Hawke's Bay United's winning start to the Sterling Sports national soccer premiership is set in stone after New Zealand Football's dismissal of a protest over player eligibility.
The protest was lodged by Auckland side and former champions Waitakere United who were beaten 3-1 by HBU at Bluewater Stadium in Napier on Sunday.
Waitakere claimed HBU fielded nine foreign players, one more than allowed by the regulations, and that one of them - starting right wing Matsumoto Kohei, from Japan - had not been on the squad list submitted to New Zealand Football beforehand.
But HBU, beaten semifinalists last season and out to win the competition for the first time, knew they had little to worry about, and they were advised yesterday by NZ Football's head of competitions Daniel Farrow that the protest had been turned down.
Franchise general manager operations Shane McKenzie said that among the nine challenged by Waitakere, Scots national Ross Willox was eligible because he held New Zealand citizenship, and HBU had clear proof that Kohei had been on a squad list provided to Football New Zealand on October 20.