SOCCER - New coach and striker for Rovers

ANENDRA SINGH
Shhh ... Terry O'Neill won't know it until he reads this story today, but Petone were spying on Napier City Rovers at the weekend.
``Aah, that explains why the Petone lads were watching our game at the park on Saturday,' Lower Hutt City manager Graham Watson told SportToday yesterday after his side broke Rovers' hearts with an injury-time goal to pip them 5-4 in the pulsating Central League encounter in the capital city.
Petone, sitting four points above Rovers in second place, are not about to deny their snooping either.
Club stalwart Barry Pickering was there with his lads to watch his nephew, Rovers' new striker Andy Pickering, setting up two goals for Graham Fyfe and Greig Henslee and scoring one himself.
Fourth-placed Lower Hutt remain one point behind Napier, but have a game in hand and play Wellington Olympic, who sit behind them on a better goal difference.
Rovers, on the other hand, play second-placed Petone (who Lower Hutt beat a fortnight ago) who travel to Bluewater Stadium, Napier, this Saturday.
Saturday's game was always going to be a baptism of fire for stand-in coach O'Neill.
Stepping in for regular coach Malcolm Wilson, who is visiting his mother in England for a month, means O'Neill will have to draw on his wealth of experience to ensure Rovers' season doesn't fizzle out.
Hosts Lower Hutt had to move the match from Bell Park to Frazer Park after the referee deemed the water-logged pitch unfit.
Prolific goal scorer Stuart Wilson drew blood in only the 2nd minute, but was ruled offside.
Stung into action, the hosts struck in the 12th minute with striker Gerson Valle before Wilson equalised eight minutes later.
Midfielder/striker Sam Blackburn and Luis Corrales capitalised on some Rovers' defensive errors to take a 3-1 lead at halftime. ``Everyone was looking at everyone else at halftime and I said `come on boys we're all in this together',' O'Neill said. The pep talk worked _ within 20 minutes of the second spell the visitors led 4-3. The equaliser came from Corrales with 10 minutes remaining before Blackburn's heartbreaker that saw him dribble the ball through four defenders. Barry Pickering hailed his nephew's input and was hoping the player would recover from his corked thigh to play his son and Petone midfielder, Michael, 19, at Bluewater Stadium. What did Petone learn? ``We know Napier won't roll over and we can't rest on our laurels even though we are two goals ahead,' Barry Pickering said.