It was the kind of result that builds confidence for the City players in their build-up to the FIFA Club World Cup in Japan next month.
But for the first 20 minutes Waitakere looked by far the more likely to score. They pressed forward, earned a string of corners and left Auckland defending desperately and rarely breaking free from the barrage.
The turnaround came in bizarre fashion. In the 19th minute a rare Auckland foray provided Manel Exposito with a shooting chance after he had copped a clearance in the face. The ball fell kindly for the Spaniard and in a desperate attempt to clear Ross McKenzie had the bad luck to help the ball into the net.
The tempo of the game changed but Waitakere were still more than holding their own until the 33rd minute when Daniel Koprivcic’s shot found the net off defender Tim Myers for the second own goal of the afternoon.
The home team had continued to earn corners – five in a row at one stage – and finally in the 42nd minute McKenzie made amends for his earlier mishap with a curling delivery from the right which goalkeeper Jacob Spoonley could only scoop away after it had crossed the line.
Halftime at 2-1 promised a fierce second-half contest.
There were a few yellow cards and some rash tackles but Auckland had regained their possession game and the Waitakere attack lacked its earlier bite.
The clinching goal came in the 56th minute when a forced passback to goalie Robinson earned him a yellow for kicking the ball away and the added dismay of an exquisite freekick from David Mulligan which found the net over his despairing dive.
Auckland had regained their mojo and came close on a couple of occasions as Waitakere tried desperately to reduce the deficit.
“Winning here is not easy and it was tough right to the end,” Auckland coach Ramon Tribulietx said.
“The players put in a great effort and I think everyone gave 100 per cent. We faced a lot of corners but we defended them well. I thought Albert Riera played especially well when he moved to fullback after Chad Coombes twisted his knee.
“In the second half I think we could have had two or three more goals if we had a bit more patience when we went one-on-one with the goalkeeper.”
Waitakere coach Neil Emblen was disappointed not to have made more of the opening quarter when Waitakere were dominant.
“After the way we started in the first 25 minutes I thought we would be the team of the day. But we made calamitous mistakes for all three goals and you can’t give a good team three goals. You’ve got to score goals when you have that much dominance.”
Both teams now take a break from the ASB Premiership to fulfill O-League commitments. Auckland will play Papua New Guinea side Hekari United at Kiwitea St on Saturday while Waitakere host Fiji’s Ba at Fred Taylor Park on Sunday.
Story courtesy of New Zealand Football.
For more on New Zealand football go to www.nzfootball.co.nz