Soccer: Otago, Manawatu surprise winners

One round into the second New Zealand Football Championship and there is already a familiar look to the points table.

Wins to last season's pacesetters Auckland City and Waitakere United have them leading the charge.

The surprise is they have been joined by two lesser-fancied teams, YoungHeart Manawatu and Otago United, who claimed first-up wins.

YoungHeart Manawatu sprang the upset of the round with their 1-0 home win over fancied Canterbury United.

A late first-half strike from Campbell Banks - after he ran on to a long ball to snap home a left-foot volley from the edge of the penalty area - was enough get the Colin Tuaa-coached side home.

Terry Phelan had a winning start with his Otago side when they came from behind to beat Team Wellington. The visitors went ahead just before halftime when Otago goalkeeper Lutz Pfannenstiel failed to get to a cross and Wellington's Graham Little did.

Two goals - from Blair Scoullar and new signing Mark Beldham - in the opening 10 minutes of the second spell put Otagoclear.

They held on to take the points and confirm early predictions that this year's championship will be tightly fought.

Waitakere had the last say of the weekend with their 3-0 away win over Hawkes Bay United.

Richard Cardozo scored in stoppage time at the end of the first spell and substitute Marcus Phillips and Craig Wylie in added time at the end of second - giving a slightly lopsided look to the scoreboard.

Simon Eaddy in the Waitakere goal was rarely tested apart from stopping a point blank shot from Sam Jenkins midway through the first spell.

Waitakere's superior speed, with Shannon Cole and Prince Quansah ruling the flanks, made life difficult for the Bay defence.

Making the most of that, the visitors pressed forward and were finally rewarded when the ball was played to Kris Bright who hooked it on to Cardozo who turned and scored from close in.

When Cole was brought down late in the game Phillips stepped forward and curled home a freekick which, with the hint of slight deflection, cruelly beat Jonathon Gould in goal.

Wylie's late strike came when the ball ran loose and he was unchallenged shooting from long range.

Auckland City continued where they left off at the end of last season with a no-nonsense 4-0 win over Waikato FC in the season-opener at Kiwitea St.

While their much-vaunted strikeforce of Grant Young and Keryn Jordan showed little, a strong midfield effort led by Jonathan Smith and Liam Mulrooney was more than enough to get the defending champions home.

Smith scored two in the first half, Mulrooney two in the second as City confirmed their favourites' tag.

The game was a long time finishing after referee Ian Walker was felled in an inadvertent collision with City's Chad Coombes, later collapsed but soon recovered after being stretchered from the field.