With “significant” rain forecast for Hawke’s Bay late yesterday afternoon, grounds in Napier and Hastings were closed for training to preserve pitches for the weekend.
Until last night, the Gisborne home page on the Central Football website carried last week’s notice advising of the closure of all grounds that weekend.
Gisborne District Council staff were expected to make a call today concerning the coming weekend, but the prospects of any sport being played on council-controlled grounds in the district look doubtful.
As at last night, the council website advised that all council-controlled grounds were closed for training or play, due to waterlogged conditions.
A heavy rain warning was effective until midday today.
United coach Corey Adams said the wet weather meant his team hadn’t trained this week.
An extra week without a game would be good for vice-captain Josh Harris’s recovery from a groin injury.
Aside from that, the pandemic, long gaps between games and disruption to training made for a “strange year”, Adams said.
Thistle coach Garrett Blair said his side had been able to train in the Gisborne Girls’ High School gymnasium on Tuesday and last night.
On Tuesday, a fitness instructor took the players for a “pretty intensive” physical session before they finished with futsal (indoor five-a-side) games. Last night they did a lot of possession work in small-sided games.
“They weren’t typical training sessions in preparing for the weekend, but it was great that we could get together for a good workout,” Blair said.
The decision on whether games in Gisborne went ahead would affect the strength of the squad he took away.
“If they pull the pin here, we’d take a couple of extra players to Napier,” Blair said.
Leftback Kuba Jerabek was still feeling the effects of a rib injury so would be rested.
“We’ll shift Daniel Venema from centreback to leftback and bring in our Argentinian centreback/defensive midfielder Ema Martos.”
Martos’s tackling, passing and reading of the game were impressive, and he should fit in well alongside Ander Batarrita in the middle of the defence, Blair said.
Emerson Araya would be at rightback, with Mark Baple in goal.
After being unavailable for Thistle’s last game, against Taradale, Ashley McMillan would come back into the side in central midfield, alongside skipper Nick Land, with Sam Patterson on the right and Brandon Josling on the left.
That would leave Tomek Frooms and Davie Ure to fill the two forward roles.
“I don’t like changing much when things appear to be working,” Blair said.
The substitutes would be 19-year-old Englishman Charlie Morris, 17-year-old Lytton High School student Travis White and 16-year-old Campion College student Andre Riley, with two more if Gisborne games were postponed.
Blair said it seemed Napier Marist had experienced a bit of a reshuffle. The first team, playing in the Central Federation League, had lost players to university, so some of the Pacific Premiership side had moved up to fill the gaps.
“They always have a good structure, they’re coached very well, and they have a good youth programme,” Blair said.
“Former Gisborne City defender Henare Green plays for them. They have a couple of older players to give them a little bit of experience.”
Marist have had two losses from two games, although Blair has heard they gave their opponents “a bit of grief” in the first half of each match.
For his own players, Blair wants a good start so that his table-topping team build their confidence to set themselves up for a strong performance.
He wants his players to focus on what they can control to achieve their goals.
“We don’t want to have to rely on other results.”
