Four weeks after losing 2-1 at home to Canterbury United, Waitakere face the same opponent a week tomorrow when they go head-to-head in the first leg of their league semifinal.
In beating YoungHeart Manawatu 6-1 yesterday in their last regular-season game, Waitakere confirmed their third-place finish and a semifinal battlewith Keith Braithwaite's Canterbury.
Auckland City, assured of first place no matter the result on tomorrow's trip to the artificial pitch in Christchurch, and Team Wellington, now certain to finish fourth again no matter the result of their away game with Hawkes Bay United, will meet in the other semifinal with Wellington hosting the first leg.
As a warm-up for the clash with Canterbury, yesterday's win had its moments, helped with Rory Turner's opening goal just 1m 24s into the game. Relishing his first start for United, Turner, 17, did not have to wait long to celebrate his first goal at this level. In the dying seconds of stoppage time at the end of the first spell he had his second as Waitakere took a cosy 5-1 lead in a first-half blitz.
In between times Allan Pearce too helped himself to two with Ryan de Vries capping a dominant display with a 29th minute cracker - a first-time shot from the edge of the penalty area.
It was not all one-way traffic however as the visitors hit back to level the scores inside seven minutes at 1-1 when captain Nathan Cooksley scored with a bicycle kick from a Michael Fraser long throw.
The home side - a make-do lot in the face of a number of absences - needed almost half an hour to add to that early Turner goal, but four goals in 17 minutes had them in cruise mode at the break.
That they added just one more - a superb 79th minute strike from substitute Sean Lovemore - was credit to some resolute Manawatu defending and wayward Waitakere finishing.
Waitakere coach Neil Emblen, forced to join from the bench for the last 10 minutes, summed his team's performance up as "adequate".
"In the next few weeks we will be playing against players who can hurt us so we have to step up and be ready," said Emblen.
Premiership
Canterbury United v Auckland City ASB Football Park Tomorrow 2pm Referee: Matt Conger
