Waitakere reaches final

Waitakere scrambled into the final of the O-League soccer championship yesterday, topping Group A after a 1-1 draw with Auckland United in Auckland.

Waitakere will meet Group B winner Kossa FC from the Solomon Islands in the two-leg final on April 26 and May 3.

Auckland came into yesterday's final group match trailing Waitakere by one point and needing a win to get through to the finals.

Its hopes were raised when it took the lead in the third minute through Ki-Hyung Lee, whose superb free kick from the edge of the penalty area cleared a five-man defensive wall and found the net, after beating goalkeeper Richard Gillespie.

Waitakere had two sniffs at a quick equaliser when Benjamin Totori headed over from close range at the far post in the 7th minute, then Jake Butler shot over the bar after Auckland failed to clear a defensive corner.

In a hard-fought game, Auckland missed a chance in the 18th minute when Keryn Jordan broke clear on the right wing and fired against the cross bar from close range.

The equaliser came when Auckland goalkeeper Tamati Williams brought Alan Pearce down in the box after a defensive mix-up.

Pearce made no mistake from the penalty spot, drilling the ball home off the crossbar on the half hour mark.

While both sides created their share of goal opportunities, a winner proved elusive in the second half.

Auckland's chances took a dive when skipper Ben Sigmund was shown a red card for abusing a linesman after a free kick was given against him in the 87th minute.

The draw maintains Waitakere's unbeaten run against Auckland City for the season in all competitions and sees the West Aucklanders through to their second consecutive O-League final. --NZPA