United?s daunting double header

Wairarapa United are expecting a battle royal when they play Island Bay in a Capital Soccer premier division soccer match at Island Bay tomorrow.
Going into the final series of matches in the first round of the 10-team competition both Wairarapa United (second) and Island Bay (third equal) are well placed to challenge for the premier division title and will be desperate to sustain their present momentum.
Wairarapa United manager Phil Keinzley agrees the match could be a defining moment for his team??. win and they stay in the competition race, lose and they could drop all the way back to fifth on the points table.
"There's a lot hinging on this one and both teams are in the same boat," Keinzley said. "It's going to be one hell of a game.".
It was Island Bay which did Wairarapa United a favour last weekend. They held the then second placed Waterside Karori to a scoreless draw, a result which enabled Wairarapa United, which beat Lower Hutt City 4-1, to leapfrog Waterside Karori on the points table.
Even a cursory glance at the competition table tells you that Island Bay is a side which places considerable emphasis on defence. They have conceded only six goals this season, three less than Wairarapa United.
But when it comes to scoring goals Wairarapa United clearly have the edge, having netted 15 times compared to Island Bay's nine.
Keinzley has faith in the ability of his forwards to create holes in the opposition defence but he says that will only happen against a team like Island Bay if the service given them is well organised.
"They are not the sort of team where you can depend on individual brilliance to open them up, you have to stay patient and structured and rely more on teamwork to create scoring opportunities," Keinzley said.
Happily, the signs are that Wairarapa United will go into tomorrow's game at full strength. Some doubts had existed over the fitness of in-form defender Petero Dauniseka, who has been battling a shin injury, but by yesterday the odds of him playing had improved markedly;.
A likely Wairarapa United line-up is: Tony Jamieson, Petero Dauniseka, james Oxtoby, Carl Shailer, Sakeo Valevou, Aaron Spierling, Merrick Tvaroh, Guiseppe Cagliari, Niki Keinzley, Pita Rabo, Andy Robertson. Reserves: Anton Ross, Lai Gataurua, Chris Looye.
Tomorrow's match is the start of a hectic weekend for Wairarapa United for on Monday they will be at home at the Pugh Sportsbowl in Masterton to central league side Wellington United in a Chatham Cup third round fixture kicking off at 2pm.
This too should be a whale of a game with Wairarapa United already having eliminated one central league side, Stop Out, from the Cup competition and quite capable of adding another to their trophy board.
Wellington United though promise to provide much stiffer opposition than Stop Out even though they are very much in a rebuilding phase after losing the bulk of last year's squad..
Their goalkeeper Nick Tarrant is a former national under-15 and under-20 representative who has been starring on a regular basis this season, Andy Groom is a midfielder with a similarly high reputation , Eddie Mason is an acquisition from Otago who has impressed up front with his speed and ball control and a former Wairarapa United player in Steve Dornan has the versatility to make an impact in a number of roles.
As befits a higher graded side Wellington United are likely to adopt an attacking stance with the idea of nipping the Wairarapa United challenge in the bud early on. But they won't find the going easy against a home team defence which has enough experience in the likes of goalkeeper Tony Jamieson, Petero Dauniseka, Carl Shailer and James Oxtoby not to be overawed by the occasion.
And if the visitors are prepared to task risks in their search for goals they could well expose their defence and , if that's the case, who better to take advantage of that situation than Pita Rabo and Andy Robertson?
Barring injuries Wairarapa United will use the same starting line-up as for the Island Bay game, a situation which does not, in any way, detract on the ability of reserves Gataura, Ross and Looye. They are all players with good attacking skills and, as such, are seen as vital cogs in the team.
"Any of them could easily start without weakening the side at all but we need players who come off the bench and add something to the team effort and they all do that," manager Keinzley said. " The strength of our bench is one of our main assets, no question of that."
The support of a big and vocal crowd is also seen by the Wairarapa United camp as a must if they are to advance in the Chatham Cup competition.
"The crowd can have a huge effect. It can be like having 12 players on the paddock," Keinzley said. "The more intimidating we make the atmopshere for the opposition the better for us.".