AFTER a five month competition, Auckland FC took out the OFC Pro League with a 2–1 win over South Melbourne.
Both teams had clinical victories in the semi-finals and were excited for this last battle at Eden Park.
In the 23rd minute, after a scrambling corner kick, Daniel Normann regathered possession then drilled in a solid shot to score the first goal of the match for Auckland.
Yuki Uchida and Max Mikkola threatened to score for South Melbourne each time they touched the ball inside Auckland’s danger zone.
At half-time, Auckland led 1–0.
South Melbourne came back stronger in the second half. Jordon Lampard and Jordan Swibel led the attack. But they struggled to find a way through and were quickly shut down by the swift Auckland defenders.
In the 71st minute, Matthew Ellis raced forward to receive a nicely weighted pass. He did well to control the ball at pace before smacking it between Melbourne goalkeeper Javier Diaz Lopez’s legs and Auckland were up 2–0.
South Melbourne lacked the spirit to fight on and the pace of the match died in the last 10 minutes. Arran Cocks and Andrico Mesourouni were subbed in to help Melbourne.
Yuki Uchida managed to score for South Melbourne in injury time but Auckland FC held on to win the inaugural season of the OFC Pro League.
