The reigning Oceania League football champions Auckland City have given their title defence a boost with their comprehensive 7-3 victory over the Solomon Islands team Koloale at home at Kiwitea Street.
City went some way towards booking their place in April and May's two-legged finale, leaving the defeated side still chasing their first points of the campaign and rooted to the bottom of Group B.
Auckland had seemed set to face arch rivals Waitakere United in an all-New Zealand tie but that prospect now looks less certain after the West Aucklanders fell to a 3-0 Group A defeat to Tefana in Tahiti.
The odds of Tefana, Ba and Hekari United making the final also improved significantly as the quartet all posted vital victories to be hot on Waitakere's tail
Tefana trail United by just two points with two matches to go as the race to top the pool and qualify for the all-important final intensifies.
The winner earns a spot at the lucrative 2012 FIFA Club World Cup.
