Auckland FC are victors in the New Zealand Derby once again, having overrun a gallant Wellington Phoenix to win 3-1 at Go Media Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Auckland took an early lead through Lachlan Brook and looked set to cruise to their fifth derby win from five games when Phoenix defender Manjrekar James was sent off for a challenge on Black Knights striker Sam Cosgrove just 25 seconds into the second half.
But a stunning equaliser from Phoenix captain Alex Rufer set up a grandstand finish at Go Media Stadium; the goalkeeping heroics of Josh Oluwayemi kept Wellington in the contest with the Englishman saving not one, but two penalties – firstly to deny Cosgrove, and then Francis De Vries.
But, having been thwarted from the spot with Auckland’s second of two penalties in the second half, De Vries pounced on the rebound from Oluwayemi’s spot-kick save to tap home Auckland’s second goal of the game.
Having finally breached the superb Oluwayemi’s guard for a second time, Auckland turned to substitute Guillermo May to make it 3-1 late in the contest to confirm all three points against a resilient 10-man Phoenix outfit.
Saturday’s 3-1 win was Auckland’s fifth in the New Zealand Derby; the Black Knights are yet to drop points in a battle against Wellington Phoenix in a dominant start to the Isuzu UTE A-League’s newest rivalry.
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