Must win play-off match

Stuart Wyeth should make his presence felt for Opaki. PHOTO/FILE

MARTINBOROUGH and Masterton will face off in a virtual elimination playoff match in the penultimate round of Wairarapa Tennis regional one interclub tomorrow.

Occupying the bottom two spots on the table both these teams have shown potential, but a lack of consistency and personnel have proved to be their Achilles heel throughout the season. They are now in the precarious position of having to win their remaining two matches to have a chance of qualifying in third place, and also need to rely on other results going in their favour.

Despite the fact they sit four points behind Masterton, Martinborough look the more likely team to make a late run for a semifinal berth.

Both their final two fixtures are at home and, if they manage to get over the top of the Masterton challenge, they get to face third-placed Opaki the following week.

Masterton, on the other hand, will be looking to win and win well against Martinborough, as their final pool match is against the much vaunted Carterton side who have been taking no prisoners of late.

Martinborough are entitled to start as narrow favourites. While Masterton tipped over second-placed Gladstone in their previous encounter and Martinbrough came up empty against Carterton, the southerners were highly competitive and gave the impression they are close to putting a strong performance on the court.

Heading the charge for Martinborough will be Andy Darling and Rhona Lovell, and if these two get into full flight then the home side will be hard to stop.

On the flip-side Masterton have some firepower of their own and they will be banking on the likes of Chad Parson and Ben Wilkinson to get the job done.

The result of this encounter could all be moot if Opaki are able to inflict a defeat on Gladstone in the other fixture being played at Opaki, and there seems a fair chance that result may eventuate.

Though Gladstone sit second on the ladder and comfortably accounted for Opaki in their previous encounter, there has been a lot of water pass under the bridge since then.

Opaki have subsequently chalked up consecutive victories, including a strong win over Carterton, whereas Gladstone are in something of a funk, losing to Masterton last week and being thrashed by Carterton before that.

All things being even, Opaki and Gladstone are destined to meet each other again in the elimination semifinal and so there is a golden opportunity here to open up some psychological wounds.

It is well documented that Opaki's strength comes from the depth of their men, where the likes of Stuart Wyeth and Duncan Oakley can make their presence felt.

The visitors meanwhile, are ably led by Kelby Courtney, who will need to win both his games, but it will be the players beneath him that will determine the outcome of this fixture.

Gladstone have also been struggling to front up with a woman for their matches since the departure of Sophie Fitzgerald, and that may ultimately come back to haunt them unless they can find a suitable replacement.

The regional two competition has become a duel between Masterton 1 and Opaki 2, and given there is no final in this division, both teams will be looking to rack up big victories in their respective fixtures.

At the head of the table are Masterton 1 and, while they won't have things all their own way, they should be too tough for Martinborough.

Opaki 2 should have a more straightforward assignment against Rathkeale .

In other matches Carterton Gladstone and Opaki 1 should fight out a ding-dong battle while the newly-formed Greytown team might just have the measure of Masterton 2.