Corica slams Auckland after battling 1-1 draw with Roar
Joey Lynch |
Auckland FC coach Steve Corica has labelled his side’s performance in an A-League Men draw with Brisbane as one one of the worst of his tenure, after the Kiwis had to battle hard to emerge with a point.
Corica’s men were forced to absorb a spirited display from the Roar to maintain their unbeaten start to the season in the 1-1 draw at Go Media Stadium.
Put into the early ascendancy on Sunday by a spectacular free kick from Lachlan Brook, Corica’s side weren’t able to build on their early momentum and found themselves pegged back by a Roar outfit imbued with renewed purpose under new coach Michael Valkanis.
With the Auckland boss observing that his side were “bullied”, the Queenslanders eventually grabbed a deserved equaliser on the stroke of halftime through Justin Vidic, but neither side could find a winner in the second period.
“I think we were very poor today,” Corica told Sky Sport NZ.
“I think it was probably one of the worst performances we’ve played since I’ve been here. I wasn’t happy at all.
“The only real positive that came out of it was Lachy’s goal.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do; we let ourselves down today.”
While Auckland escaped with a point and maintained their unbeaten record, the draw meant they couldn’t reclaim top spot from Sydney FC, while the Roar held their grip on fifth.
“It was a really good performance, a good away performance against a side that won the premiership last year,” Roar skipper Jay O’Shea told Sky Sport NZ.
Brisbane’s intent was clear from the start but they found themselves behind in the 18th minute when Brook thundered a left-footed free kick he’d won towards the top corner, which Dean Bouzanis got a hand to but couldn’t keep out.
Undeterred, the Roar resumed a direct assault on an Auckland backline missing the injured Hiroki Sakai and suspended Dan Hall.
Michael Ruhs smashed a shot off the crossbar in the 33rd minute, and Kiwi international James McGarry and teenager Lucas Herrington forced saves from Michael Woud.
The visitors eventually earned their breakthrough in first-half stoppage time when Ruhs sliced a ball through for Vidic, who slid home to make it 1-1 heading into the break.
The contest became scrappier in the second half, and Auckland stand-in skipper Francis De Vries almost stole it late when he smashed a free kick off the bar in the 92nd minute.
“All the things that we do really well, we didn’t do today,” Corica said.
AAP
