KEY POINTS:
Playing for almost 80 minutes with 10 men, Waitakere United beat YoungHeart Manawatu 2-1 in Palmerston North yesterday to march even closer to the New Zealand Football Championship's minor premiership.
Captain Danny Hay was sent off in the 13th minute by referee Matt Conger for alleged use of
an elbow in an aerial contest with Osea Vakatalesau.
The visitors shrugged off the deficit and opened the scoring in the 30th minute when Benjamin Totori laid on a pass for Jake Butler.
Manawatu were back on terms in the 61st minute when striker Pablo Yackson scored from a corner.
Waitakere fought back and seven minutes later the tireless Neil Emblen leapt high to nod home a freekick by Darren Bazeley.
"It was a gutsy and very competent performance," said coach Chris Milicich. "I'm very proud of the boys."
With two games to play in the regular season, the win lifts Waitakere back to the top of the table on goal difference over Auckland City, who have only one game remaining.
That is against third-placed Wellington, who are three points adrift but have a game in hand on Auckland.
Auckland were at Kiwitea St on Saturday scoring a 2-0 victory over Waikato.
But in a contest controlled by referee Antony Riley (a controversial figure in Waitakere's loss on their last visit to Palmerston North) both teams finished with 10 men.
Auckland squandered a raft of chances in the first half and when they did get on target goalkeeper Danny Robinson produced two stunning saves from a Keryn Jordan header and a lightning bolt freekick by Ki-Hyung Lee.
The deadlock was broken in the 58th minute when the Jordan-Grant Young combination laid on a goal for Joel Mathews. The issue was sealed in the 85th minute by a Lee penalty after substitute John Niyonsaba was brought down in the penalty area.
Riley, who issued only one yellow card in the first half, displayed 10 more in the second spell. A strong but barely illegal challenge earned Auckland's Greg Uhlmann a second card and dismissal with five minutes to go and in the 90th minute Waikato's Sam Wilkinson suffered a similar fate.
The Wilkinson incident sparked a minor melee after which four other players received yellows.
In the other weekend games, Hawkes Bay scored a late winner to beat Otago 2-1 and Wellington beat Canterbury 2-0. Peter Halstead, who scored Wellington's first, was later sent off for use of the elbow.
Next weekend Auckland play an O-League fixture in Tahiti while Waitakere are at home to Hawkes Bay and Wellington host Otago.