Auckland FC coach Steve Corica praised his team’s ability to respond to their first-ever A-League defeat as the competition’s newcomers handed champions Central Coast Mariners a 4-1 thrashing to move four points clear at the top of the standings.
The New Zealanders, playing in their debut season in the A-League, bounced back from their 4-0 loss at the hands of Western United last week with a clinical display in Gosford on Saturday that saw Corica’s side extend their advantage at the summit.
“It was a great response to last week,” said the former Sydney FC coach. “That’s what we were looking for.
“We all worked very hard for each other today, with the ball and without it. It’s a first for us, to score four goals as well, which is great.”
Former Japan international Hiroki Sakai gave Auckland the lead with a 12th-minute header and, while Alfie McCalmont levelled for the home side two minutes later, goals from Jake Brimmer, Guillermo May and Logan Rogerson secured victory.
The win was Auckland’s first in three matches and, with second-placed Adelaide United losing 3-2 to Western Sydney Wanderers on Friday, the A-League debutantes overcame their mini-slump to increase their lead over the chasing pack.
“I wanted to see how we were going to react from a loss and we saw it today,” said Corica.
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“The boys have got great attitudes, they worked hard for each other. “We just took our foot off the pedal a little bit, got a little bit carried away with where we were in the league and we can’t do that. “We’ve gone four points clear, that’s clear progress for me and the boys’ attitude was fantastic. “It’s nice to be up top and everyone’s enjoying it, but there’s still a lot of hard work to go before the end of the season.”
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