They may not have sealed their spot in the Isuzu UTE A-League Grand Final just yet but Auckland FC boss Steve Corica admits it felt extra special to get another crucial win against Melbourne Victory.
A Logan Rogerson header in the 64th minute proved to be the difference between the sides as the Premiership winners sealed a vital 1-0 lead in the Semi-Final first leg at AAMI Park on Saturday night.
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Now unbeaten in their three games against Melbourne Victory this season, the Black Knights will look to finish the job against their opponents when they host the second leg at a packed-out Go Media Stadium on May 24.
“It’s only good for the confidence,” said Corica when speaking to journalists at the post-game press conference.
“They’re very proud of themselves, the players. Going into the home league next week we want more of the same.
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“You know, they are 90 minutes away, or 97 minutes away sometimes of getting to a Grand Final, which, no New Zealand team’s ever done. So we’ve created a lot of history throughout the year and basically, this is another piece that we want to add to it.
“It’s the goal that they set at the start of the year to win the Grand Final. That might have been a little bit silly what people might have thought back then but we knew we had a good team.
He continued: “We knew we were going to get better during the season and by winning the Premiership, it shows we’re the most consistent team. Full credit to them.
“But the Grand Final is a tough one. It’s all about the Grand Final in Australia and obviously New Zealand as well. So that’s where we want to be.”
Whilst they certainly haven’t had any issues finding the back of the net this season it’s defensively where the Black Knights have really shone.
Finishing the regular season with the second best defensive record behind Melbourne City, the Black Knights left AAMI Park with their 13th clean sheet of the campaign and it’s something Corica believes gives them added confidence heading into the second leg.
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“I’m impressed by the way they worked hard for each other and did exactly what we wanted them to do defensively and if they do that well you get the rewards for it.
“We’re always good for a goal and maybe we probably deserved another one, but yeah, we’re obviously pleased to have the one goal lead going home.
“We definitely know that the job’s not done. It’s obviously going to be tough at our ground as well, even though we’ll have all our supporters there. But yeah, there’s still a lot of hard work to go.”
Whilst they may not be assured of a spot in the Grand Final just yet the win for Black Knights boss Corica holds significant weight.
A legend with Sydney FC as both a player and then a coach, Corica admitted after the full-time whistle that beating Melbourne Victory will always feel extra special given the rivalry he’s shared with the Victorian side throughout his career.
“I think it’s important to beat anyone,” smiled Corica when asked if the victory felt extra special.
“But obviously Victory, you know we’ve had our our times in the past when I was at Sydney, so it’s always been a big rivalry from the first year, really.
“At Sydney it was the Big Blue, and you know I still treat it like that!”
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