Late strike earns draw for City youngsters
HAMILTON, New Zealand - Auckland City FC U23 scored deep into injury time to secure a share of the points with the Hamilton Wanderers Reserves in round 9 of the Lotto NRFL U-23 Premiership in Hamilton.
The City youngsters were slow off the mark but following the nervy early exchanges they have settled into their task to start controlling the proceedings.
Jesse Gage gave a deserved lead to Auckland in the 18th minute before the hosts levelled the scores courtesy of Bee Hong, following some sloppy defending to check a solo run from inside Hamilton’s half.
Despite the set back, Valerio Raccuglia’s men kept pouring forward to create a number of clear cut chances only to be let down by their finishing in front of goal.
Following the half time break the young Navy Blues continued to dominate their opponents before a lapse of concentration has allowed Manraj Singh to net from a corner and give Hamilton the lead against the run of play.
To the credit of the Raccuglia’s charges they kept their belief and their fighting spirit to find an equaliser with the last kick of the game thanks to Rayan Tayeb.
“The boys didn’t give up, they didn’t stop and they kept working for 90 plus minutes and that’s all I can ask for,” the U23’s coach summed up after the final whistle.
"I’m confident the results will come, we just have to be more clinical in the final third and we need to take our opportunities,” Raccuglia added.
Ends
Match Result
Lotto NRFL U-23 Premier Division Round 9
Saturday, 13 May 2023
Porritt Stadium 1, Hamilton
Hamilton Wanderers Reserves: 2 (Bee HONG 31’, Manraj SINGH 56’)
Auckland City FC U23: 2 (Jesse GAGE 18’, Rayan TAYEB 90+5)
HT: 1-1
AC: 1. Binath Sanithu PERERA (GK), (18. Nicolas EVANS, 46'), 4. Louie DANIELSON (c), 5. Mario YUGOVICH, 6 Riley SEXTON, (12. Jeremy FOO, 60'), 7. Stipe UKICH, 9. Samuel CLEGG, (16. Petram HASSANIAN, 67'), 10. Caleb MOOSBALLY, (17. Oscar DUFFY, 60'), 14. Jesse GAGE , 19. Neo Noah ECKSTEIN, 21 Adam BELL, (15. Matthew Murayiro MATANYAYIRE, 67'), 22, Rayan TAYEB,
COACH: Valerio RACCUGLIA
ASSISTANT COACH: Alfie ROGERS
TEAM MANAGER: Dinesh CHAND
CHATHAM CUP FINAL
Sat 7 Sep 2024, Wellington Olympic, North Harbour Stadium, 7pm
Player Profiles
Table
| Position | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | AC | 22 | 16 | 3 | 3 | 53 | 21 | 51 |
| 2 |  | WS | 22 | 14 | 4 | 4 | 52 | 30 | 46 |
| 3 |  | ES | 22 | 14 | 2 | 6 | 38 | 20 | 44 |
| 4 |  | BU | 22 | 13 | 4 | 5 | 54 | 31 | 43 |
| 5 |  | AU | 22 | 12 | 4 | 6 | 39 | 27 | 40 |
| 6 |  | BO | 22 | 9 | 1 | 12 | 39 | 42 | 28 |
| 7 |  | TC | 22 | 7 | 4 | 11 | 38 | 56 | 25 |
| 8 |  | WR | 22 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 28 | 45 | 23 |
| 9 |  | EB | 22 | 5 | 7 | 10 | 29 | 38 | 22 |
| 10 |  | MN | 22 | 5 | 4 | 13 | 41 | 56 | 19 |
| 11 |  | MU | 22 | 6 | 0 | 16 | 29 | 54 | 18 |
| 12 |  | HW | 22 | 2 | 8 | 12 | 28 | 48 | 14 |
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