We’re back at John Kerkhof Park, Cambridge, this Saturday for our penultimate home league game of the 2014/15 ASB Premiership when we host the Wellington Phoenix.
Clearly, we’re hoping we can extend our season for a few more weeks by making the play-offs. If we’re to do that, however, we must pick up three points this Saturday.
WaiBOP United head coach, Peter Smith, said it’s obvious what the task ahead is. “We have to win this one and probably the next two games as well. But fail to get three points against the Phoenix and we’re probably out of second chances,” he explained. “The same goes for them as well, so I think we’re in for a cracker. Hopefully the fans are ready for it!”
But Smith and his players are not shying away from the challenge. “These are the type of games good players want to play in and good coaches want to prepare their teams for,” he said. “I’ll be asking the lads to remember all the work they’ve put in over the course of the season, the sacrifices they’ve made, the crowd support they’ve had and to leave everything out on the field today. That’s the only way we’ll get what we need.”
Results are the critical measuring stick at this stage of the season. “The defeat at Waitakere United last Saturday was a difficult one to stomach,” he said. “As much as the performance was good it’s all about winning games now. That’s what we need to be about on Saturday.”
We won our only previous encounter against the Phoenix – a 2-0 victory at Eden Park in front of the Sky Sport cameras in mid-December.
The match kicks off at 3pm on Saturday at John Kerkhof Park, Cambridge.
