Post-match reaction: Mistakes cost us

Words: ACFC Media

Wednesday 6 February 2019

HONG KONG, China - Auckland City FC coach Ramon Tribulietx says two mistakes at key moments cost his team a possible victory against top notch Shandong Luneng Taishan FC.

The Navy Blues took the lead just a minute into the second half after Dylan Manickum forced the Shandong defence to cough up the ball into the path of Micah Lea'alafa to slot past goalkeeper Wang Dalei.

VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS - Micah Lea'alafa goal 46 mins

Auckland City FC dominated the first half but started to visibly flag as the trip from Christchurch to Auckland to Hong Kong in the space of two days combined with facing professional opposition started to tell.

The Navy Blues conceded a foul just outside their own box that allowed Roger Guedes to finish brilliantly as Enaut Zubikarai stood rooted to his line on 57 minutes.

VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS - Roger Guedes goal 57 mins

The winner came from the same source after possession was turned over and a wicked cross from wide on the right was parried by Zubikarai into the path of the onrushing Guedes who allowed the ball to hit him and trundle into an empty net with just two minutes left.

There was a real sense of a missed opportunity in the Auckland City FC camp who for an hour looked more than a match for the Chinese side.

Tribulietx was mostly pleased with the performance but could sense the possibility that had been missed with a penalty shoot-out within reach of his side's grasp.

"It was a game where we played really good football and we dominated the first half although we didn't have too much penetration in their third.

"We were up against a very good side and they made a change and went to a back five to try and stop us from penetrating.

"We started the second half with Micah Lea'alafa's goal but it was very unfortunate to lose a game like that. We lost the game with two mistakes.

"The Guedes free-kick was good but we should've cleared the ball in the situation that led to that moment.

"We tried to keep playing but it meant we lost the ball and committed a foul they get the free-kick and they've scored.

VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS - Roger Gudes goal 88 mins

"The second goal came late but it came from a lax situation - the cross comes in from a deep area and Enaut parries it out and and hits Guedes.

"There were moments in the second half where we dominated and created chances but it's disappointing to lose the game on those two actions," he said.

Much has been said about the financial gap between the two sides but for large parts of the match it was difficult to perceive a clearcut difference.

What told in the end was physical conditioning against a backdrop of long distance travel and a fixture logjam combined with the obvious quality of Roger Guedes and former Italy international striker Graziano Pelle.

"I thought it was another credible performance by us against top class opponents. We competed well against players that cost 20M Euros in some cases and we've tested them.

"It's not the result we wanted and we're disappointed with the goals we conceded.

"When Micah scored I thought we were in with a good chance although it came very early in the second half.

"I was quite happy with the situation we got ourselves into but it wasn't meant to be," he said.

Lea'alafa was removed midway through the second half and is doubtful for the next match and Tribulietx must be wondering how he will patch his side together not only for Thursday's third place clash but into the three ISPS Handa Premiership matches his team faces against Wellington Phoenix, Southern United in Dunedin and Hamilton Wanderers.

The OFC Champions League in Solomon Islands looms on the horizon towards the end of the month as well.

As tough as that sounds, none of those sides possess the world class quality of Shandong Luneng Taishan or their match winners, Pelle and Guedes.

"Pelle and Guedes made the difference for them. Pelle brought the ball down in very difficult circumstances and he proved very tough to defend in those situations.

"They created quite a few attacks from Pelle bringing the ball down himself or when he's played to someone else - he's got extraordinary quality.

"Guedes took the free-kick well and Gil is a Brazil international and he played very well - he's very tall and has great technique," he said.

Tribulietx said he was happy with several performances from the team including his experienced core of Cam Howieson, Mario Bilen, Angel Berlanga, Fabrizio Tavano and Brian Kaltack, but he also reserved praise for some of the youngsters who emerged.

"Maro Bonsu-Maro did very well even though he had just ten minutes at the end and Yousif Ali was very good in the 30 minutes he had.

"Bilen and Kaltack and Berlanga and Howieson and Tavano were very good but tired in the second half. I'm happy with the performances. It's not easy to come up to this level and give yourself a very good opportunity to win the game but that's what we did.

"We have to recover now and make sure we're ready for the second game which is just two days away."

Graziano Pelle was in bouyant mood following the win and when asked whether he was confident of victory in the final he answered in the affirmative.

"We are proud of our performance. We only started pre-season training and in two weeks we have a very important game.

"We lost the first goal but reacted well and proved over the 90 minutes that we are in a good condition.

"We are always confident of winning and we want to win to mark the Chinese New Year.

"We have won the game and have no injuries and we want to win the final, as always," he told the host broadcaster. 

Auckland City FC face the Hong Kong League XI for third place after they lost to Sagan Tosu in a penalty shoot-out following a 1-1 draw.

The match takes place on Thursday 7 February 2019 at 9pm NZST.

Sagan Tosu FC play Shandong Luenng Taishan FC in the final on the same day at the later kick-off time of 11.15pm NZST.

Ends

Match Result
Tonghai Financial Chinese New Year Cup
Tuesday 5 February 2019
Auckland City FC 1 (Micah LEA'ALAFA 46')
Shandong Luneng Taishan FC 2 (Roger GUEDES 57', 88')
HT:0-0

REFEREE: Ng Chiu KOK (HKG)
AR 1: Lo Yuk MING (HKG)
AR 2: Wong Ping CHUNG (HKG)
FOURTH: Liu Kwok MAN (HKG)

AC: 1. Enaut ZUBIKARAI (GK), 4. Mario BILEN, 5. Angel BERLANGA (c), 6. Brian KALTAK, 7. Cam HOWIESON, 9. Javier LOPEZ (12. Dylan MANICKUM 46'), 10. Micah LEA'ALAFA (16. Yousif ALI 66'), 11. Fabrizio TAVANO (8. Albert RIERA 85'), 14. Jordan VALE (22. Oscar GUARDIOLA 90'), 15. Dan MORGAN, 19. David BROWNE ( 21. Maro BONSU-MARO 78').

SUBS NOT USED: 18. Ruben PARKER (GK), 24. Cameron BROWN (GK), 3. Takuya IWATA, 13. Patrick LUNDEMO, 20. Te Atawhai HUDSON-WIHONGI, 23. Alfie ROGERS.

COACH: Ramon TRIBULIETX

SL: 14. Wang DEI (GK), 4. GIL, 6. Wang TONG, 7. Cui PENG (15. Li WEI 46'), 11. Liu YANG (, 16. Zhou HAIBIN 46'), 13. Zhang CHI, 17. Wu XINGHAN (24. Qi TIANYU 46' (5. Zheng ZHENG 78')), 19. PELLE, 32. GUEDES, 35. Dai LIN, 53. Duan LIUYU (57. Liu CHAOYANG 46' (8. Gomes DELGADO 67')).

SUBS NOT USED: 1. Liu ZHENLI (GK), 43. Li GUANXI (GK), 3. Luo ANDONG, 9. Bai TIANCI, 21. Chen KERUI, 27. Cao SHENG, 29. Cheng YUAN, 34. Li HAILONG, 45. Zhao JIANFEI.

COACH: Li XIAOPENG

 

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