Dalefield eye victory

Dalefield team travel to Wellington to take on Indians in the Premier division tomorrow.

The team are targeting this game as potentially their first victory of the season.

"Yep, that would be good," said a quietly optimistic Dalefield manager Dave Blackwood. "The team are improving all the time but we're taking nothing for granted. This is potentially one of the toughest competitions in the country so there is no such thing as a weak team."

Dalefield's form suggests a victory could be on the cards following morale-boosting draws against University and Northern United. Even a 4-2 loss to hotshots Hutt last weekend, despite the score, continued the upward trend as they drew the second half 2-2. Had it not been for missed opportunities in front of goal the result might have been an upset.

"We actually had more shots on goal than they did, we just couldn't hit the back of the net often enough. But it was good to watch," Blackwood said.

Dalefield's cause will be affected by the loss of Mitchell Blackwood, Alex Summenko-Bucknell, Joseph Robertson and Tane Workman, who are playing in an U18 tournament at Clareville.

"A bit of a tough ask without four of the regulars," said Blackwood, "but team spirit is good and we'll be looking to keep our recent good run going."

Hugh Taylor will be on board after a successful transfer back to Dalefield and the team's chances are further boosted by the return of stalwart Andy Ewington from injury.