Auckland FC beat Sydney to win A-League title
- 11 hours ago
- 2 min read
Auckland FC are A-League champions after their second season in the league ended with the biggest prize in the competition.
A 1-0 win over Sydney FC at Mt Smart in front of 28,000 fans came down to Cam Howieson scoring in the 60th minute in a sometimes scrappy contest.
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Howieson, 31 has been playing football in Auckland for nearly a decade and was among the first signings when Auckland FC was formed.
It was fitting it that it was the midfielder who scored his first goal for the club on the biggest stage.
The first A-League grand final to be hosted outside of Australia got off to a cautious start with the home side dominating the chances in the first half as Sydney committed to playing out from the back.
Sydney FC forward Apostolos Stamatelopoulos fashioned a chance all of his own making, chesting a loose ball down inside the box but his half-volley was easily saved by Auckland keeper Michael Woud.
The home side had plenty of the ball but, much like their opponents, they struggled to carve out any real openings in front of goal, with forward Jesse Randall firing a low effort into the arms of Sydney keeper Harrison Devenish-Meares on the approach to half-time.
Both sides though came out fast in the second half with Sydney FC midfielder Tiago Quintal fortunate not to receive a booking for a late tackle on Dan Hall before Sam Cosgrove then went down inside the box under pressure from Rhyan Grant but no penalty was awarded.
Things were beginning to boil over as Louis Verstraete picked up a yellow card in the 53rd minute, joining Nando Pijnaker in the book after a late challenge on Paul Okon-Engstler before Hall and Randall were both then booked for cynical fouls.
Despite losing their cool it was the home side who took the lead on the hour mark as midfielder Howieson chose the perfect moment to score his first goal for the club; lashing a left footed volley from the edge of the box that flicked off the outstretched boot of Jordan Courtney-Perkins and into the back of the net beyond the diving Devenish-Meares.
Auckland remained the dominant side but Sydney passed up a glorious chance in the 81st minute as Stamatelopoulos charged into the Auckland box and picked out substitute Rhys Youlley, however the midfielder’s low effort was tame and went straight into the body of Woud.
In the 82nd minute as Randall chopped inside the sliding Alexandar Popovic and looked for all the world as though he’d put the game to bed but blazed his shot high over the bar from close range.
Sydney threw the kitchen sink at the home side in a bid to find the winner but Auckland’s defence held firm as they clinched their first ever A-League Championship in just their second season in the competition.
Goalscorer Howieson was also then awarded the prestigious Joe Marston Medal for his match-winning performance.
