Strong bench to fuel United

Two strong motivating forces will be driving Wairarapa United in their Central League football match against Napier City Rovers at Park Island on Sunday.
Firstly, there will be the knowledge that a win - or even a draw - would stop sixth-placed Napier City Rovers from leapfrogging them on the Central League points table and, secondly, individual players will be pushing for starting places in the team to meet Wellington United in a Chatham Cup last 16 match in Wellington the following weekend.
Complicating the composition of the Wairarapa United line-up for Sunday is that three of the players who were unavailable for the Chatham Cup fixture against Manawatu Red Sox last weekend - a match won by Wairarapa United 6-0 - are back in the reckoning on this occasion.
In-form defender Nathan Cooksley is likely to get a starting spot while Nobuyishi Ishi and Adam Milne have also been playing well enough to be considered serious contenders as well.
The problem for coach Phil Keinzley, of course, is that if any or all of them are in the run-on side then who from last weekend's team should be relegated to the reserves bench.
"Whichever way it goes, some players are going to be unlucky to miss out and, quite honestly, right now I'm not sure who they will be," Keinzley said yesterday. "At least it guarantees we will have a strong bench and that's always a big plus."
Napier City Rovers have every right to be fancying their own prospects of success. After a slow start to the season, they have actually become the form team of the central league series and, just last Saturday, beat Stop Out to join Wairarapa United in the last 16 of the Chatham Cup. Earlier, they had dismissed Cup holders - and central league leaders Miramar Rangers - by a stunning 5-0.,
Interestingly, Napier City Rovers play a similar style of football to Wairarapa United in that they like to use width in their attacking game and rely on the speed of their front runners to catch the opposition napping.
It is hardly surprising then that Keinzley will be stressing to his side the importance of staying composed and structured in defensive situations. "Giving them space and time on the ball will be asking for trouble," he said.
That Wellington United will prove a tough hurdle for Wairarapa United in their Chatham Cup match can also be taken for granted. Wellington United currently lead the Capital premier league and eliminated third-placed central league side Olympic from the Cup competition earlier in the month.