Canterbury United blow lead to lose 3-1

A depleted Canterbury United blew a one-goal lead to lose 3-1 to 10-man Auckland City yesterday but coach Keith Braithwaite is upbeat about their chances of revenge in the national league semifinal.

Aaron Clapham curled home a fantastic free kick in the 43rd minute after Auckland's All White Chad Coombes was sent off for a second crude challenge at English Park in Christchurch.

But Auckland equalised instantly and scored two superbly-taken second-half goals to clinch the New Zealand Football Championship minor premiership.

Braithwaite rested regulars Russell Kamo, Tom Lancaster, Andy Pitman and Matt Boyd who were at risk of suspension for the semifinals if they incurred a fourth yellow card.

So he was disappointed but not despondent at yesterday's defeat and quietly confident about Canterbury's chances against Auckland in the two-legged semifinals in Christchurch on April 4 and Auckland on April 11.

"For an hour we were the better team," Braithwaite said. "But full credit to Auckland. They got the chances and stuck them away. We just make a couple of silly mistakes and they punished them.

"But we will give them a game [in the semifinals]. They're a very good side but we believe we can beat them."

It was Canterbury's third defeat on the bounce but Braithwaite was satisfied with fourth place overall. "We've got what wanted to achieve [a place in the playoffs]."

The Canterbury Dragons, fielding national youth league players Dominic McGarr, 17, and Jordan Swaney, 19, had the better of the first half and even Auckland coach Paul Posa admired Clapham's free kick, which he bent around the wall and inside Auckland's near post. "Great goal, great player," he said.

But Posa felt All White Jason Hayne's last-gasp equaliser after a Canterbury turnover just before halftime was a critical turning point. "It was a simple goal and I said at halftime, `what's so hard about that?'."

Posa said he knew the chances would come in the second half if Auckland applied themselves. "I thought they did that pretty well [after the interval]. Canterbury played very well [to draw] against us in Auckland but that probably wasn't one of our better games. I thought you saw the best of us in the second half [yesterday]."

Canterbury had a couple of good chances after the break but Auckland keeper Jacob Spoonley made fine saves to deny Clapham and Glen Collins. Canterbury custodian Tom Batty also made a brilliant block at Hayne's feet.

Auckland was clinical on the counter-attack with Daniel Koprivcic expertly finishing a fine pass from Hayne in the 77th minute. Substitute Paul Urlovic knocked in the third.

Second-placed Waitakere United meet Team Wellington in the other semifinal.

The All Whites are lining up a final World Cup warmup match against Chile.

New Zealand have been eyeing the final piece in their preparation puzzle for some time and it is understood they are close to securing a match against the highly ranked and highly skilled South Americans.

It would most probably be played on June 8 or 9 in Johannesburg, where New Zealand will be based.

- © Fairfax NZ News