Underdogs made to pay

Liam Kerr made a big impression in an unaccustomed position. FILE PHOTO

THE last eight minutes of the first half spelt disaster for Heartland Wairarapa in their national youth league football match with Waitakere United at QBE Stadium on Sunday.

Up until then Wairarapa had belied their rank underdog status by competing strongly in every department, so much so that coach Paul Ifill was in the throes of preparing a halftime speech aimed at turning a scoreless first half into a possible upset victory.

"They [Waitakere] were becoming very frustrated at not being able to break us down and you could sense that if that frustration continued they were beatable," Ifill said. "If we got to halftime level pegging it was all on."

Unfortunately that was not to be. In those crucial closing minutes before the interval the intensity in the Wairarapa effort dropped and Waitakere United pounced, two goals within two minutes by Joel Baker and another by Under-20 World Cup striker Noah Billingsley, allowing the home team to go to the break 3-0 up, and out of danger.

"It all happened so quickly, the concentration lapsed and within eight minutes we were basically out of the game," Ifill said. "It wasn't a reflection of how well we had played overall but you can't afford to relax at this level, that's when good teams will put you away."

There were two more goals for Waitakere in the second half too, the first a Wairarapa own goal in the 60th minute and the second to Ryan Clarke in the 81st minute, meaning Waitakere finished with a 5-0 advantage.

It was the fifth straight loss for Wairarapa in this year's league and leaves them languishing at the bottom of the points table. But while that situation obviously disappointed Ifill, he said he was still enjoying the challenge of enhancing the individual and collective skills of team members, many of whom are only 15 and 16.

"I think it's fair to say our inexperience and naivety has been exposed but despite the results we have seen a lot of improvement in so many areas and that's got to be positive in terms of development. The learning curve most of the guys are on now should serve them really well into the future."

It was one of the younger team members, Liam Kerr, who was one of the standouts for Wairarapa. He came off the bench to play in the unaccustomed position of left back and impressed with the manner in which he responded to that task. Midfielders Tim Fenton and Ryan Benson were others to shine.

Meanwhile, Wellington went to the top of the youth league standings on Sunday with a 3-0 victory over Auckland United at Centre Park in Mangere.

Coming into the round tied with Southern at the top of the points table but second on goal difference, Team Wellington were 2-0 to the good at halftime thanks to goals from Sam Dewar and Kwame Norku, while a second half own goal from Auckland United completed the job for the visitors.

The result lifts Team Wellington to sole possession of first place on 12 points with WaiBOP United, 4-3 winners over Southern United, in second place, two points behind.

Michael Built's WaiBOP side seemed set to comfortably win their Tahuna Park, Dunedin, clash, holding a 3-1 halftime lead, but a second half double from Lewis Jackson had the hosts level in the 73rd minute.

However, the visitors responded as Marc Evans struck his third goal of the day with six minutes to secure a 4-3 win.

Auckland City moved to the top of a clutch of teams in third position with a 3-2 win over Canterbury United at ASB Football Park in Christchurch.

Bookend goals from Myer Bevan and a Reid Drake effort two minutes after half-time paved the way for the result for Jose Figueira's side despite goals for Canterbury from Renta Yamamoto -- who opened the scoring in the third minute -- and Sho Mathieson.

Defending champions Nelson Marlborough Falcons continued to alternate wins and losses -- claiming a 5-1 victory over Hawke's Bay United at Trafalgar Park on Sunday.

A second half hat-trick inside four minutes from ex-Wairarapa United player Omar Guardiola was the star turn for the hosts while Matt Tod-Smith struck a first half double. Campbell Hawtler hit the only response for the visitors in the first period.

In the Saturday fixture, the Wellington Phoenix recorded a 3-0 win over Manawatu United at Memorial Park in Petone to move into eighth spot.

Goals from Luke Tongue and Gianni Bouzoukis had the Phoenix youngsters ahead at halftime and Max Mata's 75th minute strike sealed the result.