Flagmens' waving spoils the day for a gallant Wairarapa

Controversial calls from linesmen have become an all too regular occurrence for Trust House Wairarapa United in their central league football matches this season, and they were again a frustrating part of their 2-1 loss to competition leaders Olympic at Hullena Park on Saturday.
Not for the first time in 2010, a linesman caused heated debate among players and spectators by raising his flag to signal offside play just as a ''goal'' was being scored by the home team.
And there were other occasions too when the rulings of those running the lines clearly disappointed the Wairarapa United camp, although coach Phil Keinzley was trying his best to take a diplomatic stance at the end of the game.
''The referee was excellent, we have no complaints about him whatsoever,'' Keinzley said. ''But, yes, there were some interesting calls from the linesmen and, yes, we did seem to be on the receiving end of most of them.''
Against an Olympic side which has now gone 17 Central League games without defeat and are, of course, the Chatham Cup holders, Wairarapa United were always going to start rank underdogs. But Keinzley was delighted with their competitiveness, particularly in a second half where they actually had the edge on Olympic in most departments.
''They [Olympic] are arguably the best club side in the country and you'd have to say we were unlucky not to at least come away with a draw, that's a measure of how well we played,'' Keinzley said.
Keinzley was particularly pleased with the manner in which Wairarapa United protected possession, as had been a problem in previous games, and he was happy too with the patience shown in building their attacks.
''We knew we had to do the basics well and I thought we did exactly that,'' he said. ''There was some very good football played and we contributed as much, maybe even more, than Olympic did in that regard.''.
Player of the match for Wairarapa was former All White Campbell Banks, returning to the striker's role after missing the first two matches because of national championship commitments. He had the happy knack of being in the right place at the right time and always seemed able to make room for himself even when confronted by two defenders. Banks was in the wars though, needing eight stitches to a cut on the head suffered when clashing midair with an opposing player.
Midfielders Ian Sandbrook and Miriek Tvaroh also had strong games for Wairarapa as did defenders Pita Rabo and Pablo Moya, while their only goal was scored by Andrew Abba. It came in the second half after Olympic led 1-0 at the interval. Olympic's goals were scored by Hichi Kamri and Barry Lewis.
Other central league results: Palmerston North Marist 2, Miramar Rangers 1; Western Suburbs 3, Taranaki 1; Lower Hutt City 4, Napier City Rovers 3; Tawa 1, Petone 0.