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Post-match reaction - Ramon Tribulietx
AUCKLAND, New Zealand - Ramon Tribulietx was a happy man after his side downed Gridlock Derby rivals Eastern Suburbs 3-2 at Kiwitea Street today.
The victory is Auckland City FC's seventh straight win in this fixture and opened up an eight point gap between themselves and the Lilywhites to strengthen their pursuit of a sixth consecutive minor premiership title.
Micah Lea'alafa with two and Brian Kaltack with a thunderbolt free-kick were enough to nullify goals from Dominic Wooldridge and Callum McCowatt on beautiful summer's day in Sandringham.
"It was a very good first half from us. Eastern Suburbs pressed very high and took a lot of risks leaving it two-on-two at the back a lot of times which allowed us to take advantage of those situations.
"On this pitch you have to play a bit more direct and we spent a lot of energy pressing them from the back but we paid the price towards the end.
"We had a back five and ended up sitting a bit deeper than we wanted which made it difficult to connect things together because it feels as if you're missing a player up front," he told www.aucklandcityfc.com.
MILESTONE - Congratulations to Cam Howieson who made his 50th appearance for the club last weekend against @HawkesBayUnited
— Auckland City FC (@AucklandCity_FC) January 26, 2019
#ACvES
#ISPSHandaPrem 2-0 pic.twitter.com/tAIWMAbc0h
Eastern Suburbs were 3-0 down and it could've been a wider margin until a tactical reshuffle tipped the momentum in the visitors favour with McCowatt then Wooldridge on target in quick succession.
"It was a big decision by them to change things and play another way and we just had to hang on.
"Bringing in Dylan and Maro gave us more energy up front and we started to keep the ball in their attacking half which is what we had missed.
"But overall I'm very happy with the win - we created a lot of chances and in the first half had a few one on ones and it was the same in the second half. We have to be happy with it.
"Eastern Suburbs became very stretched at times and if you win the ball in certain areas of the pitch you will cause them problems.
"I never expect to go 3-0 up against any opponent but even at that point they gave us a very hard game. In the second half they moved the ball around well without creating too many chances.
MILESTONE - Congratulations to Dan Morgan who makes his 50th #NavyBlues appearance today. pic.twitter.com/BRJdjtRE1j
— Auckland City FC (@AucklandCity_FC) January 26, 2019
"They kept us in our own third in the last 15 minutes which is a difficult dynamic to deal with on a small pitch.
"There's no space, it's tight and you lose that opportunity in transition," he said.
Tribulietx also paid tribute to Dan Morgan and Cam Howieson who both brought up their half-century milestone appearances with strong contributions.
"Dan is very important player for us and can cause a lot of confusion making runs from deep and he's given us so much in the attacking sense.
"Cam is the total player - he can play and keep the ball, physically he's strong and defensively he's tough to beat.
"I want to congratulate both of them on reaching the 50 match milestone," he said.
Ends
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Saturday 20 April 2024, Kiwitea Street, 3pm
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Table
| Position | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | AC | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 3 | 15 |
| 2 |  | WS | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 3 | 12 |
| 3 |  | BU | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 5 | 9 |
| 4 |  | BO | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 6 | 9 |
| 5 |  | MN | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 5 | 7 |
| 6 |  | AU | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 5 | 6 |
| 7 |  | ES | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 7 | 6 |
| 8 |  | TC | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 11 | 3 |
| 9 |  | MU | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 16 | 3 |
| 10 |  | WR | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 14 | 2 |
| 11 |  | HW | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 12 | 1 |
| 12 |  | EB | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 10 | 0 |
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