Tauranga City United's Sam O'Regan debut for WaiBOP United in the 2014-15 ASB Premiership has finished with a 2-0 loss to Canterbury United. Photo / George Novak
A goal in each half saw Canterbury United open their campaign with a 2-0 win over WaiBOP United at ASB Football Park in Christchurch on Saturday.
Sean Devine's Canterbury side defended home turf as Tom Schwarz powered in a 28th minute header and Dylan Stansfield added an insurance goal in
the same fashion just after the hour mark.
Canterbury's opener came as Schwarz, a member of the two-time defending ASB Chatham Cup-winning Cashmere Technical side, headed in a freekick midway through the opening 45 minutes.
As they began the second-half a goal down, WaiBOP saw several chances come and go as Sam O'Regan, former Canterbury United player Federico Marquez and Chad Coombes all had openings in the first 10 minutes but couldn't profit.
They were made to pay for those misses as Stansfield's header, from a Roussin Nkoy cross, provided a buffer the home side did not need in the end, as the visitors could not find a way back into the match in the final 30 minutes.
