Little wonder there was great jubilation in the Heartland Wairarapa camp after their 2-0 win over Auckland United in the national youth league football match played at Memorial Park, Masterton, on Saturday.
After five successive losses which had them sharing last place on the table with Hawke's Bay, Heartland Wairarapa were the rank underdogs to beat an Auckland United side containing more experienced and supposedly more skilled players. But it was the home side who scored the only two goals of a game which held the attention of spectators from go to whoa.
In his pre-match comments Heartland Wairarapa coach Paul Ifill was adamant an upset win for his side was possible if they did the simple things well and maintained their focus all the way through and he had good reason to be delighted with the manner in which they responded to that challenge. Sure, there were times when Auckland United threatened but that they were unable to finish off their attacking movements spoke volumes for the character and resolve of the Heartland Wairarapa unit.
"A lot of it comes down to self-belief, scoring the first goal was important because it gave us the confidence boost we needed to keep it going," Ifill said.
"I thought we played some really good football, it wasn't a fluke, the boys got what they deserved."
