Soccer: Auckland, Waitakere hold first leg advantage

Dakota Lucas of Waitakere and Gareth Rowe of Canterbury contest possession. Photo / Getty Images.

Auckland City and Waitakere United are one step closer to meeting in the national soccer league final after wins over Team Wellington and Canterbury United in their first leg of their semifinals today

Minor premiers Waitakere hammered Canterbury 6-2 and look set to contest their fifth consecutive national soccer league final, while Auckland City scored two late goals to snatch a 2-0 win over 10-man Team Wellington.

Waitakere United put their game beyond doubt in the opening 15 minutes at Fred Taylor Park, scoring four goals.

Ryan de Vries began the rout when he pounced on a defensive mix-up in the Canterbury defence after six minutes and Dakota Lucas punished more lax defending to double the lead with a tidy finish just three minutes later.

Aaron Scott blasted home a de Vries pass to extend Waitakere United's lead to three on 12 minutes and midfielder de Vries then made it 4-0 with barely 15 minutes on the clock.

Lucas scored his second, and Waitakere's fifth, five minutes before halftime and when Allan Pearce grabbed his 14th goal of the domestic campaign on 61 minutes the score was 6-0.

Two goals to Nick Wortelboer and Tom Schwarz in the final 10 minutes at least gave Canterbury something to show for their efforts.

At Dave Farrington Park in Wellington, the hosts produced a stubborn defensive performance to frustrate Auckland City after they had striker John Sutherland sent off by referee Mirko Benischke after 23 minutes. Sutherland's red card left the home side on the back foot but they managed to frustrate the visitors until Auckland City substitute, Luis Corrales, scored against his former team with 12 minutes left.

Spanish striker Manel Exposito completed Auckland's victory in the 90th minute.

At Auckland: Waitakere United 6 (Dakota Lucas 2, Ryan de Vries 2, Aaron Scott, Allan Pearce) Canterbury United 2 (Nick Wortelboer, Tom Schwarz). Halftime: 5-0.
At Wellington: Auckland City 2 (Luis Corrales, Manel Exposito) Team Wellington 0. Halftime: 0-0.

- NZPA