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OCEANIA FOOTBALL
Christian Gray (right) is embraced by his Auckland City team-mates after equalising against Wellington Olympic.
At Martin Luckie Park, Wellington: Wellington Olympic 1 (Joel Stevens 37’) Auckland City 1 (Christian Gray 80’). HT: 1-0
Auckland City and Wellington Olympic couldn’t be separated in the first leg of their Oceania Champions League playoff on Saturday, setting up a winner-takes-all clash in a week’s time.
Former All White Joel Stevens put Olympic ahead late in the first half at Martin Luckie Park in Wellington.
But City centre back Christian Gray was on hand to tap in at the back post following a header across goal from a free kick to level the scores in the 80th minute.
The two teams will now head to Kiwitea St in Auckland next Saturday [kickoff 4pm] for the second leg with all to play for, as the away goals rule is not in use as a tiebreaker.
Whoever wins and advances to the eight-team Champions League group stage, to be held in Vanuatu in May, will be the favourite to take out the title ahead of their rivals from around the Pacific.
City are the defending champions and will be glad to have levelled the scores in the tie heading into their home match next weekend, where extra time and penalties will be used to find a winner if the two teams draw again.
After winning the Champions League on home soil last year, they took part in the most recent Fifa Club World Cup in Morocco earlier this year, losing 3-0 to Egyptian powerhouse Al Ahly in the first round.
The winner of this year’s Champions League will qualify for the 2023 Fifa Club World Cup in Saudi Arabia, which is likely to be the last edition played using the current seven-team format.
From 2025, the Club World Cup is set to be a 32-team tournament played in the European summer every four years.
Stevens’ goal in the 37th minute on Saturday came after he got in behind City right back Reggie Murati and was picked out by a pinpoint pass from fellow attacker Jack-Henry Sinclair.
The crossfield ball from just over halfway found Stevens inside the box and his first-time left-footed finish rolled past City goalkeeper Conor Tracey into the bottom right-hand corner of the net.
Stevens could have doubled Olympics’ lead early in the second half, when he won the ball off Murati and let rip with an audacious attempt from just inside City’s half, having seen that Tracey was off his line.
The keeper could only watch as the shot hit the right post and bounced harmlessly out for a goal kick.
Gray’s equaliser with 10 minutes to play set up a frenetic finish, with Dylan Manickum and Joe Lee both drawing saves from Olympic goalkeeper Scott Basalaj as City pushed for a winner.
Tracey then had to be brave to come off his line and deny Sinclair, after substitute Sam Mitrakas tried to release him with a delicate ball over the City defence.
Both Olympic and City are currently in the middle of pre-season ahead of the start of New Zealand’s regional leagues over the weekend of March 25.
Olympic are the reigning Central League champions while City took out the Northern League, then went on to beat Olympic in the final of the National League Championship.
The two teams met three times in total last season – in the Chatham Cup knockout competition, the National League Championship round-robin and the decider – with City winning on all three occasions.
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