An impressive first-half effort was the catalyst to Wairarapa United scoring an important 3-1 win over defending champions Napier City Rovers in their Central League football match at Park Island, Napier, on Sunday.
Their 2-1 advantage at halftime did not do justice to Wairarapa United's superiority over the first 45 minutes, with coach Phil Keinzley delighted with the clinical manner in which they built their attacks.
"We had talked a lot about holding on to the ball for long periods and we did that," Keinzley said. "And we worked hard off the ball too, we had guys constantly running into space and keeping their defenders guessing. We had plenty of shots at goal ... their keeper was kept very busy and actually did a good job. We finished the half with two goals, but probably should have had four or five on the run of play."
The second half saw Napier City Rovers push more players forward as they sought to take the momentum away from Wairarapa United and while the only goal of that spell was scored by Wairarapa United with just a few minute remaining their tactics did even up the exchanges.
"They certainly lifted their performance and there were times when we were under pressure, but we managed to hang in there," Keinzley said. "It's always hard to get points at Napier so we're pretty happy with the end result."