Selecting starting team a headache for coaches

Wairarapa United will play their promotion-relegation match in the Wellington regional Ivan England Trophy under-19 boys soccer competition at Howard Booth Park, Carterton on Saturday.
As the unbeaten winners of the division one title they will take on the bottom-placed team in the premier division, Waterside-Karori, to see which of the two will be contesting the premier division in 2007.
While confident a full strength Wairarapa United squad is capable of extending their winning sequence for this season to seven, their coach Phil Keinzley says they won't be under-estimating a Waterside-Karori side who had been playing in a stronger league.
"The fact is we won't know the difference in standard between the two competitions until after Saturday's game but it can be taken for granted that they (Waterside-Karori) have had it tougher than us," Keinzley said.
The introduction of a South Korean student attending Rathkeale College, Kevin Kim, has boosted Wairarapa United's defensive capabilities and another talented acquisition to their line-up is Joel Vatselias, a midfielder from Douglas Villa.
As it happens every club and college in the Wairarapa is represented in the 16- man squad except Kuranui College and, even then, they can lay claims to two players being ex-pupils there, Aaron Spierling and Anaru Te Rangi.
Keinzley said the depth of skill in the Wairarapa United side meant selecting their starting XI would be a headache for team management.
"It's a nice problem to have though&.better that then the other way round," he said.
The promotion-relegation match will be the first of three important assignments for the Wairarapa United under-19s within the next month or so.
On October 6 they will play in a tourney staged by the Upper Hutt club and on Labour weekend they will contest the club nationals hosted by Napier City Rovers.
The draw for the nationals will see Wairarapa United take on defending champions Dunedin first, followed by Auckland Metro, Papakura, Waterside-Karori and Island Bay.
Keinzley is "happy enough" with that draw, noting that if they had to play the strong Dunedin club they were probably best to play them first.
"They won't know a lot about us and will probably be thinking it will be a walk in the park for them," he said.
"If they are complacent at all we could catch them on the hop."
Meanwhile, Team Wellington has advised their national league men's team will play a pre-season fixture against Napier City Rovers in Wairarapa on October 22.
The decision follows the favourable impression made on Team Wellington coach Stu Jacobs when the Wellington Phoenix played a "friendly" against the national youth side at the Pugh Sports Bowl earlier in the year.
Jacobs, who is also assistant coach of the Phoenix, was rapt with the support given that match by the Wairarapa public.