Maintain course . . .

Stay on course: Gisborne United player-coach Corey Adams, here on the ball against Napier City Rovers Reserves last year, wants his team to stick to the game plan against Port Hill in Napier tomorrow. Picture by Liam Clayton

FOOTBALL

Gisborne United head football’s Pacific Premiership table, one point above local rivals Gisborne Thistle.

Heavy Equipment Services United have 16 points from their first seven matches, with five wins, one draw and one loss. Tomorrow they will be in Napier playing Port Hill United, who are seventh with nine points from three wins and three losses.

Gisborne Vehicle Testing Thistle sit one point behind the leaders with 15 points from five wins and one loss, but they have played one game less than United. Thistle will be in Hawke’s Bay, too, facing bottom-of-the-table Hastings Western Rangers, who have one point from five losses and one draw.

In the corresponding fixtures last season, United drew 2-2 with Port Hill United and, on the last day of the season, Thistle beat Western Rangers 2-0.

Both Gisborne teams have been hit hard by the flu and heavy colds this week, and training has been difficult for some players.

United player-coach Corey Adams and Thistle coach Garrett Blair will wait until match day to decide their starting line-up.

United will be without midfielder Dane Thompson, who has a knee injury and will be out for one or two weeks.

Adams says Port Hill’s league position will not make him take them lightly.

“In this league, any side can win on their day,” he said.

He wants his team to concentrate on their game plan — keep the ball, pass to feet — and says the goals will come.

The hot goalscoring form of younger brother Josh Adams makes that plan all the more effective.

“Port Hill United are a tall team, who will keep our defenders on their toes,” Corey Adams said.

Thistle coach Blair will not decide his starting line-up and tactics until tomorrow, when he knows who will be fit to play, but says his players are keen to get back on the field for only their second Pacific Premiership match in six weeks.

“We’ve trained and had inter-squad games to keep up the momentum, but it’s not the same,” he said.

Blair will not take anything for granted against Western Rangers, despite their lowly league placing.

“Anything can happen on the day,” he said.

Both matches kick off at 3pm.