May 17, 2025 • 8 mins
Auckland FC emerged victorious after the 1-nil away win over Victory in the first leg of their A-League semi-final.
The Black Knights have no injury worries as they return home - and the players earned themselves a leg up ahead of the next match.
Sky Sports analyst Jacob Spoonley joined Piney to discuss.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Weekend Sport podcast with Jason Vine
from Newstalk ZB.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
In the commentary box last night and joins us now
on Weekend Sport, Jacob and A. You put a lot
of thought into your post match reviews and you've been
doing some deep thinking about this game last night. What
do you think gave Auckland FC the edge?
Speaker 3 (00:30):
In short, the defense, the way they set up, the
architecture that Steve Kurako has put in place, the emphasis
of Danny hay and in the execution, especially from the
likes of Louis via Strata, the calm composed way that
he picked off Melbourne victory, and then also at times
set the press very confrontational through the middle of the park.
(00:51):
But if you got beyond Uvstrata, you then had to
overcome Nando Pinek and Dan Hall and then Hiroki Sucky
as well. And in one on one confrontations they buy
and Large came out on top. And the key thing
for me, Piney is if you look at it the game,
If you look at the game overall, the small moments,
the small ones, look at the fist pumps, look at
(01:12):
the little celebrations, the micro kind of moments where Auckland
knew they had put together a couple of small victories
and that not only gave them a little bit of
momentum internally, it also send a message to Victory that
they were in for the fight and that Auckland wanted
to ensure that they took an advantage back to go
media amounts mart just.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
To build on that defense of resilience. This is a
Melbourne Victory team that is widely regarded as one of
the most dangerous and an attacking sense in the entire
A league. They've got any number of game breakers, both
in the starting eleven and off the bench. That is
three straight games now that Auckland FC have kept them
scoreless again. You know, we can only talk so much
(01:55):
about the defense, but how big a sign is that
of just what Auckland FC have built here in their
first season.
Speaker 3 (02:06):
In seventeen minutes, they've kept out a combination of international
stars and soccerus Nichean Valoupola and Daniel Arzani. They toiled away,
but they really weren't given an inch at all. In
the postmatch interview, Azani cut a very frustrated figure. He
wanted to talk about penalties that weren't given fowls that
weren't given. He wasn't able to talk about any chances though, Piney,
(02:28):
And that's huge. Now I've got this scenario in my head,
so just bear with me. But if you've seen Sacario,
there's a song called the Beast. It's this ominous tune
that lets you know that a big moment's coming. And
I'm just playing that over and over in my head
and thinking about the Melbourne victory sides having to step
out onto the field again, coming up against the Beast,
(02:53):
coming up against the teeth of this Auckland FC defense,
and then looking up above that and seeing the port bouncing.
They have everything to play for, and I think at
the moment they're a bit of a wounded animal. So
it can go one of two ways I see from
Malbourn victory. Either They'll come out swinging and I'll land
a few blows in Auckland in the weekend, or the
(03:13):
wheels could come off and in which case we could
have a huge moment to celebrate in Auckland next weekend.
Speaker 2 (03:19):
Auckland f C no that if they don't concede next
week they're into the Grand Final. Will there be any
temptation for Steve Coricker to depart from what has been
a pretty attack minded strategy for the most part, not
all out attack. But certainly you know they don't. They
don't sit any temptation for Steve Coricker to just sit
(03:40):
next Saturday night.
Speaker 3 (03:42):
You have to ask him. But I would say if
you round it up zero percent, Piney, the blueprint for
Auckland has been very settled from the get go. There
we've seen some nuances, we've seen some wrinkles. Yes, they
convert to a bat five to see our games. The closer,
Tommy Smith comes on just to make things absolutely concrete.
(04:05):
But let's from that. This side has talked about success.
It's a mandate that's come down from Bill Foley. They've
got their first piece of silverware. They did so refining
this process, refining this attacking transition football throughout the course
of the season. Now, if you talk to them during
the week, if you had a chance to chat to
the players, what became very apparent was there was almost
(04:28):
a confrontational focus on the championship. They've got the Premier's
Play now that's been locked away. It was paraded around
for around about a week. We haven't seen it. That
says to me that this side is squarely intent on
going to the Grand Final and giving the best account
of themselves as they possibly can. Now this second leg, yes,
it has to be played, but in some ways it
(04:50):
is also preparation for the Grand Final. And I I
don't see Steve Corker straying anywhere away from what he
has done all throughout the course of the season. Let's remember,
as you put in a tweet this morning, consistency has
been key for the success of AUC.
Speaker 2 (05:07):
Just to finish, I want to ask you about the
two players who combined for the goal last night, Francis
Devrees and Logan Rogerson. A year ago, Logan Rogerson was
playing his football in Armenia. I don't think most people
could even pick that out on a map. No one
would have heard of FC Noah, which is where Logan
Rogerson was playing. Francis Derees was looking for a professional
football club. Now in the white hot atmosphere of a
(05:30):
semi final, they cambine for an absolutely crucial goal and
Jake both kiwis.
