KEY POINTS:
A golden goal from substitute Michael Gwyther capped Waitakere United's best performance of the season as they came back from a goal down to beat Otago United 2-1 away yesterday.
Aware at halftime at The Caledonian that YoungHeart Manawatu had also come from a goal down to thrash Canterbury United 6-2, Waitakere needed at least 1-1 if they were to deny Manawatu top spot in the national football championships and the second New Zealand place in next year's Oceania Champions League.
After falling behind 22 minutes in when Patrick Fleming beat a struggling Michael Utting, Waitakere was at 1-1 seven minutes into the second half when Commins Menapi scored.
Five minutes later the visitors were down to 10 men when Hoani Edwards was sent off for a second yellow card. That setback was quickly overcome with Gwyther's 65th-minute strike.
"It was as good a goal as you will see all season," said ecstatic coach Steve Cain later. "It capped our best effort with Michael Utting outstanding in the way he played after his early [hamstring] injury. Danny Hay too was brilliant."
In taking the three points and retaining the unbeaten record, Waitakere booked a spot in the Champions League and a shot at the big time.
Elsewhere, off-field action stole an equal share of the weekend's attention.
Auckland City's appeal against the points they lost after playing a man deemed ineligible against Waitakere three weeks ago was not upheld by a three-lawyer appeal committee. That news came through during City's 1-0 win over Team Wellington at Kiwitea St on Saturday.
Earlier, in Tahiti, the Oceania Football Confederations executive committee had ruled Vanuatu's Port Vila Sharks out of next year's Champions League and handed the spot to a second New Zealand team.
The committee also changed an earlier plan to play the two NZFC teams in different pools, so Auckland City will join New Caledonia's AS Mont Dore and Waitakere in one pool.
Japan's Teruo Iwamoto, on as a substitute, was sent off in the dying seconds of Auckland City's victory and Hawkes Bay goalkeeper Mitch O'Brien joined Edwards in being dispatched after a second yellow card.
After a spirited first half-hour against City, Team Wellington went a goal down - a cracker from Dean Gordon after a corner following an even better shot a minute earlier had somehow been kept out by goalkeeper James Bannatyne - and stayed there.
David Geary needed less than a minute to put Hawkes Bay ahead of Waikato at Park Island but that joy was short-lived when Nathan Holton equalised after five minutes.
The deadlock was broken on the hour when substitute Shannon Dally scored.
In Palmerston North, Canterbury too had a firecracker start, going ahead inside 10 minutes when Nathan Knox headed home a Henry Faarodo cross. Alek Maemae smashed home a long-range free kick 10 minutes later for 1-1 but Canterbury replied, through Nick Van Sicklen, within a minute.
From there it was all the home side.
The championships' golden boot front-runner, Benjamin Totori, levelled at 2-2 after 31 minutes from the spot. Trent Watson gave the home side the lead for the first time in the 53rd minute, Totori added his second after 77 and Ian Robinson stretched the lead to 5-1 in the 83rd.
The last say was with Totori, who completed his hat-trick and the scoring a minute from time.
