KEY POINTS:
The tackle on Riki van Steeden was so bad, he couldn't bear to watch TV replays of it.
Seven months after being forced off half an hour into last season's NZFC final against Waitakere United, the Auckland City defender is today hopeful of playing his first competitive match since his knee was injured.
This afternoon is also the first time Auckland and Waitakere have squared off since and marks a renewal of the NZFC's fiercest rivalry.
Auckland won 3-2 to complete a hat-trick of NZFC titles when the teams last met but the biggest talking point was the tackle which saw van Steeden stretchered off and Waitakere striker Commins Menapi sent off.
Van Steeden was in enough pain to be given morphine in the North Harbour Stadium treatment room. Menapi apologised to van Steeden not long after being shown a red card by referee Peter O'Leary.
"He came through to see how I was. He's a nice guy and that [tackle] was definitely out of character - not that I forgive him," says van Steeden, half-laughing. "I do, but you know..."
Menapi was initially not supposed to be playing today's game. The 30-year-old was banned for six matches after O'Leary upgraded the offence on seeing video footage of the tackle. But that was reduced to one match when Waitakere appealed, a decision that did not impress van Steeden.
"That was a little bit disappointing. When he got six games, I thought that was fine. When they took that away, it was a bit of a slap in the face."
As for the video footage, van Steeden has not been tempted to watch a replay of the tackle.
"I've never seen it. I don't want to see it, I don't see any point. I've heard about it a million times."
Initially van Steeden was unsure how badly his knee was damaged.
"The first month was a little bit up and down."
Then the 30-year-old discovered the injury was not as bad as first feared, with bone bruising and a couple of ruptured ligaments.
"I was pretty lucky. The surgeon says I dodged a bullet."
While the diagnosis could have been more severe, it's still the worst football injury he's suffered.
"My knee is always aching. It's never going to be 100 per cent but it's strong enough to play again."
Van Steeden is hoping to help extend Auckland's 13-match unbeaten run against Waitakere on the pitch, a record he finds difficult to explain.
"All I can really put it down to is that we've got a bit of a mental edge. A couple of times, they really should have won but they've blown it."
Never more so than when the teams met last December, just five days after Auckland City's last game at the Club World Cup in Tokyo. Down 3-0 at halftime, Auckland scored twice in injury time to win 4-3.
This was one of the few Auckland-Waitakere games missed by van Steeden, out of action with a hamstring strain which he aggravated jumping the fence at Kiwitea St to celebrate the winning goal.
Auckland City top the table with Wellington after kicking off this season's NZFC with three wins. Waitakere started with a 2-1 home defeat against Wellington but have won both games since to be third.
"Waitakere have had a bit of a rough start. They've got some good players but they need to gel a bit better. I don't think they'll pose too many problems this weekend.
"We've had a great start. We're playing a different style of football with a lot more short passing and we've got a few good signings. Nothing should really stop us this year."
Oh, Micky you're so fine
Herald On Sunday sports journalist Michael Brown has won the football writer of the year award at the New Zealand Football Awards. Brown's portfolio included a retrospective on New Zealand's World Cup campaign of 1982, an interview with recovering alcoholic Michael Utting and a preview of the Wellington Phoenix's season. It is the third year in succession Brown has won the award, establishing himself firmly as the No 1 football writer in the country.
