Hawkes Bay will provide both a physical and mental challenge to Otago United when the sides meet in an ASB Premiership match at Tahuna Park tomorrow.
Under new management since former coach Matt Chandler left, the Bay shocked pundits last week with an old-fashioned battling performance that left the ambitious Canterbury side in tatters, nursing a 3-0 defeat.
Until then, the high-flying Cantabrians had scored nine goals in two matches and were confident of doing well.
But hard-nosed Hawkes Bay defender Bill Robertson set the pace in a successful confrontation, and new coach Chris Greatholder will want a repeat in his Dunedin debut.
Last year the fixture was a feisty 0-0 draw but, historically, Hawkes Bay has dominated.
Regular Otago coach Richard Murray will be absent, looking after an Otago under-15 side in Singapore with assistant Aaron Burgess, so it will be an important step up for Andy Duncan in the noon kick-off at Tahuna Park.
Duncan is an experienced coach and, after a week off due to the league's stop-start fixture list, the United squad is rested and has no major injuries.
Yet actual match fitness can suffer from stop-start fixtures. Otago has another gap on December 4 before its next match against Canterbury on December 11.
Duncan's side must focus on tomorrow's game and try to generate the same skill and spirit that earned a 2-2 away draw in Wellington and a 3-2 win against Manawatu after trailing by two goals.
Otago and Hawkes Bay are even on the table with four points each, so this is an immense match, according to caretaker coach Duncan.
"We can live with that defeat from Waitakere, and hope to learn from it. They are a class side, and it was a match we had not targeted to win.
"But if we are to do well this year, we have to beat the teams around us, and this match with Hawkes Bay is a real test of where we deserve to be in the competition."
There are hopeful signs in the sharp mobility of Harley Rodeka, who scored twice against Manawatu, and the midfield partnership of Darren Overton and Mike Cunningham offers stability and the possibility of goals.
Key players such as keeper Peter Evans and defenders Tristan Prattley, Tom Connor and Craig Ferguson are experienced, and in midfield Morgan Day has now amassed 40 national league appearances.
Ant Hancock's return from injury also adds experience at the sharp end, but for several players it is "step-up time" to show they can compete at the top level.
Giant defender Matt Joy is sure to see some abrasive action, especially at set plays, and mostly from his Bay counterpart Robertson, who enjoys goal-mouth battles.
James Govan is back in the squad and he and team-mate Sam Mepham have a point or two to prove, as do the mercurial Joel Stevens and Reagan Coldicott.
Starting at 2.30pm at the same venue, the Otago youth side needs to convert talent into results against Canterbury.
While Wellington is setting the pace in the southern conference of the youth league, Canterbury, Otago and Manawatu all have a chance to finish second with two games left to play.
Otago v Hawkes Bay
- Tahuna Park, tomorrow, noon
Otago United: Peter Evans, Tristan Prattley, Matt Joy, Morgan Day, Regan Coldicott, Ant Hancock, James Govan, Sam Mepham, Darren Overton, Harley Rodeka, Matt Brook, Michael Cunningham, Joel Stevens, Craig Ferguson, Tom Connor, Oswaldo Rodriguez.
Hawkes Bay: Shaun Peta, Fergus Neil, Alex Barlow, Bill Robertson, Matt Hastings, Adam Cowan, Sam Margetts, Connor Tinnion, Adam Chandler, Luke Chapman, Danny Wilson, Reilley O'Meagher, Tom Biss, Hamish Watson, Josh Margetts, Matt Gould.
