Former Sydney FC coach Steve Corica’s resurrection from Sky Blues scapegoat to Auckland FC hero is complete after guiding the Black Knights to grand final glory over his old club.
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Sacked by the Sky Blues in October 2023 less than a month after winning the Australia Cup, Corica became the first coach to claim three A-League championships on Saturday night when Auckland beat Sydney 1-0 in front of more than 28,000 fans at Go Media Stadium.
A scrappy and tense affair was decided on the hour mark when a shot from Auckland midfielder Cameron Howieson found the back of the net via a deflection off Sydney defender Jordan Courtney-Perkins.
Sky Blues goalkeeper Harrison Devenish-Meares seemed to have the shot covered before Courtney-Perkins thrust a boot out to leave the Sydney gloveman stranded.
Jesse Randall should have doubled the hosts’ lead in the 82nd minute but skied his shot from close range over the crossbar.
However, it didn’t matter in the end, with Auckland comfortably holding on to add championship glory to the premiership the Kiwi outfit won last season in what has been a remarkable first two seasons for the A-League’s newest club.
“I’m so stoked. This was our goal from the start of the season,” Randall said.
The Sky Blues’ loss was their first under coach Patrick Kisnorbo, who had been unbeaten in seven matches before the decider since taking over from Ufuk Talay in March.
Earlier, the home fans were screaming for a penalty in the 15th minute when English striker Sam Cosgrove went down under a challenge from Sky Blues defender Alexandar Popovic.
However, referee Alex King waved play on, and there was no intervention from the VAR.
Sydney suffered a scare in the 27th minute when goalkeeper Harrison Devenish-Meares played the Sky Blues into danger with a short pass that went straight to Howieson.
However, Wataru Kamijo came to the Sky Blues’ rescue with a last-gasp tackle to foil Howieson.
The Black Knights were again not afraid to get physical early, but referee Alex King’s patience finally ran out in the 31st minute when centre-back Nando Pijnaker was booked for holding back Akol Akon, who was too quick for the defender.
It led to a spate of yellow cards early in the second-half for the hosts, but the Black Knights again thought they had legitimate claims for a penalty in the 52nd minute when Cosgrove was tackled by Sydney skipper Rhyan Grant.
Instead of pointing to the spot, King awarded a goal-kick. The VAR this time took a closer look at the incident but again agreed with the referee.
Howieson’s winner was to come eight minutes later, with the goal coming after Sydney had failed to properly deal with a long throw from Auckland defender Callan Elliot.
Still no room for Lolley
Sydney named the same starting side for the fourth match in succession, meaning star winger Joe Lolley again had to be content with a spot on the bench.
Lolley suffered a serious ankle injury in early March and was restricted to two substitute appearances before the decider.
Again occupying the right-wing spot usually belonging to Lolley was 17-year-old Akol Akon, who became the youngest player to take part in an A-League grand final.
Lolley entered the contest in the 64th minute but couldn’t provide the magic Sydney needed in what might have been his final match for the club.
Auckland’s line-up was unchanged from the team that started in last week’s 3-0 semi-final second-leg win over Adelaide United.
Shorts the problem
It’s a shame that Sydney FC wore its lime change strip considering the club’s sky blue jersey didn’t clash with Auckland’s predominantly black strip.
The problem was that Sydney’s usual dark blue shorts were considered too similar in colour to the Black Knights’ shorts.
Wearing the sky blue jersey with the lime shorts was an option the Sydneysiders weren’t keen on, meaning they had to wear their entire change kit.