Waitakere defeat Auckland away from home
Waitakere United paid a visit to near neighours and rivals Auckland City in a football derby that had more riding on it than any other club sporting event in New Zealand.
For the winners of Group A in the Oceania Champions League a home and away final awaits as the final hurdle to half a million dollars (US$) and a place at the 2008 FIFA Club World Cup.
It was also a match that Waitakere could not afford to lose following their one all draw with Tahitian champions AS Manu Ura on the weekend. A win or draw against their bitter rivals was needed if the ‘Westies’ were to keep their hopes of an O-League defence alive.
Chris Milicich went with a largely unchanged side from recent weeks with Darren Bazeley in for the injured Jason Rowley wide on the right in a 3-5-2 formation that showed the confidence his side had despite playing away from home.
It was a first half of missed opportunities for both sides and while Waitakere United shaded the territory thanks to the help of a strong breeze, the half could well have finished two all but for poor finishing and some good goalkeeping.
It was the visitors who made the early play with Tamati Williams in the Auckland goal left watching in the 6th minute as Waitakere skipper Danny Hay rose majestically to head Darren Bazeley’s free kick on to the far post. It was not the last shaky moment for the big Auckland keeper.
His opposite Simon Eaddy was soon in work also, pulling off a brilliant one handed save to keep out a deflected free kick and deny the home side as the game showed good early signs of being an open encounter.
The biggest concern to both sides and both coaches at this point was perhaps the performance of referee Rakesh Varman from Fiji. After handling the opening exchanges well he frustrated both sides with inconsistent decisions that left players wondering which way free kicks would be given – if at all.
Despite chances for both sides neither could find the back of the net and went to the break scoreless with the only booking of the first 45 minutes going to Jake Butler for one of the softest challenges of the half.
The second half started as the first ended, with confusing decisions from the referee and plenty of attacking intent from both sides.
The opening goal when it came just before the hour mark was worth the wait. While the ball was wide on the right Allan Pearce maneuvered superbly to lose his Greg Uhlmann at the near post. While Pearce was selling the big centre back a dummy, Darren Bazeley delivered a cross that was met with superb placement for Pearce to defeat Williams at his near post.
The remainder of the match was one befitting a clash of the two best teams in the country with plenty of bite in the tackles and urgency in the passing. Auckland moved up a gear after going one down and began to press as Waitakere played a little deeper, perhaps feeling the effects of the trip to Tahiti on the weekend.
A wayward pass in the defensive third allowed Grant Young the chance to shoot from 20 metres but an acrobatic save from Eaddy kept it out. Further chances to Young, Jeff Campbell and Paul Urlovic were wasted with much of Auckland’s build up work forced back into the middle third by the impressive Waitakere United defence of Hay, Jonathan Perry and Neil Emblen.
At the other end of the park Benjamin Totori was always a handful with his pace and trickery while second half substitute Commins Menapi was a surprise addition to the game on his return from a groin injury.
Out wide Allan Pearce was both a workaholic and a danger with his willingness to get forward and run at defenders while Bazeley and Neil Sykes were typically professional and assured in everything they did.
For the home side Ki Hyung Lee showed glimpses of his passing game on the few occasions he was given room by Chris Bale while Ben Sigmund was head and shoulders Auckland’s best player, safe at the back and probing when moving forward in possession.
The win for Waitakere means regardless of Auckland’s result away in Tahiti, a draw will be good enough to win the group and progress to the home and away O-League final. For Auckland they must survive the trip to Tahiti and then return knowing nothing short of a win will see them win through at Waitakere’s expense.
Waitakere United 1
A Pearce 57th
Auckland City 0
Waitakere United
22 Simon Eaddy, 2 Jonathan Perry, 5 Danny Hay, 6 Darren Bazeley (21 Graham Pearce 89th), 9 Benjamin Totori (7 Jason Hayne 82nd), 10 Allan Pearce, 11 Neil Sykes, 13 Daniel Koprivcic (8 Commins Menapi 54th), 15 Chris Bale, 16 Neil Emblen, 17 Jake Butler,
Auckland City
2 Joel Mathews (21 Riki Van Steeden 45th), 5 Ben Sigmund, 6 Ki Hyung Lee, 7, James Pritchett, 8 Chad Coombes, 9 Paul Urlovic (Luiz del Monte 79th), 10 Grant Young, 12 Tamati Williams GK, 15 Jeff Campbell (John Niyonsaba 79th), 19 Salesh Kumar, 20 Greg Uhlmann