Auckland City have finished the year on a high note by defeating Tasman United 3-1 at Kiwitea Street, while leading title rivals Team Wellington were held to a 0-0 draw by a 10-man Southern United in Wellington.

The Navy Blues, who were away in Round Eight for the FIFA Club World Cup, picked up where they left off in the ISPS Handa Premiership with a come-from-behind victory to push two points clear at the top of the leaderboard with a game in hand.

The home side, who had scored an incredible 29 goals for and only conceded one in their past five outings in the Premiership, were slow to start on a hot and humid day in Auckland and Tasman United took the lead through Brian Kaltack who headed home after 14 minutes.

Soon after the Ramon Tribulietx coached team found their rhythm and all of the sudden they had plenty of chances in front of goal. Darren White got them back on level terms in the 38th minute before prolific striker Ryan de Vries converted another chance four minutes later for a 2-1 lead heading into the sheds.

In the second half, de Vries was on target from the penalty spot with five minutes left on the clock to complete a special weekend for the Navy Blues after they won the National Youth League title for the fifth time yesterday.

With his two goals de Vries, a 26-year-old South-African born forward, moved to joint top of the Golden Boot standings with 10 for the season at the halfway stage alongside team-mate Emiliano Tade. They are four clear of Stephen Hoyle (Canterbury United) and Andre De Jong (Eastern Suburbs) in another statistic which backs up Auckland City’s dominance.

Across town, De Jong bagged a double as Eastern Suburbs won the East-West Derby 2-0 over Waitakere United at Trusts Stadium.

The Danny Hay coached side took the lead in the 19th minute when former All Whites midfielder Tim Payne delivered a lofted ball over the top to pick out De Jong who hammered home past Liam Anderson in goal.

De Jong scored his second, for his sixth of the season, when he fired in a low curling free kick which beat everyone and gave the Lily Whites a lead they would not relinquish.

Suburbs secured their first win since round four and moved to fifth on the leaderboard, while Waitakere United remain in third place.

In the capital, there were plenty of talking points in the 0-0 stalemate between defending champions Team Wellington and Southern United.

The Jose Figueira coached side would have been eying all three points at home especially when Southern United went down to 10 men when Sam Carmichael was sent off for a second bookable offence.

The home side had plenty of chances but the Southern United defence held on defiantly and claimed a valuable point away from home.

Further South, Canterbury United continued their resurgence with a 3-0 win over Hawke’s Bay United at English Park.

The Dragons, who got their season back on track with a 2-0 win last weekend in the Southern Derby, scored three goals in 12 minutes in the first half to secure the three points which sees them climb to fourth on the ladder.

Hoyle opened the scoring in the 18th minute when Hawke’s Bay turned the ball over in the middle of the park. James Pendrigh was on hand to thread a good ball to Hoyle who finished in the bottom left

Two minutes later, Travis Nicklaw doubled the lead from six yards after some great build up work from Gary Ogilvie before the latter had a penalty in the 30th minute in what proved the defining period of the match.

In the Saturday game, the Wellington Phoenix Reserves recorded their second win of the season when they defeated Hamilton Wanderers 3-1 at David Farrington Park in the capital.

The visitors took the lead shortly after half-time when they counterattacked with good effect. Tommy Semmy was able to continue his rich goal scoring form when he broke into the area and finished at the far post.

Wanderers, still searching for their first win of the season, were in a great position to claim three points from the ninth-placed Phoenix.

But the Chris Greenacre coached side, who have enjoyed a good run of late, rallied with a stirring second half comeback. Luke Tongue got them back on level terms with a stunning strike from long range before James McGarry (penalty) and Ollie Whyte finished the job in the final few minutes.

ISPS Handa Premiership Round Nine ResultsAuckland City FC 3 (Darren White 38’, Ryan De Vries 42’, 85’ – pen) Tasman United 1 (Brian Kaltack 14’) HT 2-1Waitakere United 0 Eastern Suburbs 2 (Andre de Jong 19′, 40′) HT 2-0Team Wellington 0 Southern United 0 HT 0-0Canterbury United 3 (Stephen Hoyle 18′, Travis Nicklaw 20′, Gary Ogilvie 30′ pen) Hawke’s Bay United 0 HT 3-0Wellington Phoenix Reserves 3 (Luke Tongue 53′, James McGarry pen 82′, Ollie Whyte 88′) Hamilton Wanderers 1 (Tommy Semmy 46′) HT 0-0