In previous seasons, Lovemore, 22, could have been able to rub the victory in a bit more to his former teammates on a flight to Auckland, as he commuted to and from the Bay to play for Hawke's Bay, but he made a permanent move to the Bay back in September. He scored his first goal in the 10th minute in what was the hosts' first shot on goal, to tie the score at 1-all after classy Waitakere striker Nathaniel Brown opened the scoring two minutes earlier after the hosts conceded a soft turnover.
Lovemore's second goal in the 49th minute was a cracker. It came two minutes after he returned to the field from having a dead calf dealt to by physio Alex Gairdner and an intercept of a pass. Apart from the missed penalty, Lovemore can be proud of his work up front. Just as important was his hustle on defence, something he lacked during his early seasons on the Bay.
The hosts extended their lead when left midfielder Alex Palezevic scored in the 62nd minute from a parry from Waitakere United keeper and captain Danny Robinson, after a strike from left winger Viktor Lekaj. Waitakere had the final say when Bowen scored another soft goal in the 72nd minute.
Equally as big as Lovemore's grin was the one regular Hawke's Bay United assistant coach Leon Birnie was sporting after the final whistle. He had the head coach role yesterday, as regular boss Brett Angell was serving a suspension after being sent to the grandstand at the previous home game for being too heavy with his questioning of officials' decisions.
"That keeps our playoff hopes alive. If we had lost, we would have been relying on other results ... now we're controlling our own destiny," Birnie said.
At the same time Birnie agreed the hosts' victory could have been more convincing considering they had 17 shots on goal, seven more than the visitors.
"One day we are going to beat a team by four or five goals, when we capitalise on all our chances," he added.
Reducing their soft turnovers count and increasing their completions of promising scoring opportunities will see Hawke's Bay United remain in the top three. There is enough talent on the roster to achieve this and the ribbing Lovemore was receiving post-match suggests there is a good vibe within the camp.
Captain and centreback Ross Haviland marshalled his defence well but there were occasions when he and his fellow defenders should have cleared faster. Centre midfielder Mario Barcia was again classy.
Tom Biss and David Mulligan had their freedom well restricted by the hosts' defence. Mulligan was marched in stoppage time for a studs-up challenge on Barcia.
Robinson agreed his team's performance was disappointing.
"Unfortunately, the way that it all unfolded, we didn't perform well enough to get all three points," he said.
Other games at the weekend saw Wellington Phoenix beat Southern United 6-2 in the capital on Saturday, Auckland City beat Team Wellington 3-0 at Kiwitea Street, and Wanderers beat Canterbury United 4-1 in Christchurch yesterday.
Scorers: Hawke's Bay United 3 (Sean Lovemore 10th, 49th, Alex Palezevic 62nd), Waitakere United 2 (Nathaniel Brown 8th, 72nd). HT: 1-all.
