Auckland City secure third NZFC Minor Premiership

Story courtesy of the NZFC website

Auckland City bounced back from a goal down and a man down to clinch its third NZFC minor premiership with an emphatic 3-1 win over Canterbury United at English Park today.

An evenly balanced match exploded just before halftime when Auckland City and New Zealand midfielder, Chad Coombes, was sent off by referee Matt Conger after he received a second caution for a crunching tackle on a Canterbury player.

The drama continued when Canterbury United took the lead from the resultant free-kick taken by Aaron Clapham in the 43rd minute. That lead lasted only two minutes when Jason Hayne seized on a defensive error to lash home the equaliser and his sixth NZFC goal of the season.

The second-half saw Auckland goalkeeper Jacob Spoonley keep his side in the match with important saves from Paul Dirou and Aaron Clapham. That defensive resilience was rewarded when Daniel Koprivcic scored past Canterbury goalkeeper Tom Batty with thirteen minutes remaining.

With Canterbury needing two goals to affect the semi-final picture, Auckland substitute Paul Urlovic wrapped up the match and the minor premiership when he scored Auckland’s third goal in the 86th minute.

Notably, the win sees Auckland City claim the minor premiership with one game to spare and extends their unbeaten run to thirteen matches. If Auckland City can avoid defeat against YoungHeart Manawatu in their final match on April 2, they will become the first ever NZFC club to go unbeaten in their regular season fixtures.

Meanwhile, Canterbury United – who needed a win to claim third place and a semi-final with Waitakere United – remains in fourth place and will now face Auckland City at English Park in the 1st leg of the semi-finals on April 4 with the 2nd leg scheduled for April 11 at Kiwitea Street.

In the other semi-final, Team Wellington will host Waitakere United on April 4 with the return match at Fred Taylor Park scheduled for April 11.

In the Lion Foundation National Men’s Youth League, Auckland-Manukau defeated Waitakere United 3-2 thanks to goals from Yuri Agarkov, Sean Lovemore and Alexi Davis-Campbell. In the other Northern Conference match, Auckland City and Waikato FC produced an eight goal thriller with honours shared evenly 4-4.

In the Southern Conference there were goals aplenty with Team Wellington closing the gap on Canterbury at the top of the table to just two points, after a thrilling 6-5 win in the capital. The YoungHeart Manawatu search for a point will continue after they lost 1-2 to Otago United in Palmerston North.