Waitakere United's dream of appearing in a third FIFA Club World Cup is in tatters despite a 2-1 win over Hekari United in the second leg of the 2010 O-League Final at Fred Taylor Park with the Papua New Guinea side triumphing 4-2 on aggregate. Trailing 0-3 after the first leg in Port Moresby a fortnight ago, Waitakere made the perfect start when player-coach Neil Emblen headed the New Zealand champions into a 1-0 lead from a third minute Neil Sykes corner.
But when goalkeeper Danny Robinson brought down Hekari's Solomon Islands playmaker Alick Maemae to concede a 32nd minute penalty - Robinson was lucky to get away with a yellow card for the last man foul - Waitakere were left a four goal mountain to climb.
Kema Jack's conversion of the spot kick gave Hekari a vital away goal and while Brent Fisher cut into the aggregate deficit with an 84th minute penalty, it was too little too late to prevent the Island side sealing a spot in December's FIFA Club World Cup in Abu Dhabi and a minimum payday of US$500,000. Hekari assistant coach Tommy Mana described the result as a victory for Oceania's smaller members.
"It's a good moment for football in the island nations," Mana said.
"The FIFA Club World Cup is another step for us. We know it's not going to be easy. It's our first time at a World Cup. It's a much higher standard and there is much work to do.
Waitakere had a plethora of chances to reduce Hekari's overall lead, with Bullock, Jake Butler, and Benjamin Totori all having shots cleared off the line and Allan Pearce denied by a combination of the despairing glove of Gure Gabina and his right hand post.
Emblen also rattled the woodwork with a 55th minute header while late substitute Jack Pelter put a free header over the bar when he was on target.
With Hekari surprising some predictions by playing two strikers and displaying no hesitancy in getting forward in numbers, Waitakere 'keeper Robinson was kept busy throughout the match.
The Englishman pulled off a string of saves to keep his side in the hunt, especially in the second half as his own side pushed men in numbers.
Emblen even threw himself into the forward line midway through the second half and while he too was in the thick of the action, he was ultimately left lamenting his team's luck and lack of finishing.
"We had our chances. It's gonna really hurt when we look back at the highlights and see how many really good chances we had and how many good balls we put into their penalty area without it just falling for us.
"They were a decent team but from set plays and high balls in to the box they were vulnerable and we didn't take our chances when they came. When we scored our first goal after two minutes I felt we were gonna do the job but their goal gave them confidence and as much as you want to stay confident knowing you have to score five makes it difficult."
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