Auckland defeat Wellington, break 47-year-old record
Auckland FC have beaten Kiwi neighbours Wellington 2-0 at Mt Smart Stadium to extend their lead atop the A-League Men (ALM) table and secure the most successful start to life in the national league history of Australian football.
In a physical contest made to feel all the more frantic in what was reported as a record 26,253 crowd, a cross from Hiroki Sakai induced Isaac Hughes into turning the ball into his net in the 31st minute, the second own-goal the Auckland skipper has netted this season.
The former Japanese international then made another pivotal impact in the 70th minute when he floated a free kick to the back post that was met with a header from Nando Pijnaker, doubling the lead.
"We shot ourselves in the foot a little bit," Phoenix captain Alex Rufer told Sky Sports.
"Auckland are a good team and we were punished today."
PURE LIMBS IN AUCKLAND 🥳🙌 @fc_auckland score a second NZ Derby goal in front of the Port and the scenes are incredible!
Nando Pijnaker pops up with a second huge goal this season to double the Black Knights' lead 💪
Catch #AKLvWEL NOW on live NOW on Paramount+ and 10 Bold 📺 pic.twitter.com/V03V3sOHD0— Isuzu UTE A-League (@aleaguemen) December 7, 2024
Alex Paulsen deflected a Sam Sutton shot straight at him only for Matthew Sheridan to somehow fail to fire into an open goal three minutes later, only for Kosta Barbarouses to finally beat the keeper when he burst in behind and rifled the ball into the roof of the net in the 82nd.
It set up a breathless finish in which Wellington hurled everything at their foes but Pijnaker's goal would ultimately prove decisive.
"It's fantastic, it makes a rivalry first and foremost, which is always great," Auckland's Tommy Smith told Sky Sports.
"You look at the worldwide rivalries and we want this one to become a big one; it's going the right way."
Entering the ALM as an expansion franchise in 2024/25, Auckland began the day having won their first five games, equalling a record set by Western Suburbs in the first season of the NSL in 1977.
But whereas Western Suburbs fell to Sydney Olympic in their sixth fixture, Steve Corica's side's triumph over the already bitter nemesis ensured they stand alone in national league history.
And while Barbarouses may have snapped what had been a run of six-straight clean sheets, his strike came after Auckland had set a new mark for the longest time without conceding in any Australian season regardless of expansion status, breaking Preston's record from 1986.
"You've got to try and find a way to win games and we've done that again today," said Smith.
