GROUNDED: No reason to stop playing for Olympic player Clayton Lewis (left) and Blues midfielder Josh Stevenson. PHOTO/FILE
IT PAYS to have some time for the healing process to kick in after a soul-destroying defeat in sport.
That is not a given for Wellington Olympic who reload against TSB Bank Napier City Rovers at Park Island, Napier,tomorrow.
"It has been a difficult week for us. It's hard to lift your players after a devastating loss," says Olympic coach Besim Balicevac before his men kick off at 2pm in their Lotto Central League football match at the Bluewater Stadium.
The two sides are coming off a memorable, fourth-round 4-3 Chatham Cup (national knockout) match at Wakefield Park, Wellington, last Sunday which the Bill Robertson-coached Rovers won.
For Balicevac and the Greeks, the shrapnel in the flesh is still raw from a game that crawled into extra time before the Blues struck the winner in the first spell.
"The thing is we were 3-2 up [in regulation time] and the game went beyond time to the 95th minute [when Rovers equalised]," says the former Capital premiership coach of Stop Out (2009-11) who is in his first year at the helm of Olympic and in his rookie Central League stint.
"It's just the way it goes," says Balicevac who cannot fault his men for their passion and intent against the Central League leaders who are in the cup quarterfinals.
"The boys were fantastic last weekend. They were simply superb with 10 men against a team like Napier," he says of a team with an average age of 23.
The Greeks had lost captain Mikey Halikias in just the 17th minute to a straight red after a crude tackle.
"On the day last week we were slightly better," he says, adding it is human nature to take the park on the assumption 11 players at any time will do the job but Halikias' loss had put them on the back foot.
Blues defender Finlay Milne picked up two yellows in the second half of extra time so he is out tomorrow with Halikias.
Veteran Chris Greatholder's return from injury is timely for the hosts while the Greeks welcome back Clayton Lewis.
Robertson, who must feel like a cricket captain who can't win a toss in landing a cup home game, says they face another grind against a revitalised Olympic in fifth place on the league table.
"We didn't perform to our potential and they took their opportunities," he says of his Danny Wilson-captained side.
"We were on top at times but didn't take our opportunities so we got punished," says Robertson who is confident his men have the self-assurance to claim three points tomorrow.
Working on their set-piece play this week has been a priority after conceding two goals in almost identical fashion to hattrick man Jimmy Haidakis.
The Olympic midfielder scored twice from heading in cornerkicks but Robertson says his team had been solid in that department going into the last match.
"In large periods of the season we delivered so last week was a one-off but we've still come away with a victory," he says, adding the players' disappointment despite progressing to the cup quarterfinals away against second-placed Western Suburbs in the league was a testimony of how high they had set their standards.
It amuses Robertson that the Rovers can't secure home cup match. "We've had six to seven cup matches away from home, dating back to last year so we're doing it tough.
"It's a five-hour bus trip down and back so it's not like we're just going down the road but so far we've overcome it to do our best to pick up the results."
Having beaten Western Suburbs 6-1 in Napier, Robertson says the Rovers have the self-belief to keep their league/cup double campaign simmering before the quarterfinal on the weekend of August 8-9.
Suburbs thumped Wairarapa United 7-2 in Masterton in the last cup round.
Balicevac says Olympic have fielded their best from round six after midfield maestro Luis Corrales arrived back from Team Wellington.
The Greeks have started to find a modicum of cohesiveness in a season dedicated to rebuilding after losing seven starters this winter. "We now believe we can challenge anyone in the top four and finish up there," he says, emphasising tomorrow is all about getting their competitive juices flowing.
"Our confidence should allow us to overcome our mental disappointment and there's no reason why we can't.
"We're trying to get Olympic back to the top. We want to be where Napier are now."
A "proud Serb" after the country's Fifa Under-20 World Cup victory in New Zealand, Balicevac says he is Kiwi but his parents emigrated here from the former Yugoslavia.
"I'm very proud we won the cup," says the former New Zealand Under-17 captain who believes they will be back to their traditional strength next winter.
Rd 14 DETAILS
Details leading into the Lotto Central League this weekend:
WHO: Napier City Rovers v Wellington Olympic.
WHEN: 2pm kick off, tomorrow.
WHERE: Bluewater Stadium, Park Island.
REFEREE: Antony Riley.
AR1/AR2: Brad Brunton/Liam O' Rourke.
ROVERS: Ruben Parker Hanks (GK), 2 Daniel Ball, 6 Miles John, 7 Stephen Hoyle, 8 Ryan Tinsley, 9 Angus Kilkolly, 10 Saul Halpin, 14 Josh Stevenson, 15 James Hoyle, 16 Danny Wilson (c), 17 Fergus Neil, 18 Chris Greatholder, 19 Bill Robertson, 20 Fane Morgan, 23 Kyle Baxter (RGK).
Coach: Bill Robertson. Asst coach: Chris Greatholder.
OLYMPIC: James McPeake (GK), 2 Asher O'Brien, 3 Aleem Sheik, 4 Tom Serepisos, 6 Hugo Reeve, 8 Kwame Norku, 9 Luis Corrales, 10 Jimmy Haidakis, 11 Sam Blackburn, 12 Luciano Colluci, 13 Chas Lawrence, 14 Dan Minshull, 16 Alex Palezevic, 17 John Gerondis, 18 Charlie Attard, 19 Dimitri Apostolakis, 20 Mario Barcia, Clayton Lewis, Jack Kemp (RGK).
Coach: Besim Balicevac.
OTHER GAMES
Today with home teams first:
2.30pm: Miramar Rangers v Petone FC at Dave Farrington Park.
2.30pm: Western Suburbs v Palmerston North Marist at Endeavour Park No 1.
2.30pm: Stop Out v Wairarapa Utd at Hutt Park No 1.
3pm: Lower Hutt City v Tawa AFC at Fraser Park Turf.
GOLDEN BOOT
14: Angus Kilkolly (Rovers).
13: Ryan Tinsley (Rovers).
11: Saul Halpin (Rovers).
10: Magno Viera (Wairarapa).
8: Juan Chang Urrea (Suburbs).
6: Van Elia (Petone), Josh Smith (Marist).
5: Ahmad Mohammadi (Suburbs), Paul Ifill (Wairarapa), Samuel Mason-Smith (Wairarapa).
STANDINGS
P W D L F A GD Pts
Rovers 12 11 0 1 53 12 41 33
Suburbs 12 8 1 3 33 18 15 25
Wairarapa 11 8 0 3 31 21 10 24
Petone 13 7 2 4 24 18 6 23
Olympic 12 6 0 6 23 21 2 18
PN Marist 12 6 0 6 24 34 -10 18
Stop Out 12 5 1 6 20 16 4 16
Miramar 13 4 1 8 19 25 -6 13
LH City 13 2 0 11 11 42 -31 6
Tawa 12 1 1 10 7 38 -31 4