Football: Napier City Rovers keep top spot after battle with Stop Out

Stop Out captain Steven Gulley shows the impact of Fifa World Cup as he tries to dispossess Blues midfielder Karan Mandair while referee Edward Cook watches. Photo / Duncan Brown

It took two minutes into the second half but Napier City Rovers gradually broke down Stop Out's resilience for three points to maintain their top perch in Napier today.

The Thirsty Whale-sponsored Blues beat the third-placed Wellingtonians 3-1 on a balmy winter's day in the round 14 Ultra Football Central League match at the Bluewater Stadium, Park Island.

A grinning player/coach, Bill Robertson, couldn't put his finger on why his troops looked a little lethargic but wasn't going to use the Fifa World Cup quarter-finals for the past few days as an excuse because he had a suspicion a fair number of the visitors were glued to their television sets as well in the wee hours of the morning.

"They were third on the table and we've come through it 3-1 so it's a good result for another three points," Robertson said.

The teams took some time bedding in before mounting a wave of attacks in the first half.

In the 17th minute, centreback Kade Schrijvers came close to breaking the deadlock but his header at the far post went whistling wide of the upright.

Blues Japan import midfielder Sho Goto asked Stop Out goalkeeper James McPeake the question in the 22nd minute before Canadian import winger Wesley Cain did the same for a corner kick.

Two minutes later Stop Out wily fox Luis Corrales had Rovers goalkeeper Mackenzie Waite tipping the ball over the crossbar.

The teams had a lot of endeavour for the remaining minutes into halftime but poor decisions and vision, coupled with unforced errors, denied them the chance to set the match alight.

It was barely two minutes into the second half when Rovers centre-mid Karan Mandair, who was caught a step late a few times in the first spell, showed some speed and surged into the 18m box to draw a trip from Schrijvers.

Cain sent keeper McPeake diving the wrong way for a 1-0 lead and a five-flip somersault celebration that had the Bluewater Stadium faithful in raptures.

The game was stopped briefly after Schrijvers came off second best in a head clash with striker Joshua Stevenson.

Stop Out coach Scott Easthope pulled out Luke Grindlay and injected veteran Miroslav Malivuk in the 58th minute.

Blues assistant coach Stu James went to his bench in the 62nd minute, replacing vice-captain Stevenson, returning from a hamstring layoff, with BJ Christensen.

Christensen immediately injected some impetus with a shot and a header that McPeake deftly flicked over the crossbar.

Former Rovers midfielder Jimmy Cudd, who also played for Stop Out for a few seasons, had to fetch his son who had run on to the park. Cudd lives in Hobart but is visiting Napier.

However, McPeake could only watch helplessly in the 71st minute when Christensen twirled inside the 18m box, drew a couple of defenders as well as the goalkeeper before worming the ball into an empty net for a 2-0 lead.

Stop Out, who are renowned for their fighting spirit, pulled one back through Jerram Tuck - who made good a cross from wide out after Rovers didn't put up the shutters properly -to narrow the gap to 2-1 in the 82nd minute.

That only stung the hosts into action when English import defender Jamie Wilkinson tapped the ball into the net from point-blank range near the far post after Cain adroitly worked the ball to the goal line to feed it in for a 3-1 buffer in the 87th minute.

Robertson said it was disappointing the Rovers lacked a little bit of urgency but took heart from the players' attitude after the pep talk at the break.

"Karan showed a bit more energy at the start of the second half and went for a loose ball to claim a penalty."

Rovers keeper Mackenzie Waite has a Stop Out forager covered as defenders Liam Schofield (No 3) and Drew Matthews back up in Napier today. Photo/Duncan Brown

Robertson said while momentum swung their way it was disappointing to concede a sloppy goal to give the Wellingtonians a sniff of a chance.

The centreback said with golden-boot contender Martin Bueno, of Uruguay, on 17 goals, the Blues had showed some depth in their squad with Stevenson starting and Christensen finding the net.

Both sides wore black armbands as a sign of respect for a grieving Christensen, who had lost his paternal grandmother during the week as well as McPeake who, according to an acquaintance, had lost his grandfather whose funeral was to be held tomorrow.

McPeake put it down to one of those days for Stop Out despite putting out their best.

"Unfortunately we've just got to get back on the road and hammer it out next weekend in the [Chatham] Cup so fingers crossed the boys have taken a few lessons out there from today and will come back stronger," said the 27-year-old accountant of Stop Out, who play Wairarapa United at Masterton Memorial Park.

McPeake said it was another difficult back-to-back act to follow up but Stop Out were delighted to be in the running for both the league and the cup this winter.

"The league's been very competitive this year and it's awesome to have a team here [Rovers] who can score goals for fun [7-5 win away over Wairarapa on May 26].

"It's really good for the league and the standard of play is really fantastic so it's a really good opportunity for us to come and test our wares against the top team on the table.

"But it wasn't to be for us today."

McPeake lauded the Rovers' hospitality and wished them all the best for the season.

He said it was always great to play on grass here at a time when artificial surfaces were cropping up everywhere.

"It's a testament to the grounds people to keep it in this sort of condition week in, week out so there's no complaints from us there," he said.

Earlier this afternoon, Building King Havelock North Wanderers lost 4-2 to Wairarapa in Masterton.

The hosts exacted revenge for their 6-2 shock loss at Guthrie Park, Havelock North, earlier in the season.

Liam Shackleton scored Havelock North Wanderers' opening goal. Photo/file

Wairarapa led 3-1 at halftime after Isaiah Soromon (21st minute), Hamish Watson (32nd) and Shaquille Belle (37th) found the net before Liam Shackleton pulled one back for the visitors in the 40th minute.

Wanderers striker Jorge Akers raised the villagers' hopes a little when he narrowed it to 3-2 in the 53rd minute but former Wellington Phoenix centre forward Watson made sure the Wanderers weren't returning with any points when he extended the lead to 4-2 in the 74th minute.

"They've got some good players but we've played really well so we're really disappointed to not come away with a point," said player/coach Chris Greatholder.

He said "it was a game of two halves" with wind gusts dictating terms on the artificial turf.

The Wanderers played into the wind in the first half and had struggled.

"The goalkeeper's kicks were curling back right to the edge of the box so it was just an effort to get out, so the 3-1 at halftime was pretty reasonable."

Greatholder said Wairarapa had three to five chances to score in the first 45 minutes and had done that.

He said his troops had clipped the upright and the ball had probably rolled over the line although the Wairarapa keeper had made a few saves.

"We would have been 3-3 at that stage and we could have probably gone on to win the game.

"We were then chasing the game towards the end and they have scored on the counter to make it a scoreline that looks more favourable to them."

He was pleased the Wanderers had created 12 to 15 chances to score, so to find the net only twice was "a little bit tough".

The last-placed Havelock North are trying to avoid relegation in their debut season after accepting an 11th-hour invitation from Central League organisers to step up from the lower-tier Lotto Federation League when Team Taranaki withdrew from the premier winter league due to a dearth of players.