Auckland FC are on the cusp of a maiden Premiership in their inaugural Isuzu UTE A-League season after edging Melbourne Victory 2-0 on Saturday night.
Belgian midfielder Louis Verstraete and Uruguayan forward Guillermo May settled the contest at AAMI Park, where high-flying Auckland put one hand on the Premier’s Plate amid their 13-match unbeaten streak and a history-making season at the expense of fifth-placed Victory.
Also thanks to Alex Paulsen’s breath-taking 85th-minute save to deny Nikos Vergos, Auckland can clinch the Premiership if Western Sydney Wanderers beat second-placed Melbourne City on Saturday night. That result would leave the Black Knights seven points clear with two games remaining.
For Victory, the loss snapped their five-game unbeaten run at home while they are five points clear of seventh-placed Sydney FC.
Socceroos greats Mark Bresciano and Vince Grella were watching from the stands at AAMI Park, where chances were few and far between during a tense opening 45 minutes.
But the match sprung to life in the second half as Auckland threatened once the game resumed in Melbourne.
Guillermo May flashed a shot just wide of the post in the 50th minute before a big chance went begging for the visitors just two minutes later.
But the Black Knights got their goal just moments later.
It was Louis Verstraete, whose strike from the edge of the box made its way past Mitch Langerak, who appealed that there was an offside Auckland player obstructing his view. However, replays showed he was indeed onside.
Auckland goalkeeper Paulsen produced an incredible save to somehow deny Victory’s Socceroo Nishan Velupillay from point-blank range but it was offside anyway, not that the Black Knights star knew.
Paulsen was at it again in the 85th minute when the goalkeeper, on loan from Premier League side Bournemouth, somehow got down low to claw away Vergos’ goal-bound header.
Then, Auckland made sure of the points through May in the final minute of regulation to well and truly silence the Victory fans.
