Homegrown talent Harry Mason opens up on his love for Napier City Rovers – and reveals who his teammate with the worst musical sense is. Video / Neil Reid
Reduced to 10 men, and one goal down, Napier City Rovers showed courage to secure third round Chatham Cup win. As Neil Reid reports, a crunch Central League game now awaits.
Napier City Rovers will reboot their Central League campaign this weekend – a week on from a drama-filled Chatham Cup clash victory.
It comes seven days on from the dramatic 2-1 third-round Chatham Cup win over North Wellington; a match where a 10-man Napier City Rovers came back from a 1-0 deficit to win.
“Since then, they’ve gone on a really good run and won a lot of games. And credit to them,” Robertson said.
Missing on Sunday will be playmaker Jonny McNamara, who picked up a one-match suspension after being sent off for what referee Dylan Kawana-Waugh deemed a dangerous challenge early in the second half against North Wellington.
The red card was an incredibly harsh blow for McNamara and his teammates to swallow. McNamara – who has been outstanding for Napier City Rovers all season – was sent off after a high-tempo collision between him and a North Wellington player battling for the ball.
But there was no malice in McNamara’s actions in going in to win possession for his team.
Long-time Napier City Rovers supporter Mark Jordan, left, match-winning goal-scorer Liam Schofield and assistant coach Shane McKenzie are all smiles post-game at Bluewater Stadium after the side's dramatic 2-1 Chatham Cup third-round win over North Wellington. Photo / Neil Reid
Going down to 10 men with almost 40 minutes to go – on top of already being 1-0 down – left Robertson’s team a huge mountain to climb last Sunday.
But goals from Cameron Emerson – who came on off the bench after 35 minutes – and then a booming left-footed strike from Liam Schofield with five minutes remaining secured their place in the Chatham Cup’s fourth round.
Robertson had rotated his starting XI heavily for the match, a move to give several players who hadn’t had much game time in previous weeks. As he unleashed Emerson, Matt Jones, Fergus Neil, Adam Hewson and Oscar Faulds the team started to take control of the match.
Gutted North Wellington players can't hide their emotions after their side's dramatic 2-1 Chatham Cup third round loss to Napier City Rovers. Photo / Neil Reid
They are now set to play Miramar Rangers in the fourth round of the knockout Chatham Cup at Bluewater Stadium on July 7.
Miramar Rangers are in fifth spot on the Central League points table, a ladder that has effectively split into two sections halfway through the season.
Four teams will qualify for this year’s National League. The Wellington Phoenix Reserves are guaranteed a spot regardless of where they finish, with the other places going to the top three finishing clubs.
With eight rounds remaining, defending champions Wellington Olympic hold a two-point lead over second-placed Western Suburbs, and a five-point lead over third-placed Napier City Rovers.
Napier City Rovers player Fergus Neil goes down after being fouled on the edge of North Wellington's penalty area. Photo / Neil Reid
But both Wellington Olympic and Napier City Rovers have a match in hand compared to Western Suburbs.
Waterside Karori, Miramar Rangers and the Wellington Phoenix Reserves are respectively seven, eight and 10 points off the lead.
The likes of Petone, Island Bay, North Wellington and Stop Out are well off the pace, with the latter three likely to be fighting it out to avoid relegation.
“There’s a big gap between the top half of the table and the bottom half of the table,” Robertson said.
“That isn’t usually the case in the Central League. It’s been a bit different this year.
Napier City Rovers coach Bill Robertson says his players cannot let up as they look to close the points table gap on the two clubs ahead of them in the Central League. Photo / Neil Reid
“We’re going to need to be really consistent with our performances and results in the second half of the season to make the top three.”
Napier City Rovers went down 2-0 to Wellington Olympic in the capital in the last Central League match two weeks ago.
The squad - which features nine new recruits for this season – had put in some impressive performances so far this year.
“We’re still a relatively new group of players given the number of players that we brought in at the start of the year,” he said.
Liam Schofield, right, and teammate Cameron Emerson, second from right, were the goal-scoring heroes for Napier City Rovers in their third-round Chatham Cup win. Photo / Neil Reid
“We’re still kind of learning a little bit about each other and how we can get the best out of each other. There’s lots of improvements being made week to week.”
Wellington Olympic were the dominant force in New Zealand Football’s domestic competitions in 2023, winning both the Central League and National League.
Any team wanting to catch them will need to both keep clocking up wins and hope Wellington Olympic drop points in their final eight matches.
Neil Reid is a Napier-based senior reporter who covers general news, features and sport. He joined the Herald in 2014 and has 30 years of newsroom experience.
