Wairarapa United are taking a "must win" approach into their Capital Soccer premier division men's soccer match with Waterside-Karori in Wellington on Sunday. Their disappointing 3-0 loss to Petone last weekend dropped Wairarapa United from first to third on the competition table and they need to bounce back to winning formto stay in touch with the leaders. Not only that, Waterside-Karori are just one spot behind them and would leapfrog them should they prevail in Sunday's encounter. Wairarapa United coach Phil Keinzley is well aware of the calibre of a Waterside-Karori side, whose only loss this season came after they had two players sent from the field in their opening game against Western Suburbs. "They are a very good unit and we will have play right to our potential to beat them," Keinzley said. Wairarapa United will go into the match minus two of their latest recruits, Stanley Waita and James Oxtoby. Waita has a hamstring strain which will sideline him for at least two weeks, and in the interim he is returning to the Solomon Islands to be with his family who have been experiencing problems through the civil unrest there. Oxtoby was sent off against Petone for repeated tackling infringements, and received a one week suspension as a consequence. As it happened he probably wouldn't have been part of Sunday's line-up anyway as a hand injury is still troubling him. In line to replace Waita up front are Fijian internationals Sakeo Valevou and Lai Gataurua, both of whom have been performing well for the Wairarapa United seconds, and the decision on who gets the nod was to be made at training last night. Oxtoby's absence will see Guiseppe Cagliari moved from fullback to the midfield, and he will be replaced in the fullback role by the experienced Robbie Bull. Keinzley is keen for Wairarapa United to change their tactical approach on Sunday, with the emphasis returning to the adopting of a patient build-up to their attacking moves and the tightening of their defence. "In the last couple of games we've probably relied too much on individual skill rather than teamwork on attack, and we need to get back to the where teamwork comes first," he said. "And we've been struggling with communication on defence and we need to get that right too."
