Football: Bay Utd engine room needs to be switched on

Birhanu Taye (left) and fellow centre-mid Alex Palezevic will have to be on song in the engine room if Bay United are to emulate last season's feat over Auckland City today. Photo / File

Only two blokes from the Hawke's Bay United squad know what it as like to ride the euphoric wave of victory over Auckland City in February this year.

Alex Palezevic and James Hoyle were in last season's Thirsty Whale-sponsored side which came from 1-0 down to pip City 2-1 at Park Island, Napier.

So what was the secret and can the predominantly new squad under captain Bill Robertson emulate that feat when they kick off in round six at Kiwitea St at 2pm today?

"Just discipline," says Palezevic, emphasising it's imperative they are switched on during the ISPS Handa Premiership soccer match against the O-League campaigners.

Auckland City are always there or thereabouts in the 10-team national summer league with Team Wellington, as of late, to set the yardstick for others.

"As a team we have to show discipline because Auckland love to play a possession-style football through the midfield and then switch off," he says.

That's why Palezevic and Birhanu Taye have to be on their toes to keep the fire stoking in the engine room in the hope of beating them at their own game.

Last summer Palezevic paired up with Bay teenager Ross Willcox but this season Taye and Adam Thurston come into the mix as Willcox is on a university scholarship in the United States.

Palezevic says he, Taye and Thurston have a more combined experience with age in the midfield this season.

"Last year we had Saul Halpin at No 10 so me and Ross were the young midfielders," says the second-year Massey University student who turned 21 on November 11 and believes he is more premiership savvy now after a tough Lotto Central League with an injury-plagued Wellington Olympic.

"The previous season we [The Greeks] won the league and last season we were nowhere near it," he says.

Bay United are moving on from last Sunday's 2-1 defeat at the hands of Southern United in Dunedin, losing their claim to be the only unbeaten side in the premiership.

"The whole game we were just flat. We just didn't reflect the performance of our first four games."

Palezevic says they know where they stumbled but that still doesn't explain why they regressed.

Coach Brett Angell has drummed into his troops the need to retain their shape on defence and attack in their traditional full-press style.

"He's just been making sure we understand the basics before working our way up from there."

It's a different mindset from Southern's knuckle-duster approach, he says, because Auckland adopt a technical stance in dining out on possession.

Bay United conceded two soft goals last Sunday after Palezevic struck a pile-driver from about 30m out. The equaliser was a flukey lob-wedge shot and the winner in the 90th minute was a coach killer after Garbhan Coughlan bulldozed his way through sprawled goalkeeper Ruben Parker Hanks.

"It should be a good and consistent game this weekend."

■ AUCKLAND CITY: 1 Enaut Zubikarai (GK), 2 Liam Graham, 3 Takuya Iwata, 6 Te Atawhai Hudson-Wihongi, 7 Cameron Howieson, 8 Albert Riera, 9 Darren White, 10 Ryan de Vries, 12 Kris Bright, 15 Dan Morgan, 16 Daewook Kim, 17 Reid Drake, 18 Danyon Drake (RGK), 20 Emiliano Tade, 21 Harry Moss-Edge, 23 Marko Dordevic, 25 Fabrizio Tavano, 26 Callum McCowatt.
Coach: Ramon Tribulietx.

■ HB UNITED: 1 Ruben Parker Hanks (GK), 2 Hayden McHenery, 3 Kohei Matsumoto, 4 Graham Craven, 5 Bill Robertson, 6 Alex Palezevic, 7 Wesley Cain, 10 Adam Thurston, 11 Hayato Wakino, 14 Gavin Hoy, 15 Jim Hoyle, 16 Liam Hayes, 19 Birhanu Taye, 21 Bjorn Christensen, 24 Karanjit Mandair, 26 Mackenzie Waite (RGK).
Coach: Brett Angell.
Ast coach: Jamie Dunning.