Football
Nathan Cooksley might have been deposed as captain of Wairarapa United for their 2013 Central League football campaign but he saved them from blushes with a late goal in their opening fixture against Tawa at Howard Booth Park, Carterton, on Sunday.
Widely hailed as warm favourites, Wairarapa United were trailing 1-0 when Cooksley pounced and while the end result of 1-1 was hardly what they wanted from a home game against opposition unlikely to threaten for the league title, it was all they deserved.
Whether it was the fact that with so many new faces running around combinations were not settled or the advent of wintry weather, including heavy rain showers, was too much to bear, Wairarapa United struggled to get any continuity into their play against an energetic Tawa side who were obviously intent on shutting down the space for noted attackers like Seule Soromon, George Jermy and Dale Higham.
One would hate to think how many Wairarapa United passes throughout the course of the 90 minutes either failed to find their target or arrived at feet with at least a couple of Tawa defenders yapping at the heels. And even on the few occasions where there were four or five uninterrupted touches, it was all too often lost through players looking to go the extra metre, and losing the ball as a consequence.