Soccer: Coach calls for more after Bay side's win

Sean Morris helped set the midfield alight with a goal. Photo/File

Back the helm after a self-imposed, month-long break, soccer coach Chris Greatholder wasn't going to embellish his side's success yesterday.

Greatholder said his Kinetic Electrical Hawke's Bay United side's 3-1 victory over newcomers Wanderers Soccer Club yesterday was predictably "a little bit rusty" after the Christmas break.

"We did not play well but the three points is massive," he said as the win at North Harbour Stadium, Albany, catapulted Bay United to equal first points with Auckland City on the ASB Premiership ladder although the O-League city slickers have played one game fewer.

With captain Bill Robertson serving a one-match suspension after a tempestuous 4-4 draw against Auckland in the previous round just before Christmas at Kiwitea St, English import defender Aaron Jones had a memorable game as stand-in skipper.

Greatholder said they had set high standards but had not lived up to it.

"It wasn't a standard that would win us a competition," the circumspect coach summed up, although delighted with the result.

That left the Darren Bazeley-coached Wanderers still searching for a win in their debut premiership season.

The Wanderers, who are New Zealand representative players and have an average age of 18, are on the bottom of the premiership table.

In fact, yesterday they drew first blood in the 10th minute when Stuart Holthusen split the Bay defence to finish crisply past veteran goalkeeper Richard Gillespie to go up 1-0.

Greatholder said "we needed a bit of a rocket" after his troops raided the Wanderers attacking third but found no love.

Midfielder Tom Biss, according to the premiership website report, was at his foraging best, feeding striker Nathanael Hailemariam making his starting debut.

"We should have scored first because there were four to five misses so it was a tough day at the office."

Stung into action, the black-and-whites went on the attack with Biss and Sean Lovemore, another familiar face in the area, having shots at goal.

The 1-1 equaliser came in the 24th minute from American import Sean Morris.

"Sean's goal was exceptional," Greatholder said, after Morris drilled one from about 20m to beat Wanderers goalkeeper Damian Hirst.

He lauded his engine room, with ex-All White David Mulligan and Biss helping stoke the fire.

Eleven minutes later, Bay striker Tomas Mosquera latched on to a pass on the left flank, took on two would-be tacklers before beating Hirst between the sticks for a 2-1 lead that didn't change into the halftime break.

Seven minutes after resumption of play, the hosts conceded a free kick after Den Meijer brought down Biss.

Mosquera made Meijer regret his transgression when he finished off a Mulligan free kick to increase the lead to 3-1. Keeper Hirst had parried the first attempt, which clipped the crossbar, but the former Youngheart Manawatu striker didn't lose his composure.

Greatholder said the Wanderers were going to beat teams this summer, something to be expected of future All Whites.

"The difference is we have more experience," he said, adding gone were the days when teams could turn up at a park expecting to thrash an opposition 5-0.

Bay United play Wellington Phoenix A in a friendly at Napier tomorrow in a 6pm kick off when Greatholder will experiment with some formations as well as inject players who need game time.

On Saturday, they travel to Dunedin to play Otago United who beat Waitakere United 3-1 away yesterday.

In other home matches, Auckland pipped Team Wellington 3-2 and Canterbury United edged out WaiBOP 1-0.