Auckland FC stun Adelaide United to make A-League Men grand final
Friday, 15 May 2026
Auckland FC have become the first New Zealand club to qualify for an A-League Men grand final.
They beat Adelaide United 4-1 on aggregate in their semifinal, after winning the away leg 3-0 on Friday night.
Jake Girdwood-Reich, Sam Cosgrove and Logan Rogerson scored the goals at Coopers Stadium.
Auckland will face either the Newcastle Jets or Sydney FC in next weekend’s decider.
At Coopers Stadium, Adelaide: Auckland FC 3 (Jake Girdwood-Reich 44’, Sam Cosgrove pen 58’, Logan Rogerson 86’) Adelaide United 0. HT: 1-0.
Auckland win the semifinal 4-1 on aggregate and advance to the grand final.
Auckland FC are into next weekend’s A-League Men grand final after winning a match inside 90 minutes for the first time in more than two months – the perfect result at the perfect time.
They handed Adelaide United their first loss at their Coopers Stadium home in a Friday night fixture this season – and just their second loss in their last 18 matches full stop – in the second leg of their semifinal.
In doing so, they became the first New Zealand club to qualify for an A-League Men grand final – something the New Zealand Knights never did and the Wellington Phoenix haven’t done in 19 seasons, as they prepare to play in their first A-League Women grand final in season No 5 on Saturday.
It continues a remarkable introduction to the competition for the newest club in the league; the billionaire-backed outfit won the premiership in their inaugural campaign before losing in the semifinals last season, and have now made a grand final after finishing third on the ladder in season two.
Jake Girdwood-Reich put Auckland in front on the night and in the tie with a thundering header at the near post from a Lachlan Brook corner late in the first half.
Sam Cosgrove doubled their advantage from the penalty spot 13 minutes into the second half, after getting to the ball ahead of Panagiotis Kikianis and winning the spot kick.
It was just the third penalty Auckland have won in 57 A-League Men matches – and the first they have converted.
Cosgrove sent it straight down the middle. Goalkeeper Joshua Smits dived to his left, still made contact with his feet, yet couldn’t keep the ball from crawling over the line as Cosgrove smashed it home to be sure.
The penalty was won after Girdwood-Reich sprinted to win the ball in midfield, played a one-two to continue his run, then found Hiroki Sakai, who crossed for his striker, who was playing his third match with a ruptured ligament in his ankle.
Logan Rogerson came off the bench to make it 3-0 in the 86th minute, tapping in a Jesse Randall cross to put the icing on the cake of an emphatic performance, which also featured a crucial save from goalkeeper Michael Woud five minutes into the second half.
Girdwood-Reich said on the broadcast afterwards: “I’m so proud of the boys. We know this is a tough place to come. I think a lot of people wrote us off today and we showed we are a great team and we can win 3-0 at Coopers”.
“The boys were exceptional,” coach Steve Corica added. “We pressed them really well. We gave them no room to play their football, they started to go direct and long and with our big boys at the back, we dealt really well with it.”
The semifinal tie was locked at 1-1 after last Saturday’s first leg in Auckland, where Lachlan Brook and Harry Crawford traded goals.
Auckland have now gone one step further than they did in their inaugural season, where they returned home from Melbourne with a 1-0 lead over Victory, then lost 2-0 at Go Media Stadium and 2-1 on aggregate.
They will face either the Newcastle Jets or Sydney FC in the decider next weekend.
Those teams drew 1-1 in their first leg in Sydney last Saturday, with the second to come in Newcastle this Saturday (kickoff 9.40pm NZ time).
“We wanted to go one better than what we did last season,” Corica said. “We didn’t finish on top this year, we finished third and we’ve [had] to do it the hard way.”
Auckland’s last win inside 90 minutes before Friday was in Newcastle on March 14 – seven matches ago – and that is where they will head if the Jets advance.
If Sydney advance, the grand final will be played in Auckland, likely at Go Media Stadium.
Auckland have never lost to Sydney, but have lost to the Jets twice this season – on both occasions at home.
Friday’s win was a continuation of their strong away form his season, so they won’t be daunted either way.
They have only lost twice on the road compared to four times at home and have stayed in hotels before their last two home matches in an effort to replicate an away-day scenario.
“We want the home grand final,” Girdwood-Reich said on the broadcast, “but we don’t really care who we play – we’re just buzzing to be in the final”.
Auckland should get midfielder Felipe Gallegos back from injury for the grand final, while Francis de Vries could be in line for a start at left back after two appearances off the bench in his return from a calf injury.
They were unhindered by the loss of Guillermo May to an ankle injury in the first leg of their semifinal.