Central League Promotion Match

I've just been through and deleted the rest of this thread. No apologies. I know you are certainly not all to blame for the personal and gutter nature of some of the banter, but if you were caught up in the conversation I deleted your posts as well.

The worst thing about yesterday is that i heared people from stop out blaming the result on the ref and how they are going to make official complaints to capital soccer about the sending off issue. I dont even know if you can do that?  I wish they could of just acceptd they were never good enough to beat a in form Wairarapa side.  I thought the sending off was a bit rough but Wairarapa would of still dominated and won if it hadnt happened. Hopefully some changes are made and we have better luck next year. The Wairarapa side put out yesterday has alot of potential to do well next season. Well done

I agree Feverish. Not saying what the Stopout supporter was saying was in order. What the ref and the lines women said was also way out of line. Officials shouldn�t even entertain the idea of embarking with that type of discussion.

JC�s first move should have been towards a Stopout committee member and had them deal with it.

So these were comments made from the officials to the players? or spectators?

At one stage the wairarapa united coach made a comment to a Stop out supporter who took exception to this and jumped the fence to have a go at him, only to have some of the WU supporters intervene.  I can understand the disapointment in not getting the result, but leave it on the feild. 

Also, it would have to be the first after match speech that have heard where thway team coach had to get things under way. 

On another note, i would like to withdraw the comments I made on saturday night regarding Regie.  It was just a bit of banter and was probably not needed.  Sorry Regie and I hope things go well enough next year for you guys to get back up to CL.

i've been trying to stay out of this, but things have blown up a little.

Wairarapa United made a mockery of pre-match expectations which hinted at a close contest when they hammered Stop Out 7-1 in the second leg of their central league promotion-relegation matches at Hutt Park, Petone on Saturday.

Scoring two goals in the first six minutes and seeing the Stop Out goalkeeper sent off in the process gave Wairarapa United a flying start and they never looked back.

Strikers Seule Soromon and Paul Gregory both scored hat-tricks and to make Stop Out's misery even worse they also had the mortification of conceding an own goal.

It was a result which meant Wairarapa United won the home and away series by a crushing 8-1 on goal aggregate and that their objective of achieving central league status set 14 long years ago when the club was first established had at last been realised.

He said even in the wildest of dreams no one could have foreseen a Stop Out side which actually played better than they had in the first of the promotion-relegation games at the Pugh Sports Bowl being demolished in such a manner.

"Deep down I thought that if we had a real cracker of a game we could possibly win by three but by six & absolutely no way," Keinzley said.

The pre-match message to the Wairarapa United players from their coach was that with them holding a one goal advantage on aggregate going into the game they would be up against a desperate opponent, and how they reacted to the pressure of the occasion would decide the result of the game.

"There was no room for excuses if we failed to pull this one off," Keinzley said. "Everybody had to get out of their comfort zones and produce something special."

Even Keinzley, however, couldn't have anticipated just how dominant Wairarapa United were right from the word go.

Vanuatu international Soromon Seule made two likely breaks in the first couple of minutes and Anton Ross starred in a third before the first goal was registered in quite remarkable circumstances.

Two Stop Out defenders tried to illegally halt the progress of Soromon as he made another lightning raid but he somehow shrugged off their attentions before being deliberately tripped by the goalkeeper who he had already evaded.

Little alternative was given the referee to not only award the penalty to Wairarapa United but to send the offending goalkeeper from the field, meaning Stop Out would have to play the rest of the game with just 10 men.

Some minutes then elapsed before Stop Out rearranged their side so their second string keeper could join the action and his first task was to face Soromon's penalty attempt. He never looked like making the save and Wairarapa United was 1-0 up.

From the kickoff Wairarapa United were in again. Stop Out was robbed off the ball and the visitors were quick to counter attack with Paul Gregory finding the net. Six minutes of actual play and amazingly, Wairarapa United were ahead 2-0.

The remainder of the first spell saw Wairarapa United continue to call the tune although a strong wind, which was at their backs, and a rough surface did make accurate passing a difficult art. However, they coped magnificently and after Sakeo Valevou had made a strong run down his flank and put in a good cross Gregory scored his second goal to make it 3-0 and then the ever dangerous Soromon added a fourth just before the break.

That the second half saw Wairarapa United place less emphasis on taking the game to Stop Out was a deliberate ploy on Keinzley's part. With four goals already in the bag he elected to have them take any risk factors out of their play and so Stop Out probably had a territorial advantage.

But whereas they only managed the one goal due to some outstanding defence by the likes of Andy Robertson, Waisake Sabutu, James Oxtoby and Cail Shailer, Wairarapa United still managed to increase their tally by three, one each to Gregory and Soromon with the other coming off a Stop Out defender.

Coach Keinzley was loathe to single out any players for special mention from what he described as a "brilliant all round effort".

"Honestly, it would be unfair to mention anybody in particular, they all did exactly what we wanted them to do," he said. "They (Stop Out) didn't play badly but we could have won by 10, that's how well we played. It was unbelievable really."

