Wellington dominated possession in the first half with Henry Fa’arodo the star turn for the capital men but there was always the sense that if Waitakere could hold on they may inflict damage on the counter attack. That scenario would eventuate but not before a controversial moment as halftime loomed.
With a minute to go before the break, Dakota Lucas burst through the Waitakere defence and appeared to be hauled down by Chris Bale but referee Nick Waldron waved play on, much to the dismay of Wellington.
Dismay turned to anger when Roy Krishna opened the scoring in additional time, twisting in the penalty area before lashing a right-foot shot past goalkeeper Phil Imray. That moment proved to be a turning point in the match.
Where Wellington had created chances with regularity in the first half, they were left to feed on scraps in the second with Lucas working hard to create chances without success.
Imray kept his side in the game with important saves from Pearce and Butler but with Wellington chasing an equaliser it was perhaps inevitable that gaps would appear in their defence. The match drifted away from the visitors when Allan Pearce lashed home Waitakere’s second with thirteen minutes left before Butler sealed the result with a third on 84 minutes.
Wellington responded within sixty seconds when Fa’arodo’s near-post header beat goalkeeper Danny Robinson to give the Matt Calcott-coached side the faintest of hope. But Krishna put the match to bed as a contest when he notched his second and Waitakere’s fourth with a minute left to play.
The result capped a roller-coaster season for the Neil Emblen-led champions who at one stage looked odds on to not only lose their title but miss out on O-League football for the first time since the competition was established in the 2006-07 season.
“Tonight’s performance wasn’t a vintage one and we had to dig in and show a bit of character in the first half against a good team that outplayed us,” Emblen said. “Their system looked more comfortable than ours but we kept it 0-0 with some good defending and when the game opened up we took our chances quite well.”
Defeat broke Wellington hearts as it denied them a first ever appearance in the O-League. It was also their second final defeat in four years to the same opponents.
Calcott was adamant the Bale-Lucas decision at the end of the first half was a pivotal moment.
“They went up the other end and scored. Key moments in a game like that can change things. I thought we were excellent in the first half and if we had gone a goal ahead that would’ve changed the look of the game. But Waitakere were good in the second half and thoroughly deserved their victory.”
Story courtesy of New Zealand Football.
For more on New Zealand Football visit www.nzfootball.co.nz

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