Auckland FC head coach Steve Corica said he is “disappointed” in Giancarlo Italiano after hitting back at “disrespectful” comments made by the Wellington Phoenix boss prior to Saturday’s New Zealand Derby.
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An Isaac Hughes own goal and Nando Pijnaker’s header were the difference in Auckland, where the Black Knights conceded for the first time this season after Kosta Barbarouses reduced the deficit inside the final eight minutes of regulation.
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Heading into the blockbuster fixture, Wellington coach Italiano felt Auckland were “there for the taking” and “very lucky the past four games”.
After the matchup, Corica told reporters: “I’m little bit disappointed to be honest you with Chiefy. He mentioned a couple of things in the media which were a little bit disrespectful to our team.
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“That we were there for the taking and that we’ve been lucky. We haven’t been lucky. You need a little bit of luck obviously to win games but we’ve won all six, so you don’t get lucky by doing that. There’s the process you have to go through.
“We’ve had a few home games early on but at the backend of the season, we have to play the same amount of games away from home and I don’t make the rules, I don’t do the draw. We were the better teams.
“I use that as motivation for the boys too because it helps, every little inch helps in derby games.”
Corica added: “I pinned it up on the wall to make sure the players saw it because we haven’t been lucky. We’ve been working hard for these wins. We’ve been playing good football.
“It’s probably a bit unnecessary. They’re a good football team, we respect them. He needs to show a little bit more respect for us.”
League-leading Auckland made more history on Saturday.
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In his post-match press conference, Italiano was asked about his pre-game comments and replied: “I knew you were going to say something like that.
“Again, you tell me what league in the world a team gets five out of six home games? For me, I don’t know if you want to call it luck, poor planning, a gift – you can call it whatever you want. That was the point I was trying to make and I stick to it.
“I mean I ask you do you think it’s fair a team has five out of six games at hand at the start of the season or if you can counter me, what team has had that opportunity? That was the point I was trying to make and I stick by it.
“They beat us on the park and there’s no luck about that. They deserve to win, I never say that. But there is an advantage you play five out of six home games and don’t travel. We went to Perth, played Central Coast which is an extra day, we played in Sydney, they’ve had one trip which in fairness they did win.
“But when you start going through the rigmarole of going home and away, it can be quite taxing. I think the hardest part if you look at scheduling – we had it last season on two occasions where we went away and couldn’t stay in Australia, so we had to come back and go back. That’s very taxing on the players.”
