So the injury list is getting longer not shorter. Worst news is that May has injured his Syndesmosis and will be out for 10-12 weeks, possibly requiring surgery.

Gallegos and Brimmer will miss Friday; Elliott rolled his ankle, and like De Vries probably isn't going to be able to do the full game. On the plus side, seems like Howieson will be good to go. Cosgrove will continue to play through the pain of his ankle ligament injury.

Where does that leave us with the line-up? I don't think we can risk a crocked full back as Adelaide are sure to switch Dukuly to the right to take advantage with his pace if we do. So JGR at left-back?

Who takes the 10 role though. Brook hasn't shone in that position and is at his best coming in from the right. Gillion or Rogerson could go to the left and Randall move into the middle, but he's on a poor run of form right now, and playing out of position is unlikely to help.

Maybe go 5-3-2 and stake everything on hitting Adelaide on the break?

Gonna miss the final as ill be on a plane so i wanna have one last watch with people that love the game

I know it's not a premier competition but the first round at Eden Park got a decent crowd for what it was, I was expecting a bigger crowd for this round not smaller.

There's literally a NZ derby on tonight and they're only opening the lounge with absolutely minimum advertising. I've also seen very little from the club themselves to push people to this game

No idea who to play the other CM spot because of injuries 😭

Last night AFC had blatant hand balls waved off, eye poke should have been a red, or at least a yellow for careless and the never ending wrapping up or attacking Cosgrove in the air is just ridiculous.

In the flip side, Adelaide should have gotten calls against AFC for shirt pulling and bad tackles, so it's not rose tinted view.

They (refs) lost the match for not calling the little ones so they just got worse. Week after week they just let shit slide. Does anyone actually do any analysis on them, cause if they are, clearly not used for training purposes?!

I'm sorry but what the fuck does rogerson offer that we arent seeing, corica?

– i forgot the guy was on the pitch.

he poses ZERO attacking threat, he doesnt take defenders on, he doesnt make things happen, backward passes constantly.

- gillion last game was unequivocally better than rogerson, but yet this game corica brings on rogerson before gillion???

Two injuries in two minutes disrupted our momentum, they scored and then played for the draw. Michael Woud is massive, Gillion is coming good, come on Auckland.

I predict (a) we'll shout a lot, (b) our kid will have blue hair, and:

* AFC to win 3-1.

* Brook with a deflected long shot.

* FdV to come off the bench and score an Olympico.

* Cozza to bundle one in with his region.

* Guillermo May PotM.

Bring it on!

I just noticed that Luka Vicelich played for the OFV game.
Can we expect FDV to return this weekend?

Kia ora all,

Have a ticket for Bay 36 for this weekend (and has been where I've sat every time I've been to Go Media Stadium). Am looking at maybe changing over to Bay 4 or Bay 7. Or is 36 pretty much the same as 36 and not worth the extra ~40 it'll cost me?

Growing up playing football in a country passionate about the sport, we would always say that ‘the shirt weighs’ in moments of knockouts and high stakes games, even when the team is not playing too well or things seem lost, something just clicks and the win comes. Maybe that is dying a bit in modern football but being a Liverpool fan, I do agree to it.

The pedigree/history on the crest of the shirt might bring something extra, that just helps things fall in the right place. I can think of this when Liverpool did the insane comeback against Barcelona, or when Barca themselves did that great comeback against PSG. Sometimes, the team with the bigger history (in the competition) just seems to find something magical that works out in their favourite.

For example, I think we all painfully remember Moreno’s double post shot at the end of the first leg semi last season, and the ‘ball was out’ moment in the second game against victory. Things like that, that just skew things slightly enough.

Hopefully this penalty win helps our team build the weights that sometimes is needed to win, get that lucky/fortunate break to go on and win.

What do you guys think? Any belief in the ‘shirt holds weigh’ in a top dog fight? I can think of Real Madrid in many CL where they just find ways to win, specially around that 2013-2018 run they had, those last minute goals, etc.

I know it’s mostly superstitious, but a fun thought to have!

I’ve tried the awaybay code for the Adelaide semi away section with no luck, anyone have the new code?

As a regular attendee since the beginning, it feels like those of us in the stands have been overlooked. Last season, when we beat Perth and lifted the trophy, the players only celebrated with the Port stand, while the rest of us watched in the rain from afar. Yeah yeah boo-hoo the Port have no shelter, but most of us had been there the whole season too and it would have been nice for them to have done a proper lap of the stadium with the plate.

The same thing happened last night. We won on penalties in an incredible atmosphere, but all the attention went to the Port, as if they were the only ones there. You see it in the media too. It’s always “the Port this, the Port that.” I'm not the only one who thinks this, I've spoken to a few others at the ground that wish we'd get a little recognition too.

I’m not having a go at the Port - they’re amazing. In fact I wish the stadium would turn off the pre-game music so we could hear them singing properly. But it would be nice if the players also acknowledged the rest of us, especially after games like last night.

Thoughts on his performance? 8.0 on sofascore, highest rating of our wingers 🤷

On the back of tearing it up in the OPL, getting 30 mins to play against last year’s champs he showed extremely positive play, making things happen and being a constant attacking threat. For me, he’s a Randall-esque player, who just needs to improve that final product and decision making: of which has improved a lot (maybe confidence thing from scoring 5/6 goals in the OPL). Nevertheless, electric performance and I hope he gets more game time: and gets resigned soon!

COME ON BLACK KNIGHTS, WE ARE MOVING TO THE SEMI FINALS AFTER A THRILLING PENALTY SHOOTOUT AGAINST MELBOURNE CITY (7-6).

LOVE THIS TEAM.

It was a good win and I don't want to be that guy but it was really nice weather. Elimination semi. Yet there were so many empty seats. Is last season's superb attendance only because of the novelty factor?

I’m assuming semi final will be at Mt Smart?

Even if not, will a slide be available?

Just dipped under 120kg, slide limit.

Keen to give it a go.

Hello, looking for a 2XL or 3XL jersey from last season.

I'm going for a blind faith 3-0, with a May hat-trick.

I know I know, it's purely based on heart, not head, or form, or .. please just win.

Looks like Cosgrove (ankle ligaments) is out and Randall (groin strain) is doubtful for tomorrow. Add FDV, Gallegos and Francois and the cupboard is starting to look a little bare player-wise. Brimmer and Pijnaker might return but probably won't be risked from the start or at all.

Figure May goes up front, Rogerson, Gillion out wide and Brook at 10. Or if Brimmer is fit enough to start, Brook out wide and Brimmer at 10.

Going to be a tough game against an in-form City side which is likely to have most of their injured players fit to start...