Wairarapa United shine

Wairarapa United's history-making 4-1 win over Waitakere City in the Chatham Cup football quarterfinal match at Howard Booth Park, Carterton, yesterday was every bit as comprehensive as the final score would suggest.
Aiming to be the first club side from the Wairarapa region to progress through to the semifinals of the country's most prestigious knockout competition, Wairarapa United rose above the cold, wet, miserable conditions to completely outclass their opposition.
From the moment Carl Shailer opened the scoring after just a couple of minutes play with a well-placed header Wairarapa United looked in control.
On a Howard Booth surface which was in remarkably good order considering the weather there was a reassuring calmness about the accuracy of their passing, the efficiency of their support play, both on and off the ball, and their composure on defence.
A second Shailer goal had the large crowd in good voice but then came about the only hiccup in the whole 90 minutes for Wairarapa United when their defence was splintered and Waitakere City's Keegan Linderboom pounced to reduce the margin to 2-1.
The question now was whether the confidence of that goal would see Waitakere City up the ante and perhaps even start to call the tune but while there was no shortage of endeavour on their part, halftime came without any further score.
The second spell was pretty much all Wairarapa United. Yes, there was the odd sortie from Waitakere City but odd was the operative word, the huge percentage of scoring chances over that 45 minutes being created by the home team.
Indeed it is hard to recall Wairarapa United's keeper Matt Borren being called upon to make a serious save so dominant was his side, both in terms of territory and possession.
The first of the two Wairarapa United second half goals came after Adam Cowan collected a rebound and slotted the ball into the corner of the net and the second was an absolute beauty. The home team took a corner with time fast running out and Waisake Sabatu rose high to head the ball home at rocket-like pace.
Nothing impressed more about the Wairarapa United second half effort than the fluency of their play. There was a pleasing patience about the way they built their attacks with four or five passes often being strung together before their speedy front runners were put into space.
On defence too Wairarapa United were rock solid with the Waitakere City forwards being closed down through a combination of hard, decisive tackling and astute positional play.
There would have been a plethora of serious contenders for any player of the day award from within the Wairarapa United squad. In fact, it could be fairly said every player given match time came through with flying colours.
However, if one had to be singled out above others then Nathan Cooksley would be our pick. He was a willing workhorse on both attack and defence, timing his passes to perfection when his side was on the front foot and generally coming out of defensive melees with the ball at his feet. It was simply the continuation of what has been an outstanding 2011 for him.
In Scott Robson, Wairarapa United had a hard-nosed defender whose astute reading of play enabled him to pick up several valuable interceptions and both Pablo Moya and Waisake Sabatu worked from the same text book.
Between them they ensured that goalkeeper Matt Borren was seldom isolated, not that Borren looked anything but safe whenever he was under pressure. And the length of his goal kicks were a definite plus for his side, often turning hard defence into equally hard attack.
The steadiness of their midfield play was another highlight of the Wairarapa United performance. Cooksley did a lot of his best work there but the likes of Dale Higham, James Oxtoby, Pita Rabo and Carl Shailer were little less prominent. Shailer, especially, starred in many strong bursts down his flank and thoroughly deserved his two goals.
In an attacking sense it was Adam Cowan and Seule Soromon who carried the heaviest workload for Wairarapa United and they relished every opportunity to stretch their legs, constantly tormenting the Waitakere City defence with the excellence of their ball control while moving at top speed. And when Campbell Banks was subbed on for a limping Soromon late in the match, he too was quick to demonstrate his attacking skills.
The youthful Waitakere City side were simply no match for the locals on the day. They did look dangerous whenever Keegan Linderboom was on the ball but his chances were few and far between and it was, in fact, the old head in the side, player-coach Neil Emblem, who probably made the biggest individual impression with the solidness of his defensive play.
Just who Wairarapa United will play in the semifinals, and where that match will be played, could be known as early as tomorrow. A possible opponent is fellow central league team, Napier City Rovers, who yesterday beat Manurewa 3-2.