Hawke’s Bay trailed Waitakere 4-1 after the first leg and were given small chance of overturning the three-goal deficit at Fred Taylor Park on Saturday.
That mission looked even steeper when Roy Krishna scored after just two minutes, but Hawke’s Bay rallied with a courageous performance that had the home side rattled.
First Cole Peverley levelled the game from the penalty mark after 21 minutes when Matt Cunneen was adjudged to have bundled over an opponent, then Conor Tinnion had the Bay 2-1 up after a close range finish six minutes later.
Bay saw further chances for Stephen Hindmarch and Dakota Lucas go close before Krishna equalised for Waitakere two minutes before halftime after a lapse in concentration at the back by Peverley.
The former All White atoned for his mistake when he restored Bay’s lead three minutes into the second half through another penalty, only for Waitakere to equalise again when Cunneen steered a Dan Morgan cross past Richard Gillespie in the 59th minute.
The see-saw nature of the match never let up and when Stephen Hoyle lashed home a thunderous volley two minutes later to put Bay 4-3 ahead, the visitors needed just two more goals to take the tie out on away goals.
But Waitakere have shown resilience under pressure often this season and when Ryan de Vries equalised for the home side for the third time in the 64th minute, the tide turned.
Krishna emphasised the shift when he completed his hat-trick four minutes later, then skipper Jake Butler put the icing on the cake when he danced clear of the wilting Hawke’s Bay defence to round Gillespie and net Waitakere United’s sixth in the 77th minute.
Waitakere United’s 6-4 win on the day, coupled with their 4-1 win in the first leg, gave the West Aucklanders a 10-5 aggregate victory and their seventh consecutive grand final appearance, an opportunity to win a record fourth consecutive ASB Premiership title and complete a domestic treble of ASB Charity Cup, Minor Premiership and Grand Final win.
On Sunday, Auckland were too strong for Canterbury with striker Gustavo Souto the star turn for the navy blues. Souto opened the scoring with a blistering long range strike after just 13 minutes to settle City’s nerves.
Adam Dickinson doubled Auckland’s advantage from the penalty spot 15 minutes later to extend the aggregate score to 4-1.
Canterbury struggled to find a way past the home side’s possession-based approach until ten minutes from the end when Ashley Wellbourn hit an unstoppable long range shot past Tamati Williams.
But the visitors hopes of a comeback were dashed when Julyan Collett was sent off after clattering into Manel Exposito in the 86th minute and Souto finished off the scoring with a delightful chip over Adam Highfield four minutes into stoppage time to complete a 3-1 win on the day and a 5-2 win on aggregate.
Auckland City have not won a domestic grand final since the 2008/09 season.
The ASB Premiership Grand Final will be played at Fred Taylor Park, Whenuapai, on Sunday 17 March, kick-off at 2pm, with Waitakere hosting the match as the team who finished highest in the regular season Minor Premiership race.
Story courtesy of New Zealand Football.
For more on New Zealand Football visit www.nzfootball.co.nz

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