Petone diminish Wairarapa United league hopes

Football

Wairarapa United's chances of winning their first Central League title in 2013 took an absolute nosedive when they were beaten 3-1 by Petone at Petone on Saturday.

Going into the match on the back of impressive wins over table-toppers Wellington Olympic and Miramar Rangers over Queen's Birthday Weekend and desperately needing another victory to have any real prospect of overhauling those two in the weeks ahead, Wairarapa United were completely outgunned by a Petone side playing with far greater purpose and assurance.

In fact, Wairarapa United coach Phil Keinzley readily conceded the final score probably did an injustice to Petone such was their dominance in virtually all areas of the game.

"They played well and we were abysmal, that's about it," Keinzley said. "We had talked a lot about not being complacent but the message obviously didn't get through. There was just no intensity there at all, we were that bad it was embarrassing."

What frustrated Keinzley most was the lack of teamwork, something which had been such a strong point against Olympic and Miramar Rangers.

"There was too much individualism, too many guys were acting like prima donnas," he said. "We hardly got a decent attack going all game. There was no continuity there at all."

What made the loss harder to take for Keinzley was that Olympic and Miramar Rangers fought out a 3-3 draw in their encounter, just the result Wairarapa United were hoping for, providing they picked up the maximum three points themselves.

"We should have gained a couple of points on them, instead we are further behind by one," he said. "I know there are still nine games to go but, honestly, it's hard to see us making up the lost ground now."

Only Wairarapa United players to get plus marks for their performances on Saturday were Carl Shailer and George Jermy both of whom had high workrates.

The Central League points table after Saturday is: Wellington Olympic 22, Miramar Rangers 21, Wairarapa United 14, Western Suburbs 14, Upper Hutt City 14, Petone 13, Lower Hutt City 11, Napier City Rovers 10, Wellington United 4 and Tawa 1.

There was success for Wairarapa teams in Capital Football competitions, Douglas Villa beating Stop Out 3-2 in the second division and White Swan Greytown beating Marist 2-1 in their third division fixture.