Soccer: Auckland's absence provides a chance

Waitakere United captain Jake Butler. Photo / Getty Images.

With the leaders busy on the other side of the world, the challengers have a chance to establish themselves in the ASB Premiership this weekend.

Auckland City have taken their unbeaten record to Barcelona, where they have based themselves ahead of the Fifa Club World Cup, allowing a few contenders to steal a march while they're away.

The Oceania champions will miss a minimum of two matches while in Morocco and they could come back to a congested table, depending on the results of Sunday's matches.

Defending champions Waitakere United, fresh off defeat in the first Super City derby of the season, host Hawkes Bay at Fred Taylor Park in a fixture featuring the two teams directly below City.

But the clash between Canterbury and Wellington in Christchurch contains just as much interest for the rest of the field, with the fourth and fifth-placed sides holding the most hope of upsetting the Auckland duopoly.

Both teams came into the season with heightened expectations but both experienced slow starts, dropping points due to the absence of key players and the adjustment of new recruits.

The signs are there, though, that both are starting to hit their stride. Wellington - boosted in the offseason by the additions of Cole Peverley, James Musa and Cam Lindsay - would have come away with points from a trip to Waitakere if they had been half as clinical as their hosts.

And they have since turned that promise into back-to-back wins, taking care of easy-beats Southern United before coming from behind to edge Hawkes Bay.

Canterbury, meanwhile, are the only side to earn a result against Auckland City this season - in a match that coincided with the return of talisman Aaron Clapham - and they followed that with a 3-0 victory over Southern.

While they may be less blessed with talent than Auckland, each team will have designs on a semifinal spot and the possibility of unseating Waitakere from the second O-League berth.

Whether that is a realistic goal remains to be seen. Waitakere impressed early with three wins from three, but they were lacking a cutting edge in last weekend's 2-0 loss against Auckland.

It could be put down to derby-day jitters, or it could be indicative of a larger problem after losing Roy Krishna, Ryan de Vries and Allan Pearce in the offseason. Regardless of the reason, Auckland cruised to victory without having to extend themselves, something which may bode well for the rest of the competition.

The other match of the round sees the two re-branded sides - WaiBOP United and Southern - meet in Cambridge, where they will be chasing points in a bid to avoid falling further from the pace.

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ASB Premiership round five:

Saturday

WaiBOP United v Southern United

John Kerkhof Park, Cambridge

5pm

Sunday

Canterbury United v Team Wellington

ASB Football Park, Christchurch

2pm

Waitakere United v Hawkes Bay United

Fred Taylor Park, Whenuapai

4pm