Masterton 'coup' as Phoenix to play locals

The country's highest-profile football club, Wellington Phoenix, are to play in Masterton late next month.
They will meet the Wairarapa United central league squad in what is expected be the Phoenix's last warm-up game before they kick off their 2010 Hyundai A-League programme with a match against Gold Coast at the Westpac Stadium on August 13.
Wairarapa United president Phil Keinzley labelled the fixture as ''one of the biggest coups ever for soccer in the Wairarapa region'', with the Phoenix line-up likely to include five players who are currently part of the All Whites World Cup squad in South Africa _ Mark Paston, Ben Sigmund, Tim Brown, Tony Lochhead and Leo Bertos.
''It might only be a friendly, but to have a team with the quality of the Phoenix here is something else. You wouldn't get much better than that,'' Keinzley said.
''Remember, last season they were just one win away from the A-League grand final, that's how talented they are.''
Just when and where the Masterton match is to be played has yet to be confirmed but Wednesday, July 28 is a likely date. The venue, however, is far from certain, with availability of grounds still to be determined.
''We'd anticipate a big crowd, so we need a venue which is suitable in that respect,'' Keinzley said.''There are one or two good options, so hopefully it won't be a problem.''
For the Phoenix this will actually be their second visit to Masterton in two years. In 2008 they played another ''friendly'' against the New Zealand under-20s at the Pugh Sports Bowl when, despite wet weather, they turned on a fine spectacle. Keinzley said the prospect of playing the Phoenix had come as a ''huge tonic'' for the Wairarapa United central league squad which had experienced a frustrating 2010 season to date, having been eliminated from the Chatham Cup in extra time and losing key Central League games by narrow margins. The best they can do there now is probably third.
''The players are all very excited, everyone wants to be part of the action in this one,'' Keinzley said. ''It's a chance to experience another level of football for them, for most it's probably the only chance they will get.''