Canterbury United get chance to end Auckland City drought

If teams in the national men’s football league have learnt anything over the years, it’s that there’s rarely a good time to play Auckland City.

But all things considered, having the chance to play them right now would be up there.

Canterbury United host them at English Park tomorrow, looking for their first win against the competition’s leading side in almost seven years.

March 10, 2011 was the date of their last victory in the matchup 1-0

at Kiwitea St, courtesy of Ken Yamamoto in the 88th minute. At the time it was their sixth win in

22 meetings, but since then, they have gone 16 matches without another.

Only Southern United have had a longer drought - their last win, one of two in the matchup, was in February 2006. Two of last year’s newcomers, Eastern Suburbs and Hamilton Wanderers, are yet to beat City, while the third, Tasman United, has only done so because City fielded an ineligible player and were thus forced to forfeit a match they won 3-1 prior to Christmas.

As a result, they have technically dropped points three games in a row - they have drawn with Waitakere United and Southern so far this year. It has been more than seven years since they went four games without a win, but that’s where they will find themselves, if they can’t get up over Canterbury.

City should get Emiliano Tade back this week, which will give them a much-needed boost at the attacking end, where his absence and the departure of Ryan de Vries to Japan has blunted them, and they have also signed midfielder Sam Burfoot, last seen in this league playing for Eastern Suburbs at the end of 2016.

In Canterbury, they face the form team of the competition, one that has had three wins and a draw in its past four games, and has only lost one of its last seven matches, going down 2-0 to Team Wellington in December.