Tawa take tapped out United

Wairarapa United's 4-0 defeat by Tawa in their Hilton Petone Cup fixture at Petone on Sunday was due to depleted stocks in more ways than one.
Several players were unavailable because of national league and other commitments which greatly reduced the chances of a Wairarapa win.
And the challenge became even harder when they were reduced to 10 men just after halftime and then nine for the last quarter.
Aaron Spierling was sent off for a tackling offence which the Wairarapa camp were convinced deserved no more than a yellow card.
And when Pita Rabo suffered a hip injury which forced him off as well, he could not be replaced because United had used all their substitutes.
The only goal scored by Tawa in the first half came from a penalty and Wairarapa United coach Phil Keinzley was "pretty happy" with the competitiveness of his team over that period of play.
"We managed to string some useful attacks together but the finishing wasn't quite what it should have been."
The second half was a somewhat different story, with Wairarapa United losing their shape once Spierling was ordered off and Tawa being quick to capitalise.
"Things got a bit messy. It was a losing battle from then on," Keinzley said.
The good news for Wairarapa is that most of their Central League squad were expected to be at training this week, apart from a couple of prospective newcomers who are part of the Wellington team contesting the national league semifinals against Auckland City the next two weekends.
Wairarapa United will kick off their 2011 Central League campaign against Lower Hutt at Queen Elizabeth Park oval in Masterton on April 2.