Allan standing tall for Tasman United

Daniel Allan isn’t too fussed about the big names that appear on the opposition team sheet.

The rookie centre-back was praised for keeping Canterbury United marksman Stephen Hoyle relatively quiet in Tasman United’s 2-2 draw last weekend, a player who last season scored 10 goals.

But Allan could be in for a tougher test at Kiwitea St tomorrow with Ryan De Vries, Joao Moreira and Emiliano Tade spearheading Auckland City’s triple threat attack.

However, the lanky, laid-back, long-haired, labourer is not one to have sleepless nights stewing over the upcoming games, even if De Vries, Moreira and Tade all found the back of the net in Auckland’s 4-0 hammering of defending champions Team Wellington last weekend.

‘‘I found playing for the Falcons that they always seem to have these big names playing for them but then as game day comes around and you get into the game then they never seem as good as you think,’’ he said.

That’s not to say Allan is going to be taking City for granted in round two of the Stirling Sports Premiership though. The 20-year-old defender has plenty of respect for the Navy Blues, whose squad includes former Wellington Phoenix midfielder Albert Riera.

He said ‘‘it’s going to be a bit different with these guys’’ and knows tomorrow’s game against the competition heavyweights will be the toughest of his young career.

With former Canterbury defender Mark Johnston suffering a serious ankle injury in pre-season, Allan was partnered in defence with 18-year-old Bertie Fish, another premiership debutant.

The two former Nelson College students were up to the task against the Dragons and helped Tasman secure an important point on the road in round one.

But even with a point to their name, Allan said Tasman to head north without any real expectations from outside the squad.

‘‘Although a draw was a pretty good result, I think we’ll be overlooked for this weekend and we will still have that in our favour – being the underdogs. But we just have to go out there the same way we did against Canterbury.’’

And that’s when Allan points out that although Auckland won 4-0 on the weekend, they did lose 1-0 to Waitakere United the week prior. ‘‘They can definitely be beat.’’ Allan was a strong performer for Nelson Suburbs in the Mainland Premier League and cleaned up at the team’s end of season prizegiving, winning Player of the Year, Players’ Player of the Year and Supporters’ Player of the Year.

A natural athlete who excelled in other sports including cricket and golf as a teenager, he said he put in plenty of extra work to make sure he would be in the frame for Tasman selection.

‘‘I definitely tried to put in some extra work when I had the time, even if it was before training or after training.’’