Marquis Wairarapa United will be at short odds to maintain their four-point buffer at the top of the Central League football table when they play Maycenvale United at Hastings on Sunday.
The fortunes of the two sides so far this season couldn't be more different with Wairarapa United having achieved five wins and one draw from their six matches and Maycenvale United yet to break their "duck".
And while Wairarapa United have netted 15 goals and conceded just five, Maycenvale United have only two goals to show for their efforts while conceding 21. There are, however, two danger signs for Wairarapa United, one that recent history shows they have often struggled to put away teams they should beat easily and, two, Maycenvale United have apparently picked up a couple of handy recruits whose transfers could be through in time to enable them to take the field on Sunday.
Wairarapa United coach Phil Keinzley has been doing his best to ensure complacency is not an issue. He has continued to demand high standards at training and has been delighted with the enthusiasm being shown by his players there.
"When you have the depth we have no player can feel really comfortable about his starting spot and that tends to give an extra edge to the way they prepare," Keinzley said.
Rigid rules set by their coach over team disciplines is also helping to keep the players' minds on the job, the late decision to start with star striker Seule Soromon and newcomers Tim Schaeffers and Darren Cheriton on the bench against Wellington last weekend being made because they had missed one of the two training sessions leading into that game.
Keinzley admits rules like that could come back to "bite him on the bum" as the season progresses but he is willing to take the risk as a means of demonstrating to squad members the importance of being totally committed to the team cause.
That the electric Soromon will return to the starting line-up on Sunday seems assured and it wouldn't surprise if both Schaeffers and Cheriton were there as well. They both looked in good touch during the second half of last weekend's match with Wellington United, especially, impressing with his astute positional play and accurate distribution skills. His chances of a start have been further enhanced by the unavailability of skipper Nathan Cooksley. The absence of Cooksley, means Adam Cowan takes over the captaincy and he is a proven performer in that role, having led Wairarapa United to their Chatham Cup grand final success last year.
In Capital football competition matches Douglas Villa play Seatoun at the Park Sportsground in Masterton, starting at 2.30pm, Gardner Electrical Masterton take on Waterside-Karori at Hullena Park, also starting at 2.30pm, and Wairarapa United seconds travel to play Island Bay United at Wakefield Park.