A Sam O’Regan (pictured) thunderbolt has fired WaiBOP United to their second away win of the season in the deep south and in the process lifted WaiBOP United off the bottom of the ASB Premiership table.
O’Regan stepped up just after the half hour mark to lash the ball home from all of 35 yards, leaving Liam Little in Southern’s goal with no chance. O’Regan made a habit of such strikes while playing for Tauranga City United during the 2014 winter season so the goal would have come as no surprise to many in the WaiBOP region.
The winner came after a solid period of WaiBOP pressure which saw Mark Jones go close as well as a number of corners forced. Little had earlier stopped an almost certain goal with the save of the day.
The hosts had their moments and Danyon Drake in the WaiBOP goal had to save sharply a couple of times but in general we played solidly, professionally and ran out deserved winners.
Head Coach, Pete Smith, was obviously delighted with the result. “We really had no option but to win today so to get the three points and control the game as well as we did was very, very pleasing,” said Smith after the match. “We’re trying to do things correctly, from how we perform to how we prepare for games, and I think that had a big part to play in today’s result.”
Bagging the points makes the trip home much easier for Smith and his players. “Dunedin’s a long way to go for a game, but we came down yesterday and had a good session with the lads last night,” explained Smith. “You could say we acclimatised ourselves and took Southern’s biggest advantage – the location – out of play.”
The result was a proper squad performance for WaiBOP. “We had players out but I thought the young lads who came in did a good job for us. I’m proud of them today and Sam… what a stike to win a game of football,” smiled Smith.
