New Zealand Football Championship 2009/10
The sixth edition of the New Zealand Football Championship began with the first day of the league on November 1, 2009 and ended on April 25, 2010 with the final. Champion Waitakere United .
season
As always, Auckland City and Waitakere United dominated the championship. Even Wellington qualified successfully for the play-offs as in the preseason . The only surprises were that YoungHeart Manawatu only ended up in seventh place and the last of the 2008/09 season, Canterbury United , made the jump into the play-offs.
mode
As in 2008/2009 , the group stage consisted of a return game, so that each team had played 14 games in the end. The four best teams qualified for the play-offs, which are also played in the first and second leg.
table
| team | Sp | S. | U | N | Gates | Tordiff. | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Auckland City FC (M) | 14th | 9 | 4th | 1 | 33:13 | +20 | 31 |
| 2. | Waitakere United | 14th | 9 | 2 | 3 | 31:22 | +9 | 29 |
| 3. | Team Wellington | 14th | 7th | 0 | 7th | 22:24 | −2 | 21st |
| 4th | Canterbury United | 14th | 5 | 3 | 6th | 23:16 | +7 | 18th |
| 5. | Otago United FC | 14th | 5 | 3 | 6th | 16:22 | −6 | 18th |
| 6th | YoungHeart Manawatu | 14th | 4th | 4th | 6th | 19:24 | −5 | 16 |
| 7th | Hawke's Bay United FC | 14th | 4th | 3 | 7th | 18:27 | −9 | 15th |
| 8th. | Waikato FC | 14th | 3 | 1 | 10 | 19:33 | −14 | 10 |
| - | for the play-offs and OFC Champions League qualifying | - | qualified for the play-offs | - | (M) | Champion 2008/09 | - |
|---|
Play-offs
Semifinals
The first legs took place on April 4, 2010, the second legs on April 11, 2010. Canterbury United made the surprise of the tournament perfect by knocking the reigning champions New Zealand out of the tournament with a 3-0 win in the second leg. Thus, Canterbury was in the final of the New Zealand Football Championship for the second time .
| total | First leg | Return leg | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canterbury United | 4: 2 | Auckland City FC | 1: 2 | 3-0 |
| Team Wellington | 4: 4 | Waitakere United | 3: 2 | 1: 2 |
final
The final took place on April 24th at Fred Taylor Park, the stadium of Waitakere United. Despite an early opening goal from Canterbury, Waitakere was able to win the game 3-1, becoming champions for the second time since 2007/08 .
