United to face Goliath for Cup

Wairarapa United coach Phil Keinzley had half his wish list granted when the quarter-final draw was made yesterday for the Chatham Cup knockout competition matches, to be played on the weekend of July 23-24.
Keinzley was hoping for a home game against any of the qualifiers other than highly rated Auckland teams Waitakere City and Bay Olympic, so he was rapt when the first part of that equation happened in the draw, broadcast live on Radio Sport.
However, that delight soured somewhat when seconds later he heard that Waitakere City was to be the opposition.
"Obviously, it's great to be playing such an important match at home but it couldn't be any tougher, we've got the team we wanted least," he says.
Keinzley's frustration at drawing Waitakere City is understandable. Since being formed in 1989 as an amalgamation of several West Auckland clubs, they have forged a splendid record at all levels of the game, having been runners-up in at least two Chatham Cup finals as well as being the beaten semifinalists on a number of occasions. They were the national league champions in 1992 and later this year they will represent New Zealand at the world club championships. And if all that is not impressive enough, they have already spawned 15 All Whites.
But Keinzley does admit that having a team of Waitakere City's calibre playing in the Wairarapa will be huge news for followers of the code here.
"They'll probably be the best club side we have seen play here, so we shouldn't have any trouble attracting a big crowd," he says.
"They play attractive football and so do we, so it should be a wonderful spectacle no matter what the result."
Keinzley is also confident that his own players will be up for the challenge. He said they were extremely proud to be the first team from Wairarapa to qualify for the Cup quarter-finals and, while they would be going into the match as rank underdogs, they were capable of pulling off a major upset.
"It's a one-off game and you never know what might happen, the pressure will be much more on them than it will be on us. Our aim in the Cup is to go all the way and nothing has changed in that respect."
Indications are that the quarter-final match will be staged at the Pugh Sports Bowl in Masterton, with Keinzley still to decide whether it will be played on the Saturday or the Sunday.
"We'll weigh up which day best suits us and the fans."