Akld City win Oceania title

Captain Cam Howieson hailed Auckland City’s resilience after the New Zealand champions clinched a berth in the world club finals after an extra-time win in the Oceania Champions League final. Howieson scored the all-important third goal in a 4-2 victory over Suva FC in Port Vila, Vanuatu on Saturday. Up 2-0 at halftime, Auckland City battled a rampant opposition, extreme heat, the sending off of key midfielder Gerard Garriga and a Fijian-friendly home crowd to claim their 11th title and will now represent Oceania at the 2023 Fifa Club World Cup in Saudi Arabia this December. Howieson, voted player of the tournament, scored in the 18th minute of extra-time to break a 2-2 deadlock and take the sting out of the crowd who were baying for a Suva upset. Another former All White, substitute striker Ryan De Vries, snared his second goal in the 120th minute to add the icing to City’s cake.