Rogerson goal sees Auckland FC down Melbourne Victory in Semi-Final first leg

Auckland FC will return to New Zealand with a slender Semi-Final advantage after defeating Melbourne Victory 1-0 in an attritional first-leg battle at AAMI Park on Saturday night.

New Zealand internationals Francis De Vries and Logan Rogerson combined for Auckland’s decisive second-half goal, set up by the former and finished by the latter in the 64th minute of the first-leg tie.

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Rogerson’s second-half header proved the difference at a rain-swept AAMI Park as the Black Knights kept a clean sheet in the club’s first-ever Finals Series fixture to take a one-goal advantage back to Auckland for next Saturday’s return leg at Go Media Stadium.

Victory were without injured club captain Roderick Miranda for Saturday’s Semi-Final. The experienced defender suffered a leg injury in training on Friday and was replaced by Brendan Hamill in the centre of defence, who suffered an apparent knee injury in the second half and was replaced by young defender Josh Rawlins off the bench.

Victory head coach Arthur Diles will be eager to receive a prognosis on the injuries to both Miranda and Hamill ahead of next Saturday’s return leg at Go Media Stadium.

Down but not out of the Semi-Final tie, Victory will travel to Auckland with a one-goal deficit that could’ve been doubled in the final minute of added time, when a Neyder Moreno shot hit both posts before finding its way into the gloves of Victory keeper Jack Duncan.

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By the 30-minute mark, both teams had taken six shots on goal each in a frenetic start to the game under heavy rainfall at AAMI Park.

Ryan Teague and Nikos Vergos threatened early, before an Arzani strike was deflected away from goal by Auckland defender Nando Pijnaker.

Down the other end, Jesse Randall threatened with a blocked shot that fell to Guillermo May at the back post; the Uruguayan’s header was on target but Jack Duncan made a leaping save to scoop the ball off the goal line – questions over whether the ball had crossed the line were quickly waved away once the offside flag was raised.

Young Victory midfielder Jordi Valadon then fired just wide of the top-left corner from outside the box; it would’ve been his first goal in the Isuzu UTE A-League.

The attacking action continued as Auckland midfielder Felipe Gallegos fired an attempt on goal; Marlee Francois looked to flick the ball on its way toward the target, and Victory’s defensive line stood and watched as it rolled just wide of the bottom-right corner.

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The second half began much like the first, as Jesse Randall fired a curling strike wide of the target four minutes after the restart.

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Fifty-six minutes into the contest, disaster struck for Victory and matchday captain Brendan Hamill. Having replaced injured club captain Roderick Miranda in the starting XI, Hamill suffered what looked to be a right knee injury while jostling for possession in defence.

Network 10 pitchside reporter Niav Owens described the scenes as they unfolded at AAMI Park.

“Awful scenes. I think he knew the minute he hit the turf, he held onto that knee, he didn’t move and he looks in some distress,” Owens said.

“Hopefully, from a Melbourne Victory perspective, they’ll be keeping a very close eye on those scans as well as Roderick Miranda’s. Word was that they hoped Roddy would be okay for next weekend; it was precautionary this week, but they hope to have him back next week.

“Obviously our thoughts are with Brendan as he makes his way off the park. Not nice scenes at all.”

GET YOUR TICKETS TO LEG TWO OF AUCKLAND v VICTORY ON SATURDAY, MAY 24

Victory had a penalty shout waved away on the hour mark when a Daniel Arzani shot hit the arm of Pijnaker in the box, but soon after came a glorious chance for the hosts to take the lead when young defender Josh Rawlins, who came off the bench to replace Hamill, was denied in the six yard box by a diving intervention from Auckland keeper Alex Paulsen.

Paulsen’s desperate intervention proved crucial, coming just minutes before Rogerson broke the deadlock with an unmarked header.

Picked out by a signature Francis De Vries cross off the left wing, Victory left-back Kasey Bos was caught ball watching as Rogerson skipped ahead of him in the queue to fire Auckland into the lead.

GET YOUR TICKETS TO LEG TWO OF AUCKLAND v VICTORY ON SATURDAY, MAY 24

Hearts were in mouths for Victory in the final minute of extra time as Neyder Moreno received a late opportunity to put Auckland two goals clear.

The Colombian fired a low strike toward the bottom-left corner but the ball struck one post, and then the other before landing in the lap of Victory keeper Duncan.

In the end, Rogerson’s 64th-minute header was the decisive moment in a game in which Victory failed to put any of their eight shots on target – but Arthur Diles’ side is far from out of the contest with just a 1-0 deficit to chase down in next Saturday’s second-leg at Go Media Stadium.

GET YOUR TICKETS TO LEG TWO OF AUCKLAND v VICTORY ON SATURDAY, MAY 24

The Ninja A-League Grand Final kicks off TOMORROW!

Melbourne Victory host Central Coast Mariners at AAMI Park in the Ninja A-League Women title decider on Sunday, May 18.

Catch up with all the pre-game build-up below, as well as everything you need to know before kick-off, including broadcast and ticket details.

How to watch?

The Ninja A-League 2025 Grand Final will be shown live on 10 Bold from 2:30pm AEST on Sunday May 18 and available to stream across 10 Play and Paramount+.

For New Zealand viewers, every match of the Ninja A-League Finals Series is available live on Sky Sport and streamed on Sky Sport Now.

Keep up to date with everything you need to know ahead of the Ninja A-League Grand Final by following the A-Leagues on social media:

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