Football: Blues defender out for two weeks

Napier City Rovers coach Bill Robertson is expecting a tough Chatham Cup first round clash tomorrow. Photo/Duncan Brown

Defender Jamie Wilkinson will miss Napier City Rovers first round Chatham Cup clash against Palmerston North's North End at Park Island tomorrow.

The Thirsty Whale Blues head coach Bill Robertson confirmed yesterday Wilkinson will be out of action for at least two weeks after breaking a toe in last weekend's Central League round seven 6-1 win against the Havelock North Wanderers in Havelock.

"Otherwise we will be at full strength," Robertson said.

With six wins from seven outings the Blues boast a three point league in their Central League competition. Naturally Robertson wants his lads to carry this momentum into their Chatham Cup campaign.

"During my time with the Blues we've made the Chatham Cup final twice and the semifinal once. We want to give it a decent crack again."

North End are the top team in the Federation League which is one tier below the Central League. They beat another Manawatu side Red Sox 5-2 last weekend and striker Nathan Cooksley scored two of the goals.

Cooksley has scored seven of the team's 21 goals this season and will have to be marked well in the 3pm match at Bluewater Stadium.

"North End won't be an easy team to beat. They will be motivated to try and make it difficult for us ... hopefully we can cope with that," Robertson said.

Building King Havelock North Wanderers have drawn a bye this weekend. The Rovers-North End clash is one of 47 to be played this weekend.

In the northern region there will be plenty of interest in the match between Waiheke United and Cambridge in Cambridge today. A Northern Region Football League division one side, Waiheke United, boasts a mix of South Americans, Serbians, Nigerians, Welsh and Kiwis.

The team is coached by Malcolm McPherson who tasted Chatham Cup glory with Eastern Suburbs in 2015.

"I am not sure if all our players know the significance of the Chatham Cup, but more importantly they know how important it is to keep performing to stay in the side," he said.

"The Chatham Cup is a good opportunity for us to get back to winning ways [after losing 2-1 to Melville in the league]. Our players are looking forward to having a good run in the cup and we'll be giving it our all this weekend in Cambridge."

Waiheke United have been one of the talking points of grassroots football in recent years. They have been promoted through six divisions in as many years in a remarkable run.

"So no pressure on me coming in," McPherson said with a laugh.

"We are still on track for trying to keep that record intact. It is always a tough challenge in the league but this is quite a nice distraction. I certainly didn't take the job to consolidate our position, I am pretty ambitious as a coach and I have set my target on trying to get promoted in year one."