Wairarapa have already achieved more in this season's Ivan England Trophy under-19 men's soccer competition than they did last year.
Their 4-2 win over Porirua at Porirua on Sunday in their opening game of the 2007 series is already one more win than they managed then.
Coach Phil Keinzley said the first
half was pretty much what was anticipated from two teams still in the early throes of their preparations with players lacking composure and struggling with their combinations.
"They were running around like headless chooks for a while, there was plenty of enthusiasm but not a lot of structure," he said.
Wairarapa led 2-1 at halftime, thanks to goals by Ryan Athow and Anton Ross. It was Ross who set up the Athow goal with some good lead-up work and then he scored himself from the penalty spot when Athow was brought down in the box.
The second half again saw Wairarapa score two goals to their opposition's one and Keinzley was pleased with the sharp improvement they showed in teamwork.
"We were quite dominant on attack and I'd hate to think how many shots at goal we had, it was just the good work of their 'keeper that kept the score down," he said
Once again the goal scorers for Wairarapa were Athow and Ross, both of whom had strong games up front.
Central fullback Anaru Te Rangi was named player of the match for Wairarapa though, impressing with his consistency on defence, while Aaron Spierling and the Tusuke brothers, Kota and Maeno, also shone.
Wairarapa's next game is against Wainuiomata at Wainuiomata this coming Sunday.
