Wairarapa staunch in defence and attack

NEW HEIGHTS: Wairarapa's Nathan Cooksley puts head to ball. PHOTOS/CHRIS KILFORD

It's three from three for Keinzley Agvet Wairarapa United in the Central League football competition.

And their latest victory, a 2-0 beating of Petone at Queen Elizabeth Park oval in Masterton on Saturday, was their best performance yet.

Petone are a more-than-useful side with enough sting in their front runners to trouble the tightest of defensive structures, but the closest they got to scoring here was having one second half attack end with the shot rebounding off the crossbar.

That spoke volumes for both the organisation and tenacity of the Wairarapa United defence - led by lanky fullback Sam O'Regan, whose assertiveness in the tackle often saw him either turn over possession, or at the very least stop the momentum of the attack.

Nathan Cooksley was also rock solid in a defensive sense and there was a lot to like about the energy displayed by promising youngster Tommy Hemi as well.

Pleasing too for Wairarapa United was the speed and accuracy with which the ball was transferred from the midfield to the forward line.

The fluidity in their attacking play was a marked improvement on what had been shown in their previous two games and while they only had two goals to show for their efforts the number of near misses might well have run into double figures.

The goal scorers for Wairarapa United were Sam Mason-Smith and Paul Ifill and they were two of their most dangerous attackers - Mason-Smith through his high work rate and confrontational approach, and Ifill with his silky ball skills and uncanny ability to create something out of nothing.

Cory Chettleburgh and Fidell Richards were always willing to do the hard yards in midfield, and the "baby" of the side, Liam Hare, lost nothing alongside his more experienced teammates.

In other Central League matches played on Saturday, Napier City Rovers maintained their unbeaten run with a 4-1 defeat of Lower Hutt City, Stop Out beat Tawa 1-0, Palmerston North Marist upset Miramar Rangers 2-1 and Wellington Olympic beat Wests 2-0.

Wairarapa United and Napier City Rovers now share the competition lead with the maximum 9pts.

Then come Wests, Wellington Olympic and Palmerston North Marist with 6, and Petone, Stop Out and Lower Hutt City with 3.

Remarkably, defending champions Miramar Rangers have still to open their account, as are Tawa.

Douglas Villa drew 3-3 with Wainuiomata in their Capital second division match on Saturday while Wairarapa United seconds team scored a 4-1 win over Wests Wanderers in their third division fixture. Property Law Services Masterton went down 3-2 to Brooklyn Northern United in a fourth division encounter.