Auckland City defend national league title
- editor59343
- 16 hours ago
- 2 min read
Auckland City FC have defended their National League Championship title with a 7-6 penalty shootout win over Wellington Olympic,
The match finished tied 2-2 following extra time in a thrilling final at Newtown Park in the capitall
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Auckland City had appeared in every final to date since the relaunch of the competition in 2022, with Chatham Cup holders, Olympic just one appearance behind after missing out last season.
For the first time in three years, the final was held in Wellington, with Olympic earning hosting rights after finishing top of the league phase, one point ahead of City in second following a tight battle all season.
The first half saw both sides trade chances but fail to find a breakthrough.
Olympic arguably had the better of the opportunities, with Jack-Henry Sinclair, experienced from multiple finals with the Greeks, and Isa Prins, one of the most dangerous attackers in the league this season, both threatening the Auckland net.
City grew into the game in the second half, with David Yoo going close with a long-range effort, a Christian Gray point-blank attempt forcing Scott Basalaj into a fine save, and captain Mario Ilich heading just wide from a corner.
With 81 minutes on the clock, Auckland City finally made the breakthrough.
Substitute Matt Ellis produced a great leap to meet a pinpoint Haris Zeb cross, heading the ball back across goal and out of reach of Basalaj for what looked like the winning goal in a tight contest.
But Olympic had other ideas.
Three minutes into injury time, Wellington Olympic substitute Luke Stoupe seized on a mistimed clearance to level the match at the death.
Cue scenes of celebration in the stands as thousands of predominantly Olympic supporters watched the match head into extra time.
If the opening exchanges were about both sides feeling each other out, extra time saw the teams go blow for blow.
In the 101st minute, Olympic took a 2-1 lead through a brilliant goal from Isa Prins, turning what had looked like defeat just minutes earlier on its head.
Prins was played in by goalscorer Stoupe and fired a superb finish from a tight angle with nine minutes left to play.
But this time it was Auckland City’s turn to find a late equaliser.
Christian Gray, scorer of City’s iconic goal against South American powerhouse Boca Juniors at the FIFA Club World Cup, cemented his reputation for big moments by reacting quickest to a loose ball to send the match to penalties.
With both sides converting all but one of their spot kicks, the shootout was locked at 6-6 before Niko Boxall stepped up to give Auckland City the advantage.
The final Wellington Olympic penalty struck the crossbar, sending the Dettol National League trophy north to Auckland.
Full Time:
Wellington Olympic – 2 (90+3’ L. Stoupe, 101’ I. Prins)
Auckland City FC – 2 (81’ M. Ellis, 120+2 C. Gray)
Auckland City FC win 7-6 on penalties