Key events
Thanks a lot for following along, especially if you’re in Auckland and about to head out the door to join the celebrations.
Samantha Lewis’s full report of the Black Knights winning their first A-League Men Championship with a 1-0 victory over the Sky Blues is here …
Hiroki Sakai is brimming with pride as he thanks his team, the opponents, and anyone else deserving of a pat on the back. But the Black Knights skipper saves his outpouring of emotion for the city and fans of Auckland. The bustling defender calls up his teammates for a stirring trophy lift.
Cameron Howieson is player of the match with a nod to go along with his match-defining goal in the 60th minute.
The celebrations have kicked off already with Dan Hall joking that he has a quiet night ahead of him with a recovery session locked in for tomorrow. The Black Knights defender was immense throughout and especially as the Sky Blues through everything at the game in the dying stages.
Auckland have a first championship trophy in just their second A-League Men season, to go with the premiers plate that they claimed in their debut campaign. Sydney controlled much of the ball with 62% possession but it lacked penetration as they only managed five shots on goal. The Black Knights had the better of the chances throughout, including eight shots and the decisive strike through Howieson in the 60th minute.
Full-time: Auckland 1-0 Sydney
Auckland FC are A-League Men champions for the first time after a grand final win over Sydney FC. Cameron Howieson long-range goal in the 60th minute is enough to separate the two sides in a close and cagey decider.
93 mins: Sydney keep pushing and there are more appeals for handball against Auckland in their penalty box. But there was nothing there and Patrick Wood had earlier crept offside while trying to sneak in behind the defensive line.
90 mins: Liam Gillion replaces Jesse Randall who has put in a shift and a half for the Black Knights. Five minutes of stoppage time remain for the Sky Blues to find a late equaliser.
87 mins: Patrick Wood and Ahmet Arslan are into the game for Stamatelopoulos and Kamijo as the Sky Blues prepare for a last roll of the dice. Youlley surges into the box and his shot is blocked by a defender sliding along the turf. Sydney players scream for handball but that all seems understandably desperate.
85 mins: The Sky Blues have burst back to life. Lolley finds space for a one-on-one in their attacking half and is first under a long ball. But De Vries fights for position and heads the ball back to keeper Woud.
83 mins: Lolley drops a pinpoint cross off his left boot in the path of a surging Grant. The Sky Blues skipper’s glancing header beats the keeper but dips a fraction too late and over the crossbar.
82 mins: Auckland slice Sydney open again and again but can’t finish off the visitors. Sakai has a shot blocked by Garuccio and Randall soon has an opportunity to cap a standout performance with a goal. The young attacker streams forward with no one near him, cuts back inside on to his right back but with only the keeper to beat he leans back on the shot and lifts the ball over the bar. The door somehow remains open for the Sky Blues.
80 mins: Auckland has turned out in style with 28,374 fans in the stands at Go Media Stadium. It is the third successive sold-out A-League Men decider.
78 mins: Auckland keep pressing for a second as Sydney are camped in their back third. Howieson releases some of the pressure with a foul on Youlley.
76 mins: Campuzano picks up Sydney’s first yellow card of the night after a collision with Hiroki Sakai. The Auckland captain is not too pleased with the way Campuzano raised his own arm and then slumped to ground looking for a free kick.
73 mins: Both side ring the changes. Logan Rogerson and Francis de Vries come on for Auckland teammates Callan Elliot and Lachlan Brook. Piero Quispe departs for Sydney with Víctor Campuzano given the opportunity to turn the game around. Tiago Quintal seems to have an injury complaint and is replaced by Rhys Youlley.
71 mins: A rare opening for Sydney as Joe Lolley breaks the defensive line before the assistant referee flags for offside. If anything that’s a reminder of the blunt approach the Sky Blues have had for much of the night.
68 mins: The game has fallen back into the pattern we have seen for much of the night as Sydney continue to break down in midfield. Auckland take the pace out of the game with the opposition needing to make the running.
66 mins: Sydney are up against it with the momentum – and crowd – all behind Auckland. The Black Knights are undefeated in their last eight games when going ahead and are looking to most likely to score again. Joe Lolley replaces Akol Akon and will be out to bounce back from an indifferent season.
64 mins: Kamijo fouls Cosgrove in the Sky Blues’ attacking half without any obvious danger. But the ball is suddenly in their own box where Louis Verstraete takes a hurried shot off his left boot that sails out for a goal kick.
62 mins: Sydney set out to chase the game and are immediately into their attacking third. Dan Hall lunges to clear a cross and every effort is now being cheered by home fans.
GOAL! Auckland 1-0 Sydney (Howieson ‘60)
Auckland have the lead and Go Media Stadium goes bananas as Cameron Howieson scores from long range rocket into the back of the net. Devenish-Meares is wrong-footed by a deflection and Howieson has saved his first goal of the season for the best possible time.
60 mins: This has been Sydney’s best period of the game but Stamatelopoulos releases the pressure with a foul on Verstraete.
58 mins: Garuccio takes the free kick and clears the wall but is unable to get the dip needed from close range. Callan Elliot is the next to go in the referee’s notebook with a needless challenge on Grant in the midfield. Sam Cosgrove also has a card to his name after disputing the free kick that Garuccio went on to waste.
56 mins: Akon charges at the Black Knights defensive line and Hall throws out a boot in panic. A stamp on the teenager’s right foot earns a yellow card and gifts the Sky Blues a free kick in a tasty area.
53 mins: Grant gets into a more dangerous area outside the top of the attacking box. The Sky Blues captain picks out Akon to deliver a delicious cross into the six-yard box. But his teammates are yet to arrive and Woud claims the ball in the air while almost tripping over himself. A little pressure might have been enough to worry the Black Knight keeper.
53 mins: Cosgrove picks up the ball at the top of the box and goes searching for space down the left. Grant tracks his run and a gentle nudge sends the Black Knights forward spilling to ground. The parochial crowd are convinced it’s a penalty, as is Auckland coach Steve Corica. But Grant barely touched Cosgrove and even managed to get a toe to the ball.
51 mins: Sydney open up the Auckland defence against the run of play. Quispe picks out Quintal charging into the box but Hall times his run to perfection and gets a boot in just in time. Quintal’s boot was a touch high as they came together but the referee waves the claims away.
49 mins: Sydney each a cheap free kick for a handball and send a cross into the box. Dan Hall clears for Auckland and Brook quickly unleashes Randall down the left. The Sky Blues scramble back to close down the danger while giving away a corner. Randall slips on his delivery but it only creates confusion in the box before the ball trickles out for a goal kick.
46 mins: Sam Cosgrove kicks off for Auckland to get the second half of the A-League Men grand final under way. It was a physical opening half that likely would have left Sydney coach Patrick Kisnorbo the happier as his side remained in the game without spending much time in their attacking half.
