Auckland FC v Sydney FC live updates: Auckland FC seek bounce back after poor January

Live updates of the A-League clash between Auckland FC and Sydney FC at GoMedia Stadium.

Auckland FC coach Steve Corica is facing the biggest challenge of his time at the club.

It’s nowhere near a crisis for the reigning premiers – but it is a sticky situation. The expansion team have set such high standards since their arrival into the A-League, which has made the recent run such unfamiliar viewing.

The 2-1 loss in Perth in the early hours of Sunday morning capped off a bitter January for Auckland FC.

Across that month they recorded just one win from six games, with three losses and two draws. Given they were only defeated three times in total across the entire 2024-2025 regular season, it’s quite telling.

There are other points of concern. As co-host Jason Pine pointed out on the Football Fever podcast, the reversal in Perth marked the fifth time this season that Auckland FC have given up a lead to either draw or lose. It’s a contrast to the last campaign, where they developed a happy habit of retaining leads and never lost a match when they scored first.

Their aura has also diminished at home, where Go Media stadium hasn’t felt like such a fortress. After starting the season with consecutive victories in Auckland, they’ve only won one of their last five matches there. That was the derby victory over Wellington in early December, with the twin defeats to Newcastle and the surprise draws with Brisbane Roar and Central Coast Mariners sandwiched around that.

Corica and the squad have to quickly reset, given their challenging schedule this month. They host second placed Sydney FC this Saturday (5pm), before crossing the Tasman on February 17 to face the Sky Blues. Just four days after that match they’ll travel to Wellington for the third derby – against a Phoenix team that, while still inconsistent, will offer a much greater challenge than they did in the two previous contests this season.

Corica will have four items at the top of his to-do list. The first is mending the relationship with goalkeeper Michael Woud. The duo would have had a difficult conversation last week, with Woud dropped in favour of Oli Sail, after his clanger against the Mariners.

But then came the bizarre turn of events in Western Australia, with Sail suffering a freak injury taking a goal kick midway through the second half and Woud subbed on. From a situation where he might not have played again this season – had things gone well for Sail – Woud is now the only fit keeper at the club, with No 3 Joe Knowles also injured and Corica will need him at his mental and physical best.

The second task is restoring defensive confidence. After being so frugal for much of last season, the Black Knights have been strangely porous, conceding multiple goals in each of their last three matches. They are still defending well for long periods but have been vulnerable, especially in transition.

The third aspect is re-discovering their clinical attack. They’ve been productive in the offensive third but the conversion rate – goals scored from chances created – has been far too low. It hasn’t helped that the burden has mainly been carried by Jesse Randall, Lachlan Brook and Sam Cosgrove, with the trio managing 18 of the team’s 22 goals.

Guillermo May – who has been hampered by injury – has just one goal from 14 appearances while Logan Rogerson, who was joint top scorer last season has yet to open his account. Thirteen different players found the net for Auckland FC last season, while the figure is six this campaign.

It also feels like Corica has yet to fix on his best XI. Can May and Brook be used in tandem? Is Cosgrove offering enough threat, outside plan A? How can the squad get more out of vice captain Jake Brimmer and what will it take to return Rogerson to his best form, given his undoubted eye for a goal?

No one would bet against Auckland FC turning a corner – as they have passed previous examinations – but it is a big test for Corica and his coaching staff. They aren’t playing badly but the lack of positive results mean they are suddenly vulnerable.

Since late December – when they held a buffer at the top of the A-League ladder – they have only collected five points. As Pine outlined on the Football Fever podcast, Auckland FC have never been outside the top three on the A-League ladder in their history but could slip below that bracket with a loss this Saturday.

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