Football: Rovers' bid at goal haul stalls with draw

Rovers coach Bill Robertson

Suburbs 3 Rovers 3

A stalemate means Napier City Rovers can only equal a season's record with one game to go.

The TSB Bank-sponsored Rovers could only manage a 3-all draw against Western Suburbs in their Lotto Central League dead rubber in Wellington on Saturday.

The league champions, in pursuit of a Chatham Cup double, can only match Wellington Olympic's record 49-point haul in 2010 from 18 games.

"Our performance wasn't very good - not as good as when we started the season," said Blues coach Bill Robertson, before his troops take on Birkenhead United in the cup semifinals in Auckland on Sunday.

In their defence, Robertson stressed several players were still recovering from the effects of influenza and hadn't trained as well.

Striker Angus Kilkolly put the visitors ahead at Endeavour Park after just five minutes from a penalty kick but the hosts equalised through an own goal "in the last kick" before halftime.

Saul Halpin scored in the 53rd minute and Kilkolly scored Rovers' third in the 71st while Ben Sippola and Owen Parker-Price got on the scorecard for Suburbs.

"We should have won but didn't take an awful lot of opportunities," Robertson lamented, but added they were still in the hunt for four goals to eclipse the 81-goal feat of the 1996 Gisborne City team, although the record holders were competing in a 12-team league that winter as opposed to the 10-team one now.

He felt even though they would match the Greeks' points record it would still be a great feat.

Robertson said both penalties awarded on Saturday were justified, although there was no malice in the tackles in the box.

Despite the draw, he was happy and hoped training this week would be back to the usual intensity for the cup playoff.