Second half proves a winner for United

PACE AND AGGRESSION: Hamish Watson shone with individual brilliance for Wairarapa United.PHOTO/FILE

Wairarapa United produced a Jekyll and Hyde performance in their upset 4-3 Central League football win over Wellington Olympic at Queen Elizabeth Park oval in Masterton on Sunday.

The first half suggested Oympic's better standing on the points table - second compared with fourth - was well and truly indicative of the merits of the two teams.

A goal in the opening minutes through what could only be labelled as lazy defence from the home side gave the visitors a flying start and the 2-0 advantage they held at halftime was hardly reflective of the clear edge they had in virtually all departments. Yes, there had been the odd occasions when Wairarapa United threatened but those were usually due to the individual brilliance of players like Hamish Watson and Omar Guardiola rather than teamwork.

Olympic, on the other hand, had an impressive slickness about their passing and support play and it took some outstanding goalkeeping by Wairarapa United's Matt Borren to restrict them to just the two goals. His athleticism and gutsiness under pressure often thwarted a lively and enthusiastic Olympic attack, spearheaded by an ex-Wairarapa United player in Andrew Abba.

Whatever new Wairarapa United coach Bob Sava said to his troops at halftime is not known but whatever it was it worked a treat.

Right from the resumption of play there was a noticeable lift in intensity, especially in their defensive play where the oodles of space allowed the Olympic front runners in the first half was cut to an absolute minimum, and with positive results. Time after time, possession was "stolen" as Olympic were forced into rushing their passes and, when Waisake Sabatu scored Wairarapa United's first goal, they were back in the game, big time.

A third Olympic goal, again from some sloppy defence, did slow the momentum to a degree but, fortunately, it was to be the calm before the storm with Wairarapa United again lifting the ante and grabbing victory through well-taken goals by Guardiola, Seule Soromon and Tom Biss, the latter coming just a few minutes before the full-time whistle.

It was a cracker too with Biss latching on to a splendidly-timed pass from Watson and powering the ball into the back of the net.

Watson might not have got himself on to the scoresheet but he still had a major influence on proceedings.

Olympic, did everything they could to keep him under wraps but even having a couple of defenders shadowing his every move didn't stop Watson from constantly making good metreage through a mix of pace and aggression. He was heavily involved in the lead-up to three of the four Wairarapa United goals.

Other Central League matches played over the weekend results:

Miramar Rangers 6, Upper Hutt City 4; Western Suburbs 4, Napier City Rovers 1; Tawa 1, Palmerston North Marist 0; Petone 2, Lower Hutt City 1.

Competition points: Miramar Rangers 24, Wellington Olympic 19, Napier City Rovers 18, Wairarapa United 15, Western Suburbs 13, Petone 11, Palmerston North Marist 10, Tawa 9, Lower Hutt City 7, Upper Hutt City 1.