City take Oceania crown yet again

Auckland City have booked their place at the Club World Cup for the seventh year in a row.

They were at their clinical and resolute best when beating Team Wellington 2-0 in Sunday’s OFC Champions League final second leg against Team Wellington at David Farrington Park, completing a 5-0 aggregate win.

Auckland soaked up all of the Team Wellington pressure through the first half and hit them on the counter early in the second through Ryan de Vries.

Wellington captain and centre back Bill Robertson could only flick on a long ball into de Vries’ path in the 63rd minute before the striker calmly finished past Scott Basalaj.

There was no way back for Wellington from there as they needed five goals to win the final.

And it was well and truly finished off when Emiliano Tade scored in the 76th minute. He received a layoff from de Vries on the left edge of the box and curled a sumptuous finish to the topright corner.

Auckland coach Ramon Tribulietx said the key over the two legs was matching Wellington’s physicality, especially during set pieces.

It condemned Wellington to their third runner-up finish in Oceania’s showpiece club event in as many years, although it was the first for Wellington coach Jose Figueira, who said they had lost to a better side across the two legs.