United go for winning side in crucial clash

Anderson Meats Wairarapa United will field an unchanged starting line-up from that which took the field against North Wellington last weekend, when they play competition favourites Island Bay in a crucial Capital Soccer premier division men's soccer match at Island Bay on Saturday.
But while coach Phil Keinzley is staying loyal to his players, he warns the level of performance which produced a 3-0 win over North Wellington, will need to be lifted several notches if they are to beat an Island Bay team which kicked off their 2006 campaign with a 3-0 victory over Upper Hutt.
In fact so strong is Island Bay, Keinzley concedes that although his team will be looking to take maximum points, he would be happy to come away with a draw.
"They (Island Bay) will give us a good indication of what is required to be competitive in this particular league," Keinzley said. "If we can get a win over them, or even go close to it, it'll be a big boost to the team."
So impressed was Keinzley with his team's first half effort against North Wellington he was moved to describe it as the best soccer he had seen from a Wairarapa United side, and he believes they will need to reach that standard over the whole match to extend Island Bay.
"In games like this 45 minutes of quality soccer won't be enough to produce a win," he said. "Island Bay will soak up a lot more pressure than Norths did, and goals will be harder to come by."
Keinzley knows too that Island Bay will test Wairarapa United's fitness levels, and he admits his side are not exactly up to scratch there yet.
"Match fitness is the problem?.being able run and think at the same time," he said. "Quite frankly we are probably three weeks away from being from where we need to be in that regard."
Keinzley said individual players who were not prepared to work hard on their fitness could expect little sympathy when it came to team selections.
The decision to drop Fijian Lai Gataurua out of the squad to meet North Wellington was a case in point, with Gataurua being stood down in favour of dual goal scorer Stanley Waita when his fitness standards were found wanting.
"It's nice to have the depth of talent in the squad to make examples of players who haven't done the hard yards," Keinzley said. "We'll be doing no favours in that respect, none at all."
Setting the standards fitness-wise for Wairarapa United in the North Wellington game were a newcomer to the team in James Oxtoby and the "baby" of the side, Aaron Spierling, both of whom covered huge amounts of territory on both attack and defence.
A feature of the starting line-up for last Saturday's game, and again for that of this weekend, is that Wairarapa United will field four current internationals??..surely a record for any sporting team from this area.
Petero Dauniseka and Pita Rabo play for Fiji, Tony Jamieson for the Cook Islands and Stanley Waita for ther Solomon Islands.
The full starting line-up is:Tony Jamieson, Petero Dauniseka, Andy Robertson, Guiseppe Cagiliari, Carl Shailer, Murray Burling, James Oxtoby, Aaron Spierling, Troy Burling, Pita Rabo, Stanley Waita.
Results from first round games: Petone 2, Brooklyn Northern United 0; Island Bay 3, Upper Hutt 0; Wairarapa United 3, North Wellington 0; Tawa 3, Marist 1; Western Suburns 5, Waterside Karori 1 (Waterside-Karori had two players sent off).
Wairarapa United seconds kicked off their 2006 Capital third division programme with a 3-0 win over North Wellington.
Other results were: Lower Hutt Ancient Ones 1, Wellington United Dreamers 0; Western Suburbs 2, Island Bay 0; Petone Armanis 4, Kapiti Coast United 1; Tawa 1, Waterside Wanderers 0.