Soromon to miss out on All Whites encounter

Trust House Wairarapa United football coach Phil Keinzley is ''absolutely gutted'' at having to ask his star striker Seule Soromon to turn down an invitation to play for a New Zealand All Stars team against the All Whites in Auckland on Sunday, May 9.
Soromon was one of two Wairarapa United players named in the All Stars line-up, the other being midfielder Adam Cowan, but while Keinzley is happy for Cowan to appear in what is the first of a series of warm-up games for the All Whites before their World Cup sojourn, Soromon is a different story.
Rather, he will be required to take the field for an injury-hit Wairarapa United in their Central League fixture with Western Suburbs on May 8, the same day the All Stars will hold a training session for their players.
Keinzley agreed it was not a good look to release one of his players for the Auckland game and not the other, but it was simply a case of Wairarapa United having adequate cover for Cowan but not for Soromon.
''Unfortunately we have limited resources up front where Seule plays and the recent spate of injuries have made it even worse,'' Keinzley said, adding Wairarapa United had requested Capital Football defer their match with Western Suburbs so both Soromon and Cowan could head north, but they had been refused.
''We asked for a deferral and got a flat no,'' he said. ''You might have thought they would make an exception in this case but they won't. It's absolutely gutting to tell Seule he has to stay home, but there's no way out.''
Wairarapa United's premier side have never beaten Western Suburbs, but Keinzley is adamant they will need to do so in their May 8 match if they are to remain in serious contention for this season's Central League title.
Losses in their first three games had Wairarapa United at the bottom of the points table, but they have won their last two matches and with other results going their way they are now just six points _ or two wins _ off the competition pacesetters.
A further win for Wairarapa United seems likely this coming weekend when they travel to New Plymouth to play cellar-dwellers Taranaki (although that is no stone-cold certainty) and maximum points against Western Suburbs would obviously keep them on a roll.
''They [Wests] are a very useful side and they make a habit of producing their best form against us,'' Keinzley said. ''The result of that one could be season-defining and we need Seule there.''
On the injury front Wairarapa United have a long list of walking wounded ... Miriek Tvaroh, James Oxtoby, Sakeo Valevou, Aaron Spierling, Carl Shailer and George Barbarouses.
As of yesterday, Keinzley wasn't sure how many of them would front up against Taranaki, but he said those struggling would be rested with a view to having them fit to play against Western Suburbs. It's a game for which the in-form Ian Sandbrook has already made himself unavailable because of a prior commitment.