Olympic tipped to overcome United

Impressive as their two-goal win over Palmerston North Marist was last weekend, Trust House Wairarapa United will be the underdogs when they meet Olympic in a Central League football match at Queen Elizabeth Park Oval in Masterton on Sunday.
The simple truth is that an Olympic side which has already beaten Napier City Rovers (4-1) and Petone (3-2) this season are likely to be a class above Marist in all respects.
They have one of the most potent attacks in the Central League series and their skills in that area are complemented by the wealth of experience they have in their defensive unit.
Wairarapa United, on the other hand, are still a work in progress. That they would measure up well to any other Central League side on the basis of sheer potential is undoubted, but their preparation for this season's campaign was hampered by so many of their players being off limits until the last month or so.
Even player-coach Adam Cowan admits they are very probably still a game or two short of being where they would like to be to take on opposition of Olympic's calibre, but at the same time, he is quick to add that doesn't mean they are conceding defeat.
Cowan's confidence in Wairarapa United's ability to pull off an upset was boosted by the win over PNM, more because of the manner of success than the final score.
They went into that match with the clear objective of showing improvement on their first-up display against Lower Hutt City, a game they lost 3-2 after missing a penalty in the dying seconds, and Cowan was happy with the way they responded to that challenge.
"We definitely took a step up and that's what we were looking for," he said. "It wasn't always pretty but the structure was better, we strung a lot more passes together and actually got some continuity into the attack. It was an improvement for sure.".
Cowan wants Wairarapa United to adopt an attacking approach against Olympic and to utilise the advantage he expects them to have in speed by using the full width of the field and constantly changing the direction of play.
"Like any team they will have weaknesses and, quite honestly, I think we are capable of exposing them," he said.
Sunday will see Cowan make his first appearance for Wairarapa United this season after sitting out the opening two games through suspension. Kick-off is at 2pm.