Search Results

FTA - Navy Blues 2-1 Waitakere United OFC CL 2013

Words: ACFC Media

Monday 26 December 2016

AUCKLAND, New Zealand - Arch-rivals Waitakere United stood on the threshold of an unprecedented quadruple of ASB Premiership, minor premiership, ASB Charity Cup and OFC Champions League glory in May, 2013, and only the Navy Blues stood in their way.

We take a look back at an extraordinary showdown that not only confirmed Auckland City FC with their third consecutive OFC Champions League title and fifth ever FIFA Club World Cup appearance, but explain the backdrop to a game that could easily have opened the door to Waitakere United dominance of Oceania football.

Paul Marshall had been appointed Waitakere United coach with his clear instruction to break Auckland City FC's stranglehold on the OFC Champions League and at the same time maintain his club's dominance of the ASB Premiership.

Marshall managed this by guiding Waitakere United to the ASB Premiership and minor premiership titles and, along with the 2-1 win over Auckland City FC in the ASB Charity Cup and a sense of general dominance in the head-to-head clashes with the Navy Blues in the league, only had one last peak to conquer.

Waitakere United won the group they shared with the Navy Blues despite losing the first clash with Auckland City FC 3-1.

Four consecutive wins over AS Dragon (1-0), Auckland City FC (1-0) and AS Mont Dore (3-1 and 3-2) sent Waitakere United into their first OFC Champions League final since they lost to Hekari United in 2010.

But the optimism was high - new signings like Clive Palmer, Chad Coombes, combined with the likes of Allan Pearce, Roy Krishna and Ryan De Vries meant Waitakere United looked red-hot favourites.

Completing four consecutive ASB Premiership titles in a row, surely it was only a matter of knocking over a Navy Blues outfit that looked rocked from their domestic failures and had started to come apart in the group stage.

The win over Waitakere United coupled with two wins over AS Mont Dore (2-0 and the strange 12-2 match at Kiwitea Street) was a great start to the OFC Champions League title defence.

But then the roof looked like it was caving in.

AS Dragon came to Auckland and battered the Navy Blues 3-1 on home soil in driving rain - the first time the club had lost to a Tahitian side on home soil.

That was followed by another defeat to Super City derby rivals Waitakere United 1-0.

Auckland City FC's campaign was hanging by a thread with their only hope of progressing in the hands of hapless AS Mont Dore.

AS Mont Dore had lost all four of their games and looked an absolute shambles.

The Navy Blues had to hope the New Caledonians could somehow pull off a win or draw with the high flying Tahitians or their semi-final hopes were dead in the water.

What the Navy Blues got was a miracle - never underestimate the New Caledonia-Tahiti rivalry - Nicolas Vallar opened the scoring to put AS Dragon on course for the last four only for Vakie to equalise with 17 minutes to play.

Auckland City FC scraped a 1-1 draw thanks to a Manel Exposito equaliser just before halftime but had to play out the game with ten men and AS Dragon hitting the crossbar and post.

With the travails of the group stage put behind them, the Navy Blues edged AS Dragon out of the competition (only just) then gathered themselves together to face Ba.

The two legged tie was over quickly - Manel Exposito and Darren White bagged two each along with goals by Mario Bilen and Emiliano Tade to cancel out Tuimasi Manuca's goal for a 6-1 first leg win.

The second leg in Ba was a mere formality won courtesy of an Alex Feneridis goal in a 7-1 aggregate victory.

Waitakere United's juggernaut was up to full speed - they accounted for Amicale 4-1 on aggregate with three goals for Roy Krishna and one for Chad Coombes enough to get them into the final.

In front of 3,000 supporters at Mount Smart Stadium no.2, the Navy Blues rallied and turned in one of the most complete performances in their history and at just the right time.

Adam Dickinson and Alex Feneridis each scored within three minutes of the other to give the Navy Blues a firm grip on the final.

Not even a Chad Coombes goal just before halftime could halt Auckland City FC's pathway to three-in-a-row and the FIFA Club World Cup Morocco 2013.

The importance of the win had long reaching results.

Auckland City FC wrestled back control of the ASB Premiership winning back-to-back titles, recaptured the ASB Charity Cup and began a period of dominance over Waitakere United that has yet to be retrieved by the West Aucklanders.

Waitakere United had one more season in the OFC Champions League the next season thanks to Marshall's ASB minor title and grand final title wins, but they were a pale shadow of what they once were and a failure to be competitive in the defence of their domestic title saw them dip out of Oceania competition for the first time in their history.

It also saw Roy Krishna and Ryan De Vries make the big decision to sign for the Navy Blues after a combined 14 years long service to Waitakere United, the lure of a FIFA Club World Cup too tempting to ignore.

The Navy Blues march towards back-to-back visits to the Morocco resulted in winning a bronze medal and the big question remains what would have happened had Waitakere United beaten Auckland City FC and qualified for the FIFA Club World Cup?

Football as we know it today may have been very very different.

Ends

Match Result
OFC Champions League Final
Saturday 19 May, 2013
Auckland City FC 2 (Adam Dickinson 16', Alex Feneridis 19')
Waitakere United 1 (Chad Coombes 39')
Halftime: 2-1

Waitakere United: 1. Danny ROBINSON [GK], 2. Aaron SCOTT,4. Tim MYERS, 5. Brian SHELLEY, 6. Matt CUNNEEN, 8. Chad COOMBES, 10. Allan PEARCE, 12. Roy KRISHNA, 17. Jake BUTLER (c), 18. Sam MATHEWS, 20. Ryan DE VRIES

Substitutes: 3. Jack BEGUELY, 7. Jeremy CHRISTIE, 19. Daniel MORGAN, 23. Masaki NOMOTO, 27. Chris PALMER, 28. Alex CARR [GK], 30. Rory TURNER

Coach: Paul MARSHALL [NZL]

Auckland City: 12. Tamati WILLIAMS [GK], 3. Takuya IWATA, 7. James PRITCHETT, 8. Chris BALE, 9. Manel EXPOSITO, 11. Daniel KOPRIVCIC, 13. Alex FENERIDIS, 14. Adam DICKINSON, 15. Ivan VICELICH (c), 16. Albert RIERA,19. Mario BILEN

Substitutes:1. Jacob SPOONLEY [GK], 4. Adam MCGEORGE, 5. Darren WHITE, 17. Pedro GARCIA, 20. Emiliano TADE, 21. David BROWNE, 22. Andrew MILNE

Coach: Ramon TRIBULIETX [ESP]

Match officials:

Referee: Peter O'LEARY [NZL]
Assistant referee 1: Jan-Hendrick HINTZ [NZL]
Assistant referee 2: Ravinesh KUMAR [FIJ]
Fourth official: Norbert HAUATA [TAH]