Ian McGeechan showed Sir Clive Woodward exactly how it should be done as he ended his epic 30-year Lions odyssey by masterminding a 17-13 victory over Auckland at Eden Park.

While Woodward continues to sift through the Test series wreckage, McGeechan's midweek team preserved their 100% tour record, adding Auckland to the scalps of Taranaki, Wellington, Southland and Manawatu.

McGeechan, a 1974 and 1977 Test player and a four-time coach with Test series triumphs in South Africa and Australia under his belt, watched skipper Gordon Bulloch's men deliver another superbly-committed display.

Flanker Martyn Williams' first-half try ultimately made the difference, but three Ronan O'Gara penalties after he replaced an injured Charlie Hodgson also kept Auckland at bay.

Hodgson took a blow across his nose, and with an injured Jonny Wilkinson unlikely to be in third Test contention, O'Gara could find himself featuring prominently in Woodward's selection mix.

The Lions also lost lock Ben Kay during a full-on tussle after he was punched by Auckland's All Blacks centre Sam Tuitupou. Kay suffered gruesome swelling beneath his right eye, and while Tuitupou escaped a call from the citing commissioner for that incident, he was singled out for "allegedly stamping or trampling" on Gordon D'Arcy in the 52nd minute of the game.

Lions prop Graham Rowntree, meanwhile, was cited for allegedly striking Auckland lock Bryce Williams.

For McGeechan, though, the victory was not tainted.

"I am hugely proud of a group of players who played their hearts out," enthused McGeechan, who will take charge of Premiership champions Wasps next season and does not seriously anticipate being on the Lions' 2009 coaching roster in South Africa.

"Tactically, we were very good in the first half, and they just had to dig in during the second period. That was a complete team effort, and I am proud of them.

"We wanted these players to make selection as difficult as possible for the Test team. If they don't make it, we want them to leave this trip with the Lions tour being something they will look back on with a lot of pleasure and pride.

As for the Kay incident, he added: "Ben's eye closed almost immediately. There was no way he could continue.

"We can't comment in too much detail. The video will show what happened and, hopefully, we will get the right conclusions. We are having a look at it very carefully.

"I saw it briefly on the replay. There is no question he has been punched, it's how the incident developed that we need to look at."

Tempers often boiled over in a match which erratic New Zealand referee Steve Walsh never really got a grip of, but the Lions kept their composure and had the game's outstanding player in scrum-half Matt Dawson.

The England World Cup winner made just his second start on tour, yet he kept the Lions ticking by maintaining a high tempo and sniping away behind a pack that enjoyed set-piece supremacy, especially at lineout time.

"Matt has proven to everyone on the tour he is a class act," said McGeechan's trusty coaching colleague Gareth Jenkins.

"It is great to have that type of form when you sit down to select the Test team, and Chris Cusiter and Dwayne Peel have also played well on this tour."

Auckland coach Pat Lam, Dawson's former Northampton colleague, perhaps summed him up best though, declaring: "Matt was outstanding - he was a real pest as usual."

Dawson himself said: "I wanted to start, like every player in the tour party wants to start games. I want the number nine on my back, and I will support the squad wherever I am picked.

"But I don't want to be finishing my career in the next couple of years being known as someone who is on the bench, it's not how I work.

"It was a big game for me, and it was a big game for a lot of players out there.

"I don't go out there to prove points to anyone other than myself. I am a team player, and I hope my team-mates think I am a team player.

"I will only play well if the forwards play well, and they were pretty outstanding in the set-pieces.

"But I am not even thinking about the weekend. Dwayne Peel has had an outstanding trip, and I will support him as much as I possibly can."

He added: "It was a big win. We've focussed really hard on this game since selection, it was our Test match, and for all the players who have been involved in the midweek sides, it has been a fitting end to a really good tour.

"A great team spirit has been built throughout the whole tour party."

Skipper Bulloch epitomised the effort by producing another wonderfully-committed effort.

"When you know it is your last Lions game, then you don't need any further motivation to play with your heart on your sleeve," he said.

"We really had to dig in during the second half - there was lots of character out there.

"But I am sorry to say that while I like to operate with a referee with whom you can relate during a game, that was not the case here."

Auckland were chasing a hat-trick of victories over the Lions, having toppled them in 1983 and 1993, and although wing Isa Nacewa's well-worked try brought them back to 14-13 at one stage, O'Gara's final penalty four minutes from time nailed the win.

At occasions, the Lions had to defend furiously, but their organisation was a testament to coach Mike Ford's drills.

"I was very pleased with the effort," said Ford. "It has been a very long tour and a very long season for some of the players.

"Auckland asked us a lot of questions, and I felt our scrambling defence was very good. The defence throughout the midweek games has been very good."

And Ford also singled out Hodgson, who has really shone in New Zealand after an inconsistent international season with England.

"I've been really surprised with Charlie's defence. In his first game on tour he made 19 tackles, and no misses," added Ford.

"His leadership qualities have come out as well, and he will be unlucky not to be in the Test squad."

Hodgson kicked the Lions into a fourth-minute lead and they were never headed as Auckland failed to seriously threaten through their biggest attacking menace, All Blacks wing sensation Joe Rokocoko.

"We had a chance to win, we had the opportunities," said Lam. "I am really proud of the way we came back, but you could see in the changing rooms that the players felt they let it slip."