Soccer: Napier get sniff of play-offs

Napier City's hopes of a fairytale finish to their inaugural New Zealand Football Championship campaign live on.

An upset 4-1 away win over Team Wellington at Newtown Park last night handed City the chance to make the top three play-offs. The victory means Napier leapfrog Wellington into fourth place, two points behind Waikato FC.

Napier will now finish the round-robin part of their season with a winner-take-all home game against Waikato on Friday night.

Victory for Napier would take them into the March 6 semifinal against Waitakere United while Waikato can hold on to third place with a draw.

Waikato blew their chance of booking their play-off spot when beaten 2-0 at home by championship leaders Auckland City at Waikato Stadium in last night's late game.

The loss to Napier ended Team Wellington's hopes after a strong second half to their season in which they came from nowhere to become a contender.

Team Wellington dominated for long periods in the first spell but failed to turn possession into goals.

They were punished late in the half when Matt Adams and David Geary scored within a minute of each other.

A double strike from Chris McIvor in the 64th and 76th minutes dashed any hopes of a home-team comeback.

Firmly in control, Napier conceded only a 77th minute Raf de Gregorio consolation.

The game in Hamilton was delayed for 15 minutes while a replacement referee was sought. Original referee Michael Hester was held up.

The delay did not faze Auckland City. Paul Urlovic opened the scoring within six minutes and continued to call the tune for much of the match.

A second Urlovic goal, in the 72nd minute, saw off Waikato and took him to within a goal of team-mate Grant Young - who played as a second-half substitute last night - at the top of the Golden Boot race.

Waikato had good late chances for Michael Mayne and Che Bunce while Urlovic went close as he chased his hat-trick.

The penultimate round will be completed tomorrow with two matches which will have no bearing on the outcome.

Waitakere United are home to bottom-placed YoungHeart Manawatu and Otago United and Canterbury meet in the South Island derby in Timaru.