Auckland FC has begun its inaugural pre-season ahead of its A-Leagues debut in the 2024/25 season. The Black Knights have already had their taste of facing fellow professional opposition, taking on the Newcastle Jets, Western Sydney Wanderers, and Central Coast Mariners during a pre-season tour in New South Wales.
Steve Corica was appointed Auckland FC's inaugural head coach in March. (Image: Auckland FC)
There was much for head coach Steve Corica to be satisfied with as Auckland FC first faced their first-ever A-Leagues rival in the Newcastle Jets, where the two clashed at Leichhardt Oval last Tuesday. The game finished as a 2–2 draw, which brought valuable experience and a positive result to a squad just beginning to play and understand each other on the pitch.
The same could not be said when the Knights arrived at Wanderers Football Park on Saturday, where they played the Western Sydney Wanderers.
Throughout the match, the Wanderers capitalised on Auckland's errors to gain a convincing 4–2 win, but it must be said that Alen Stajcic's side was simply better on the day.
However, two months before the opening round of the A-League Men, Auckland has time to iron out its kinks and emerge a better side under the experience and expertise of Corica, who is pleased with what his side has shown in pre-season.
"Pre-season has been so far so good. We played Newcastle (Jets) three days ago, and we had a draw with them, and it was a good hit-out today against the Wanderers," Corica told Front Page Football post-match on Saturday.
"There's a fair bit to work on still, but that's why we're here; we want to play A-League teams and see where we are against them. It is a learning experience for all of them."
For most of the match, Western Sydney was the more dominant side, which is to be expected, although Auckland controlled periods of the game and linked up well in attacking areas to break down the Wanderers' defence and create chances.
Building a squad from scratch to be ready for its first-ever season is no easy task, but to Corica, it is part of the first steps to a competent and confident side. With signings from Wellington's former star goalkeeper Alex Paulsen to Japanese international Hiroki Sakai, Auckland has already shown its influence in the market.
"We still have another five or six players to come in and four foreigners still to come. It's going to be a different team coming into the start of the season," Corica added.
"The squad are all working hard; [a] really good bunch of boys working away in pre-season and starting a new club from fresh; it takes a lot of time. We don't have the full squad here just yet, so we've got to keep working hard and make sure we're ready for the next two months when we start the A-League season."
The roster currently has 20 players, with Tommy Smith named club captain to lead Auckland into their first year. Smith, a former New Zealand international captain, brings experience and leadership and hopes the team will be at the required fitness levels and ready for the new season in October.
"We're working hard to get our fitness up to scratch, and these sorts of games are great tests for us to see the level we need to get to. We were a bit unfortunate with the goals conceded (to the Wanderers), and we will take a look at that, but we felt good," Smith told FPF following the Wanderers game.
Auckland's first league match will be against Brisbane Roar at Go Media Stadium. Smith, who was at Macarthur last season and played in England for much of his career, will lead the squad under Corica, who has tasted previous success in the A-League Men. Their joint experience will be crucial in challenging some of Australia's elite clubs for silverware.
"To have someone of his calibre (Corica) to oversee things is a great coup for the club. He is already stamping his authority on things and getting us to play the way he wants us to. It will take a bit of an adjustment for players; a new squad coming together, so it will take a bit of time, but [we have] a long pre-season to get it right and take improvement game on game," Smith added.
READ MORE ON FPF
WELLINGTON PHOENIX: The seven 2024/25 Wellington Phoenix matches you can't afford to miss
The 2024/25 season will be exciting for the league's traditional and new fans. The A-League Men's attraction is rising, with more young players breaking through at their clubs, generating more competition and exposing a wider talent pool to local football fans.
Auckland will enter its debut campaign with a squad that could challenge the top teams in Australia and a New Zealand rivalry to look forward to. Tensions with the Wellington Phoenix are rising after the signing of their former star man, Paulsen, two weeks ago.
The first meeting between the two sides is scheduled for 7 December in Round 7 of the A-League Men's season.
But the focus right now is pre-season, and today Auckland finished their pre-season tour in Australia against the Central Coast Mariners at Central Coast Stadium, drawing 2-2 for the second time in three matches.
Click here to read more of Front Page Football's coverage of the A-Leagues!
Kommentare