Soccer: League leaders win but lose key defender

Auckland City extended their unbeaten run in the New Zealand Football Championship to 14 games with a 3-0 victory over Otago United but they paid a heavy price.

Stalwart defender Rupesh Puna was carried off with a severe knee injury shortly after the start and seems unlikely to be available for some time.

His loss adds to a worrying casualty list for the league leaders.

They started the game with something of a makeshift lineup, further weakened when Riki van Steeden failed a fitness test, and they were confronted by an Otago side boosted by their win against Canterbury in their last game.

The Southerners were 0-1 down at halftime after defender Salesh Kumar capitalised on a half-cleared corner in the 20th minute.

But it wasn't until the 70th minute that Auckland had the security of a Grant Young goal and the bonus of another from Chad Coombes six minutes later.

"These are difficult games when you're on top so it was a good three points," Auckland coach Colin Tuaa said.

"They created a couple of chances but we also missed a bagful. We've got to be a bit more ruthless and turn those chances into goals."

Otago coach Terry Phelan lamented missing three chances.

"Players have got to realise you've got to put those chances away at this level.

"I'm disappointed. We came here to play positively and we did. We can't keep on saying we're unlucky. We've got to defend better and put those chances away."