Football
Marquis Wairarapa United's 6-0 victory over Wellington United at Howard Booth Park on Sunday was as comprehensive as the scoreline suggests.
Of equal importance to the final score was the manner in which it was achieved with United playing at pace from the first whistle and never letting their grasp of the game slip.
Wellington United provided mediocre opposition but that should not detract from this performance by the local team who were tight in defence, creative and industrious in midfield and their finishing was emphatic.
Success stemmed from the vital midfield area where Wairarapa, with the likes of non-stop Nathan Cooksley, the recovered George Jermy, lively wide man Dale Higham and the recalled Aaron Spierling, ruled the roost to the extent that the back four of skipper Adam Cowan, Esava Naqeleca, Waisake Sabatu and Carl Shailer were largely reduced to mopping up duties while keeper Matt Borren became a virtual spectator for much of the game.
United also made full use of the wide pitch, often switching play across the park to allow either Higham and fullback Shailer the chance to run at the defence or Seule Soromon and the supporting Cowan to do likewise on the opposite flank. This stretched the Wellington defence and created space for front man Jonatan Almendra and the busy Jermy to exploit, which they did to telling effect.
Wairarapa took an early lead when Almendra opened the scoring from a corner, an advantage they failed to increase despite dominating proceedings and also missing open opportunities.
United had the windy, wet conditions at their back after the break and midway through the second period deservedly increased their lead when Almendra netted his second goal. This was quickly followed by a third, Soromon opening his account for the season when he took on the retreating defence and finished from the edge of the area with a rasping shot which gave Wellington keeper Jamie McKay no chance.
A determined run in to the box then saw Jermy shrug off would-be defenders before netting from close range to make it 4-0.
This rapidly became 5-0 when Soromon scored his second, set up by young promising substitute Arnon Tapp, and the scoring was completed by Higham who created an opening for himself before blasting home from distance.
"We're heading in the right direction but there's still room for improvement. We're 50 per cent towards where we want to be," coach Phil Keinzley said after the game.
Keinzley singled out midfielders Cooksley and Spierling for their "huge" contributions. "They ran their socks off," he said.
But the United camp as a whole will take heart from this performance after two disappointing results in addition to sending a clear message to table-topping Wellington Olympic that United are back in the frame as far as lifting the Central League title this season is concerned.
Meanwhile in Capital 2, Douglas Villa moved to second spot on the table after securing a 3-2 victory over Tawa with Ben Logan and Daniel De Lara Bell finding the net before Tim Woodcock scored the late winner. The game finished 10-a-side after Nathan Cottle was dismissed for Villa along with a Tawa player.
"We dominated the game and would have been disappointed if we hadn't come away with the win but things turned messy and niggly," coach Troy Burling said.
In Capital 3 Wairarapa United seconds thumped Marist 6-1 away to move to the top of their division on goal difference from White Swan Greytown who recorded a 4-3 victory over Petone. Victoria University took the spoils over Gardner Electrical Masterton with a narrow 2-1 win.