United reel from the loss of Borren

Wairarapa United have lost the services of last season's Player of the Year Matt Borren for their 2012 football season starting in mid-April.

Goalkeeper Borren was a consistently outstanding performer in United's spectacularly successful Chatham Cup campaign, which ended with a memorable 2-1 grand final win over Napier City Rovers, and played an equally big part in their best-ever third placing in the central league.

So there was no surprise when he took out both the Coaches' Player of the Year and Supporters' Player of the Year trophies at the club's end-of-season awards function.

The loss of Borren for what has been described as "personal reasons" is a massive blow for United, magnified by the fact they were already seeking a goalkeeper for their second team. "Right now we don't have a keeper for either of our sides, it's getting to the desperate stage, " premier team coach Phil Keinzley said yesterday. "We do have a couple of possibilities in mind but whether they will come to anything is hard to say."

Keinzley agreed Borren's contribution to United's headline-grabbing 2011 season was immense and that finding a replacement with similar capabilities would be a huge challenge.

"It's a nice feeling for any side not to have to worry about the guy at the back and Mark always gave us that sort of confidence," he said.

There has been some good news for Wairarapa United though, with hard-nosed defender James Oxtoby confirming his availability for the coming season after early indications he was a doubtful starter.

It has also been confirmed classy Japanese utility player Nobuyishi Ishi will be returning to Wairarapa next month.