Wairarapa United have scored a major coup by signing Waitakere national football championship goalkeeper Richard Gillespie for their Central League match with Palmerston North Marist at the Pugh Sports Bowl in Masterton on Sunday. Gillespie, 28, is rated as one of the top five 'keepers in the country and was partof the Waitakere squad which represented New Zealand in the Oceania club finals earlier this year. Another feather in his cap was his winning of the Chatham Cup in 2007 as a member of the Central United side which beat Western Suburbs in a dramatic game which required 120 minutes and no less than 20 spot kicks to separate them. Gillespie, who lives in Hawke's Bay, has been playing rugby this winter as a break from his busy football schedule but he was happy to take up the offer to play for Wairarapa United when contacted by their coach Phil Keinzley. "Getting a player of Richard's skill and experience is huge. We are absolutely delighted to have him on board," Keinzley said. The search for a goalkeeper for Sunday's match was prompted by the red card given Sacha Nathu in Wairarapa United's most recent Central League fixture with Napier City Rovers in Napier. It meant Nathu missing the Chatham Cup knockout match with Waterside-Karori last Saturday as well as the Central League game with Palmerston North Marist this weekend, and Keinzley was immediately on the lookout for a suitable replacement.
