Auckland kicked off their O-League campaign with a 5-0 win over Tahitian champions AS Manu Ura in Auckland. Photo / Getty Images
Auckland City 5
AS Manu Ura 0
Daniel Koprivcic marked his debut for Auckland City with a second half hat-trick as the reigning O-League soccer champions began their title defence with a 5-0 win over Tahitian champions AS Manu Ura in Auckland today.
Auckland built a 2-0 halftime
lead thanks to a header from All Whites defender Ivan Vicelich, and a tidy 34th-minute goal by Chad Coombes goal.
But it was former Waitakere United hitman Koprivcic who stole the show with two classy strikes and an injury time penalty to cap to an enjoyable first run in Auckland colours.
Manu Ura showed glimpses of the form that earned them the Tahiti championship crown and could have gone into halftime level, or even ahead, had they buried two great chances midway through the first half.
An expanded O-League sees two pools of four teams with the top team from each group progessing to a two-legged final in April and May next year.
Auckland's main rivals in group A, Waitakere United, begin their campaign next Saturday away to New Caledonian champions AS Magenta in Noumea.
Auckland City 5 (Daniel Koprivcic 3, Ivan Vicelich, Chad Coombes) AS Manu Ura 0. Halftime: 2-0.
- NZPA
