KEY POINTS:
Auckland City's habit of giving opposing teams a two- or even three-goal start before sparking into life was evident again over the weekend.
After turning a 0-3 deficit into a 4-3 win and then 0-2 into a 2-2 draw with arch-rivals Waitakere United, City beat YoungHeart Manawatu 5-3
after conceding early goals in the New Zealand Football Championship battle at Kiwitea St.
A sublime long-range Ian Robinson strike, which deceived Ross Nicholson in the City goal, gave the visitors the lead in the 20th minute.
Substitute Shaun Van Rooyen, in action for barely five minutes, doubled the lead in the 38th minute when he steered home from a Benjamin Totori set-up.
At 2-0, Manawatu should have slammed the door. Not so. With Alick Maemae limping out, their direction and momentum appeared lost.
Three minutes into first-half stoppage time, Bryan Little fired in a pinpoint freekick and Grant Young swooped to touch home.
Just 32 seconds into the second half, the Little-Young double act combined for 2-2. Less than 10 minutes later, Little again provided the assist and Paul Urlovic the simple header for 3-2.
The visitors got back on terms with a Totori penalty before scoring an own goal and the home side finished the job with a late effort from Keryn Jordan.
That, coupled with Canterbury United's 2-1 home win over leaders Waitakere, has thrown the championship race wide open.
Canterbury beat Waitakere's offside trap to set up Greg Draper's fourth-minute opener at English Park. Nathan Knox made it 2-0 after 16 minutes from an acute angle.
From the restart, Daniel Ellensohn scored to give Waitakere some hope but they could not find an equaliser.
Stu Wilson has become something of a folk hero with his Waikato FC teammates. His two goals in the 14th-round game at Waikato Stadium steered Waikato to their first win of the season, 2-0 over Hawkes Bay United.
On Saturday they took the bus across town to Porritt Stadium. Wilson again turned up trumps, with his 67th-minute curling effort enough to get them home 1-0 over Otago United.
After being rooted to the bottom of the table for most of the season, Waikato, under new coach Roger Wilkinson, have reached sixth but with little prospect of going higher.
Team Wellington's comfortable 7-0 home win over Hawkes Bay yesterday kept their slim play-off hopes alive.
While his brother Bryan provided Auckland's win, Graham Little was the finisher at Newtown Park, scoring four for Wellington in a game in which the first goal, a Little penalty, was not scored until the 23rd minute.
The visitors lost some impetus when Woo Jae Kim was sent off in the 36th minute for a dangerous tackle.