HARD GOING: Rovers player Zac Marsden (Blue) tussles with a Manurewa player in the 1-1 draw. PHOTO/Warren Buckland
IT'S too easy to put the boot into the hosts' flagship team in the main draw for failing to make the cut again in the Napier City Rovers-hosted under-19 football tournament at Park Island.
To have footed it at the top level for years over Labour Day weekend in the annual Lotto-sponsored men's tourney for so long is meritorious in itself after the youthful Blues failed to make it out of their pool following four losses and a draw.
Yesterday belonged to the Bay campaigners in the lower-tier satellite section, namely Napier Marist who are in today's semifinal at 8am against another powerhouse, Melville United, who crushed Port Hill United (Napier) 7-0 in their quarterfinal.
Pool E winners Marist beat pool F runners-up Albany 3-0 in their quarterfinal yesterday after the sides were scoreless in the first 25-minute spell.
Marist coach and former All White international Marty Akers was reluctant to look too far ahead but made no qualms about making their mission statement transparent.
"We enter competitions to try to win it but other teams will try to get in the way so we'll try to step up," Akers said, mindful that the two finalists from today's semifinals will be automatically into the main draw next year.
He was under no illusions of the enormity of overcoming Melville United, who Port Hill coach Terry O'Neill claimed had two Chatham Cup players in their mix.
"It'll be a tough semifinal but, technically, I'm told by others, they [Melville] have structure and a strong defence so to break them down will not make it an easy game tomorrow."
Centreback Rueben Thurston-Leelo led the green machine to beat Cambridge 3-2, North Wellington 1-0, Metro FC 4-0, Tauranga College 1-0 and Bucklands Beach 4-1 to claim the top rung with 15 points as Cambridge finished runners-up.
Akers' son, striker Jorge, is the team's top goal scorer with six.
The coach said they had brought in Bay-born Christchurch goalkeeper Alex Schroder and attacking midfielder Taylor Monk, of Palmerston North, as guest players to bolster their side.
"They are in our Hawke's Bay Youth team so the boys know them and they fit in quite well."
Thirsty Whale Hawke's Bay United assistant coach Jamie Dunning is at the helm of the Bay Youth team who comprise 11 players in the Marist tourney squad.
Akers also lauded right wing Jed Sheppard, of Central Hawke's Bay, for showing marked improvement in his game.
While he singled out a few players for mention, he emphasised "it takes the whole team to make those players look good".
Akers said Cambridge and Tauranga College were defiant so while they didn't expect to win every game in their pool they were going to ask questions against every rival.
Against Albany in the quarterfinal, they created pressure before turning them into goals.
The Marist outfit is pretty much the side that has played in the Computercare Pacific Premier League in the Bay senior men's club competition.
It's a sense of continuity that the Napier club has deliberately included in its constitution.
In the other satellite semifinal, FC Twenty 11 play Onehunga Sports after the former beat Cambridge 2-0 while the latter pipped Papakura City 1-0.
In the main draw, Birkenhead, Western Springs, Glenfield Rovers and Bay Olympic play in the semifinals today.
In the quarterfinals, Western Springs pipped Waitakere City 2-1 but Genfield Rovers had to toil after they were locked 1-1 against Ellerslie in regulation time before edging them out 2-1 in extra time.
Birkenhead got past Lower Hutt City 1-0 while Bay Olympic just had the account of Forrest Hill Milford, 2-1, in the other quarterfinals.
O'Neill said Melville were too strong and his lads were running out of legs after two tough games in the day.
Port Hill beat Franklin United 2-1, drew 1-1 with Matamata Swifts, lost 1-0 to Onehunga Sports and crushed Wainuiomata 4-0 in their pool.
"Melville were simply too good and deserved to go through," he said, adding the victors were up 2-0 in just 10 minutes.
O'Neill was proud of his boys considering their youth, but echoed similar sentiments to Akers in bringing the club to a level of strength.
He said the club was heavily involved with juniors and also mentoring their coaches.
"We want to make it to the Central league in the future and not just play football but be a footballing club."
The Federation Football Samoa Youth team won two games and drew one but had agreed not to progress any further as they were a regional/national side.
Rovers club stalwart Malcolm Wilson said the Samoan youngsters gave a rousing rendition of songs, in front of the main marquee at the park, that had moved players and fans.