Source: Radio New Zealand
Oli Sail’s Auckland FC debut was shortlived after he was stretchered off the field with a knee injury on Saturday. Andrew Cornaga/www.photosport.nz
In one fateful hour, Auckland FC went from having goalkeeping riches to needing to go to market in a global search for a new shotstopper.
All White Oli Sail had played back-up to Michael Woud between the sticks for 14 consecutive games in the A-League this season.
Sail finally got a call-up off the bench on Saturday, against his former side Perth Glory, a game he was subbed out of just after the hour mark with a season-ending knee injury.
The 30-year-old had surgery on Wednesday and coach Steve Corica said Sail could be sidelined for six to seven months.
With Sail out and the team’s other contracted goalkeeper, Joe Knowles, also injured, as well as Reserves goalkeeper Eli Jones battling glandular fever and the club’s OFC Pro League keepers in Papua New Guinea, Corica said the club was actively looking for another goalie to join the ranks.
“There’s a lot of goalkeepers around, but a lot of them are unavailable at the moment,” Corica said.
A-League experience was not critical in the search for the replacement, but if they knew the league, Corica did see that as a bonus.
“The window’s open so we can bring players in. We can look overseas as well to bring a young goalkeeper back, the search is wide.”
After getting dropped, Woud was not benched for long and could now be crucial to turning around Auckland’s defensive lapses.
“He had a good start to the season, I think the last couple of games he’s made a couple of errors which was the decision to change him.
“But he knows what he’s done and how good he can play. I spoke to him [on Thursday] and he seems in good spirits and he’s going to have to be.
“He’s got his second chance really quickly so it’s up to him now.”
Confidence as a cure-all
Logan Rogerson is being called on by his coach to get on the scoresheet this season. RNZ / Marika Khabazi
Corica sees confidence as a cure-all to the situation Auckland FC are in.
Third on the A-League ladder with one win from six games in January, the team has conceded 10 goals in the calendar year and scored eight.
Corica has identified the next three games on the schedule – Sydney FC home, Sydney FC away and Wellington Phoenix away – as important for the team’s spirits.
He believed double success against Sydney would buoy them for the third and final New Zealand derby of the season.
Auckland’s leading goalscorers look different this season from last.
Jessie Randall, Lachie Brook and Sam Cosgrove are joint leaders on the club’s goalscoring tally this season with six each.
Guillermo May and Logan Rogerson who were leading that tally last season, have yet to make much of an impact on the scoresheet, with May slotting one goal and Rogerson still goalless.
Corica wanted more from that duo to ease the load on Randall, Brook and Cosgrove.
Sam Cosgrove of Auckland FC celebrates his goal with Jesse Randall. Andrew Cornaga/www.photosport.nz
“Football is all about confidence and some players are confident players and if they’re feeling a little bit hard done by or not getting in the right positions to score that’s up to them to change that.
“We can try and help them in that department as well but we do have players that can score more goals and the more goals we score then we maybe aren’t in that situation that we let teams back into games.”
In Auckland’s first season in the A-League the club was known for scoring late winners or salvaging results after the 90-minute mark. In season two, late in the game is where Auckland have dropped points, especially of late.
“It really only started against Melbourne City, which was three weeks ago and that was the first time we’ve ever lost from a leading margin but since then the Central Coast game they came back and got a draw out of it but we expected to win that game at home and obviously against Perth it happened again so it’s a confidence thing as well.
“It’s like winning, when you’re winning games it just comes naturally and when you’re conceding goals late on and that period comes again this weekend they’ll start to think about it and it’s how we deal with it and the mentality and the strength we have to get through that period.”
Corica rued some missed opportunities to put distance between them and the other clubs earlier in the season but was up for the challenge of getting back to the top of the ladder with 11 games still to play.
“We’re still in a good position right now and I think the league is a lot closer this year from top to bottom, so the team that wins the league probably won’t get as many points as we did last season because everyone is beating everyone.”
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
