Jake makes history in A-League grand final triumph

Jewish Sydneysider Jake Girdwood-Reich – on loan to Auckland FC by Major League Soccer club St Louis City – played his part in maintaining an impenentrable wall of defence in the Black Knights’ history-making 1-0 A-League Men grand final win over his former club Sydney FC last Saturday night, in front of more than 28,000 roaring fans at Auckland’s Go Media Stadium.

In doing so, the reliable, hard-working central defender – whose maternal grandparents survived the Holocaust – became the first Jewish Australian to play in an A-League grand final win.

On target scoring chances were few and far between, as defenders in the two teams with the best defence all season, doggedly applied themselves to their task.

But in a pivotal moment at the hour mark, New Zealander Cam Howieson scored his first A-League goal, when his powerful volley was deflected by a Sydney FC player’s boot into the back of the net, sending the crowd into a frenzy.

The Sky Blues then threw everything into attack, but the Black Knights’ defence held firm, earning Auckland FC the honour of being the first New Zealand club to win an A-League Men’s championship, in just their second season.