Soccer: Auckland go clear, Wanderers snatch draw

Auckland City midfielder Chris Bale, left, scored the opening goal to help his side to a 2-0 win over Waitakere United on Saturday. Photo / Richard Robinson

Auckland City drew first blood in the Super City derby but the game of the round was played on the other side of the Harbour Bridge.

Ahead of their trip to the Club World Cup in Morocco, Auckland were comfortable 2-0 victors over Waitakere United on Saturday, leapfrogging their cross-town rivals to the top of the ASB Premiership ladder.

But the real drama came further down the table, with Wanderers SC snatching a last-gasp equaliser to earn a 3-3 draw with WaiBOP United at North Harbour Stadium.

Wanderers have played just three games in their history but today was the second occasion the youngsters have grabbed a share of the spoils in stoppage time.

Following their late 2-2 draw with Canterbury United in their inaugural game, Wanderers again showed their tenacity to overcome a 3-1 deficit courtesy of a 97th-minute leveller.

WaiBOP, another new entity in this year's competition, led 2-1 at halftime and extended their advantage on the hour through Maksim Manko. But, after Marcel Corbera was sent off for a second bookable offence, Elijiah Neblett headed home Wanderers' second to set the stage for a grandstand finale.

The shadow New Zealand under-17 side piled on the pressure in the last 15 minutes but it was referee Mirko Benischke who played the biggest part in the breakthrough, awarding a questionable penalty after goalkeeper Andrew McNeil punched clear.

McNeil almost went from villain to hero after saving Nick Sugden's spot kick, before the striker tucked home the rebound to set off celebrations from the home side and protestations from the visitors.

The equaliser saw Wanderers pull within a point of WaiBOP but both sides are already some way behind the senior Auckland pair. At Kiwitea St on Saturday, City recovered from dropping their first points of the season last weekend to hand Waitakere a maiden defeat in the new campaign.

The defending champions had conceded just once from three games but it was their attack which was blunted as Auckland continued their recent dominance in the derby.

Waitakere struggled to create clear-cut chances for much of the match and, while Auckland hardly ran rampant, the hosts controlled proceedings after Chris Bale's wonderful opening strike.

Auckland could have increased their lead shortly after halftime when Ryan de Vries earned a questionable penalty against his former side, but Danny Robinson spectacularly tipped Adam Dickinson's low attempt around the post.

The points weren't safe until Darren White's stoppage time strike, allowing Auckland to turn their attentions to their Club World Cup qualifier against host club Raja Casablanca.

Elsewhere, Team Wellington edged Hawkes Bay 2-1 in Napier, while Canterbury's 3-0 defeat condemned Southern United to a fourth straight defeat to begin the season.

Results from round four of the ASB Premiership:

Saturday

At Kiwitea St, Auckland
Auckland City 2 Waitakere United 1

Sunday

At Bluewater Stadium, Napier
Hawkes Bay United 1 Wellington 2

At Rugby Park, Invercargill
Southern United 0 Canterbury United 3

At North Harbour Stadium, Albany
Wanderers SC 3 WaiBOP United 3