So it proved but, on the evidence of these entertaining derbies and particularly last weekend’s, there are some other clear and obvious advantages Auckland FC are enjoying right now:
Their passing, particularly their short passing, was superior in accuracy and speed. They are following the sometimes-vexing modern habit of passing out from the back, but do so pretty well with few mistakes. That’s not easy – just ask Southampton and Tottenham in the English Premier League.
Their press when the opposition have the ball is energetic and effective. When they stopped doing so, seeking to protect a 2-0 lead (why do football teams do that instead of continuing to play in the manner that produced the goals?), it was the only time the Phoenix threatened.
They have a better defence and better goalkeeper (albeit one who came from the Phoenix) and in fullback Hiroki Sakai (created both goals), central defender Nando Pijnaker and midfielder Louis Verstraete, they have three other players who right now would stroll into an A-League First XI, chosen from all 13 clubs.
If there is a criticism to be made, it is that Auckland didn’t create that much – but they are good at taking their chances, a handy skill if you can maintain it. Ask Nottingham Forest, 3-2 winners over Manchester United last weekend; only three chances in the entire match and three goals, one from the prolific Kiwi Chris Wood.
That leads into the broader point to be made around Auckland FC and, yes, the Phoenix. For decades, football fans and writers have been howling at the moon about football being the world’s dominant sport, longing forlornly for the day when it overtakes rugby in this strange little outpost at the foot of the world.
The reality has been that both rugby and football have given ground to basketball in recent years – certainly as a grassroots/youth sport.
Rugby has been declining in popularity since 2011’s World Cup win by all accounts and one recent measure – the sale of basketballs, footballs and rugby balls – shows rugby ball sales down about 50% since 2011.
In the same period, basketball recorded about 200% growth in ball sales, with footballs dropping about 30%.
However, the advent of Auckland FC and intense derbies with the Phoenix and Australian clubs may change that. Football in this country now has an active, enjoyable and regular focus – with Kiwi teams sitting first and fifth on the A-League ladder. Add to that the sight of 26,000 people at Mt Smart thoroughly enjoying themselves making the most amount of noise from any New Zealand crowd of that size I can remember – even the Warriors. It is a genuine Auckland-Wellington rivalry, bringing strong evidence football is having a kind of new dawn.
Steven Adams effect
It needed a stage for this regional competitiveness. That dawn was never going to come from the All Whites or the Football Ferns – they simply don’t play enough games. Now, however, we have the sight of Wood creating records in the EPL, the third-highest goal scorer so far this season.
It’s the Steven Adams effect – the sight of a national basketball hero on TV inspiring others. With Wood, Auckland FC and the Phoenix similarly on full view, football is promoting itself in the best possible way; Italiano’s “lucky” jibe, too, played a role.
Quality has improved. For someone who has followed the EPL since childhood, New Zealand football (with a little f) always seemed slow, less skilled and full of irritating errors like giving the ball away cheaply.
The A-League has helped fix that and Auckland FC are shining a new light on things, so far anyway.
It must also be said the EPL is heavily populated by players who fling themselves to the ground as if shot by a sniper after the slightest touch – long an irritation and frustration.
The latest piece of chicanery, in these days of head injury safeguards, is to go down clutching your head – in the knowledge the ref must stop the game. Yet the Auckland-Phoenix match was still robust physically, a New Zealand hallmark, and the referee let it be so. Good stuff.
It’s a long season, going through May with the grand final on June 1 and, like any sport, football is full of twists and turns – but if Auckland FC or the Phoenix prevail, that new dawn could be even sunnier than anticipated.