Melbourne Victory Men kick off their Isuzu Ute A-League Semi-Finals tie with Auckland FC at AAMI Park on Saturday, May 17.
Progressing through to the A-League Men’s Semi Finals following an exceptional 2-1 win in a do-or-die clash against the Western Sydney Wanderers, the Premiers are next up for Melbourne Victory.
Playing league’s newcomers just twice before, a first win over Auckland FC will be key for the Vuck in their opening home leg.
Melbourne Victory:
Taking on a red-hot Wanderers side that had gone undefeated in their last 12 outings heading into the elimination final, Victory prevailed as the winners in Western Sydney.
Young gun Kasey Bos opened the scoring in the seventh minute, finding the back of the net in his third consecutive game.
While Zac Sapsford equalised for the Red and Black in the 23rd minute, Zinédine Machach’s goal late in the first half proved to be the winner at CommBank Stadium.
Despite not putting his name on the scorers list, Daniel Arzani’s performance on the night was simply top draw.
Assisting Bos’ goal with a defence-splitting pass and dribbling his way into the box to help create Machach’s sixth goal of the season, Arzani was acknowledged as the Turkish Airlines player of the match for his standout display.
Victory now return to Melbourne high on confidence after an excellent display, bringing Auckland FC into their sights.
Undefeated in their last three outings with the same starting XI, head coach Arthur Diles has found a strong balance at the crucial point of the season.
Leading the league’s record books by a distance in wins in the Finals Series, stepping up on the biggest of stages is simply what Victory is all about.
Defeated by the eventual Premiers in Round 27, revenge against Auckland in front of a pumping AAMI Park will be in the sights of the Boys in Blue on Saturday night.
Auckland FC:
Lifting the Premiers Plate in their inaugural A-League Men’s campaign, Auckland FC have surprised many this season.
The Black Knights will play their first-ever Finals game at AAMI Park off the back of a 4-2 loss at the hands of Western United in their final regular season fixture.
Although the attacking trio of Guillermo May, Neyder Moreno and Logan Rogerson have impressed under coach Steve Corica this season, scoring a combined 25 goals, defensive solidity has been the benchmark of Auckland’s success.
Leading the league in clean sheets kept (12) and finishing with the second-fewest goals conceded (27), Auckland’s backline of Francis De Vries, Nando Pijnaker, Dan Hall and Hiroki Sakai have all been top performers in their respective positions, only further aided by Bournemouth-loanee Alex Paulsen in between the sticks.
While Auckland were crowned as the league’s top side during the 2024/25 home-and-away season, the question of whether their levels can be maintained into the Finals Series will be asked by the Vuck.
