By Gary Caffell
Wairarapa United soccer coach Phil Keinzley knows he is going to sound like a broken record over the next few weeks.
For although his side have now taken a clear lead in the Capital premier division competition Keinzley believes all the participating teams there are capable of causing an upset, and therefore nothing can be taken for granted.
"There are no easy games, none at all," Keinzley said. "A couple of bad results and you could be history, that's the way it is."
A good argument could be made, in fact, for Wairarapa United being labelled as underdogs going into their game against Upper Hutt City at the Pugh Sports Bowl in Masterton on Sunday.
The last two meetings between these sides have seen Upper Hutt prevail 4-2 and 2-1 and their recent form has been sound enough for them to travel to Masterton with thoughts of a hat-trick very much on their minds.Keinzley sees Upper Hutt City as a well-rounded team, dangerous on the attack and solid on defence, and not afraid to play the physical card as well.
"They are certainly not the sort of team who will ever give up without a decent fight, they have plenty to offer in all respects," he said.
Keinzley said Sunday's game had the makings of being a repeat of last weekend's fixture against Waterside-Karori with boggy conditions down the middle of the field meaning the teams would have to focus on attacking down both flanks.
He was pleased with the way Wairarapa United coped with that situation then in their 5-2 victory, especially the composure they showed after Waterside-Karori levelled up at 2-2 early in the second half after trailing by 2-0 at the break.
"I'm not saying there weren't any signs of panic but at least we managed to get back on track quickly enough to score three more goals," Keinzley said. "In days gone by we might have given it away so that was encouraging."
Spearheading the Wairarapa United charge were Miriek Tvaroh and Waisake Sabutu with both players probably having their best games of the season. The stoutness of their defence and their ability to link well with their front runners on attack played a huge part in their team's success.
Also impressive last weekend was the urgency of star forward Seule Soromon whenever the chance arose to test the effectiveness of the Waterside-Karori defence and Wairarapa United will again be keen to put him and the equally talented attacker Pita Rabo in space on a regular basis.
Missing from Sunday's line-up for Wairarapa United will be Guiseppe Cagliari who has headed overseas for the next three weeks and his impact from the reserve bench will be missed.
It does, however, give a couple of promising players from the club's seconds team, which plays in the Capital third division series, in Kota Maeno and Thomas Hemi the chance to join the reserves and Keinzley is confident they will do a good job for him if required.
"Having a competitive seconds team has been very valuable for us, it means we can promote players from there without having to worry about them coping at the higher level," he said.
The Wairarapa United seconds for their part continue their third division programme with a match against Kapiti Coast at Raumati tomorrow while also continuing are matches in the Wairarapa local league.
The division one draw there sees leaders Carterton Wanderers up against third placed Sports Arena Douglas Villa, Featherston playing McAuleys Masterton and Wairarapa College at home to the other serious contender for the division one title, Trevs Sports Masterton. They had an important 4-2 win over Sports Arena Douglas Villa last weekend in a match which apparently saw seven players yellow carded.
The main game in division two tomorrow will be leaders Douglas Villa Magpies up against third placed Douglas Villa Offsiders while Masterton Presidents will meet Carterton Casuals and Carterton Skulls will play Evergreens.
