📰 How the Black Knights took another giant step, despite dramatic late miss

By Michael Burgess

In a season of remarkable achievements, Auckland FC added another chapter on Saturday night. They became the New Zealand-based A-League team to win a playoff match in Australia, after the Wellington Phoenix suffered several near misses over the years.

And what a way to do it. The 1-0 win over the Melbourne Victory – thanks to Logan Rogerson’s 64th-minute goal – was stirring stuff, though it could have been even more emphatic, with Neyder Moreno agonisingly close to a second in the 95th minute, as his shot rebounded off both posts and somehow stayed out.

A 2-0 margin would have virtually killed off the tie ahead of the home leg next Saturday at Go Media stadium, leaving the Victory with a massive mountain to climb. So the episode may yet come to be seen as a Sliding Doors moment, if the Australian team manage to repeat their heroics of last season, crossing the Tasman and winning the away leg.

But that seems unlikely. Auckland FC will know they have improvement in them and are now tuned up after a fortnight off. And they will take a lot of belief from Saturday’s effort, an intense contest in a cauldron of noise. They were tested, especially in the first 20 minutes, and were forced into some desperate defending inside their penalty area – but they never buckled.

Still, it’s hard not to focus on the drama of Moreno’s moment. As he bore down on the Melbourne Victory goal, time seemed to stand still inside AAMI Park. Released by a precise pass by Guillermo May, the Colombian was in space, on a trademark Auckland FC lightning counter-attack. He was pushed wide by a covering defender, but his angled shot – from the edge of the area – seemed destined for the net. But it caught the inside of the right post, bounced across to hit the inside of the left upright then straight back into the arms of Victory goalkeeper Jack Duncan.

“I thought it was in actually, I was almost up celebrating already,” said Auckland FC coach Steve Corica.

The players felt the same, preparing for another celebratory sprint to the pocket of Auckland fans at that end.

“It was great play from us and I always back Neyder to score from there,” said Rogerson. “It was just so unlucky. As it hit the first post, I saw all of us running celebrating [on the big screen] and it was so unlucky but this is football.”

How important that passage was will be defined next week but it won’t detract from a brilliant all-round performance from Corica’s team, who answered every question put to them and were good value for the win, recovering from an uncertain start to enjoy the majority of the chances.

Rogerson’s intervention continued an impressive season for the 26-year-old. He is a tireless worker on the flanks but has now managed nine goals and is so often in the right place at the right time. The goal was created by Francis de Vries, who outwitted Daniel Arzani near the touchline before delivering into the area.

“I saw Franny with the ball and I knew this is dangerous so I just tried to make a run,” said Rogerson. “It was an awkward header as well, I was bent over quite a bit but I was happy that it hit my head and [to] see it go in.”

It was a special moment for Rogerson – and quite a response – after Corica had pulled him aside at halftime, demanding improvement.

“He wanted a bit more from me and it was fair enough,” admitted Rogerson. “I probably wasn’t up to standard in the first half and the second I was a bit better.”

Rogerson was “a bit shellshocked” in the first stanza, as the Victory dominated possession, creating near constant pressure in Auckland’s defensive third, while the Black Knights struggled to find outlets.

“It was very difficult,” said Rogerson. “They were creating a lot of overloads and stuff but we remained solid defensively and we’re working hard for each other like we have done this whole season.”

It wasn’t easy – especially in the wet conditions – as the Victory made promising inroads inside or near the penalty area. But players kept turning up, to cover, shield, harry and tackle, exhibiting their desire and gaining strength from their fortitude.

“Every metre you win or every pass back [you force] gives you a little bit of a boost,” said Rogerson. “Like you’ve done your job. We always work on doubling up and helping out our teammate, never leaving them one on one.”

The defensive application was probably the greatest source of pride for Corica, especially given Melbourne’s vaunted attacking threat. They have to do it all again next Saturday, as the Victory will go for broke, with a win or bust mentality.

“Defending is a really big asset of ours and we’re going to have to defend well to beat them next week as well,” said Corica. “We definitely know that the job’s not done.”

This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission.