Blues
AUCKLAND, New Zealand - There's no shortage of self-belief as Auckland City FC take on Team Wellington in the OFC Champions League final first leg on Sunday.
Team Wellington have built up momentum in recent weeks with their second consecutive Stirling Sports Premiership title secured adding hunger to go one better at Oceania level.
The Ben Harris and Tom Jackson spearhead attack has blown competitors off the park both domestically and internationally but Navy Blues boss Ramon Tribulietx warned his team face more than just two threats to their crown.
"Team Wellington is not just about Harris or Jackson. They have other players like Joel Stevens and Andy Bevin who can be very dangerous is we don't play well positionally.
"This is going to be a very difficult final against a very complicated rival who have a very high degree of motivation to do well.
"We were not happy with the Stirling Sports Premiership grand final result but we've moved on and absorbed the lessons from that game.
"That is the most important part of that experience - learn from the game and bring that into these matches.
"I have belief in my team. We are motivated, we are in good space, training has been intense, and we need to convert this into a good performance on Sunday," Tribulietx said.
One player in doubt for a start is defender Marko Dordevic who picked up an ankle knock in the 2-0 win over AS Tefana a fortnight ago although there is good news with Fabrizio Tavano making his way back from a niggle.
This OFC Champions League final is played over two legs for the first time since 2012 and Tribulietx says with it comes a small difference in approach.
"When you face two games instead of one you need to take the tie step by step.
"The first one up is on Sunday at home and we will concentrate on having a good game.
"Its very important to focus closely on the processes and aim to attack and defend well.
"We need to understand the positioning strategies at Kiwitea and see how we go," he said.
The match kicks off at 2pm at Kiwitea Street and is live on Sky Sport from 1.55pm on Pop-up Channel 56.
Ends
Match Details
OFC Champions League Final, 1st Leg
Sunday 30 April, 2017
Auckland City FC v Team Wellington
Kiwitea Street, Sandringham
Kick-off: 2pm NZST
#AUCWLG
Ticket details available here.
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Player Profiles
Table
| Position | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | AC | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 6 | 18 |
| 2 |  | WS | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 6 | 18 |
| 3 |  | BU | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 6 | 13 |
| 4 |  | ES | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 7 | 12 |
| 5 |  | MN | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 17 | 11 | 10 |
| 6 |  | AU | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 7 | 9 |
| 7 |  | BO | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 12 | 12 | 9 |
| 8 |  | TC | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 12 | 19 | 6 |
| 9 |  | MU | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 8 | 25 | 3 |
| 10 |  | WR | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 16 | 2 |
| 11 |  | EB | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 12 | 2 |
| 12 |  | HW | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 9 | 18 | 2 |
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