Gisborne teams favoured to win Eastern Premiership football games

Gisborne United goalkeeper Josh Adams looks upfield after taking a high ball in Eastern Premiership action at Childers Road Reserve, as left back Malcolm Marfell prepares to help out if required. Adams has been United's leading goalscorer for years but stepped into the goalkeeping vacancy this year and has not looked out of place. Photo / Paul Rickard

Gisborne teams Thistle and United face opponents in the lower reaches of Central Football’s Eastern Premiership this weekend.

Third-placed Electrinet Thistle play bottom-of-the-table Western Rangers at Childers Road Reserve at 12.45pm, while competition leaders Heavy Equipment Services United are away to Taradale Reserves, who are sixth in the eight-team league.

Thistle beat Taradale 3-2 away last weekend and will be favourites against Western Rangers, but the Hawke’s Bay side have shown promise in some of their results.

They drew 4-4 with Maycenvale, lost 2-1 to Taradale and, in their last game, drew 4-4 with Port Hill. Goalscoring does not seem to be a problem.

If Thistle have a full-strength team, it should be a good contest.

United will be without mercurial midfielder Josh Harris, who wanted to play but has been persuaded to rest to give a niggling injury time to heal properly. Skipper Dane Thomas will also be away.

Co-coach Kieran Venema said Matt Hills would probably fill the central midfield role normally taken by Thompson.

Hills is in good form and has the attributes required for the role, but Thompson’s strength in the air will be missed in both defensive and attacking settings.

Malcolm Marfell returns and can be expected to fill the left back role, although Jirah Wanoa did well on the left side of a three-man defence in their 9-0 victory over Maycenvale last week.

Campbell Hall is also back in action and will be a handful alongside league-leading goalscorer Jimmy Somerton.

All three Adams brothers – goalkeeper Josh, midfielder Corey and winger Jacob – are available, and the squad has been strengthened with the addition of defender or midfielder Theo Clarke, who has transferred from Thistle.

United’s game, at Taradale Park, starts at 3pm.

They lead the competition on 13 points after five games, two ahead of Havelock North Wanderers and with a vastly superior goal differential of 26 to Havelock’s 10.

Thistle are third on nine, followed by Maycenvale on seven, Port Hill five, Taradale and Napier City Rovers Reserves four, and Western Rangers two.