Keinzley also paid a tribute to the assistance given his side by a large crowd of vocal Wairarapa United supporters, possibly numbering as many as 200. "It was just like playing at home, they really got in behind us and the players loved it," he said, adding that his team had also received a number of "good luck" messages before the game started, including one from former Masterton Mayor Bob Francis and another from Scotsman Kevin Murray.

The latter held the record for the most goals scored in any one season by a Wairarapa United player, 25, until Soromon blitzed it this season. His hat-trick on Saturday took his tally for 2008 to 35

Soromon is one of seven Wairarapa United players who could play in the national summer league this season. He is the Wellington squad along with Pita Rabo, the inspirational skipper who missed Saturday's game through injury, Mierik Tvaroh and Carl Shailer while James Oxtoby and Waisake Sabutu are in the Hawke's Bay squad and goalkeeper Matt Borren in the Manawatu squad.

The Masterton District Council are in the hot seat now that Wairarapa United have earned the right to play in the 2009 Central League soccer competition.

Locating a local venue which has both the ground conditions and facilities necessary for this level of play is one of the immediate problems confronting Wairarapa United but coach Phil Keinzley is comforted by comments he said were made by Mayor of Masterton Garry Daniell some weeks ago.

"He (Daniell) said he personally would ensure the Pugh Sports Bowl would be brought up to scratch if we made it to Central League and hopefully he will deliver on that promise," Keinzley said.

While Wairarapa United played a number of their Capital premier division games at the Sports Bowl this season concern was often expressed at the roughness of the field with the cricket wicket block tending to cut up badly in bad weather.

Also a decision by the council to charge Wairarapa United for the public toilets there to be open on match days meant they were kept closed, much to the annoyance of spectators.

Keinzley said situations like that would not be tolerated by those responsible for the administration of Central League matches, which are second only to the NZ Football Championship in terms of importance on the domestic soccer scene in this country.

"The ground conditions have to be the best they can possibly be and toilets have to be handy and available, anything less wouldn't get a pass mark," he said. "Fortunately they are requirements which can be met at the Sports Bowl providing we have the council on our side."

Clubs from places as far afield as Taranaki, Hawke's Bay, Manawatu and Wellington will confront Wairarapa United in the Central League with Keinzley estimating that the costs for Wairarapa United to compete there will be $60,000 more than what it was for them to play in the Capital premier division this year.

"Finding that sort of money is a big ask but obviously we are depending a lot on the local business community getting behind us & the profile we can give them has to be a big help in that respect," he said.

Imperative too, according to Keinzley, will be the enhancing of the club's own administrative base with more volunteers needed to fulfil certain organisational tasks.

"I would think the majority of Central League clubs have paid staff to do this sort of work but obviously we don't have that luxury," he said. "And, quite honestly, I can't see that changing, not at all."

Keinzley is optimistic that the nil response so far received by Wairarapa United to advertisements appearing in recent weeks looking for coaches and managers for the club's numerous senior and age group sides next year isn't a bad omen for their debut season in the Central League.

"Soccer is on a roll here and hopefully enough people will come forward to fill all the vacancies," he said. "It's a very rewarding experience once you get involved."

On the playing front the good news is that the entire squad which served Wairarapa United with such distinction this season will be available again next year.

However, Keinzley believes that for them to be consistently competitive in the Central League, their playing resources will need to be boosted, probably by as many three players.

In the recent past most of their "imports" have come from the Pacific Island but while the likes of Pita Rabo, Sakeo Valevou, Waisake Sabutu and Seule Soromon have been roaring successes Keinzley says future acquisitions were likely to come from elsewhere.

"The Pacific Islanders we have give us enough flair and unorthodoxy, we can afford to look for more specific skills now," he said. "Maybe we can even find what we need amongst the local soccer community, they'll get their chance to put their hands up too."

Keinzley is mindful that come next season some of his current stars might miss Wairarapa United's first few Central League games because of national league obligations.

Seven of them are in the reckoning to participate in that competition when it gets underway in early November with the finals set down for next April, then same month in which the Central League will get under way.

"We need to get a squad together early so we have the depth to handle that sort of situation," he said. "It's great for us to have so many players being noticed nationally but, yes, it could create a problem too."

On that note Keinzley also revealed he was "working hard" to get Vanuatu international, Seule Soromon, a trial with the Wellington Phoenix after a season which has seen him score a record 35 goals for the club, and constantly entertain and thrill the veritable army of Wairarapa United supporters with his speed and inventiveness in the process.

"I know some people will say we should worry about ourselves first but my belief always has been that we should give our players every chance to reach the highest possible levels," Keinzley said. "He (Soromon) could be an A-League player, at least he deserves the opportunity to have a crack at making it."

Whether Keinzley himself will be at the coaching helm for the Wairarapa United Central League side next season is something which the man himself is still to decide.

Work commitments had reached the stage where he needed to spend more time there and juggling them and his soccer commitments, which this season amounted to about 20hrs per week, was becoming increasingly difficult.

"Right now I'm undecided but if someone else was keen to coach then they should certainly put their name forward," was the parting shot.