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Don't fix what's not broken: How Auckland FC could repeat last season's success
Henry Lee • October 30th, 2025 11:21 am
Photo: Shane Wenzlick/Photosport
After storming onto the New Zealand sporting scene last year in their inaugural season as a football club in the A-League Men, you’d be forgiven for thinking year two may not go as swimmingly.
But it’s so far, so good, this year for the reigning premiers, earning a decent point away at Melbourne Victory in round one, before holding off Western Sydney Wanderers 1-0 at Go Media Stadium last week.
Despite Steve Corica losing veteran Tommy Smith and the back-to-back winner of the A-League’s Goalkeeper of the Year award, Alex Paulsen, the team’s defence has held strong over the course of the opening 180 minutes of their sophomore campaign.
It hasn’t been all rosy going forward for Corica’s side though, with the team’s cohesion in possession still a slight worry, but that doesn’t seem to be hurting the Black Knights just yet.
Let’s take a look at three talking points out of Auckland FC from the opening two matches.
Defensive stability remains
In Auckland FC’s opening season as a professional football club, their DNA was built on a solid platform set by their back four and keeper, often keeping teams quiet for long periods of games.
There were definite question marks around whether they could continue this with the departure of Paulsen and Smith, as well as left-sided centre back Nando Pijnaker being out with a mid-term injury to start the 2025-26 season.
But after not conceding a single goal in the opening two fixtures, the only team to do so in the A-League, it’s safe to say Corica’s main focus is still on making sure Auckland FC doesn’t give their opponents much of a sniff.
Michael Woud, who was stuck behind Paulsen last season, has started with two clean sheets and two relatively safe performances after some questionable performances in pre-season.
The Kiwi keeper made one smart and important save in round one against Victory, but had a quiet evening with the gloves against Western Sydney.
Woud’s problem, and the thing that will worry most Auckland FC fans, is that the 26-year-old keeper has shown that he can make some questionable decisions with the ball at his feet, often caused by a lack of concentration or pressure from the attacker.
Until Woud makes a mistake that costs the team a goal or the game, it’s unlikely All Whites teammate Oli Sail gets any game time just yet.
There’s no argument that the most impressive signing in the offseason by Corica at the moment is central defender Jake Girdwood-Reich, who, in the opening two fixtures, has looked far from out of place.
Girdwood-Reich’s man-of-the-match performance against Western Sydney at Mt Smart on Saturday was all class.
Defensively solid, looked calm on the ball no matter the situation, and was in the right place at the right time whenever the Wanderers looked to threaten the Auckland defence. A couple more solid performances before Pijnaker returns could leave Corica with a tough, but great headache, to decide who starts on the left side of defence.
Auckland captain Hiroki Sakai has shown no signs of slowing down, and the left-footed wizard Francis de Vries still looks like a threat every time he gets the ball down the left-hand touchline.
Auckland FC could concede this weekend against a hungry Adelaide United side on the back of a disappointing defeat against Macarthur FC, but Corica’s men have so far shown that last season’s defensive qualities still remain.
Francis de Vries | Photo: Rob Prezioso/Photosport
Not firing on all cylinders - just yet
Last season, Auckland FC were at their best when Uruguayan import striker Guillermo May was in behind Max Mata, playing in a deeper role to create chances for the attacking unit.
So when Mata returned to Shrewsbury Town at the end of last season’s campaign, it was essential that Corica and his recruitment staff went out and signed a striker of the same ilk.
That they did, signing big 192cm English striker Sam Cosgrove, who has played for a number of teams around the globe, most notably at Aberdeen in Scotland and Birmingham City in England.
Cosgrove’s figure and CV excited Auckland fans, knowing the type of service he may receive with both Sakai and De Vries on his team.
But in the opening 180 minutes in Black and Blue, Cosgrove has struggled to adjust to the physicality of the league, and his linkup with teammates hasn’t quite hit the mark just yet.
Cosgrove competes hard, and his frame often brings two or three defenders to him when the ball is making its way into the box, making it hard to pop up in the right space at the right time.
You can see that the connection between his midfielders, wide players, and fullbacks isn’t up to scratch, and Cosgrove is often seen making a run and not receiving the pass or even an attempted through ball in behind.
The premiers’ focus on long throws and set-pieces remains a key part of the puzzle going forward, as seen throughout the opening two games; therefore, the 28-year-old striker should still be trusted in weeks to come.
There’s no doubt he’s good enough for the league, and he’s not the first overseas import striker to have struggled to get going immediately in the A-League, but Cosgrove must find his touch sooner rather than later.
Once they are on the same page, which could take a couple of weeks, Cosgrove can no doubt be a force to be reckoned with.
Photo: Auckland FC
Don’t fix what’s not broken
Auckland FC’s style of play and tactics are hardly the most exhilarating thing going around in the A-League, but there’s no doubt that this team has know-how when it comes to getting results in this competition.
Assistant coach of Auckland FC and former All Whites head coach, Danny Hay, and Corica have made sure that defence is their best form of attack, and have rightly spent a lot of money and resources in their backline and defensive midfield area.
This tactic has its positives, and also some negatives, which are mostly around how boring Auckland FC are to watch throughout the course of 90 minutes.
But results bring fans into the ground, and there’s no denying the fandom surrounding this team is built on winning football games and seems to have come at the expense of free-flowing attacking football.
So far this season, Auckland FC hasn’t shifted far from what worked in 2024-25, sitting behind the ball in two blocks of four players, with their two strikers deciding when to press based on specific actions from the opposition defenders.
Corica’s side had 52% possession in their draw against Melbourne Victory, before having 48% last weekend against Western Sydney.
Last season, the Black Knights averaged 47% possession, at times showing how they can take games by the scruff of the neck, but also keep players behind the ball, understanding the danger of the opposition.
However, what we have seen during Auckland FC’s opening two campaigns is that a bulk of their chances in games often come on the back of a high press, led by May and Cosgrove, pressurizing the opposition defence after a bad touch or lazy pass.
Cosgrove and May are both asked to work tirelessly without the ball by Corica and his coaching staff, screening the opposition midfielders to stop a central defender breaking the line with one pass.
This is where some teams in the ALM have gone wrong against Auckland FC - deciding to continue to play out from the back and invite pressure.
We saw this with the Wellington Phoenix last season in basically all three derbies, which ultimately cost them a couple of games.
Western Sydney tried to do the same to break down Corica’s side, but were also far from perfect with their execution as Cosgrove won the ball back on multiple occasions.
Melbourne Victory were also caught on the ball a couple of times during round one, with May putting in a tackle on Sebastian Esposito, nearly creating a goal-scoring opportunity for the visitors.
With tenacious and hard-working players off the ball like Louis Verstraete and May, teams need to adjust their tactics to try and beat the press in other ways, to not give a team like Auckland the chances they are currently getting.
For the reigning premiers, it’s simple: don’t fix what’s not broken and continue to pepper teams with their off-ball work.
But it’s time for the opposition to play their cards differently, otherwise the ball will continue to be in Auckland FC’s court.
