Disappointment should produce top performance

Wairarapa United's golden run in the Chatham Cup isn't being allowed to deflect disappointment from their failure to be a serious challenger for the Capital Soccer premier division title this season.
And it's that disappointment which should see Wairarapa United produce a top-notch performance in their premier division match with Petone at the Pugh Sports Bowl tomorrow.
For Wairarapa United this is now their best chance to make a decent statement on that competition as, while they sit in third equal place on the points table with a game in hand, Petone already have the title in the bag, having not tasted defeat in their 11 games and being all of eight points clear of their nearest rivals, Waterside Karori.
Wairarapa United manager Phil Keinzley is adamant that if his side plays to their potential they are capable of ending Petone's unbeaten record.
"What's frustrating to us is that we have as good a side as any in the league but our results don't show it," Keinzley said. "We lost a couple of games we shouldn't have and that's come back to haunt us now."
Keinzley sees the scheduling of tomorrow's fixture being ideal for Wairarapa United in that it comes just eight days before their Chatham Cup last 16 match with holders Western Suburbs.
To have any prospect of victory in that game they would need to play "out of their skins" and a win over Petone would assist in that respect.
"Anything that boosts confidence has to be a positive thing, and beating Petone would certainly do that," Keinzley said.
Whether Wairarapa United will be at full strength for tomorrow's match probably won't be confirmed until the eleventh hour.
With the Chatham Cup in mind they will not risk players who are carrying injuries, and that meant star forward Pita Rabo still had the "doubtful starter" tag over him at the time these notes were penned. He has been troubled by a sore knee for some weeks and will only play if the medics give him the OK.
Keinzley admits Rabo's ability to turn half-chances into goals would be missed but he is confident that if he does not play fellow Fijian Lai Gataurua will do a good job in his place.
"He (Gataurua) probably has more natural flair than anyone in our squad and that makes him a very difficult player to mark," Keinzley said. "He always adds something to the attack when he comes off the reserve bench so we don't really have any worries about him getting a start."
One area where Wairarapa United seems sure to trouble Petone is in the midfield where Mireck Tvaroh and Guiseppe Cugliari have consistently been top performers all season. They are both no-nonsense types who go in hard on the tackle and they are certain to place the heat on the Petone forwards.