Soccer fraternity buzzing over Miramar Rangers visit

Little wonder the Wairarapa soccer fraternity is buzzing with the news that Miramar Rangers are coming to town.
For it takes no more than a scant glance at their recent record to see why the side which will play Trust House Wairarapa United in a central league fixture at Queen Elizabeth Park Oval in Masterton on Easter Friday is regarded with awe in the round ball code.
National league winners in 2002 and 2003, Chatham Cup winners in 1996, 1992 and 2004 and central league winners in 2006 and 2008 & it's mouth-watering stuff for the soccer connoisseur, isn't it?
What it does too though is bode the question, how on earth can a Wairarapa United side basically fresh out of the Capital premier division grade even hope to be competitive against opposition likely to include at least one All White and a veritable host of Team Wellington representatives?
Wairarapa United coach Phil Keinzley admits the assignment facing his side on Friday is a huge one but he, for one, isn't about to concede defeat.
In fact, he was pleased enough by their 4-0 win over Wellington United in their central league debut match last Saturday to hanker hopes they could actually make a close game of it.
"Obviously when you look at the strength of Miramar it would be a bit silly to go out on a limb and predict a win but the chances of that happening are not hopeless, we can push them pretty hard," Keinzley said.
"If the attitude is right there might not be a lot in it."
The Wairarapa United coach is determined his team won't be intimidated by the strength of the Miramar Rangers line-up because he knows what will transpire if they go into their shells and allow them to call the tune in a tactical sense.
"We have to forget about how strong they look on paper and focus on playing our own game, if we give them too much respect then we will be chasing our tails all the way through."
Keinzley said Wairarapa United's "own game" would, as usual, be based around the philosophy that goals win matches, and therefore attack was the best method of defence.
"We certainly won't be going out there with the intent on keeping the score down, the emphasis will be on trying to score more goals than them," he said. "History shows we don't play well when we go all defensive, it just doesn't suit the type of players we've got so why bother?"
Keinzley recalls the last time Wairarapa United and Miramar Rangers met. It was in a Chatham Cup knockout game last season with Miramar Rangers winning 4-2 after racing out to a 3-0 advantage before halftime.
"We probably matched them in the second half but the game was over by then, you can't afford a slow start against a team of their calibre," he said. "They focus on hitting their straps early and getting goals on the board before their opposition has woken up, the first 20 minutes can be absolutely vital against a side like them."
Keinzley is also keen for Wairarapa United to fully exploit the unpredictably of its star attackers such as skipper Pita Rabo, Seule Soromon and one of the new boys on the block, Manawatu national league skipper Adam Cowan.
"These guys are natural ball players and they can create goals out of nothing, even a team like Miramar will find them a handful if we can give them a regular supply of possession," Keinzley said.
The Wairarapa United starting line-up for Friday's match, which kicks off at 2pm, will be published tomorrow with Keinzley having the happy situation of having all members of his squad fit and ready to play.
"It's not often you have everybody on deck & having to choose between players for certain positions it's a nice headache to have," he said.