Hawke’s Bay support leaves Auckland FC keen to return

Auckland FC left Napier with a defeat on the pitch but an appetite to return after more than 5000 fans turned out for Saturday’s pre-season clash at McLean Park.

Western Sydney Wanderers won 3-1, but Auckland chief executive Nick Becker said the visit had been a success in growing the club’s support.

“The bank was full of families. It felt like a real Auckland FC home game,” he told Hawke’s Bay News.

“We’d love to come back. The whole idea is to year on year build on it, grow our support down here. Hopefully see some of the fans down here come up to some of the games in Auckland too.”

Among those watching was Hawke’s Bay resident Aroha Phillips, who attended with her husband and children.

The family had been following Auckland FC for a while and attended games in Auckland when they could.

They were surprised to learn the team would be playing in Hawke’s Bay and bought tickets as soon as they could.

Becker said the number of young supporters and queues for merchandise were encouraging signs for the club.

“Games like these are really important for us to grow as a club. And we felt it was a really successful day in that sense.”

Napier City Council events manager Kevin Murphy estimated the crowd at about 5500, below the seven or eight thousand he had hoped might attend.

“There was about 5,500, so it fell short on our estimates, but, you know, it’s okay. And okay for the first time here.”

Organisers had just three weeks to promote the fixture. Murphy said they were reasonably happy with the outcome and Auckland’s management had expressed interest in exploring further opportunities.

“The management of the Auckland team have just said that they’d love to engage again and look at other opportunities in the future, so we’ll just see where that lands.”

On the pitch, Western Sydney scored in the third and 11th minutes before Auckland pulled a goal back in the 28th minute. The visitors restored their two-goal advantage in the 48th minute.

Wanderers coach Ufuk Talay said the performance mattered more than the score as his side prepared for the new season.

“We still have four weeks till the season starts. So it’s to give minutes to players.”

I think the performance was good. And I think when we perform well, the outcome was always a positive and the result was a good result.”

Talay said the fixture, organised through Auckland FC, offered a valuable opportunity to face quality opposition during a long pre-season.

He also praised the playing surface.

“I think the boys thoroughly enjoyed playing in a nice pitch where the ball zipped around.”

Becker said Auckland had fielded a young team and recovered from a poor start.

“I mean, results always matter, and I hate losing. I thought we recovered well from a poor start and the structure was there.

“It was really good. A good run out for the boys.”

The visit followed lengthy discussions between Becker and Murphy. Auckland FC arrived on Thursday and held a public training session at McLean Park on Friday, giving supporters and schoolchildren a chance to watch the players up close.

Murphy said building a relationship with the club could benefit football across Hawke’s Bay.

“It’s about the football community engaging with a brand like Auckland FC. And, you know, we’d love to be able to host them again in the future, and it’s good for football development.”

“You know, young kids seeing what it’s like to have a professional team in the region and just that whole opportunity to build pathways, that’s what sport needs to have, and so it’s great to be able to be part of that in some way.”

Napier City Rovers won the curtain-raiser 5-2 against Palmerston North United, marking their first appearance at McLean Park in 26 years.

Photo/John Cowpland - Alphapix