Grand Final 2014

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Grand Final 2014

Double Tops For Auckland City

by Jeremy Ruane

Auckland City capped off a memorable weekend for the club at Kiwitea Street on March 16 by edging out Team Wellington 1-0 in the ASB Premiership Grand Final to claim New Zealand Football's domestic crown for the first time in five seasons.

The title cemented City's place as the country's top club, a position augmented by the success of their Academy squad in winning back-to-back ASB National Youth League titles twenty-four hours earlier.

Reg Murati's sixth minute goal was supplemented by a brace of Thomas Konusi strikes - one from the penalty spot - in the second spell as City ran out 3-0 winners over maiden finalists Nelson Marlborough Falcons at Trafalgar Park to win the Youth League crown for a record fourth time.

It was the handsome ASB Premiership trophy which they really wanted to get their hands on again, however, but they were made to work hard for it by a Team Wellington combination which pressed Auckland at every opportunity throughout a cagey first half in which very few goalscoring opportunities materialised.

The first came after fourteen minutes, Alex Feneridis heading wide from an Emiliano Tade corner. The midfielder then fired narrowly past the post from twenty-five yards six minutes later as City sought a way through Wellington's rock-solid rearguard.

The visitors' first chance of the match came in the 23rd minute. Tobias Bertsch rode Takuya Iwata's challenge before feeding Joel Stevens, whose cross beyond the far post found Charlie Henry racing in to meet the ball, which he headed into the side-netting.

The game was shaping up as one which would require either a moment of madness or a moment of brilliance to bring about a goal, and thankfully it was the latter which materialised in the 31st minute.

Ivan Vicelich's early ball forward picked out Tade, who neatly controlled the ball on his chest before darting between two defenders and deftly lobbing the advancing figure of Jacob Spoonley.

Wellington's former City 'keeper could only turn and look on in despair as the ball bounced into the net, much to the delight of Tade, the competition's Golden Boot winner.

The goal forced Wellington to change their tactics, and four minutes before half-time, Justin Gulley sought to bring about parity with a jinking run through a trio of City challenges as he cut in off the right flank. The fullback eventually let fly, only to see his shot cannon to safety off the covering figure of City's captain, Vicelich.

The most capped All White thwarted Wellington again seven minutes into the second half, blocking a Henry shot following a Cory Chettleburgh corner, while another such delivery from the striker, seconds later, found James Musa rising high on the far post, from where he directed a downward header straight at Tamati Williams.

Only the covering figure of Adam Cowan prevented Ryan de Vries' cross from reaching the unmarked Tade in the 57th minute, as City looked to strike on the counter-attack, soon after which Henry let rip with a twenty-five yard grasscutter which grazed Williams' right-hand post.

At this point, City upped the tempo a tad, with Joao Moreira mere inches away from getting on the end of Iwata's inviting low cross in the 64th minute. Seconds later, Musa denied Tade what would surely have been a second goal after the striker worked a delightful one-two with de Vries.

This sparked a string of City corners, most of which were dealt with by Musa. The one which evaded him culminated in John Irving's thunderbolt cannoning to safety off the back of Tom Doyle, to which Wellington responded with another long-range effort which narrowly missed the target, Doyle the player who pulled the trigger from distance.

With fifteen minutes remaining, the game looked to be up for grabs as Vicelich split the defence with a peach of a pass to send Tade through with just Spoonley to beat. The 'keeper made a superb one-handed denial to thwart the striker as he looked to round the custodian and roll the ball home into the empty net beyond.

That save gave Wellington renewed hope, but City restricted their rivals to a couple of long-range efforts in the next ten minutes, Williams saving from both Cam Lindsay and Stevens, albeit unconvincingly in the latter instance.

Back came City, de Vries and Tade working a delightful one-two which allowed the younger man the chance to double his team's lead. De Vries shot early with just Spoonley to beat, but he directed his 87th minute effort past the left-hand upright, much to Wellington's relief.

Seconds later, more brilliance from Tade deserved better fate. He turned one defender inside out, swerved past another then rounded Spoonley before shooting across the retreating runs of two more Wellington defenders. Thankfully for the visitors, the post came to their rescue, the ball hitting the inside of the far post before ricocheting back into the goalmouth, from where it was hastily cleared.

The danger wasn't over, however, for Mario Bilen soon appeared on the scene, near the left-hand corner flag. He combined with Tade and Chris Bale to set up Feneridis, but Spoonley kept Wellington in contention with a stunning save to keep City at bay.

It sparked a last flurry from the visitors, with Henry Fa'arodo's driving run, combined with a one-two with Sam Mason-Smith, culminating in a cross which picked out Musa. The makeshift striker's low drive was bound for the bottom far corner of the net until Iwata intervened with a desperate clearance to direct the ball past the post and ensure City of their long-awaited fifth ASB Premiership title.

Team Wellington's consolation is that they have qualified for next season's OFC Champions League competition, the 2014 version of which Auckland and Waitakere United will contest in Fiji next month.

Auckland: Williams; Irving, Vicelich, Berlanga, Iwata; Feneridis, Bale (booked, 81), Burfoot (Koprivcic, 69); de Vries (Bilen, 87), Moreira (White, 77), Tade

Wellington: Spoonley; Gulley, Cowan, Musa, Doyle (booked, 88); Stevens, Bertsch (Lindsay, 72), Murphy (booked, 90), Henry (Mason-Smith, 72); Fa'arodo, Chettleburgh (Kayara, 83)

Referee: Matt Conger

National League