Soccer: Welcome wins for Waikato and Wellington

Team Wellington's Michael Eager. Photo / Richard Robinson

Waikato FC and Team Wellington reversed recent ASB Premiership form to bank welcome victories in the White Ribbon Cup on Saturday.

Hosting Hawke's Bay United at Taupo's Crown Park, Waikato earned a 2-0 win thanks to first-half goals from Tyler Lissette and Jason Hicks, while a first-half hat-trick from Junior All White Dakota Lucas led Wellington to a 3-0 win over Canterbury United in the capital.

Without a point in the ASB Premiership after four straight losses, Waikato FC's victory in the new competition is a timely confidence boost for Declan Edge's young team.

"We're very happy with the win and also with the way we achieved it," Edge said. "We didn't make any compromises to the style of football we're trying to play.

"Our oldest starting player was 21 and, although people say we're too young to play at this level, we've just beaten a very good Hawke's Bay side - a team that just two weeks ago beat Canterbury 3-0."

Lissette met Adam Thomas' back-post cross with a firm header to open the scoring from a well-worked short corner in the 17th minute and Hicks doubled the lead in the 29th minute after Ryan Thomas set the midfielder through on goal with an incisive through-ball.

In the southern conference, Wellington bounced back from last week's 1-0 ASB Premiership defeat to Canterbury to regain valuable winning momentum ahead of a next week's visit from Waitakere in the league.

Lucas stuck first with a ninth minute header, then again in the 20th minute from an angled ball from Jamie Duncan before wrapping up his hat-trick with a fine solo effort that saw him elude two would-be tacklers down the centre of the pitch and beating the keeper one-on-one.

The White Ribbon Cup was introduced to give ASB Premiership clubs competitive matches during O-League windows.

The next round will be played on February 19 but the ASB Premiership resumes next Sunday with a Southern derby between Otago United and Canterbury United in Dunedin, a bottom-of-the-table clash between YoungHeart Manawatu and Waikato FC in Palmerston North, and Team Wellington hosting Waitakere United.

The other round five fixture between Hawke's Bay United and Auckland City has been postponed to Waitangi Day with Auckland competing at the Club World Cup next week.