Powerful midfielder Chris Bale made it 2-0 only 10 minutes later with a quick run down the right byline before flicking the ball over Waitakere keeper Danny Robinson. Photo / Richard Robinson
Powerful midfielder Chris Bale made it 2-0 only 10 minutes later with a quick run down the right byline before flicking the ball over Waitakere keeper Danny Robinson. Photo / Richard Robinson
Auckland City will host Team Wellington in the final of the ASB Premiership next weekend after the minor premiers thumped Waitakere 4-1 in yesterday's semifinal second leg.
Waitakere were humbled 8-1 on aggregate over the two legs by a clearly superior Auckland side and have now surrendered their dominance inthe competition they had won for the past four years.
The defeat also means Wellington will replace Waitakere in next year's OFC Champions League, after a 1-0 (3-1 aggregate) win on Saturday over Hawkes Bay in the other semifinal.
Auckland ended any Waitakere dreams about "mission impossible" in the 16th minute when Andrew Milne made a clever overlapping run on the left wing before slotting home to increase the aggregate score to 5-0.
Powerful midfielder Chris Bale made it 2-0 only 10 minutes later with a quick run down the right byline before flicking the ball over Waitakere keeper Danny Robinson.
Golden boot leader Emiliano Tade increased his season tally to 14 with a late first-half penalty. Waitakere's first half went from bad to worse when All White Jake Butler was given his marching orders for a crude tackle on John Irving just before the break.
Tade then found the back of the net again with a low drive in the 48th minute.
The visitors made a raft of changes from the side that lost 4-0 the previous weekend, with imports Jordon Lowdon and top scorer Richard Cardozo on the bench and former All White Chad Coombes left out entirely.
Cardozo came off the bench in the second half to pull back a consolation goal with a classy finish before Robinson held out a flurry of late Auckland attacks.
The pacey Auckland attack trio of Tade, Ryan De Vries and Portuguese signing Joao Moreira caused Waitakere all sorts of problems, while defenders Ivan Vicelich and Angel Berlanga were rarely troubled by a blunt Waitakere front line.
Auckland will meet Wellington in the final at 2.35pm on Sunday at Kiwitea St.
