Auckland smash Reds to reach maiden A-League Grand Final

[p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/girdwood-reich-jake/jmQevnjo/"]Jake Girdwood-Reich[/a] powered home a first-half header and joint-Golden Boot winner [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/cosgrove-sam/E5tgWxbD/"]Sam Cosgrove[/a] scored a penalty after the break. [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/rogerson-logan/2oTpqAkb/"]Logan Rogerson[/a] iced ‌the win with a late goal as the Black Knights silenced a sold-out crowd at Hindmarsh Stadium and became ‌the first New Zealand team to reach the title-decider.[/p][p]Stopped by [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/melbourne-victory/Qql6CzOP/"]Melbourne Victory[/a] in last ‌year's semi-finals, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/auckland-fc/2J7jacL6/"]Auckland[/a] would not be denied again, and will meet the winners of [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/newcastle-jets/EaZ5xZo0/"]Newcastle[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/sydney-fc/6JsBlXVI/"]Sydney ‌FC[/a] who are tied 1-1 in their semi-final before their second leg at McDonald ‌Jones Stadium on Saturday.[/p][p]"[b]I'm so proud of the boys coming here, we know this is a tough place to come,[/b]" said Girdwood-Reich.[/p][p]"I know a lot of people wrote us off today. We showed we're a great team.[/p][p]"[b]We've been ‌really good away from home this season and we backed ⁠ourselves to come here and win.[/b]"[/p][p]Having held Auckland ‌1-1 in the first leg at Mount Smart Stadium, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/adelaide-utd/4AZ2ueHm/"]Adelaide[/a]'s bid for a second A-League title, 10 ​years after their first championship in 2016, fell well short, the Reds bullied in midfield and vulnerable to counter-attacks.[/p][p]Adelaide-born Auckland winger [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/brook-lachlan/6DM96zbF/"]Lachlan Brook[/a] turned villain in his ​home town, with his curling corner kick setting up Girdwood-Reich's goal on the cusp of halftime.[/p][p]It was a valiant win for the New Zealanders, with several players carrying injuries from the ⁠bruising first leg. They combined superbly ​against a team with the strongest home record in the league this season.[/p][embed guid="b98b798c-9015-421b-a013-a0146296498c" url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMevnXCZVuw" social-type="youtube" /][p]After soaking up early pressure, Auckland soon settled into a ruthless groove.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/randall-jesse/SvHX4DoT/"]Jesse Randall[/a] conjured their first chance after 19 minutes, his shot from just inside the area blocked by goalkeeper [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/smits-joshua/YZlbzKwM/"]Joshua Smits[/a].[/p][p]An early Auckland lead went ‌begging again after the half-hour, when Brook's left-foot volley thudded into the post after he swooped on a messy clearance from a long throw into the box.[/p][p]The New Zealanders scented blood and poured forward in waves. Just before halftime, captain [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/sakai-hiroki/OdZIpjH2/"]Hiroki Sakai[/a] burned off Reds defender [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/kitto-ryan/WvIF4Uh7/"]Ryan Kitto[/a] with a dart into the box and smashed a fierce shot from the right that Smits did well to save.[/p][p]The resulting set-piece finally broke the hosts, though, as Girdwood-Reich's header slapped a lone Smits glove on the way into the net just before halftime.[/p][embed guid="1db24556-7d17-445c-8835-b9efcaad87b2" url="https://x.com/aleaguemen/status/2055234528134980071" social-type="twitter" /][p]Cosgrove doubled the lead in the 58th minute after winning a penalty from a clash with Adelaide's [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/kikianis-panagiotis/lIQH3jfo/"]Panagiotis ‌Kikianis[/a] as both fought for a cross into the area.[/p][p]Cosgrove slammed his spot kick down the ​middle, and while a diving Smits blocked it partially with his legs, the ball ‌dribbled over the line.[/p][p]In desperation, Adelaide pushed forward and pumped balls into the box but found no way to breach Auckland's wall.[/p][p]The hosts' defence was sliced open soon enough, though, by a long clearance and counter-attack down the left that ended with a gleeful Rogerson sliding in Auckland's third after 86 minutes.[/p][embed guid="8058dfb2-8f8c-4dff-acf2-47540b197385" url="https://x.com/aleaguemen/status/2055248254598844470" social-type="twitter" /][p]"[b]They set up a strong defence and ⁠were physically very strong,[/b]" said Adelaide's Dutch centre ⁠back [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/vriends-bart/lnsUgwHl/"]Bart Vriends[/a].[/p][p]"[b]I'm really grateful to ‌everyone who showed up today, but really sad about the result.[/b]"[/p]