KEY POINTS:
A 1-0 win or victory over Fiji champions Ba by anything other than 2-1 in Sunday's second leg of the Oceania Nations Cup final will book Waitakere United their place in December's Fifa Club World Cup.
Beaten 2-1 by hosts Ba in controversial circumstances at Govind Park on
Saturday, Steve Cain's United must bounce back and return to winning form to follow Auckland City on to the world stage. Having two goals - including one in the last minute - disallowed by a linesman's call cost Waitakere what could have been a handy 2-2 draw, with those away goals counting double if it is all tied up at Mt Smart Stadium.
A 2-1 win for Ba would send the game to extra time and perhaps beyond.
The win for the Fijians has guaranteed a huge turnout for the return leg.
The biggest crowd at a football match in New Zealand for years turned out in late January at Trusts Stadium in Henderson when New Zealand beat Fiji 3-2 in the key clash of the Oceania under-20 championships.
Given the huge support from the Fijian community in Auckland, Ba could well be playing in front of 10,000 or more in a game in which a draw would be enough to get them to Japan in December.
After weathering early Waitakere pressure, Ronald Chandra capitalised on some hesitant Waitakere defensive play to give the home side an eighth-minute lead. Encouraged, Ba continued to set the tempo for the remainder of the first spell but without seriously threatening to add a second.
Heavy halftime rain made already uncertain underfoot conditions even more difficult.
Waitakere appeared to have snatched the equaliser when Hoani Edwards headed home a Jeff Campbell corner, only to have the linesman rule the ball had crossed the goal-line before finding Edwards six metres into the field of play.
Commins Menapi produced a classic finish for 1-1 in the 55th minute and was denied a second by the crossbar. Fifteen minutes from time Josaia Bukalidi unlocked the United defence for a second time to grab what proved to be the winner.
Almost four minutes into added time Shalend Lal - under pressure from Allan Pearce, who again turned in an eye-catching effort - pushed the ball into his own goal for what appeared a critical equaliser for the visitors.
Again, Papua New Guinea referee Job Ponis Minan, receiving a signal from his linesman, disallowed the goal. It led yesterday's Fiji Sun newspaper to proclaim: "Mystifying why goal not allowed - Ba had scored an own goal".
Cain and his players were also puzzled. "It could not have been an offside call as Pearce came from behind and one of their players scored," said Cain. "But we can't be too despondent. We have to back ourselves [in Sunday's return]. In the Champions League, teams are happy to return from an away leg after losing 2-1."
More of a concern for Cain will be the amount of support Ba will attract.
"The crowd up there was sensational. They had people locked out and those who were inside made a lot of noise. It was a great atmosphere. It had everything." This included uncontested time-wasting and even a player spitting in United goalkeeper Michael Utting's face after scoring.
It all adds up to what will be a classic contest with a carrot of at least US$500,000 ($670,000) hanging over it.