Canterbury United captain absent for kick-off

Canterbury United will kick off the national league football season without influential captain Daniel Terris.

The Englishman, almost an ever-present throughout the three-year history of the New Zealand Football Championship, has returned home to England to be with a sick family member.

Family illnesses have also forced the temporary departure of midfielder Stuart Kelly (Scotland) and Halswell United's new striker Gavin Allott (England).

However both could be back before Canterbury's NZFC campaign opener against Hawkes Bay United at English Park on November 4.

However, coach Danny Halligan said after Canterbury's 0-3 pre-season friendly loss to Wellington last Saturday that Terris – widely regarded as the best defender in the NZFC – could miss a fair chunk of the early season.

"We don't know (when Terris will be back), it's just a week-to-week proposition ... It could be Christmas."

Halligan has yet to name an alternate captain but Terris's absence will heap extra responsibility on senior squad members Andy Pitman, Chris Morris, Kelly, Blair Scoullar and goalkeeper Adam Highfield.

The Canterbury United Dragons have lost last season's Solomon Islands star, Henry Fa'arodo, to Auckland City. All Whites Ben Sigmund (Auckland) and Andy Barron (Team Wellington) will also be turning out for rival clubs and former international Brent Fisher has been injured in Sweden and could be out of NZFC contention.

The Dragons fielded two new English imports, centreback Bill Robertson and striker Dave Walker, against Wellington. Robertson has been playing and coaching in the United States and will run Canterbury United's academy programme. Walker helped Dunedin club Caversham win the SoccerSouth title this season.

Halligan has also promoted a clutch of young players to his 21-man NZFC squad. Highly rated Nelson Suburbs defender Michael Bothwell, who trained with the squad three years ago without getting a NZFC game, returns, along with Christchurch Rangers' overseas players Michael Fifi (Solomon Islands) and Yusaku Okubo (Japan).

Left-sided players Jeremy Wild and Blair Duncan return home from Otago University after a winter stint with SoccerSouth champion Caversham. Tommy Lancaster, who made an impact for Christchurch Technical after his shift south from Nelson, has been called up and Rhys Parker (Western), Ryan Faichnie (Technical) and Darren Overton (Ferrymead Bays) have been promoted from the successful Canterbury United academy team. Fullback Glenn Squire, fresh from helping Nomads United secure the Mainland League championship, returns to Canterbury United four years after his debut and Canterbury's Golden Boot top-scorer award winner Gareth Turnbull (Western) gets a chance to stake a claim for a regular place.

Halligan admitted Canterbury had plenty to work on in the next two weeks. "A number of players have only arrived into the squad in the last few days."

Auckland export Daniel Ellensohn scored a hat-trick for Wellington, which had had six pre-season games including four practice matches against the Wellington Phoenix.

Walker – who only arrived in Christchurch late Friday evening from the United Kingdom – missed an early open goal for Canterbury. Ellensohn gave Canterbury a 1-0 first-half lead after veteran striker Graham Little struck the bar with a fierce shot. Canterbury has yet to establish a defensive combination and it was caught napping in the second spell when Ellensohn latched onto a long ball from right-back for his third before Canterbury sparked into life.

Okubo showed pace and craft on the right flank and Overton burst forward into the box but was unable to finish off. Turnbull was denied a potential penalty and ex-All White Scoullar looked fitter after off-season knee surgery and time with Dunedin Technical.

The Canterbury United Dragons' NZFC squad is: Adam Highfield, Jordan Ashton (goalkeepers), Glenn Squire, Andy Pitman, Bill Robertson, Michael Bothwell, Jeremy Wild, Chris Morris, Michael Fifi, Blair Scoullar, Dave Walker, Tommy Lancaster, Rhys Parker, Darren Overton, Yusaku Okubo, Blair Duncan, Ryan Faichnie, Matt Boyd, Gareth Turnbull, Stuart Kelly, Gavin Allott.

- © Fairfax NZ News