Speaker 3 (05:38):
This is the underlying value to Auckland FC coming into competition,
more opportunities for Kiwi players. We know that the player
poor has been maturing. You can look at their high end,
the lights of Marcus Dominic's and Tyler Benden going to
the Premier League being olden Lega. But there's also this
middle class of players that wants to have opportunities. They
(06:00):
want to play in their hometown and at times the
way into Phoenix simply haven't had the spots. But we've
seen opportunities given to Francis Defee, skipped up from the
National League. Logan Rogerson, as you said, wanted to have
a chance to play in a well resourced, well run club.
He's got the chance to do that and basically his hometown.
This is the thing that I think is so exciting
because yes, the Marquet players, the international stars will give
(06:24):
you that sugar, they'll grab the attention. The connection is
built through the hometown. Boy come good, and we've got
that in spades this season. Logan Rogerson arguably the most
consistent player across the competition. Eight goals now to assists.
Of course, it was going to beat him last night,
and the dividend that we will see from what these
(06:45):
two players are doing will be realized in ten to
fifteen is time when you're talking to an Auckland FC
player that pulls on the shirt and says, I was
inspired by what I saw from Francis to Freeze and
Logan Rogerson all the way back in year one.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
Are you able to secure me a ticket for next weekend.
Speaker 3 (07:05):
Partie? I haven't slept. I mean an eighteen months old
who gets up at four am. I returned home at two.
I wasn't out partying ladies and gentlemen. I got to
we got to the end of the broadcast at twelve thirty,
went into Tyler Street to have a drink with a
couple of the staff at Auckland FC. They put on
a fantastic event at Tucky Tide Square. It's got to
be said, two thousand plus people in their raucous atmosphere.
(07:28):
We saw the visuals last night. Had a chat to
Raf Turnbull and he said to me, there's only around
about five hundred tickets left, and that was at one
thirty in the morning this morning. I can't even imagine
the scarcity, that the absolute toil that you're going to
have to go through to get your hands on one
of these tickets. The most sought after ticket in town
(07:50):
this week all right, So.
Speaker 2 (07:51):
In other words, you can't secure me your ticket for next.
Speaker 3 (07:54):
Weekend's soft note, Jason, it's a soft note, right.
Speaker 2 (07:58):
Always enjoyed chatting, Jacob, enjoy the rest of your weekend.
Rastop Big Saturday Night coming a week from now.
Speaker 3 (08:04):
I cannot wait to be in a commentary box. Next
week is going to be huge.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
Yeah, it's going to be big alright, thanks Jacob, Jacob Spoonley.
They're from the Sky Sport football team.
Speaker 1 (08:14):
For more from Weekend Sport with Jason Fine, listen live
to News Talk Set B weekends from midday, or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio
You're listening to the Weekend Sport podcast with Jason Vine
from Newstalk ZB.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
In the commentary box last night and joins us now
on Weekend Sport, Jacob and A. You put a lot
of thought into your post match reviews and you've been
doing some deep thinking about this game last night. What
do you think gave Auckland FC the edge?
Speaker 3 (00:30):
In short, the defense, the way they set up, the
architecture that Steve Kurako has put in place, the emphasis
of Danny hay and in the execution, especially from the
likes of Louis via Strata, the calm composed way that
he picked off Melbourne victory, and then also at times
set the press very confrontational through the middle of the park.
(00:51):
But if you got beyond Uvstrata, you then had to
overcome Nando Pinek and Dan Hall and then Hiroki Sucky
as well. And in one on one confrontations they buy
and Large came out on top. And the key thing
for me, Piney is if you look at it the game,
If you look at the game overall, the small moments,
the small ones, look at the fist pumps, look at
(01:12):
the little celebrations, the micro kind of moments where Auckland
knew they had put together a couple of small victories
and that not only gave them a little bit of
momentum internally, it also send a message to Victory that
they were in for the fight and that Auckland wanted
to ensure that they took an advantage back to go
media amounts mart just.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
To build on that defense of resilience. This is a
Melbourne Victory team that is widely regarded as one of
the most dangerous and an attacking sense in the entire
A league. They've got any number of game breakers, both
in the starting eleven and off the bench. That is
three straight games now that Auckland FC have kept them
scoreless again. You know, we can only talk so much
(01:55):
about the defense, but how big a sign is that
of just what Auckland FC have built here in their
first season.
Speaker 3 (02:06):
In seventeen minutes, they've kept out a combination of international
stars and soccerus Nichean Valoupola and Daniel Arzani. They toiled away,
but they really weren't given an inch at all. In
the postmatch interview, Azani cut a very frustrated figure. He
wanted to talk about penalties that weren't given fowls that
weren't given. He wasn't able to talk about any chances though, Piney,
(02:28):
And that's huge. Now I've got this scenario in my head,
so just bear with me. But if you've seen Sacario,
there's a song called the Beast. It's this ominous tune
that lets you know that a big moment's coming. And
I'm just playing that over and over in my head
and thinking about the Melbourne victory sides having to step
out onto the field again, coming up against the Beast,
(02:53):
coming up against the teeth of this Auckland FC defense,
and then looking up above that and seeing the port bouncing.
