Football: 'Passion' had boiled over

Coach Brett Angell has impressed on his players to keep it together after Paul Ifill and Zane Sole briefly lost the plot at the final whistle in Napier on Sunday.

Everything is tickety-boo in the Hawke's Bay United stable, according to coach Brett Angell after player/coach Paul Ifill and midfielder Zane Sole almost came to blows at the final whistle in Napier on Sunday.

"They did kiss and make up with each other after the game," Angell said yesterday after referee John Rowbury stepped in between Ifill and Sole at Park Island to ensure things didn't escalate between the pair as heated words were exchanged while players shook hands during the 2-0 victory against WaiBOP United in the ASB Premiership football clash.

Angell said the referee and his officials hadn't brandished yellow cards or formally lodged any paper work to take action against the players.

The team, who play Team Wellington away at David Farrington Park this Sunday in a 3pm kick off, had a meeting in the changing rooms with Angell to keep their emotions in check.

"What had happened was a few words were said on the field with 30 seconds to go ... it's a storm in a teacup ... it's something over nothing," he said.

However, the Finlay Milne-captained side, who struggled to find the net until the last five minutes of regulation time, "were playing for positions" with two more matches to go as a historic place in the O-League beckons while a premiership playoff berth is secure as Bay United sit in third place on equal 24 points with second-placed Team Wellington.

Auckland City are predictably top qualifiers so finishing fourth will mean playing them in the semifinals.

That makes a victory over Team Wellington a double whammy, considering they didn't make last season's grand final but still qualified for the O-League with Auckland.

Bay United host Waitakere United the following Sunday in their final pool game but unceremoniously stumbled 2-1 to the flogging boys on December 17 at QBE Stadium to lose their perch as table toppers.

Angell said the altercation between Ifill and Sole was a classic "difference in opinion" between people.

"It was dealt with at the end of the game. As a group, in hindsight, it wasn't the greatest advertisement of our team members.

"After 90 minutes of game, on a very hot day, the mouth gets ahead and in the way of something one wouldn't say any other day."

Angell described feisty midfielder Sole as "a passionate person" and the situation had got to "a point of difference".

"Paul's response to that was that he reacted to what was said," he explained, after former Wellington Phoenix striker Ifill came in off the bench in the 72nd minute to indubitably ignite a sluggish affair heading for a scoreless draw.

"If the players look back in the light of day they will wonder, 'what were we thinking'," he said, emphasising that tempers flared in just about every team in every code and he himself had often encountered that during his playing days up to the English Premier League as a striker.

However, Angell impressed that Ifill was not pulling ranks on the field over Sole.
"At the end of the day, both of them are players. When Paul's sitting next to me he's my assistant coach but a player when he runs on."

The squad, he said, had myriad characteristics with "some who are open while others can be quiet and react in different ways".

Bay United were moving on to the next game mindful that Ifill, fellow goal scorer Fabien Kurimati and Cheauxyan Maukau had made an impact as subs on Sunday.

"Pressure has been there from day one but, tactically, I may do something different in the next match," he said, adding the squad was as strong as its depth.