Olympic wars on self

The ability to stay composed in pressure situations is a vital component in any sporting contest.
Ask defending champions Olympic after they were upset 3-1 by Trust House Wairarapa United in their central league football fixture at Masterton Queen Elizabeth Park oval on Sunday.
Sure, Wairarapa United thoroughly deserved their success after a rampant first half that saw them go the halftime break with a commanding 3-0 advantage, but the overriding impression was that Olympic were their own worst enemies.
From the time Wairarapa-United player-coach Adam Cowan put his side 1-0 up after just a couple of minutes of play, a good many of the Olympic players lost the plot.
Constant bitching, whether among themselves or at the decisions handed out by either the match referee or his two assistants running the lines, had a major bearing on their overall performance, and it was all negative.
For a side who have any number of talented ball players with the skills to create prime scoring opportunities at the drop of the hat, there was a noticeable lack of rhythm about their play, with passes often going astray and being pounced upon by grateful Wairarapa United defenders.
Indeed, it was not until the second spell when Wairarapa United deliberately adopted a more defensive-orientated approach themselves that Olympic threatened their goal on anything like a regular basis, and even then they had just the one successful strike to show for their efforts.
Wairarapa United, to be fair, had their moments too when composure at least threatened to become a problem. There was the odd occasion when the communication between teammates became rather terse but, fortunately, there were enough wise heads around to calm things down and avoid an implosion.
One could not help but wonder at the game's end, however, whether Wairarapa United had done themselves a disservice by taking the foot off the pedal in the second 45 minutes.
No doubt those who supported them going more into their shell as a means of protecting their 3-0 advantage will say the end result was verification of those tactics, and that's fair enough, but it was hard to escape the feeling that had Wairarapa United continued in the same vein an absolute rout could have occurred, especially considering the disharmony within the Olympic camp. The concession of an early second-half goal and they might well have gone completely to pieces.
Be that as may, this was a victory to be treasured by Wairarapa United as it gave them their second win in three central league games and positioned them just one point off the lead on the competition table. That is a far cry from last year, when they started so slowly they were practically out of the race before it got started. There have, of course, been many personnel changes between last year's squad and the Class of 2011 and, while it is always dangerous to pre-empt anything so early in the season, their current playing roster does seem to have the mental hardness and stability so necessary to produce consistently good results at such a high level of the game.
Two of the new signings, in particular, have made an immediate impact with their solidity. Nathan Cooksley and Scott Robson are not the flashy sort of players who will capture the imagination with their clever footwork and ball skills, but they will work their butts off, and have the happy knack of doing the right thing at the right time.
Defender Cooksley had to be player of the match against Olympic because of the number of times he either won possession through hard, sure tackling or picked up intercepts, and Robson was not far behind him on both counts.
The return of goalkeeper Matt Borren to the Wairarapa United fold has been a huge plus as well. He is an astute reader of play with a booming clearing kick and his diving at the feet of an Olympic defender to save what should have been a certain goal late in Sunday's game showed he has no lack of courage either.
Helpful to the Wairarapa United cause too is that they have any number of players who can feature in the goal scoring department. While front-runners Campbell Banks and Seule Soromon remain the main forces there, the likes of Adam Cowan and Pita Rabo, the joint coaches with Phil Keinzley away on holiday, Ian Sandbrook, Waisake Sabatu, and another of the newcomers in Dale Higham, are quite capable of figuring on the scoreboard too.
It was interesting in Sunday's match that at no stage did Wairarapa United go the bench to provide the fresh legs that can so often be a huge help towards the end of close games.
Who would have thought, for instance, even a season back that hard-nosed midfielder Miroslav Tvaroh would ever be regarded as anything but a first choice selection? But the riches in that area are now so great that Wairarapa United can afford to have a player of his worth cooling his heels for an entire match.
Easter weekend will be a busy one for Wairarapa United as they will face up to a double header and the good news for local supporters is that both games are scheduled to be played at the park oval.
The Bob Hullena Trophy will be stake when they confront Napier City Rovers on Friday and then on Monday they will host a Petone side already being touted as dark horses.
The current points table is: Miramar Rangers 7, Lower Hutt City 7, Wairarapa United 6, Western Suburbs 6, Olympic 6, Petone 4, Palmerston North Marist 3, Tawa 3, Napier City Rovers 1, Maycenvale 0.