Auckland FC are on the brink of a rare double – but their biggest opponent right now might be their own injury list.
By Felicity Reid of RNZ
The club could claim both the A-League Premiers Plate and the OFC Pro League in its first season across the two competitions. Under normal circumstances, that would be cause for celebration.
Instead, it has become a balancing act.
But as the second-placed A-League side deals with an injury toll that has grown since the international window, coach Steve Corica has to decide whether to take players away from the OFC side to fill his team that has three games remaining to potentially win back-to-back Premiers Plates.
Auckland FC are in the unique position of being the only club with teams in both professional competitions as well as a reserve side in the New Zealand domestic competition.
That, in theory, gives the top side a pool of players to call up should they need to. In practice, it is a different juggle.
"They're trying to win that [Pro League competition] as well as we're trying to win ours and injuries just forces more problems on both teams or all the three teams that we've got," Corica said.
"We're starting to pick up a fair few injuries so that's something that we really need to have a look at, obviously it's not good at this time of year, it's not good for the players trying to get into a World Cup squad as well, but first and foremost for us we need as many players fit as possible coming into the finals."
The OFC side are in Fiji for four games in the fifth and final round robin of the inaugural competition. Auckland are top of the standings alongside South Melbourne FC.
Corica considered whether to bring in forwards Liam Gillion and Adama Coulibaly from the Pro League but ultimately let them go with the team they have played most with this season.
With injuries across the park, including the latest to goalkeeper Michael Woud with a groin issue, striker Guillermo May with concussion and midfielder Jake Brimmer with a calf injury as well as defender Francis de Vries who picked up an injury playing for the All Whites, Corica might have to get creative to fill positions against Melbourne Victory on Saturday.
Who will fill the left back position that de Vries had a hold on for every game in the club's history until last weekend?
"Hiroki [Sakai], Felipe Gallegos, Jake Girdwood-Reich, maybe I might come out of retirement to play there," Corica quipped.
"We've got a few options. For me Jake did exactly what I expected him to do he stopped [Austin] Ayoubi from creating chances for Adelaide he only got beat once by him when he got the yellow card other than that he did a great job.
"I was always going to change after his yellow card and get fresh legs on I wanted to get Hiroki on to get him minutes as well but for me he did a great job Jake and so did Hiroki when he came on."
Auckland FC are back at home this weekend, a place that was a fortress for the side last season but where the team have not won in their last two games.
"We've just got to take care of our own last three games of the season, we've got two at home and we need to improve our home form a little bit.
"There's more pressure I think at home for us to go out and to make the play. Sometimes away games it's the home team that is on the front foot, we've just got to play our own game we don't need to do it that way even at home because we do create a lot of chances anyway.
"First and foremost we need to work hard, defend well, and we normally create chances from that."
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