United eager to fix one that got away

Wairarapa United will have revenge on their minds when they play Palmerston North Marist in a central league football match at Palmerston North on Sunday.
Memories of their 2-0 loss to PNM in their first match of the season still haunt the Wairarapa United camp for, despite being well below strength on that occasion, they should have come away with a positive result.
However, a mix of poor finishing up front and shoddy defence conspired against them and they basically ''gifted'' their opposition a valuable three competition points. Since then, PNM and Wairarapa United have progressed to the stage where they sit third and fourth respectively on the competition table with just two points separating them.
Which means that if Wairarapa United win on Sunday, they will move into a clear third position, a situation made even better by having a game in hand through their first-round encounter with Western Suburbs being deferred.
It is no surprise that Wairarapa United coach Phil Keinzley has named an unchanged starting line-up from that which took the field against Petone last weekend.
So impressive were Wairarapa United in their commanding 6-1 win over Petone at Hullena Park that Keinzley was moved to say it was the best all-round performance from any Wairarapa United team he had coached, men or women. High praise indeed.
Sport, of course, is littered with instances of a team hitting the high spots one week and dropping their standards alarmingly the next _ the Blues Super 14 rugby side have made an absolute habit of it _ but Keinzley expressed confidence yesterday that his side wouldn't fall into that trap.
''Obviously, you are aware of the dangers of that happening but, quite honestly, we have had enough ordinary games this season to know what can happen when you let your guard down,'' he said.
Tactically, Wairarapa United will aim to impose the same tactics on PNM as they did on Petone, which means using the full width of the field and constantly changing the direction of play with the idea of opening up the defence.
Keinzley is expecting a much stronger defensive effort from PNM, though, as they place the emphasis on that part of their game, so much so that the bulk of their goals tend to come from quick counter attacks or breakaways. ''We might only get a couple of prime scoring chances and it's vital we take them,'' he said.
The two Wairarapa teams contesting Capital inter-club competitions had impressive wins last weekend, Douglas Villa upsetting top side Island Bay 4-0 in their third-division encounter and Wairarapa United seconds thumping Stokes Valley 9-2 in the fourth division. Douglas Villa take on Petone at Petone tomorrow and, with both teams fifth equal on the points table, a battle royal seems assured.
Wairarapa United seconds will also play at Petone. They are seventh on the table and tomorrow's opponents, Petone Artmanis, are third, nine points in front of them. So well did United perform last weekend, however, that a surprise win is anything but mission impossible.