WaiBOP United head coach, Peter Smith, was frustrated and proud in equal measures after his side’s performance against title favourites, Auckland City.
“This match shows the difference between where we currently are, in many areas, and a club that’s been setting the benchmark in this league for the last decade,” said Smith. “We can’t get any more out of the players we’ve got with the constraints and the budget we work with. We’ve got the best players we can doing the best they can, I can’t fault them for their effort. They did a good job, performance wise, today.”
Smith displayed an admirable streak of realism after the match. “I’m definitely not a fan of losing football games, but at the end of the day Auckland City set the standard and that’s where we need to get to technically and, I guess, financially as well. I’m disappointed with the result but I thought the lads fought extremely hard today.”
The team must now regroup and prepare themselves for the difficult trip to Napier’s Bluewater Stadium to take on Hawke’s Bay United. The match is on Saturday January 25 and kicks off at 5pm.
