Wairarapa United will only need to remember back to last season to make complacency a non-issue in their Capital division one men's soccer match with Kapiti Coast at Howard Booth Park, Carterton tomorrow.
They were dealt a 6-0 thumping by Kapiti Coast on that occasion and while they have improved markedly
since then victory this time round is by no means guaranteed.
"They (Kapiti Coast) are a dangerous side and we simply can't afford to take them for granted," Wairarapa United coach Phil Keinzley said. "If we slacken off at all they'll take us to the cleaners."
Wairarapa United will be without two of their star players tomorrow.Striker Sakeo Valevou was ordered off in his team's 6-2 Chatham Cup loss to Napier City Rovers last Sunday and while his penalty was not known at the time these notes were penned he will certainly be suspended for one game, and possibly two.
And captain Murray Burling has a leg injury which could see him sidelined for the next fortnight as well.
Talented as Valevou is his absence should be adequately covered by the recruitment of Featherston's Mirack Tvaroh, himself a player of considerable skill, but Burling's communication and organisational abilities will be missed.
"He (Burling) does a lot of work in that respect and now it's up to other players to fill that role," Keinzley said, adding that goalkeeper Charles Kendall and fullback Paul Watkinson would be expected to be amongst them. "They are ideally positioned to see what is happening in front of them and it's up to them to let their team-mates know.".
Reflecting on the Napier City Rovers match, Keinley said a number of the goals Wairarapa United conceded were caused through tentative marking in midfield and he believes Kapiti Coast could benefit in similar fashion if those problems were not rectified.
"We need to be more positive in our tackling, we have to get right in their faces," he said.
