Superior fitness was the claim and it was Tauranga City United's running that got them home as they kicked off their Northern League second-division campaign on Saturday with a 3-1 defeat of Waiuku.
Skipper Jordan Culpepper scored twice in the second half while Tauranga also profited from an own goal for
a comfortable start to their season.
Tauranga co-coach Grant Turner said with more accuracy and patience in front of goal his side should have taken a two- or three-goal buffer into halftime.
"We created plenty but will need to work a bit more on technique and finishing.
"To be fair it was a typical season-opener, played at 100mp/h on a pitch that will probably be the worst we play on all season."
Tauranga reserve Tom Livesey limped out of the game during the warmups in his comeback from a medial ligament strain, with Turner and John Whitley moving Culpepper forward into a striking role when Ian Stringfellow came off after 65 minutes.
It was a masterstroke, with Culpepper slotting an angled strike from the edge of the area before breaking free after a clever interchange of passes on halfway and deftly chipping Waiuku's advancing keeper.
New signing Graham Craven set up the third, heading the ball goalward before it ricocheted off an opposing defender into the net.
Xavier Pratt and Luke Barlow also made their Northern League debuts off the bench, with Turner pleased with the contributions of the youth players.
In other second-division games, Mt Albert-Ponsonby thrashed Cambridge 9-1, Papakura City downed Western Springs 2-0 and a Rafi Mohammadi hat-trick clinched a 3-2 win for Hibiscus Coast over Mangere United.
Fencibles United's clash with Ngaruawahia United was postponed because of a waterlogged pitch while yesterday competition newbies Warkworth were undone 3-1 away by North Shore United.
