Robson tears it up

Nik Robson was a constant threat as he tipped in four goals against struggling Southern United. PHOTO / ANDREW WARNER

Familiarity between players and coaches is breeding anything but contempt in a WaiBOP United side finding its feet towards the back end of the ASB Premiership.

The side is on a two-game tear with two regular season matches remaining and is finally starting to see some reward for the endeavour shown all season.

Last round's 6-1 hiding of Southern in Dunedin was easily the most promising sign yet, building from the previous round's 3-1 home win against fellow strugglers Wanderers SC.

Southern's defence had been porous all year and so it proved again as Nik Robson had himself a day.

The midfielder slotted home four times and would have had another if Southern keeper Tom Batty had not pulled off a penalty save after quarter of an hour.

Sam Messam and Liam Higgins also hit the target for WaiBOP, while Daniel Morris managed Southern's solitary strike in the dying moments.

Coach Peter Smith said the side was on track to hit the goals it set itself with four games left go in an otherwise frustrating system.

"It's clearly coming together, a few players have come in and a few have gone, but the culture in the last three or four weeks has been spot on," Smith said.

"The league is very close and we've struggled with letting in soft goals. We lost 3-2 to Hawke's Bay, 1-0 to Canterbury and 3-2 to Wellington.

"If you're not conceding goals you're not losing matches."

Saturday's away game against sixth-place defending champions Waitakere United provides another opportunity for Smith's men to continue expressing a genuinely attractive brand of football.

The Waikato/Bay of Plenty venture is unlikely to overtake the traditional Auckland powerhouse on the ladder in the final fortnight given the disparity between the two sides' goal differentials, essentially making a sixth-placed league finish a certainty.

ASB Premiership standings:

Auckland City FC 27, Hawke's Bay United 23, Canterbury United 22, Team Wellington 20, Waitakere United 19, WaiBOP United 13, Southern United 7, Wanderers SC 5.