'No better feeling': Lachlan Bayliss reflects on his spectacular Auckland FC debut

Lachlan Bayliss has arrived – and Auckland FC fans should be excited about what is to come.

The new recruit was the star turn of their opening-day 3-1 home win over Melbourne City, with a performance of poise, class and flair.

In terms of an instant impression, Bayliss knocked it out of the park on Saturday evening with two goals, including the spectacular opener from 35m. All the pre-season talk had focused on those who have left – understandable, given the names involved – but the signing of the former Newcastle Jets player is a great piece of business.

Bayliss looked at home immediately in his first A-League start for Auckland FC and his celebration in front of the Port after the second goal was an illustration of what it meant. More than an hour after the final whistle on Saturday, Bayliss was still struggling to find the right adjectives to sum up his emotions.

“Yeah, I don’t think there’s words to describe it,” Bayliss said. “Just pure jubilation, really. It’s definitely very special to score, get the first one out of the way and even better to follow up with the second, so I was delighted. [There] is no better feeling.”

Bayliss had made a lively start to the match – with some promising incursions – but his marquee moment came in the 35th minute, after Melbourne City coughed up possession inside their own half with a misplaced pass. Bayliss strode into space, looked up to see goalkeeper Macklin Freke stranded, then hit a perfect, arcing shot over Freke and just under the crossbar, as the 20,000-strong crowd rose to their feet.

“The guy hit a short back pass and I saw the keeper off his line, so I thought, why not?,” Bayliss recalled. “Sometimes, you’ve just got to take some opportunities and take a risk. Thankfully, it paid off.”

His connection was true and sweet.

“Yeah, I knew it was going in, so I wanted to start celebrating when I hit it,” Bayliss said.

Auckland FC's Lachlan Bayliss celebrates scoring the opening goal against Melbourne City. Photo / Photosport

It was a beautiful goal, one for the legendary Minties ads of yesteryear, as time seemed to stop momentarily. But it was also an important one, as the visitors had dominated until that point.

“The moment that we scored the first goal, I think it was not fair,” Auckland FC coach Pedro Moreira said in a candid assessment on the balance of play. “We didn’t deserve the goal.”

But both Moreira and Bayliss felt the goal was a catalyst for what came later, as Auckland FC improved from there, particularly in the second half.

“A goal always lifts everyone’s confidence and allows them to play a bit more freely,” Bayliss said. “We did a lot better.”

His next intervention was even more crucial, with a crisp strike to regain the lead early in the second half, after Melbourne City had equalised through Quinn MacNicol in the 42nd minute.

After a lightning attack from inside their own half – with Bayliss playing an initial short ball to Felipe Gallegos – the midfielder sprinted 60m then was on hand to lash home the rebound, after a deep cross from Hiroki Sakai was only partially cleared.

There were four defenders hovering near the goal-line – and the goalkeeper – but Bayliss’s strike from 15m was clean, arrowing between the near post and the keeper.

“It was just, try and connect with the ball sweetly,” Bayliss said, when asked what was going through his mind. “I knew if I did that, it would likely go in. I was just grateful I didn’t shank it.”

Bayliss received rapturous applause as he was substituted with 11 minutes to play, before Lachlan Brook sealed the win with a brilliant volleyed finish of his own.

“The three points is the most important thing, so I was just grateful I was able to contribute,” Brook said.

It’s early days but it’s clear that Bayliss has already won over the fan base and provides something different with his predatory instincts from midfield. That was evident with his Jets output last season, with five goals and three assists across the last 13 games of the campaign. That led to a call-up for the All Whites – and a debut against Finland at Eden Park last March – though he didn’t get any game time at the subsequent Fifa World Cup.

“You want to play every game as possible and it definitely hurts a little bit not to get on the field,” Bayliss said of the North America campaign. “But I was definitely grateful to be there and contribute in any means necessary.”

Saturday was a special day, though Bayliss didn’t change anything in his pre-match routine.

“I felt pretty relaxed,” he said. “It’s an important game and a debut, but it is just another game of football, so I can’t get too worked up about it.”

The coach was suitably impressed.

“It was a strong debut because he’s a fantastic player,” Moreira said. “And it’s an important move from our scouting team, our board, because it was not me that chose Lachlan Bayliss. It’s really good, a positive player for our team.”

Michael Burgess has been a Sports Journalist for the New Zealand Herald since 2005, covering the Olympics, Fifa World Cups, and America’s Cup campaigns. He is a co-host of the Big League podcast.