Skipper Jake Butler has food poisoning, Tim Myers rolled his ankle at training and Chris Bale is suspended while the influential Roy Krishna looks to have lost his race against time to be fit for Sunday’s domestic showpiece. Sean Lovemore, Jack Pelter and Luke Adams are also unavailable.
“We’re struggling a little to be honest,” Emblen says. “We’ll assess Tim Myers on Thursday. Roy saw a specialist on Friday and he’s still favouring his injured arm. The specialist has said he shouldn’t risk it but he’s definitely improving. I’d love to have him on the bench even just to scare Auckland City a little but I don’t think that would be right either.”
Emblen admitted the possibility of starting himself, in what would be the former Millwall, Crystal Palace and Wolves defender’s fourth grand final, was on the table. Emblen celebrates his 40th birthday in June.
“I have discussed starting the game with the coaching staff. We’ve got Thursday and Saturday morning to see the boys train but if it has to be, it has to be. I haven’t played a lot of matches so it’s not ideal. I don’t want to start the game and let anyone down in what would be my last match,” Emblen says.
One of Emblen’s opposite numbers, City co-coach Ramon Tribulietx says the reality of the league table suggests Waitakere United will perhaps start the match as favourites. Auckland finished six points adrift of their rivals on the regular season league table.
“They are the best team over the course of the season, the table proves that,” says Tribulietx, who shares the coaching duties with Aaron McFarland. “I don’t know whether that equates to extra pressure on Waitakere or not. But the league table is the reality. We’re confident about our chances and know we can do it.”
With both camps eager to shift the favourites moniker to their opponents, the head-to-head record suggests Auckland hold the upper hand. In 21 ASB Premiership encounters, City have won 12 and lost just six. On the continental front, Auckland have won twice and Waitakere once with seven draws.
Emblen’s view is that with O-League football guaranteed next season, the pressure is off for both teams. Had Waitakere United lost last season’s grand final, Canterbury United would have joined Auckland City in this season’s O-League.
“I think there was more pressure on this final for us last year because we didn’t have an O-League spot guaranteed. That was real pressure. Both clubs know they are in the O-League next season so the pressure is off a little bit.”
Waitakere’s season has hit the buffers in recent weeks with defeats to Hawke’s Bay United and Canterbury in the ASB Premiership, and Auckland City and Tefana in the O-League.
The turning point in the season came, according to Emblen, when an Alex Feneridis equaliser in time added on handed Auckland a 1-1 O-League draw at Fred Taylor Park.
“Since Auckland scored that leveller against us in the O-League, they’ve probably been the top team. They had a difficult start but they’ve shown top form since then. It will be very difficult for us,” he says.
“But we’ve still got match winners, players who know how to win grand finals. We will have to be very tactically aware on Sunday, especially if we’re chucking in new players.”
Key to that target will be attempting to restrict Auckland’s ball players. But how Waitakere achieve that aim will be mapped out once the Waitakere injury list clears up.
“We haven’t played well in our last three games with Auckland. We will try to stop them playing out from the back but again that will depend on what personnel we have available to us,” Emblen says.
Stopping Auckland from getting the ball down and playing would be one method of preventing a fifth Auckland title triumph. Talk of Auckland City winning a third double by adding the O-League to the trophy cabinet has been down played by Tribulietx. He says discussion of the milestone had died down at the club in recent weeks due to the unrelenting fixture list.
“We’ve had some very tough games in the past six weeks with the O-League group decider, the ASB Premiership semi-finals and the O-League Final 1st leg, so the possibility of a double was probably talked about more then, than now. We can’t deny that it’s been mentioned but I think that has settled more in recent weeks,” Tribulietx says.
Auckland still has a lot to do to achieve that goal. Amicale are still very much in the O-League tie and look capable of causing problems when they visit Kiwitea Street on April 17. But if Auckland do clinch both trophies, they will be the first club side in Oceania football history to make it a triple. Only Wollongong Wolves, Sydney FC and Waitakere United have held the continental title alongside their top domestic honour.
The match kicks off at 2pm on Sunday 10 April, 2011, at Trusts Stadium, Henderson, with live and exclusive coverage on Sky Sports 2. Listeners can follow the action on Radio Sport and tickets can be purchased at the gate or by visiting www.ticketdirect.co.nz
Story courtesy of New Zealand Football.
For more on New Zealand football go to www.nzfootball.co.nz