If Eastern Suburbs can claim a win over Auckland City in Saturday’s ISPS Handa Premiership semi-final at Kiwitea Street, it is likely to go down as their finest achievement since returning to the top flight of the domestic game two years ago.

Suburbs are very much the underdogs as they are facing a side they have never taken a point off and which has not lost on the pitch since the opening day of the season. The Navy Blues are also yet to concede a goal in over 1,000 minutes in all competitions and, to make the visitors’ task even trickier, Suburbs will be without three of their best performers this season.

Top scorer Andre de Jong has jetted off to play state football in Sydney while captain Tim Payne is with the All Whites squad in Spain and midfield lynchpin Moses Dyer is suspended after being sent off in last week’s dramatic defeat to Canterbury United.

Coach Danny Hay admits the odds will be stacked against his side but is nonetheless relishing the prospect of facing a team of City’s standing.

“It’s exciting, when we went through our review of last weekend’s game a few of the boys were saying this is basically what we’ve done all the hard work over the season for,” he says.

“It’s a little bit difficult with circumstances being as they are in terms of missing a couple of key players. If I’m being honest, it’s going to be a bit of a struggle finding 11 fit and eligible players but that’s part and parcel of coaching a side at this level,” he adds.

“I’m sure the boys that will pull on a Suburbs shirt on Saturday are going to be able to do a good job for the side. We’re looking forward to playing against what’s arguably been the stand-out side in the competition for many years now. It’s going to be a good challenge for us.”

Auckland City will likewise not quite be at full strength as Cam Howieson has joined Payne in earning a recall to the All Whites set-up. But coach Ramon Tribulietx has an impressive depth of talent in his squad and there is still more than enough ability to pose a huge threat to Suburbs.

The loss of Payne will be a particular blow to Suburbs in that regard as the 24-year-old has operated in midfield for the entirety of his senior career but has been a rock at the heart of Hay’s defence this season. Without the 14-cap All White, keeping a lid on the likes of golden boot winner Emiliano Tade and prodigiously talented youngster Callum McCowatt will be a tall order.

The pair have provided 23 goals between them and are by far Auckland City’s most potent players with only one other man still at the club, Solomon Islands international Micah Lea’alafa, finding the net more than once. The mid-season departure of Ryan De Vries to a professional contract in Japan has given opposing sides one less player to worry about but Auckland have topped the scoring charts nonetheless, striking 41 times in their 18 matches.

But the real secret to their success has been a remarkable defensive showing that has seen them concede just 12 goals and not once in their last eight ISPS Handa Premiership outings. Those figures would be even more impressive had a 3-1 win over Tasman United not been overturned to a 3-0 defeat due to the fielding of an ineligible player.

Eastern Suburbs have conceded twice as many times but are no slouches in the offensive department, plundering 37 goals on their way to finishing fourth. But the departed de Jong has contributed nearly a third of those and only Derek Tieku has struck with anything like the same regularity, notching seven goals.

Ominously for Suburbs, they have lost all four matches against the Navy Blues since their inclusion in the ISPS Handa Premiership and have managed to breach their defence on only one occasion. But Tribulietx is taking nothing for granted as he looks to lead Auckland City to a first national league title in three years.

“Eastern Suburbs are a team we need to make sure we consider with serious respect,” he says.

“They tend to start with a lot of energy, they’re very young and they’ve got that extra bit of energy that young players bring, so we need to focus very carefully on how we start the match.”

In the absence of de Jong, more responsibility could fall on the shoulders of youth international Max Mata and Tribulietx expects he and Tieku to be the danger men for Suburbs.

"They’ve got players like Tieku and Mata that can cause serious damage and require very little opportunity to do so. Tieku is one of those where he only needs ten yards to launch a counter attack then score an important goal.”

While the Navy Blues may be on a particularly hot streak, Tribulietx is expecting that to have little bearing come Saturday afternoon.

“The playoffs are almost a new competition – both teams hit reset and start with zero points which can make a semi-final or grand final a 50/50 type of game so you never know what can happen,” he says.

The other semi-final takes place on Sunday from 2pm at David Farrington Park, where defending champions Team Wellington will host Canterbury United. The respective winners will progress to the final, set to be staged at QBE Stadium in Auckland on April 1.

ISPS Handa Premiership Semi-Final

Auckland City vs Eastern Suburbs
Kiwitea Street, Auckland
Saturday 24 March, 2pm
#ISPSHandaPrem #ACvES
Live on SKY Sport

Referee: C Mills
Assistant Referees: I Trevis, H Tutbury
4^th Official: A Maharaj

Auckland City: 1. Enaut Zubikarai (GK), 3. Takuya Iwata, 4. Mario Bilen, 5. Angel Berlanga (c), 6. Te Atawhai Hudson-Wihongi, 8. Albert Riera, 9. Darren White, 11. Fabrizio Tavano, 14. Cole Peverley, 15. Daniel Morgan, 17. Reid Drake, 19. Micah Lea’alafa, 20. Emiliano Tade, 24. Conor Tracey (GK), 26. Callum McCowatt, 27. Dalton Wilkins
Coach: Ramon Tribulietx

Eastern Suburbs: 1. Lewis Caunter (GK), 6. Jordan Vale (c), 7. Harry Redwood, 9. Max Mata, 13. Kingsley Sinclair, 14. Leon van den Hoven, 17. Michael Built, 18. Tristan Prattley, 20. Derek Tieku, 22. Hayden Johns, 24. Charles Spragg, 29. Matt Palmer, 31. Thomas McCloy, 33. James Dunn (GK), 36. Kelvin Kalua
Coach: Danny Hay