Auckland City captain Cam Howieson lifts the OFC Men’s Champions League in 2023 following a dramatic final against Fiji’s Suva FC. Photo Credit: OFC Media via Phototek Photo: OFC Media via Phototek
Auckland City FC are looking to continue their dominance at the OFC Men's Champions League, as the defending champions take on Tahiti's AS Pirae, with Oceania's biggest club prize at stake.
Coach Albert Riera is confident his side would be well prepared for the biggest club match of the footballing calendar in the Pacific.
Auckland booked their place in the final with a narrow 1-0 victory over AS Magenta, while AS Pirae made sure of their final appearance with an epic semi-final win over Fiji's Rewa FC.
Having been 1-0 down in the closing stages, two stoppage-time penalties put the Tahiti side in front before a late equaliser forced extra-time.
Two goals in the additional 30 minutes were enough for Terai's side to see off Rewa and set-up a meeting with the reigning champions.
Riera is aware that his side will be seen as favourites but welcomes the pressure that comes with that.
"Any footballer wants to feel this. Once you feel it once you want to keep going, because football is all about that. You know, this positive pressure makes you a better person and a better footballer I think."
Whether his side's approach to Friday's final will differ from the previous four matches will depend on the perspective.
"You have to be a bit more aggressive in the approach to these games. But again, you also have to think that you might have extra-time - so from a coaching point of view it's a bit hard, but from a player's point of view it's exactly the same," he continued.
For AS Pirae, the prize of winning an OFC Men's Champions League in front of a home crowd couldn't be any bigger and Coach Terai is well aware of what will be required to lift the trophy.
"Auckland City are the big favourites for this tournament. You can talk about 110 percent but for this final, we're going to be at 500 percent to try to and win this trophy."
With so much on the line and the margins of victory so far in this tournament proving to be narrow, it's all set-up to be a must-watch encounter at Stade Pater.
