Football: Tied at the top in NZ Premiership

Waitakere's keeper Liam Anderson gets down to the feet of Wanderers Raymond Gunemba. Photo / Photosport

The Stirling Sports Premiership promises to be one of the closest competitions in years, with three teams tied at the top of the table through 11 rounds.

Auckland City, Team Wellington and Waitakere United are all on 20 points, with only five points separating the leaders and the seventh-placed Wellington Phoenix Reserves.

For a competition which only three teams have ever won, the new-found parity promises to create greater intrigue down the stretch with multiple teams rating their chances of making the playoffs.

Auckland still have a game in hand on the rest of the contenders, but their buffer was cut into after being held to a 1-1 draw against the bottom-placed Tasman United.

Having taken the lead in the 63rd minute, Auckland -who had only conceded three times all season - looked to have sealed all three points as time wound down. However, the 10-man Tasman unit, who had their centre back playing in goal, scored a remarkable equaliser in stoppage time for their most impressive result of their debut season.

Impressive, unexpected results were a trend throughout the league this weekend, with Southern United reeling off their third straight win, their first three-game winning streak since 2011.

They toppled Canterbury United 3-1, coming from 1-0 down after 55 minutes to claim a significant scalp.

Also significant was Hawke's Bay United's performance, triumphing over Eastern Suburbs in a 6-3 goalfest to jump into sixth on the ladder.

Suburbs were picked by pundits to pick up three points which would have seen them join the three leaders, but a poor second half performance has left them clinging to fourth spot on the ladder, having gone four games without a win.

They have been jumped on the ladder as a result by crosstown rivals Waitakere United, who are on a five game unbeaten run.

Chris Milicich's men defeated Hamilton Wanderers 2-1, with German striker Pascal Reinhardt scoring the winner in the 79th minute to send the three-time champions back into a share of the league lead.

They trail Team Wellington on goal difference, who took down the Phoenix Reserves 3-1 on Saturday.