Football: 'Soft underbelly' proves hard as washboard

Rovers pair of Rob Pearson and James Hoyle shut out Lower Hutt's Jeremy Field. Photo / Paul Taylor

They left with no points but Lower Hutt City arrived in Napier suspecting they could gut a soft underbelly.

Canaries coach Ryan Sandford said their plan was to put the Napier City Rovers under pressure on Saturday on the account of replacement goalkeeper Kyle Baxter and player/coach Bill Robertson "who has been more out than in" this winter.

"We did that and scored but we probably let ourselves down close to halftime ... and then there was a 12-minute period where we were second best," Sandford said, bemoaning conceding three goals from the 44th to the 52nd minute.

"That cost us the chance of really giving them a good scare," he said, although he took some consolation in his eighth-placed troops not letting the Rovers destroy their souls as they had habitually done in the past.

Sandford said they lost by two goals here and by a similar margin to Miramar Rangers in their worst defeats to date this season.

"We're trying to get close to that 90-minute perfection but we're a way off," he said, emphasising his players were young.

Sandford saluted winger Nathaniel Hailemariam who was coming off a two-week layoff from concussion.

A dextrous Hailemariam was with world-class Auckland City during the ASB Premiership last summer but was unlucky not to play for them.

Sandford felt the prolific goal scorer, who also played for Wellington Phoenix Reserves, could be a valuable acquisition for Hawke's Bay United.

"I know he's been here before as a younger player but he keeps getting better all the time."

Sandford lauded Rovers as hosts, labelling the venue as "a real football club".

"I love playing here. You've got the supporters, the music, the match announcer [Malcolm Wilson] so it's good to see that and we enjoyed it."