A 6-0 demolition of YoungHeart Manawatu in Palmerston North all but rubberstamped Auckland’s minor premiership crown with only one win required from their final three games to guarantee top spot.
The race for second remains a three-way affair with Canterbury and Wellington’s 1-1 draw enough for Waitakere to leapfrog the capital men into third place following their comfortable 4-0 victory over Waikato FC. Only two points separate the three teams with three matches left and a coveted O-League lifeline the prize for runners-up.
Hawke’s Bay United kept its own faint playoff hopes alive after a thrilling come-from-behind 4-2 over Otago United in a winner-takes-all encounter in Napier. With two matches with Waikato and one with Auckland and Wellington each left to play, Hawke’s Bay must win and hope teams above them drop points in the run-in. Defeat in Napier means Otago’s playoff dreams are over for another season.
The match began brightly for Otago with striker Ant Hancock hitting home from close range on 16 minutes. Hancock grabbed his brace when he headed home a Regan Coldicott cross on the stroke of halftime.
The 2-0 lead was halved midway through the second spell when Jude Fitzpatrick chipped his own goalkeeper Peter Evans. And Hawke’s Bay were level within a minute when Hamish Watson finished off a Leon Birnie near-post flick.
Birnie got in on the act himself with 15 minutes to go after beating two defenders before netting from ten yards out. Substitute Stu Wilson completed the comeback when he finished off a pass from Adam Cowan to make it 4-2 with eleven minutes left.
In Wellington, Canterbury edged in front from the penalty spot when former Phoenix defender James Musa was adjudged to have fouled George Slefendorfas on the half hour mark, Aaron Clapham sending goalkeeper Phil Imray the wrong way with a calm chipped finish. Russell Kamo nearly doubled the lead but saw a shot rebound off the post on 61 minutes.
A late rally resulted in Wellington laying siege to the visitor’s goal and they were rewarded with six minutes left when Louis Fenton headed home at the far post to claim a share of the spoils.
Waitakere showed a ruthless streak in sweeping aside Waikato 4-0 at Whenuapai. Waikato’s debutant goalkeeper Danyon Drake picked the ball out of the net after just five minutes when Ryan de Vries capitalised on some wayward passing before finishing past Drake.
Chris Bale doubled the lead with a brilliant finish on 29 minutes after Drake’s punched clearance only went as far as the Welsh midfielder. Allan Pearce made it 3-0 ten minutes after the restart when he netted from a spot kick and Jake Butler completed the rout when he finished off a move started by Roy Krishna and the busy de Vries.
Manawatu look destined to finish this season without a win after yet another pummelling by a top-four side. Down 6-0 at halftime thanks to a rapid fire hat-trick by Chad Coombes and goals to Andrew Milne, Adam Dickinson and a superb Alex Feneridis free kick, Manawatu kept the visitors scoreless in the second half.
Auckland’s victory extended their unbeaten run to 11 matches and means they can wrap up the minor premiership with a win in their next match.
The next full round of ASB Premiership action takes place on February 26 with no matches played next weekend as Auckland and Waitakere resume their O-League campaigns. Waitakere travel to Tahiti to face Tefana on February 17, while Auckland welcome Koloale of the Solomon Islands in a repeat of the 2009 O-League final.
Story courtesy of New Zealand Football.
For more on New Zealand football go to www.nzfootball.co.nz

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