But if the players are in need of any further fuel to stoke the fire there is certainly no shortage.
For all their impressive football and dominance over most other teams in the country in recent seasons, Auckland have not actually won this competition for five years. The Navy Blues came desperately close to bringing that dry spell to an end last season but had to watch fierce local rivals Waitakere United take the title yet again after suffering a heart-breaking 4-3 extra-time loss in the final.
Wellington have also had to contend with disappointment at the last hurdle, losing both finals they have previously been involved with. The capital men were likewise defeated by Waitakere on both occasions, in 2007-08 and 2011-12, and will be desperate to finally shake off the unwanted tag of bridesmaids.
They are also aiming to create a piece of history by becoming the first side from outside the City of Sails to etch their name on the ASB Premiership trophy. In the nine campaigns since the competition’s inception, Auckland have won four titles while Waitakere have claimed five, leaving teams in the rest of the country to look on enviously.
Throw in the fact that the winner of Sunday’s encounter will be guaranteed a place in the 2015 OFC Champions League and the huge significance of the match becomes clear.
Both camps will be in a confident frame of mind after finishing the round robin strongly and progressing through the semi-finals with wins in both legs. But Auckland will go in as favourites on the strength of their 2013/14 campaign.
Ramon Tribulietx’s side comfortably became minor premiers and have not lost at home all season, their only setback coming on the road against Waitakere in early February. They posted a record-breaking 8-1 aggregate win over the west Aucklanders in the semi-finals – the highest ever winning margin at that stage of an ASB Premiership season – and have beaten Wellington in both
previous meetings this term, 4-1 in the capital and 3-2 at home.
But Wellington coach Matt Calcott believes there is less between the sides than that 7-3 aggregate would suggest.
“I think most of our clashes with Auckland over the last few years have been quite close,” he says.
“We probably came closer than the score says in the first game this season and in the second, from what I’ve heard, that was one of Auckland’s best first-half performances. We did well to come back into it and, once we got to 3-2, could even have pinched a draw.”
Wellington recently lost defender Shaun Timmins to the Phoenix and will also be without midfielder Cole Peverley, who was sent off in the second leg of the semi-final against former club Hawke’s Bay United.
Calcott feels his squad is strong enough to cover for those absences though and is preferring to focus on his own players, rather than looking to shut down Auckland’s potential danger men.
“I think if you target two or three individuals then you might get yourself in trouble because they do have quality all over the park, that’s no secret. We just need to ensure that we’re disciplined out of possession and use our usual attacking game.”
Due to the excellent nature of their results so far, a very real threat for Auckland could be over confidence and Tribulietx is aiming to make sure his players’ feet remain planted firmly on the ground.
“We have to stay confident but need to be wary of Wellington because they could be very dangerous in a one-off game,” the Spaniard says.
“They will be very motivated and we need to make sure we play our style of football when we can. In a game like this, you can’t afford to make many mistakes because you can pay the price.”
Auckland have had to nurse a few players through niggles this week after a typically bruising derby against Waitakere in the semi-finals but should have a clean bill of health come Sunday, giving Tribulietx a welcome selection headache.
The Grand Final takes place on Sunday 16 March from 2.35pm at Kiwitea Street in Sandringham and will be screened live on SKY Sport 4.
Auckland City v Team Wellington
Kiwitea Street, Sandringham
Sunday 16 March, 2014
Kick-off: 2.35pm
Referee: Matt CONGER
AKLvTW
Auckland City FC: 1-Tamati WILLIAMS (GK), 3-Takuya IWATA, 4-Mario BILEN, 5-Angel BERLANGA, 6-John IRVING, 7-James PRITCHETT, 8-Chris BALE, 9-Darren WHITE, 10-Ryan DE VRIES, 11-Daniel KOPRIVCIC, 13-Alex FENERIDIS, 14-Adam DICKINSON, 15-Ivan VICELICH, 16-Daewook KIM, 17-Joao MOREIRA, 18-Louie CAUNTER (GK), 19-David BROWNE, 20-Emiliano TADE, 21-Rory TURNER, 22-Andrew MILNE, 23-Sam BURFOOT, 24-Oliver SAIL (GK).
Team Wellington: 1-Jacob SPOONLEY (GK), 4-Colin MURPHY, 5-Adam COWAN, 7-Henry FA’ARODO, 9-Cory CHETTLEBURGH, 10-Charlie HENRY, 11-Roy KAYARA, 12-Cameron LINDSAY, 14-James MUSA, 15-Sam MASON-SMITH, 18-Tom DOYLE, 19-Tobias BERTSCH, 20-Clayton LEWIS, 21-Justin GULLEY, 23-Joel STEVENS, 24-Andrew BLAKE, 25-Daniel CLARKE (GK), 26-Tamupiwa DIMAIRO.
For more on New Zealand football go to www.nzfootball.co.nz

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