Soccer: Auckland City on course for Club World Cup

Auckland players celebrate another goal during the NZFC Soccer match between Auckland City FC and Waikato FC. Photo / Dean Purcell

Auckland City have wasted no time in showing they mean business. Successive 5-0 wins have handed a warning to any team hankering to dethrone them as O-League and New Zealand Football Championship champions.

In following their first-up O-League success over A S Manu Ura with a repeat over Waikato FC at Kiwitea St yesterday, City showed their preparations for their upcoming Fifa Club World Cup foray are firmly on course.

Waikato came north with some confidence after a good pre-season. They quickly took the season opening NZFC game by the scruff of the neck forcing last season's grand final winners to absorb early pressure.

Half chances to Mikael Munday, Michael Gwyther and Daniel Peat threatened to turn that early advantage into goals but some good work in the City goal by debutant goalkeeper Paul Gothard and an off-the-line clearance by captain Ivan Vicelich denied the visitors who soon found their feet - and the back of the Waikato goal.

Ki-Hyung Lee, James Pritchett and Chad Coombes provided the build-up and Alex Feneridis the finish as City snatched their 17th minute lead. They had other chances but could not add to their advantage until the second added minute at the end of the first half when Lee let rip with a long-range specialty which gave Waikato goalkeeper Sean Dowling no chance.

Determined to build on that, the home side struck twice within four minutes in the opening exchanges of the second half as ever-mobile Jason Hayne, in his return to City, chased and harried to win possession and feed Daniel Kopricvic and Matt Williams who cashed in.

The scoring was completed five minutes from time when substitute Grant Young was handed a long ball which he duly snapped home. "I'm very pleased. When we were on top we were able to capitalise," said City coach Paul Posa. "We played to a plan which saw Chad Coombes and Jason Hayne start and Keryn Jordan and Grant Young come off the bench. It was good to see a lot of goals come from second phase play."

Of the goalkeeping situation with Jacob Spoonley playing week one and Gothard yesterday, Posa said he couldn't separate the pair. "We need them both to be playing football," said Posa. "Jake [Spoonley] will play next week [against Otago United away]. Obviously neither of them are happy as they both want to play, but we have to be fair and give them both game time before we go to the Club World Cup."