Auckland FC head coach Steve Corica said Dan Hall should not have been sent off in an extraordinary New Zealand Derby as Wellington Phoenix’s Corban Piper handled the ball prior to the contentious moment.
Reigning Isuzu UTE A-League premiers Auckland made it four wins from four games against Wellington thanks to Saturday’s breath-taking 2-1 win at Sky Stadium, where the Black Knights prevailed despite two red cards.
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Auckland star Dan Hall was sent off four minutes into the second half having been adjudged to have denied a goalscoring opportunity as Phoenix substitute Piper stormed through on goal, while Logan Rogerson was also dismissed for a high tackle with 11 minutes of regulation remaining.
The Hall red card was a contentious moment in a wild showdown in Wellington with Corica highlighting a Piper handball in the lead-up to the 49th-minute incident.
“They (red cards) have an impact on the way we played the game,” Corica told Sky Sport New Zealand.
“For me, we’ve got confirmation that the first one should’ve been a handball from Piper.
“That means Dan Hall isn’t a red hard. He should still be on the pitch. By my calculation that should be our foul. I’m not sure what they looked at there but that starts everything off.
“Obviously Logan Rogerson, it looks like a red card to me. I’m okay with that one.
“But the first one is the one really it shouldn’t have happened.”
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Corica added: “For me, Francis (De Vries) is close enough as well.
“He is not the last man. Francis is close enough and it’s a handball.
“Maybe they should look at it. I’m not sure if they can do anything about that, but you never know.”
