Auckland FC start life in A-League Men with win over Brisbane Roar
Saturday, 19 October 2024
At Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland: Auckland FC 2 (Harry Van Der Saag (own goal) 8’, Logan Rogerson 74’) Brisbane Roar 0. HT: 1-0
Logan Rogerson began this week by scoring a screamer for the All Whites as they beat Malaysia.
And he finished it by becoming the first player from Auckland FC to score a goal in A-League Men – finishing cooly in the second half as they began life in the competition with a 2-0 win over Brisbane Roar.
The cross came in from left back Francis de Vries, eluded striker Guillermo May and fell to Rogerson, who scored with his first touch just inside the right-hand post.
His goal made it 2-0 with 16 minutes to play at Mt Start Stadium and that was where it stayed, as the newcomers made a winning debut in front of 24,492 fans.
“It’s an unreal feeling in front of the home fans,” Rogerson said afterwards. “The support was amazing today. I was buzzing to score. It was an unbelievable feeling.“
While Rogerson’s goal was Auckland’s second on the day, he will still be the answer to a trivia question, as the first went down as an own goal by Roar defender Harry Van Der Saag.
That early setback for the visitors came in the eighth minute, after Rogerson cut in from the right and fed May at the top of the box, with the Uruguayan then playing in captain Hiroki Sakai down the right.
He then sent a dangerous ball across the face of goal that Van Der Saag turned into the back of his own net, though the former Japanese international was keen to claim it later, noting that as a defender he doesn’t score many.
Auckland looked the stronger side throughout, with left winger Liam Gillion impressing as he grew into his first professional game and Belgian defensive midfielder Louis Verstraete looking like a rock around which to build.
They had a few moments like the one that led to their early breakthrough, but took more than an hour to double their lead, with Rogerson’s goal coming almost immediately after Gillion and May blew a golden chance.
Since leaving the Wellington Phoenix in 2018, Rogerson has lived a nomadic footballing life and while he has just had the week of his career to date, he wasn’t getting carried away afterwards, calmly talking through how his goal came to be.
He said it was a goal that showed why “you have to” always stay alert, even when the ball is far away. “When the ball’s on the other side, it’s important for the opposite winger to come into the back post, because you never know what’s going to happen.”
Auckland coach Steve Corica was glad to get the club’s first match out of the way, with bigger challenges ahead in the coming weeks – a visit from title favourites Sydney FC, his former club next Sunday, then a trip to Wellington for the first New Zealand derby against the Phoenix in round three.
“I'm actually quite relieved this game’s over actually, because we've had a big build-up to it.
“Obviously, we’re very pleased to get the result and next week's another challenge for us.
“We just want to relax a little bit tonight and celebrate tonight and then we'll have to work and concentrate on Sydney next week.”
Corica and his charges met Auckland’s majority owner, American billionaire Bill Foley, for the first time ahead of their debut and the coach said he had shared a simple message: “Just keep winning”.
One down, many more to go.
The big picture
As Auckland’s active fans, The Port, enjoyed singing for most of the match, they are, in fact, top of the league. Not that it matters much with just two games played so far – the first a 0-0 draw between the defending champion Central Coast Mariners and Melbourne Victory on Friday night.
What’s next
Auckland FC are back at home in round two, hosting Sydney FC at Mt Smart Stadium next Sunday (kickoff 4pm). The Sky Blues first play Western Sydney Wanderers in a Sydney derby in round one on Saturday night (kickoff 9.35pm). They also have an Asian Champions League match in Japan that will end at 1am NZ time on Thursday.