They have everything to play for, and I think at
the moment they're a bit of a wounded animal. So
it can go one of two ways I see from
Malbourn victory. Either They'll come out swinging and I'll land
a few blows in Auckland in the weekend, or the
(03:13):
wheels could come off and in which case we could
have a huge moment to celebrate in Auckland next weekend.
Speaker 2 (03:19):
Auckland f C no that if they don't concede next
week they're into the Grand Final. Will there be any
temptation for Steve Coricker to depart from what has been
a pretty attack minded strategy for the most part, not
all out attack. But certainly you know they don't. They
don't sit any temptation for Steve Coricker to just sit
(03:40):
next Saturday night.
Speaker 3 (03:42):
You have to ask him. But I would say if
you round it up zero percent, Piney, the blueprint for
Auckland has been very settled from the get go. There
we've seen some nuances, we've seen some wrinkles. Yes, they
convert to a bat five to see our games. The closer,
Tommy Smith comes on just to make things absolutely concrete.
(04:05):
But let's from that. This side has talked about success.
It's a mandate that's come down from Bill Foley. They've
got their first piece of silverware. They did so refining
this process, refining this attacking transition football throughout the course
of the season. Now, if you talk to them during
the week, if you had a chance to chat to
the players, what became very apparent was there was almost
(04:28):
a confrontational focus on the championship. They've got the Premier's
Play now that's been locked away. It was paraded around
for around about a week. We haven't seen it. That
says to me that this side is squarely intent on
going to the Grand Final and giving the best account
of themselves as they possibly can. Now this second leg, yes,
it has to be played, but in some ways it
(04:50):
is also preparation for the Grand Final. And I I
don't see Steve Corker straying anywhere away from what he
has done all throughout the course of the season. Let's remember,
as you put in a tweet this morning, consistency has
been key for the success of AUC.
Speaker 2 (05:07):
Just to finish, I want to ask you about the
two players who combined for the goal last night, Francis
Devrees and Logan Rogerson. A year ago, Logan Rogerson was
playing his football in Armenia. I don't think most people
could even pick that out on a map. No one
would have heard of FC Noah, which is where Logan
Rogerson was playing. Francis Derees was looking for a professional
football club. Now in the white hot atmosphere of a
(05:30):
semi final, they cambine for an absolutely crucial goal and
Jake both kiwis.
Speaker 3 (05:38):
This is the underlying value to Auckland FC coming into competition,
more opportunities for Kiwi players. We know that the player
poor has been maturing. You can look at their high end,
the lights of Marcus Dominic's and Tyler Benden going to
the Premier League being olden Lega. But there's also this
middle class of players that wants to have opportunities. They
(06:00):
want to play in their hometown and at times the
way into Phoenix simply haven't had the spots. But we've
seen opportunities given to Francis Defee, skipped up from the
National League. Logan Rogerson, as you said, wanted to have
a chance to play in a well resourced, well run club.
He's got the chance to do that and basically his hometown.
This is the thing that I think is so exciting
because yes, the Marquet players, the international stars will give
(06:24):
you that sugar, they'll grab the attention. The connection is
built through the hometown. Boy come good, and we've got
that in spades this season. Logan Rogerson arguably the most
consistent player across the competition. Eight goals now to assists.
Of course, it was going to beat him last night,
and the dividend that we will see from what these
(06:45):
two players are doing will be realized in ten to
fifteen is time when you're talking to an Auckland FC
player that pulls on the shirt and says, I was
inspired by what I saw from Francis to Freeze and
Logan Rogerson all the way back in year one.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
Are you able to secure me a ticket for next weekend.
Speaker 3 (07:05):
Partie? I haven't slept. I mean an eighteen months old
who gets up at four am. I returned home at two.
I wasn't out partying ladies and gentlemen. I got to
we got to the end of the broadcast at twelve thirty,
went into Tyler Street to have a drink with a
couple of the staff at Auckland FC. They put on
a fantastic event at Tucky Tide Square. It's got to
be said, two thousand plus people in their raucous atmosphere.
(07:28):
We saw the visuals last night. Had a chat to
Raf Turnbull and he said to me, there's only around
about five hundred tickets left, and that was at one
thirty in the morning this morning. I can't even imagine
the scarcity, that the absolute toil that you're going to
have to go through to get your hands on one
of these tickets. The most sought after ticket in town
(07:50):
this week all right, So.
Speaker 2 (07:51):
In other words, you can't secure me your ticket for next.
Speaker 3 (07:54):
Weekend's soft note, Jason, it's a soft note, right.
Speaker 2 (07:58):
Always enjoyed chatting, Jacob, enjoy the rest of your weekend.
Rastop Big Saturday Night coming a week from now.
Speaker 3 (08:04):
I cannot wait to be in a commentary box. Next
week is going to be huge.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
Yeah, it's going to be big alright, thanks Jacob, Jacob Spoonley.
They're from the Sky Sport football team.
Speaker 1 (08:14):
For more from Weekend Sport with Jason Fine, listen live
to News Talk Set B weekends from midday, or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio
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