The Auckland City Post
Squad21 Oct 2030
The knee: Marco Rufer out for 49 days
49 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Auckland City lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Squad21 Oct 2030
Conor Tracey stands alone
9 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
The dugout21 Oct 2030
Marco Lewis: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Auckland City have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Player ratings21 Oct 2030
Haris Zeb runs at them all day
Successful dribbles: 27. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings21 Oct 2030
No sign of nerves from Tommy Stamatelopoulos at 18 — 7.78
The hardest thing about being 18 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Tommy Stamatelopoulos did not need any: 7.78, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Boardroom21 Oct 2030
Auckland City tie Matt Colvey down
A new deal for the man in the dugout, and the clearest thing a board can say without calling a press conference about it. Stability is cheap to promise and expensive to deliver.
Squad21 Oct 2030
Words exchanged at Auckland City
Ben Van Hattum and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Boardroom21 Oct 2030
7 academy graduates step up at Auckland City
Senior shirt numbers handed to boys the coaches have known since they were twelve. Most will not make it and all of them have already done the hard part.
Squad21 Oct 2030
A row about effort at Auckland City
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and David Yoo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
In brief
- Market Callum Smith steps up from the Auckland City academy
- Market One of our own: Cameron Sutton joins the Auckland City first team
- Market Auckland City promote Tommy Cacace from within