2015 OFC Champions League final

The 2015 OFC Champions League Final was the final of the 2014–15 OFC Champions League, the 14th edition of the Oceania Cup, Oceania's premier club football tournament organized by the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC), and the 9th season under the current OFC Champions League name.

2015 OFC Champions League Final
Event2014–15 OFC Champions League
after extra time
Auckland City won 4–3 on penalties
Date26 April 2015
VenueNational Stadium, Suva
RefereeNorbert Hauata (Tahiti)
2014
2016

The final was played between two New Zealand teams, Auckland City and Team Wellington. It was played at the National Stadium in Suva on 26 April 2015.[1] The winner earned the right to represent the OFC at the 2015 FIFA Club World Cup, entering at the qualifying play-off round.

Auckland City defeated Team Wellington 4–3 on penalties (1–1 after extra time) to win their fifth consecutive and seventh overall OFC club title.[2]

Background

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This was the second final to be played as a single match during the OFC Champions League era. The previous single-match final, in 2013, was also the only previous final to feature two New Zealand teams, where Auckland City defeated Waitakere United.

Auckland City were the four-time defending champions. They had played in six previous finals, winning all of them in 2006, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014. For Team Wellington, this was the first time that they reach an OFC club final.

On 16 March 2014, Auckland City defeated Team Wellington 1–0 in the 2013–14 ASB Premiership grand final to be crowned domestic champions. Both teams qualified for the 2014–15 OFC Champions League as they also finished first and second in the regular season. On 19 October 2014, Team Wellington defeated Auckland City 4–3 on penalties (2–2 full-time) in the season-opening ASB Charity Cup. In the 2014–15 ASB Premiership, both teams again finished first and second in the regular season, with the two teams each winning their home match against their final opponent (Team Wellington 4–0 Auckland City on 29 November 2014; Auckland City 3–0 Team Wellington on 15 February 2015).

Road to final

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The final stage of the 2014–15 OFC Champions League was played in Fiji.

Note: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first.

  Auckland City Round   Team Wellington
Opponent Result Group stage Opponent Result
  Suva 3–0   Tefana 2–1
  Western United 3–0   Hekari United 2–0
  Tafea 3–0   Amicale 3–2
Group B winner
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Auckland City 3 3 0 0 9 0 +9 9 Advance to semi-finals
2   Amicale 3 2 0 1 4 5 −1 6
3   Suva 3 1 0 2 5 7 −2 3
4   Western United 3 0 0 3 1 7 −6 0
Source: OFC
Group C winner
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Team Wellington 3 3 0 0 7 3 +4 9 Advance to semi-finals
2   Hekari United 3 2 0 1 6 6 0 6
3   Tafea 3 0 1 2 5 7 −2 1
4   Tefana 3 0 1 2 4 6 −2 1
Source: OFC
  Gaïtcha 1–0 Semi-finals   Ba 2–0

Rules

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The final was played as a single match. If tied after regulation, extra time and, if necessary, penalty shoot-out would be used to decide the winner.

Match

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Auckland City took the lead in the 14th minute through João Moreira's penalty, but Team Wellington equalized in the 79th minute, when Ian Hogg hammered in a loose ball after a free kick. The match went to extra time, and Auckland City missed the chance to retake the lead when Michael O'Keeffe saved Darren White's penalty, and the match ended 1–1, meaning the title had to be decided by a penalty shoot-out.

In the penalty shoot-out, both teams missed one penalty in the first four rounds, with Tamati Williams saving from Luis Corrales and O'Keeffe saving from Ángel Berlanga. In the fifth round, Hogg sent his penalty over the bar, and Kim Dae-wook converted his shot to give Auckland City the title.[2][3]

Auckland City  1–1 (a.e.t.)  Team Wellington
Moreira   14' (pen.) Report Hogg   79'
Penalties
Đorđević  
Berlanga  
McGeorge  
Browne  
Kim  
4–3   Feneridis
  Corrales
  Peverley
  Gulley
  Hogg
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Auckland City
 
 
 
 
 
 
Team Wellington
GK 1   Tamati Williams
DF 2   Marko Đorđević
DF 3   Takuya Iwata
MF 4   Mario Bilen   108'
DF 5   Ángel Berlanga
DF 9   Darren White
FW 10   Ryan De Vries
MF 13   Iván Carril   41'   89'
MF 15   Ivan Vicelich (c)   98'
FW 17   João Moreira   85'
FW 19   David Browne   78'
Substitutes:
MF 8   Anthony Hobbs
MF 11   Cameron Lindsay
MF 12   Adam McGeorge   98'
MF 14   Colin Murphy
MF 16   Kim Dae-wook   89'
GK 18   Danyon Drake
FW 20   Óscar García
FW 21   Gustavo Souto   85'
DF 22   Andrew Milne
MF 23   Sam Burfoot
GK 24   Jacob Spoonley
MF 25   Michael den Heijer
Manager:
  Ramon Tribulietx
GK 1   Michael O'Keeffe
FW 2   Tom Jackson   33'
DF 3   Aaron Scott   78'
DF 5   Bill Robertson
MF 8   Cole Peverley (c)
FW 10   Luis Corrales
MF 11   Michael Gwyther   33'
DF 12   Ian Hogg   73'
MF 13   Alex Feneridis   38'
MF 16   Justin Gulley
MF 19   Chris Bale   112'
Substitutes:
FW 6   Sean Lovemore   98'   33'
DF 15   Tim Myers   78'
MF 18   Mickaël Partodikromo
MF 20   Adam Cowan
GK 22   Daniel Clarke
GK 23   Alex Carr
FW 9   Jarrod Smith (injured)
MF 17   Jake Butler (injured)
DF 4   Tyler Lissette (absent)
MF 7   Henry Fa'arodo (absent)
MF 14   Cory Chettleburgh (absent)
DF 21   Tamupiwa Dimairo (absent)
Manager:
  Matt Calcott
 
National Stadium (also known as ANZ Stadium) in Suva, Fiji, hosted the final.

Assistant referees:
Tevita Makasini (Tonga)
Paul Ahupu (Tahiti)
Fourth official:
Robinson Banga (Vanuatu)

References

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  1. ^ "OFC Insider Magazine (2015 Fiji Airways OFC Champions League Special Edition)". Oceania Football Confederation.
  2. ^ a b "Auckland City triumph in final thriller". Oceania Football Confederation. April 27, 2015. Archived from the original on 2015-04-27. Retrieved 2015-04-26.
  3. ^ "Auckland City v Team Wellington Highlights". Youtube. April 28, 2015.
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