Football: Suburbs fortress keeps United at Bay

BEING MONITORED: Hawke's Bay United defender Fergus Neil was left on the bench during yesterday's loss in Auckland. PHOTO/FILE

THIS trip to Auckland's Bill McKinlay Park was always going to be a tough assignment for Hawke's Bay United.

It was Eastern Suburbs first home game in the national league for 37 years and more than 1000 spectators turned out to create a fortress-like mentality and make sure the hosts celebrated the occasion in an appropriate manner. However, apart from during the first 20 minutes when Suburbs speedster Derek Tieku scored the only goal of the match after smashing home a loose ball from a corner, Thirsty Whale Hawke's Bay United coach Brett Angell was happy with the way his troops coped.

"We didn't start well and they scored during the first 15 minutes. Once we got over our poor start we got very much into the game and probably deserved something out of it," Angell said.

"While we didn't get the equaliser it wasn't through a lack of trying. Outside of the first 20, I was pleased with our performance and everybody contributed," Angell, who declined to single out outstanding individuals, said.

Angell pointed out that while the visitors didn't score they had a decent amount of opportunities.

"We either made a poor decision or Suburbs managed to scramble away with the ball."
Striker Sam Mason-Smith saw a pair of headers saved by Suburbs keeper Silvio Rodic before fellow forward Saul Halpin went close on two occasions.

Although Suburbs were on defence for long periods Angell said All Whites midfielders Tim Payne and Moses Dyer proved why they have been selected at international level.

While the manner in which Hawke's Bay United bounced back from their poor start was a positive, Angell said another was the fact there were no new injury concerns to worry about as they prepare to host winless defending champions Team Wellington at Napier's Bluewater Stadium on Sunday.

Defender Fergus Neil didn't take the field yesterday as the team's medical staff are still monitoring the knock he collected during the previous week's win against Waitakere United. Angell was confident Neil will get the thumbs up after another week of rehab.

"I thought we started the game really well and were well worth the lead going into halftime," Suburbs coach Malcolm McPherson said.

"But credit to Hawke's Bay, they've got some good players and had a really good spell for about 20 minutes of the second half. Silvio has made some good saves and there were some really important blocks."

In other Stirling Sports Premiership round two games yesterday, Waitakere United recorded their first win with a 2-0 victory against Hamilton Wanderers at Porritt Stadium, Wellington Phoenix Under-20s beat Team Wellington 2-1 at David Farrington Park and Canterbury United beat their hosts Southern United 3-1 at Dunedin's Forsyth Barr Stadium.

On Saturday Auckland City enhanced their favourite's tag with a second consecutive 4-0 win, this time against Tasman United at Kiwitea St. The Navy Blues, who defeated Team Wellington 4-0 last week, got off to a flyer when Emiliano Tade scored within six minutes after Tasman sat back too deep and from there it became a tough ask.

Tasman United, without playmaker Paul Ifill, struggled to create any clear-cut chances, their biggest threat coming from set-pieces but their delivery from corners in a swirling wind made life tough for Enaut Zubikarai who chose to punch almost exclusively.

But the game started to slip out of the visitors' reach when Tade split the Tasman United defence open with a slick through ball to set prolific striker Ryan De Vries free on 23 minutes. Goalkeeper Coey Turipa was off his line quickly but De Vries out-thought the Tasman gloveman to clip a beautiful shot over his head into an empty net to double the lead.