Rovers v Wairarapa
Central League soccer
The irony is not lost on Grant Hastings.
His Bluewater Napier City Rovers are hosting the 2011 Chatham Cup winners Wairarapa United in Central League soccer at the same time tomorrow as the 2pm kick-off in Wellington where Auckland's Central United play Lower Hutt City to decide this year's cup victors.
Hastings doesn't expect tomorrow's 2pm kick-off at Bluewater Stadium, Park Island, to lack any intensity either.
"We are two sides from last year's cup final," he said.
Add to that the Rovers' 1-0 round three victory over the Phil Keinzley-coached Wairarapa on June 24 and it should be a humdinger of a match tomorrow.
Keinzley and his men didn't stomach the cup defeat too well, with the coach refusing to speak to Hawke's Bay Today until an apology is forthcoming after requesting I contact him a day after the match for comments on the defeat that derailed their cup campaign to defend their title.
According to a Wairarapa Times report this week, Keinzley had predicted a 40-point tally to claim league bragging rights and that's what the visitors will be on if they beat the Rovers tomorrow in their last game.
His dream scenario is for Wairarapa to win and relegated Cru Bar Maycenvale United to at least draw, if not beat, Miramar Rangers, who need to win their three remaining games (including against the Rovers in their last game next Sunday in Napier) to finish on 40 points and possibly a better goal average than Wairarapa.
"It would be nice to think there would be an upset there but when you look at the strength of the two teams it's very hard to imagine it happening."
Keinzley is out of luck because Vale coach Dion Adams said last night they had defaulted to Miramar, in their round one catch up game today in Wellington because they had no intentions of depleting their Pacific Premiership team playing a crucial Fed Cup (knockout) semifinal match at 2pm today against Geon Taradale at Akina Park.
Hastings was of the view if Wairarapa draw against the Rovers tomorrow they won't be caught in the league.
"But if we win our remaining two games then we can win the league so we have no thoughts of anything but playing our best," he said of the Bill Robertson-captained Rovers who will be without midfielder Cole Peverley serving a match suspension after collecting his fifth yellow card in the 2-1 loss to Wellington Olympic, who were playing their last game but are sitting on the top rung of the ladder.
Substitute striker Andy Pickering is also out after picking up a red card last Sunday.
"We don't have a full squad to pick from but the players there are capable of doing the job."
Hastings lamented their rotten luck in failing to find the back of the net against Olympic while Wairarapa also succumbed 3-1 to Lower Hutt City.
While teams created their own luck, Hastings felt Lady Luck deserted them while Olympic rode theirs with aplomb after several shots hit the woodwork with subsequent bounces favouring the Greeks.
"We're up for Wairarapa and we know they are a great side," he said, preferring to see the game as a Keinzley All-Star team (with no homegrown players) versus a Rovers (homegrown) club side.