Wairarapa United are claiming underdog status for their crucial Central League football match with fellow strugglers Wellington United at the Pugh Sports Bowl, Masterton on Sunday. That despite the fact they have five competition points, one more than Wellington United, and secured a comfortable 4-0 win over them in their first-roundencounter. Wairarapa United coach Phil Keinzley says anybody making his team favourite had obviously not studied the form book over the whole of the season. For while Wellington United had yet to record a win they had taken points from four games one more than Wairarapa United through drawing with Olympic, Western Suburbs, Palmerston North Marist and Taranaki. "You'd have to say that overall they have been more consistent than us," Keinzley said. "They have drawn with a couple of teams who beat us soundly so I'd think if anybody had to start favourite it would have to be them." Keinzley is confident, however, that if Wairarapa United can eliminate the "silly mistakes" which led to their 4-1 defeat by Petone last Saturday they will secure a victory, and consequently lessen the risk of being involved in the promotion-relegation series later in the year All four Petone goals came during a seven-minute period early in the second half when Wairarapa United were down to 10 men after having had defender Andy Robertson sent from the field for a tackling infringement. But rather than blaming Robertson's absence for them Keinzley said they were all due to Wairarapa United errors, most of them coming through lapses in concentration. "Take those seven minutes out and we were every bit as competitive as they were," Keinzley said. "We created plenty of chances but the finishing wasn't as good as we would have liked either, we weren't quite clinical enough there." Robertson's sending off means he will miss this Sunday's match and he will be replaced in the fullback role by the versatile Aaron Spierling. The other change from the Petone game will come at goalkeeper with Richard Gillespie, who was not available last weekend, taking over from Matt Steele.
