Soccer: Auckland thump Waitakere in semi-final

Auckland City will host Team Wellington in the final of the ASB Premiership next weekend. Photo / Getty Images.

Auckland City will host Team Wellington in the final of the ASB Premiership next weekend after the minor premiers thumped Waitakere 4-1 in today's semi-final second leg.

Waitakere were humbled 8-1 on aggregate over the two legs by a clearly superior Auckland side and have now surrendered their dominance in the competition which they had won for the last four years.

It also means Wellington will replace Waitakere in next year's OFC Champions League, after securing a 1-0 (3-1 aggregate) win on Saturday over Hawke's Bay in the other semi-final.

Auckland put any Waitakere dreams about 'mission impossible' to bed in the 16th minute when Andrew Milne made a clever overlapping run on the left wing before slotting home to increase the aggregate score to 5-0.

Powerful midfielder Chris Bale made it 2-0 ten minutes later with a quick run down the right byline before flicking the ball over Waitakere keeper Danny Robinson. Golden boot leader Emiliano Tade then scored his 13th of the season with a late first half penalty.

Waitakere's first half went from bad to worse when All White Jake Butler was given his marching orders for a crude tackle on John Irving just before the break.

Tade made it 4-0 three minutes after the restart, firing a rasping low strike into the bottom right hand corner.

The visitors made a raft of changes from the side that lost 4-0 last weekend, with imports Jordon Lowdon and top scorer Richard Cardozo consigned to the bench, while former All White Chad Coombes was left out of the squad entirely.

Cardozo came off the bench in the second half to pull back a consolation goal with a classy finish before Robinson held out a flurry of late Auckland attacks.

The pacey Auckland attacking trio of Tade, Ryan De Vries and new Portugese signing Joao Moreira caused Waitakere all sorts of problems, while defenders Ivan Vicelich and Angel Berlanga were rarely troubled by a blunt Waitakere front line.

Auckland will meet Wellington in the final at 2.35pm next Sunday at Kiwitea Street.