Wairarapa United are taking a "must win" stance into their Capital Soccer premier division match with Brooklyn Northern United at the Pugh Sportsbowl in Masterton tomorrow. Lying fifth on the competition table, just four points adrift of unbeaten leaders Petone, Wairarapa United need to beat cellar dwellers BNU if theyare to stay within striking distance of the pacemakers, and so risk taking is not on their agenda. Manager Phil Keinzley says the message to his side won't centre on disposing off BNU by a large winning margin but will stress the importance of victory, no matter what the final scoreline. "Obviously it would be nice to win by three or four goals but we won't be going out there with that in mind," he said. "If we play well and win by just one we'll be happy." Keinzley sees BNU offering a sterner challenge than their form would suggest. They started the season slowly but showed sharp improvement in a 4-2 defeat by Lower Hutt City last weekend. And, what's more, they would be coming to Masterton with an "everything to gain, nothing to lose" philosophy. "There are no weak teams in this league so just because they are bottom of the table doesn't make them easy beats," Keinzley said of BNU. "In fact, it probably makes them more dangerous as far as we are concerned." With BNU likely to throw caution to the wind questions will be asked of the Wairarapa United defence which has not been as tight as management would like in recent games. Keinzley says the onus on the defence will be to concentrate on their own jobs and only get involved in attacking forays when the chances of BNU launching a counter attack were slim at best. "We've been leaving holes at the back because our defence has been a little too enthusiastic to push forward and that's something we need to curb," he said. The current premier division points table is: Petone 14, Waterside-Karori 13, Tawa 13, Island Bay United 13, Wairarapa United 10, Kapiti Coast United 7, Lower Hutt City 7, Western Suburbs 4, Upper Hutt City 4, Brooklyn Northern United 0.
