Soccer: City Granted Tahitian dream

The Auckland City players were wearing million-dollar smiles last night as they won a dramatic come-from-behind national league grand final yesterday.

Allan Jones' side will now venture to Tahiti in May where Oceania's best will gather with the chance of qualifying for the lucrative World Club Championships in Japan in December, where each team will earn at least US$3 million ($4.1m).

With 10 minutes to play, Waitakere might have fancied their chances of going to Tahiti as they led 2-1 but poor defending let in Liam Mulrooney and Grant Young to turn the final in Auckland's favour. It would have been a cruel blow had Auckland lost considering they had convincingly won the league and beaten Waitakere in their previous three meetings.

But it was the visitors who controlled much of the match, playing with greater poise and urgency, particularly in midfield through Chris Jackson and Jeremy Christie. In the end, though, they were left rueing the fact they were without their two most accomplished centre-backs in All Whites Danny Hay (injured) and Sean Douglas (suspended).

"We got caught with the two young centre-backs, end of story," was Waitakere coach Chris Milicich's straightforward summation. "If we'd had one of the big centre-backs, who knows?"

Auckland stuck to what they do best, which is not always the most attractive football, to first get back on level terms through substitute Mulrooney and then score a dramatic injury-time winner, as Young pounced from close range sending most of the 3500-strong crowd wild.

Auckland coach Jones has been an opponent of the playoffs system and he finally broke into a smile after the match. "We don't have star players and millions of All Whites," Jones said. "We just worked our bloody socks off to get back into it. The $3 million was a big carrot and we're on our way now."

Auckland's season has been highlighted by the deadly strike pair of Young and Paul Urlovic, who scored 31 goals between them throughout the season. Young had no intention of playing top-level football when he arrived in New Zealand from South Africa last year but he might be tempted to push his ageing body a little further.

Milicich curiously opted to leave top goalscorer Keryn Jordan on the bench but it was his replacement Daniel Ellensohn who opened the scoring from a Ben Steward cross in the 31st minute.

Waitakere deserved to go into the break 1-0 up but tempers frayed and yellow cards were dished out with alarming regularity in the second half, reflecting what was at stake.

Young got his side back on level terms soon after the restart, poking home from close range before Jordan restored Waitkaere's lead in the 70th minute. It prompted Jordan to rip a placard from a fence suggesting he'd be more suited to an Olympic diving competition.

The spectators might have been contemplating extra time in the increasing gloom after Mulrooney levelled with 10 minutes left but Young settled it as he blasted home from two yards.

Young joked that he was looking forward to a "holiday" in Tahiti but with US$3 million at stake, and knowing Allan Jones, a holiday is far from what the players will get.