The two ISPS Handa Premiership finalists are set to meet again shortly in the semi-finals of the OFC Champions League after Team Wellington and Auckland City both claimed wins in the quarter-finals over the weekend.

Wellington cruised through to the last four with a 11-0 outclassing of Papua New Guinea opponents Lae City Dwellers while Auckland were made to work harder for their 2-0 win over the Solomon Warriors.

The men from the capital sounded a warning to their rivals for the title with their ruthless display at David Farrington Park in Wellington on Saturday, Angus Kilkolly headlining the scoring with a four-goal haul while Nathanael Hailemariam notched a first-half hat-trick.

Scott Hilliar, Andy Bevin, Justin Gulley and Mario Barcia also found the net as Wellington equalled the biggest victory in the Champions League era of Oceania club competition – set last season by Auckland City’s 11-0 win over Malampa Revivors – and established a new mark for the largest win in a knockout phase.

“We’re delighted,” said coach Jose Figueira, whose side were coming off a defeat to Auckland City in last week’s grand final of the ISPS Handa Premiership.

“The boys were pretty eager to get out on the field after the disappointment of last week and I thought we were exceptional today. Every game we play we want to play our way and dominate the game by attacking. We were disappointed last week that we didn’t cause as many problems as we normally do in the final third and that was a big focus this week at training,” he added.

“It was Lae today but I think if it was any other team then they might have been on the end of the same thing.”

Wellington will be joined in the semi-finals by Auckland City, who followed suit with a hard-fought triumph over the Solomon Warriors at Kiwitea Street on Sunday.

Goals to Emilano Tade in the 20^th minute and Micah Lea’alafa 12 minutes into the second spell were enough to see off a spirited challenge from the Solomon Island champions who tested the home side at times, especially in the first half.

Auckland City coach Ramon Tribulietx believed his side had done enough to recover from the mental exploits of winning a domestic title the previous week and secure progression against a team he respects.

“It was going to be tough because of a number of things,” he said.

“Coming back from last week the mental side of things might not have been at the best and maybe the energy levels weren’t as high but we tried to play a good game in the circumstances and we competed well,” he added.

“We played a very good team – Solomon Warriors have some very difficult players to cope with in transition. When we try to keep the ball that’s when some of these teams can hurt you on the counter. And they had two or three very good chance to be fair to them. They’re a very good side and we’re very happy with the result.”

He said the club would quickly refocus on what will be a repeat of the last three OFC Champions League finals.

“It’s a 180-minute semi-final which makes things a little different. We know them very well and they know us very well. We’ll look to recover then prepare for a very tough semi-final.”

The two New Zealand representatives will clash for a place in the OFC Champions League final over two legs on the weekends of April 20/21 (Wellington) and April 27/28 (Auckland). The other semi-final is between Fiji’s Lautoka and Marist from the Solomon Islands.

OFC Champions League Quarter-Finals

Team Wellington 11 (Nathanael Hailemariam 6', 14', 43'; Scott Hilliar 17'; Angus Kilkolly 39' 40', 46', 90+1'; Andy Bevin 57', Justin Gulley 68', Mario Barcia 90' + 3')
Lae City Dwellers 0
HT: 6-0

Auckland City 2 (Emiliano Tade 20', Micah Lea'alafa 56' )
Solomon Warriors 0
HT: 1-0