Keinzley Agvet Wairarapa United's midfield responded well to a challenge when their side beat North Wellington 4-0 in a pre-season men's soccer match played at Carterton over the weekend.
Team management were keen for the midfielders to take more responsibility in the goal shooting department and spokesman Phil Keinzley was delighted
to see them do exactly that.
"We want to create a situation where if the midfield have the chance to have a clear shot at goal then they should take it," Keinzley said. "Sometimes in the past they have been reluctant to do so and we've probably suffered as a result."
North Wellington, who had previously impressed in the Hilton-Petone tournament, were expected to offer Wairarapa United stern opposition but they were effectively shut out of the game in the first half.
Wairarapa United scored three goals then and added another in the second spell to seal a comfortable victory.
Scorers were Carl Shailer, Niki Keinzley, Chris Looye and Andy Robertson and of that quartet Robertson was the only one playing at striker.
Usually a fullback Robertson had always been keen to try himself out at striker and he was impressive enough to suggest he could have a bright future there.
His uncompromising attitude saw him torment the North Wellington defence on numerous occasions and as well as scoring one of the goals he had a big hand in another two.
Looye, a Dutchman who is new to the Wairarapa United squad, had some fine touches on both attack and defence while Shailer was his usual reliable self.
Goalkeeper Tony Jamieson also had a fine game, making two or three excellent saves in one-on-one situations
This coming weekend will see Wairarapa United play the last of their pre-season games against last season's central league runners-up Olympic at Carterton.
