Football: Bay Utd will reload against Team Wgtn

BIG CALL: Will Zane Sole run on to Park Island tomorrow to risk a fourth yellow card before the premiership semifinal in Napier the following Sunday? PHOTO/Warren Buckland

NO more beating around the bush after it was confirmed Hawke's Bay United will host Team Wellington in the semifinals the following Sunday.

All the permutations flew out of the window after the capital city side thumped Wellington Phoenix Reserves 6-1 in their final round 14 derby game at Westpac Stadium last night.

That means the Bay, who overwhelmed Team Wellington 2-0 last Sunday at David Farrington Park, will welcome the visitors to Park Island in what should be an exhilarating rematch in the televised ASB Premiership playoffs after rival coach Matt Calcott had stated they would simply have to win the grand final to ensure they add to their maiden outing in the sought-after O-League as last summer's runners-up.

So what does that make tomorrow's final round-robin match at 2pm between Bay United and Waitakere United?

A dead rubber because it has no bearing on the hosts' second-rung perch on the premiership table.

However the purists will argue the game doubles up as payback time as well as "taking momentum" to the semifinals.

Waitakere United beat the Bay 2-1 at QEB Stadium in Auckland just before Christmas, triggering off a slide from the top of the table in what was perceived to be an upset at that stage of the season.

"We've still got a good bunch of players who want to finish our season on a high note," Waitakere United player Sean Lovemore said last night soon after arriving in Napier where his partner hails from.

The former Bay United striker, who has clocked up O-League game time under different franchises, said his teammates intended to finish the season tomorrow "with some pride".

"The teams have changed considerably from the last time we played so there was a lot of arm wrestling for us the last time as well," Lovemore said, adding both sides would need to bring a different mindset to the clash.

Throw in the sultry climate here and he put it down to "not ideal football weather but everyone has to play in it".

The speedster harboured no regrets about switching allegiances to return to his hometown franchise with former captain Ross Haviland as the Brett Angell-coached Bay United knock on the doors of a historic O-League entry.

"I've had a few O-League games and it's a great experience so if Hawke's Bay can get there they have my utmost support and my being there isn't important."

Lovemore, who has scored seven premiership goals this summer, said the Bay franchise was trying hard to make the O-League in the several years he had played for it "so it's about time".

The Finlay Milne-captained team would tomorrow want to clinch three more points to reflect yet another back-to-back stellar season under Angell but should they stumble it is highly unlikely they would lose sleep over it.

More significantly, it'll be interesting to see if Angell and assistant coach Paul Ifill will toy with the idea of risking marquee players such as Zane Sole, Birhanu Taye and Martin Ramos Canales this Sunday or rest them, considering they have collected three yellow cards and another one would put them out of the semifinal.

Sole, in particular, who has a propensity to lift his game with vice-captain Corey Chettleburg in the physicality stakes, will probably just make the last few minutes to keep that match feel going into the semifinals.

Chettleburgh will serve the mandatory match suspension tomorrow for amassing his fourth yellow card last Sunday.

Striker-cum-defender Canales' presence is paramount and so is the injection of media-shy Taye whose prowess Ifill rightly highlighted after a robust performance against Team Wellington.

Picking yellow cards in the semifinal won't matter provided Bay United win because making it to the grand final would be enough to secure an O-League berth as long as Auckland City live up to their favoiurtism.

It would be another opportunity for the likes of benchboy Fabien Kurimati to stake his claim as a deserving starting XI player after two goals from as many games.

While, as Ifill pointed out, Kurimati didn't train well, the stocky Japanese midfielder has the nous to find the goalmouth, if his chested-down/volley goal last Sunday was anything to go by.

Minor premiership winners and defending champions Auckland City will host fourth-placed Canterbury United at Kiwitea Street on Saturday next week.

Semifinal 1: Auckland City v Canterbury Utd, Saturday, March 5, at 4.35pm at Kiwitea Street, Sandringham.

Semifinal 2: Hawke's Bay Utd v Team Wellington, Sunday, March 6, 4.35pm at Park Island, Napier.

Grand final: Thursday, March 10, 7.35pm, venue TBC.

MATCH DETAILS

WHO: Hawke's Bay Utd v Waitakere Utd.

WHEN: Tomorrow, 2pm kick off.

WHERE: Park Island, Napier.

REFEREE: Referee Nick Waldron

AST REFS (1&2): Glen Lochrie, Gareth Sheehan.

FOURTH OFFICIAL: Antony Riley.

HAWKE'S BAY UTD: 1. Joshua Hill (GK), 2. Sean Liddicoat, 3. Kohei Matsumoto, 4. Finlay Milne (c), 5. Harrison Nash, 8. Tom Biss, 9. Ross Wilcox, 10. Zane Sole, 12 Cheauxyan Maukau, 5. Samuel Mason-Smith, 17 Andrew Blake, 18 Martin Ramos Canales, 19. Birhanu Taye, 21. Fabien Kurimata, 23 Paul Ifill, 25 Kyle Baxter (RGK).

Coach: Brett Angell.

Ast coach: Paul Ifill.

WAITAKERE UTD: 1 Danny Robertson (GK), 3. Aaron Scott, 6. Thomas Shaw, 8. Chad Coombes, 10. Ryan Cain, 11. Sean Lovemore, 12. Matthew Greenslade, 15. Nicolai Berry, 16. Marcel Nolde, 17. Jake Butler (c), 19. Dylan Manickum, 20. Sam O'Regan, 22. Alex Gibson (RGK), 24. Elder Franchini Pasten, 26. Jake Porter, 27. Steart Mackay.

Coach: Chris Milicich.