KEY POINTS:
It was nothing pretty but Waitakere United continued their mid-season New Zealand Football Championship charge with a no-frills 2-0 win over Waikato FC at Fred Taylor Park yesterday afternoon.
In scoring 14 goals in their last four outings while giving up just two, Waitakere have shone out as the only genuine challenger to leaders Auckland City. They would be more of a threat, however, if they turned in something closer to a complete 90-minute performance.
From the time they went 2-0 ahead in the 33rd minute, the home side appeared to press the idle switch, content to coast home.
City kept their noses in front with a 1-0 away win over Hawke's Bay United. But it was a result that came at a cost for Colin Tuaa's team who had Joel Mathews and Greg Uhlmann red-carded in a game that turned nasty with both benches cleared in an all-in melee.
The biggest joy of the round was with the southern men as Otago United snapped their long winless streak when they scored two second-half goals at Carisbrook to beat northern neighbours Canterbury United. Canterbury entertain City next Sunday and might be ready to capitalise on an under-strength Auckland team who are also without goal-grabbing Keryn Jordan.
Waitakere too play on Sunday against home side Team Wellington for the third time this season in a game brought forward from round 14 to accommodate the Auckland team's O-League commitments.
With Daniel Kopricvic out with an Achilles injury, Waitakere coach Chris Milicich went with his Solomon Islands strikeforce of Commins Menapi and Benjamin Totori.
After some disjointed efforts together, they were closer to a unit yesterday with Totori having an early chance that came to nothing after he had beaten the offside trap. He did, however, win a corner. The ball was fired to the near post by Neil Sykes and Allan Pearce back-headed.
Waikato defender David Samson got his head in the way to deflect home what was then credited as an own goal.
Samson carved out the best of a handful of half chances for the visitors but that hardly tested United goalkeeper Simon Eaddy. Totori completed the scoring with his fourth goal of the season when he was allowed to weave his way into the Waikato penalty area before snapping a shot that took a deflection and rolled over the goal-line.
Apart from a couple of half-hearted, long-range efforts, there was hardly a shot in anger in the second spell with Waitakere winning a total of 11 corners to three but rarely threatened to turn them into goals.
Auckland City captain Ben Sigmund scored after 17 minutes when he tucked away the rebound after Hawke's Bay goalkeeper Mitch OBrien failed to hold a rocket freekick from Ki-Hyung Lee.
Chad Severs, after 55 minutes, and Terry Alvino nine minutes later scored for Otago in their welcome return to winning form. YoungHeart Manawatu are at home to Team Wellington at 3pm today in the last game of round eight.
