Hayatu Wakino in action for Hawke's Bay United in last week's scoreless draw. He got the only goal yesterday against Hamilton. Photo / Duncan Brown
Hayatu Wakino in action for Hawke's Bay United in last week's scoreless draw. He got the only goal yesterday against Hamilton. Photo / Duncan Brown
Whatever, it didn't matter, for what mattered most was that Hawke's Bay United got crucial away points on the board in the ISPS Handa national football league match at Hamilton's Porritt Stadium yesterday.
Following a scoreless opening round draw at home against Wellington Phoenix Reserves, HBU held-out for 69 minutesafter the only goal, scored in a few minutes that left luckless Hamilton Wanderers one-down in more ways than one, on the scoreboard and on the field after winger Bailey Webster was red-carded for kicking Kohei Matsumoto in the aftermath of the goal scored by Hayatu Wakino.
A treble, thus. The first goal of the season, keeping a clean sheet for keeper Ruben Parker without a ball passing the fingertips in the first 180 minutes of his HBU career in the league, and the first win for the United club that made the semifinals last season, and plans to go one better this time.
Parker hadn't had to make a save on the home turf a week six days earlier, and it was much the same yesterday, having to do little more than watch as the most serious bid by the home side saw Xavier Pratt botch a clear shot on goal unsuccessfully going for the equaliser in the second half, the ball heading closer to the hands of the spectators than those of the patient Parker.
The only goal of the game came after 21 minutes when striker Wakino capitalised on some good work through the Waikato midfield and the final pass from Alex Palezevic.
Hamilton, heading for a second loss in the first two games under coach and former All Whites player and coach Ricki Herbert, had opportunities, but so did HBU, who planted two more at Wanderers custodian Matt Oliver who was more than up to the task.
Coach Brett Angell, disappointed that some of the finishing didn't match the buildup work, said had either one found the mark it may have been a completely different game.
Hawke's Bay next face a home match against defending champions Team Wellington on Sunday, by whom the club was beaten 4-2 at Bluewater Stadium in the first round last year. They drew 3-all later in the season in Wellington.
On Saturday Team Wellington beat Wellington Phoenix Reserves 5-2 in the capital city derby while, in other games yesterday, Eastern Suburbs beat Southern United 1-0 in Dunedin, Tasman United beat Canterbury Dragons 1-0 in Christchurch and, in an all-Auckland affair, beaten 2016-2017 finalists Auckland City hammered Waitakere United 5-0.
