SOCCER: Team on up but still a year from elite play

HAMISH BIDWELL
WAITAKERE United 1, Hawke's Bay United 0.
That's about all you really need to know about Saturday's New Zealand Football Championship match at Bluewater Stadium. From the score you can deduce that it was a tight game and, given that the winners sit second and Hawke's Bay fourth on the ladder, that the right team won.
Hawke's Bay huffed and puffed at times but never really mustered enough to blow Waitakere's house down.
That's a shame, because it would have been nice if they'd gotten some points out of the match, but they just weren't good enough.
The closest they came was in the 82nd minute, when Graham Fyfe played an exquisite ball into Chris McIvor's path. He put in a nice cross across Waitakere's goalmouth, which Jonathan Taylor seemed certain to put into the back of the net.
At the crucial moment the Invisible Man tied Taylor's legs together and he wasn't able to provide the killer touch.
We've said all along that Hawke's Bay are a much-improved team in the 2007-08 season and, at times, a good team. They're just still a year or so away from joining Waitakere, Auckland City and Team Wellington as an elite team.
A number of people in the Hawke's Bay camp were talking up Saturday's performance, particularly in the second half, and good on them. It's just that sport is about results and Hawke's Bay didn't get one.
``I thought we were worth a draw today,' coach Jonathan Gould said.
``We set up slightly differently, but were still very positive and created some chances _ maybe three chances _ at the end which I'd like to think would've given us a deserved draw.'
If you were there, you probably wouldn't argue with that. Hawke's Bay probably were worth a draw; sadly being worthy of things and actually getting them aren't the same thing.
George Clooney may feel worthy of an Academy Award for best actor today, but who'll care if Daniel Day-Lewis is the one on the stage giving the acceptance speech?
Despite fluffing his lines in front of goal, Taylor was again Hawke's Bay's best player. Equally, striker Commins Menapi, who scored the decisive goal in the 36th minute, was probably Waitakere's best and his battle with Taylor was one of the highlights of the match.
As was that between Benjamin Totori and Ian Hogg. That Totori was subbed with 14 minutes remaining tells you who won that bout. It was also nice to see Jimmy Cudd get half an hour to strut his stuff. With Hawke's Bay battling to unlock opposition defences, it would be good to see him start against Auckland City at home on Sunday.