They may have been second-best all season in the Super City rivalry, but Auckland City today won the one that really mattered to earn another trip to the Club World Cup.
Auckland won their third Oceania Champions League title in a row, edging old sparring partner Waitakere United 2-1 at Arena 2 at Mt Smart Stadium today.
Having lost four of six matches against Waitakere this season, Auckland turned the tables of their neighbours thanks to first-half goals from Adam Dickinson and Alex Feneridis. Waitakere equalised before halftime, but defender Tim Myers' dismissal inhibited any attempted comeback.
Despite the two teams' duopoly on the competition having previously seen the Auckland sides win five of the last six O-League titles, today was the first occasion the rivals met in the tournament showpiece.
It was hardly a thriller, unlike Waitakere's 4-3 win in the ASB Premiership final, but that will not concern the champions. They will again be able to test themselves against some of the world's best teams, while Waitakere will have to be content with their three-trophy haul from this campaign.
Having been successful in the previous two finals, Auckland were the only side in the game in the opening 15 minutes as their opponents battled into a stiff breeze.
Dickinson was lively in the front third for Auckland and he was rewarded for his toil after quarter of an hour, left with a simple finish after Robinson could only parry Manel Exposito's low cross.
Waitakere needed to respond to the goal but, instead, Auckland had soon doubled their lead. Little looked on when Feneridis received the ball some 25 metres from goal, but his fierce drive skipped past Robinson, who should have done better.
Facing a long way back, Waitakere finally tested Tamati Williams after 20 minutes, though Roy Krishna's long-range shot lacked the venom of rtls.
Waitakere were still struggling to string together passes in difficult conditions, but the breeze soon came to their aid. Krishna ran onto a dinked pass over the top in the 40th minute and, with the ball holding up in the wind, Williams was left in no-man's land, allowing Krishna to square to Coombes for a tap-in.
The goal saw Waitakere head to the break well in the game, knowing they would also have the wind at their backs in the second spell.
But, if anything, Auckland were looking the more likely to add to their tally when the half got underway, with Exposito shooting wide from a tough angle and Dickinson having another effort saved by Robinson.
That white hat has been off for quite a while now. There has been a lot of darkness and devastation--death, political maneuverings and manipulations, broken hearts, darkened souls and all kinds of torture from the physical to the psychological and especially the emotional. The much anticipated Shonda Rhimes-penned Scandal season finale opens quite a few new doors and twists an intense story in a truly entertaining and involving way. A triumphant end to an amazing second season that has Gladiators everyone perplexed, frustrated, amazed, emotional and possibly all of the above. Shonda has done quite a number on us all, sending us on an excellent ride this entire season and ending with even more drama bombs that totally shift the direction of the entire series and raises the stakes! It’s not an ideal season finale, but it does some extraordinary things in progressing an already OMG-filled story that is packed to the brim with OMG moments. And this is just the tip of the iceberg. This is how Olivia Pope earned her White Hat back…
The DC5 is back together! And Fitz’s is replacing Verna in a strong-armed attempt to settle their biggest threat: Billy Chambers. The reveal last week that Billy Chambers was in fact the mole had some fans split. Many thought it was an obvious story reveal that insulted the fans’ intelligence and others were convinced that Mr. Chambers’ return was a mere red-herring of some sort, and even others were perfectly happy with it. As one of the Gladiators who fell in the middle of all three fan reactions, the continued developments certainly opened my eyes to the destruction Billy Chambers and David Rosen could do to the administration and the entire country by revealing Defiance to the world. The newly reunited DC5 are at odds with one another, but Fitzgerald Grant quickly comes to the authoritative rescue with the help of his Gladiator and lover, Olivia Pope, much to Mellie’s annoyance. That Cytron card is the root of all problems and many fans have voiced that it was quite stupid to even keep it, but I feel like Olivia’s decision to keep the card is actually kind of smart (if not a bit risky) just in case she needs it as some sort of leverage. However, Olivia’s eye should have stayed focused on David Rosen to avoid this whole mess. And even then, Fitz is more so focused on the prospect of moving Olivia into the White House. Fitz’s confidence is exuberant and quite fun to watch. There is a glow, both in him and Olivia as they map out the most efficient way to maneuver their love into their legacy--a new legacy that Fitz appoints Olivia to fix. A fact that I love because this is Fitz still allowing Olivia to be who she is; a fixer.
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