Auckland FC Beat Adelaide 3-0 to Reach A League Grand Final

Auckland FC beat Adelaide United 3-0 at Coopers Stadium and moved on to a league grand final 4-1 on aggregate. The result ended Adelaide United’s season and sent Auckland into one more match for the title.

Coopers Stadium Pressure

Adelaide United were on top for the first 15 minutes, but Auckland took over after that and turned the tie around in front of goal. Steve Corica said the visitors needed time to settle before they became “excellent for the rest of the game.”

Corica was “over the moon” after the win and said Auckland showed “the discipline we showed and the ruthlessness in front of goals to win 3-0.” He also said, “We’ve got one more game to go, we don’t want to get too carried away with this one.”

Cosgrove On Auckland

Sam Cosgrove said Auckland were ready for a performance like that and that Coopers Stadium did not unsettle them. “Yeah we’ve been told all week that it is, but it wasn’t a problem for us today,” he said after the win.

He also pointed to the way Auckland controlled the match after getting the first goal. “I thought we silenced the crowd early doors. Dominant, totally in control…get the first goal and we were looking like going and getting two or three and we did that.”

Adelaide’s Missed Moments

Airton Andrioli said Adelaide conceded “easy” goals at the wrong moments, and Robbie Cornthwaite was blunt about the performance, saying, “I think Adelaide bottled it tonight.” Cornthwaite added, “Other than when they lost [0-4 to Central Coast] I can’t remember them playing worse.”

Andrioli also pointed to the 24th minute of Brazilian forward Anselmo as a key moment in the match, while Cornthwaite said the long-ball approach worked only early before Adelaide had to change shape after Anselmo came off. Auckland, though, kept the game on its terms once it had settled.

Cosgrove said the squad had been waiting for a display like this and delivered it at the right time: “We’ve been due a performance like that. We’ve got that in us…and it’s come out at the right time.”