Stop Out desperate to retain status, pride

Wairarapa United are expecting fireworks from Stop Out in the first of the their two central league promotion-relegation soccer matches, to be played at the Pugh Sports Bowl in Masterton tomorrow.
Having finished bottom of the 2008 central league with just two wins from their 18 matches and both of them over the same side, Wellington United Stop Out will be desperate to restore some pride in their camp, and retain their current status in the process.
To guarantee that happening Stop Out will need to score more goals over the two games than Wairarapa United and their decision to concede home advantage in the first of them suggests they are confident of doing so.
Which is hardly surprising if and it is a big if rumours are correct and Stop Out have four or five of New Zealand's Olympic squad in their starting line-up.
That is possible providing they were signed within the allowable time constraints but whether they have actually taken such drastic measures to maintain their central league spot remains to be seen.
Whoever takes the field for Stop Out though they will be used to playing the game at a greater tempo than that generally found in the Capital premier division the competition which Wairarapa United won this season.
Or, for that matter, in the two playoff games against Hastings-based Maycenvale United which followed.
Wairarapa United coach Phil Keinzley agrees that how Wairarapa United cope with having less reaction time both on and off the ball will go a long way towards deciding their fate both tomorrow and next weekend.
"It's all very well talking about the adjustments you need to make but it's doing it out on the field which counts," he said.
"Fitness won't be an issue for us, it's more about being quick and positive in our decision making. They will be in our faces and we can't afford to get rattled and do silly things."
The loss of skipper Pita Rabo through injury, is, of course, a huge blow for Wairarapa United for all sorts of reasons & leadership and goal scoring potential foremost amongst them.
But rather than dwell on the absence of such a key player Keinzley is taking the stance it should bring out the best in his teammates. "Leadership has now become a shared responsibility and everybody has to go up a cog, it's a good test of character, isn't it?"
Tactically Wairarapa United will be attempting to play the same attacking brand of soccer which has been so successful for them through most of the 2008 season.
Vanuatu international Seule Soromon has been a revelation in the striker's role and comes into this game on the back of a stellar second half performance against Maycenvale United last weekend, an effort which Keinzley rated his best in the Wairarapa United colours, and that really is saying something!
No doubt, however, Stop Out will be well aware of the danger posed them by Soromon and it would be no surprise to see them "double team" him, something which a couple of premier division sides did with notable success earlier in the season.
If that is the case then the onus will be on Soromon's fellow striker, 16-year-old Rathkeale College student Kota Maeno, to take some of the pressure off him. He might not yet have the absolute brilliance of Soromon but he has the same unpredictability and flair about his play and the Stop Out defence will ignore him at their peril.
Soccer matches are often said to be "won" in the midfield because the players there not only have to make an impact on attack but also stop the opposition from pushing forward on a regular basis.
Tomorrow will be no different with the Wairarapa United midfield of Sakeo Valevou, Miriek Tvaroh, Paul Gregory and Anton Ross needing to have a major influence on proceedings.
Gregory, especially, will come under the spotlight as he has been given a starting spot ahead of the in-form Aaron Spierling, purportedly because of his attacking skills.
Tvaroh's no-nonsense style of play has made him a somewhat legendary figure on the local scene but he does leave himself open for special "attention" from the opposition as a consequence, and you can bet Stop Out will be intent on testing his discipline under fire.
It is in Wairarapa United's favour that if the midfield does have hassles containing Stop Out in an attacking sense their last line of defence in the form of goalkeeper Matt Borren and fullbacks Carl Shailer, James Oxtoby, Waisake Sabutu and Andy Robertson have been in outstanding form of late. They will need to be on their mettle here though & especially if those rumours we talked about earlier in this article are true!
Kickoff tomorrow is at 2pm and with local league matches concluded and other winters codes winding down a big crowd should be in attendance to cheer Wairarapa United to what could arguably be the most important victory in the club's history.
JUNIOR SOCCER
Four Wairarapa teams will be amongst the 35 Wellington regional sides which will take part in forthcoming tournaments for junior players in the Central and Wellington areas. They are under-13 girls (coach Dennis Tapp), under-17 girls (coach Jacky Nathu), under-12 boys (Chris Symons) and under-13 boys (John Antcliffe)
Director of Capital Soccer, Andy Hedge, says the tournaments should help bridge the gap between grass roots and high performance football and assist with talent identification, both in a playing and coaching sense.
The tourneys are to be held in the school holidays but as a lead-up a series of "friendlies" have been organised with two of the Wairarapa teams engaged in action this Sunday, the 12yrs boys at a mini-tourney at Hullena Park in Masterton and the under-13yrs boys in a similar event at Howard Booth Park in Carterton. Start time in both instances is 11am.