Auckland City 3
Waitakere 1
Auckland City set one foot on the road to Dubai and the Fifa Club World Cup when they beat Waitakere 3-1 in a torrid game at Henderson yesterday.
Auckland play Koloale FC of the Solomons in Honiara on April 25 and at Kiwitea St on May 3 with the winners
going through to the lucrative tournament in the United Arab Emirates in December.
Waitakere, the Club World Cup representatives last year in Japan, met their cross-town rivals in the final of the New Zealand Football Championship last Sunday with Auckland winning 2-1. There was clearly no love lost between the teams as they lined up again with Auckland needing only a draw in the O-League fixture because of their superior goal difference.
It all boiled over in the 21st minute when Waitakere striker Roy Krishna went down in a tackle from Greg Uhlmann. As they tangled on the ground Uhlmann kicked out and received a red card.
In the melee that followed there were yellow cards for Waitakere captain Danny Hay and Krishna and, on the call of the fourth official, Waitakere defender Neil Emblen for striking.
Down to 10 men, both teams struggled to maintain their shape and the best efforts on goal were a snap shot by Grant Young that curled over the Waitakere goal and a drive by Paul Seaman that blistered the Auckland crossbar.
Shortly after the break Waitakere came close to scoring when a cross from the left by Allan Pearce was nudged on to the left-hand upright by Krishna but scrambled clear.
The deadlock was broken in the 68th minute when Auckland were awarded a free kick 45m out. Matt Friel spotted that goalkeeper Danny Robinson was off his line and loosed a perfect lob that curved over the goalie into the net.
In the 75th minute, as Waitakere pressed forward, Auckland captain Ivan Vicelich made good ground from the back to lay on a goal for second-half substitute Keryn Jordan. It was 3-0 four minutes later when Jordan threaded a pass through the skimpy defence for Adam McGeorge.
Waitakere never gave up and Hay had two headers brilliantly saved by Jacob Spoonley before Krishna scored a consolation goal. But it was all too late.
Auckland coach Paul Posa, who took over the reins mid-season, felt his team had come to a peak at the right time.
"Over the two games we certainly earned the wins," he said. "The boys' performance was beyond anything I could have expected. They were incredible."
Waitakere coach Chris Milicich was furious that Emblen was sent off but refused to make excuses. He felt the big goal difference Auckland built up in their away game against Port Vila altered the complexion of the contest. He suggested that his own future might be in doubt with the two crucial defeats.
There is one consolation for Waitakere. Oceania has confirmed that two New Zealand teams, Auckland and Waitakere, will play in next season's O-League.