Auckland FC beat Wellington Phoenix with nine men in fiery New Zealand derby
Saturday, 8 November 2025
At Sky Stadium, Wellington: Auckland FC 2 (Sam Cosgrove 1’, Jesse Randall 34’) Wellington Phoenix 1 (Ifeanyi Eze 9’) HT: 2-1.
Nine-man Auckland FC scored the fastest goal in the New Zealand derby’s short history and survived two red cards to reassert their dominance over Wellington Phoenix with an explosive 2-1 victory at Sky Stadium on Saturday night.
Auckland overcame a 49th minute red card to centre back Dan Hall and a 79th minute red card to substitute forward Logan Rogerson to extend their lead at the top of the A-League Men table and maintain their perfect record against the Phoenix after three wins last season.
Auckland benefited from the brilliance of Jesse Randall to score twice outside of a rocket from Phoenix striker Ifeanyi Eze.
Hall was sent from the field for a clear shove of Phoenix striker Corban Piper as he charged through on goal, denying him a goal-scoring opportunity.
It was the exact sort of impact coach Giancarlo Italiano would have been hoping for when he unleashed the big man at the start of the second half with his team trailing 2-1 at home.
Rogerson joined Hall in being sent from the field after lunging in on Lukas Kelly-Heald and catching the Phoenix defender with his studs raised.
Melees ensued after both incidents.
Auckland could not have asked for a better start to the first derby of the new campaign, silencing the Yellow Fever by scoring after just 27 seconds through Cosgrove.
Ironically, there was a Wellington footballer at the heart of Auckland’s victory.
Island Bay product Randall – never signed by the Phoenix – used his speed to beat the Phoenix’s offside trap on two occasions to set up both goals, one for Sam Cosgrove and one for himself.
Francis de Vries launched long balls down the left and Randall used his speed to get in behind Phoenix’s depleted defence, missing the injured Tim Payne and Manjrekar James.
It was the perfect response to All Whites coach Darren Bazeley after being left out of the squad to play Colombia and Ecuador this month.
After being rocked by the early goal, Eze dragged the hosts back into the game with a spectacular equaliser in the ninth minute.
Seizing on a loose back pass from Auckland’s stand-in captain Jake Brimmer, Eze took one touch and let rip from outside the box, launching the ball into the top corner.
Auckland regained the lead when de Vries again when long.
Randall went himself on this occasion and shot past Josh Oluwayemi, who elected not to come out and close down the Auckland goal-scorer.
Despite Phoenix coach Italiano personally handing out tickets around Wellington on the morning of the game, the fourth derby only drew a crowd of 12,091– the smallest of the fourth derbies so far.
But those in attendance still created an atmosphere unrivalled in New Zealand sport, with rival fans at separate ends chanting non-stop for 90 minutes, willing their teams on.
The two red cards only added to the theatre.
It was a physical encounter with referee Ben Abraham letting a lot go.
Cosgrove was in the thick of it, wrestling Kelly-Heald to the ground while also appearing to strike the Phoenix’s left-sided centre back on the nose at a corner.
The video assistant referee reviewed a possible handball when Nando Pijnaker headed the ball onto his arm but a penalty was not given despite the Phoenix’s protests.
Auckland were dealt a further blow when Brimmer landed heavily on the ball and injured his shoulder.
Despite losing two players to red cards in the second half, Auckland held strong with nine men to deny the Phoenix their best chance to finally turn the tide.
Callan Elliot was handed a start at right back in the place of injured captain Hiroki Sakai and came up with a big defensive play in the final 10 minutes to send a shot from Alex Rufer over the crossbar.
What they said
Auckland coach Steve Corica: “I’m extremely proud. Derbies are never easy with 11 men and when you go down to nine, it obviously made it extremely hard but full credit to the players, they dug deep, they put their bodies on the line and defended the box really well.”
Phoenix coach Giancarlo Italiano: “I thought the red cards ruined the game to be fair. The first red card, I can’t even remember the time but there was a significant amount of time for us to break them down. But when Logan got sent off it basically just became a low block with all of them defending in the box.”
The big picture
Auckland remain top of the A-League Men table after registering their third straight win. They have 10 points while the Phoenix’s first defeat of the season has seen them drop to sixth, five points adrift of the competition leaders.
What’s next
The Phoenix host Macarthur after the international break at Sky Stadium on November 22, while Auckland welcome Brisbane Roar to Go Media Stadium on November 23. The next derby is in Auckland on December 6.