Football: Will Ifill be starter against Dragons?

INSTANT IMPACT: Paul Ifill. PHOTO/NZME.

It may not make the young bucks in the Hawke's Bay United stable particularly happy but it's just a matter of time when veteran Paul Ifill will become a permanent fixture in the engine room of their campaign.

It remains to be seen if coach Brett Angell will start his newly appointed player/assistant coach when they kick off against Canterbury United in Christchurch at 1pm tomorrow.

The 36-year-old Englishman, who played for the Wellington Phoenix in the A-League for a few seasons before retiring to run an academy and coach in Wairarapa, made his debut last Sunday in the 2-2 stalemate against Team Wellington in Napier when the ASB Premiership resumed after the Christmas break.

The Finlay Milne-captained Bay side were disappointed not to come way with three points after leading 2-1 at one stage although their first goal was controversial after video footage revealed goal scorer Sean Liddicoat was deemed to be offside.

However, the fourth-placed Bay United must push for a victory at Football Park tomorrow because they are sitting three points adrift of the Dragons in second place on the premiership table.

Compounding the visitors' problems will be their inability to be clinical at the goalmouth in the final third.

The Willy Gerdsen-coached Canterbury United have secured the services of Beefeater Julyan Collett to bolster their defensive line.

The hosts boast conceding only eight goals from seven outings this summer, second only to premiership leaders and O-League highfliers Auckland City.

It is a profound reversal for the Dragons, who leaked 32 goals from 16 matches last season.

The likes of Hamish Watson and Sam Mason-Smith at the coal face will need to be at their best against an outfit that take pride in putting up the shutters.

Bay United, who were last season's losing grand finalists, also need to put more crosses on attack.

It is something wing defender Kohei Matsumoto excels in but Ifill's impact off the bench in the last 10 minutes in the engine room against Wellington showed how Bay United can become more lethal.