If not for the great reflexes of ex-Rovers goalkeeper Shaun Peta, the scoreline would have been more embarrassing for Wanderers although their teenagers would have left much wiser for the experience and what is required to aspire towards elite winter soccer in the Central-Capital region.
"BJ's been a blow and we've tried to get him right so we've had to make the call [on Saturday], so he would have added a bit of spark in there," said Greatholder, accepting Wanderers weren't good enough in the first half.
"We stood up too much and showed them too much respect," he said, pleased with the second half when they could have made a game of it.
His players didn't leave much on the park but found the pace hectic and struggled to adjust to the intensity and physicality required to compete.
"With these guys' quality, we have to move the ball a bit quicker, so we're a little disappointed," said Greatholder, adding no one expected them to win so they'd had a good day overall.
Asked if they were tested, Robertson said it was pleasing that his men controlled the ball for long spells.
"We've probably had the opportunity to put the game to bed much earlier and we didn't take those although Shaun Peta's made some good saves in goal," said the Team Wellington captain who will be able to take the field in the league game away against Team Taranaki this Sunday following the 10-day stand-down period for cup matches after the O-League commitments.
Robertson wished the undefeated Wanderers all the best in their Fed League campaign.
Striker Angus Kilkolly put Rovers up 1-0 in the sixth minute before stepping up for a penalty kick three minutes before halftime for a 2-0 lead. Rovers went up 3-0 in the 54th minute from vice-captain Joshua Stevenson after a deft cross from his skipper, Fergus Neil.
Havelock pulled one back to 3-1 on referee Gareth Sheehan's time with a goal to Harrison Gregory.
Robertson welcomed a cup match against Alexander Electrical Napier Marist Premiers who came from 3-2 behind to beat Breakers Red Sox Manawatu 4-3 in Palmerston North on Saturday, albeit a 10-men host for two-thirds of the game.
"A local team would be fantastic because we do a lot of travelling over the season so we could stay here and play a team here it would be fantastic," he said, at the mercy of the draw from the hat tomorrow.
The Napier Marist game had its share of drama when Red Sox goalkeeper Scott Outtrim was sent off in the 31st minute, while Marist centreback Jonty Underwood was ejected with three minutes to go for a sprigs-up tackle.
Marist centreback Jonty Underwood also was sent off with three minutes to go with a sprigs-up tackle that Red Sox coach Neil Perry felt was born out of frustration.
The Jamie Dunning-coached Marist scored 1-0 in just 15 seconds after striker Thomas Tidy latched on to Sox centreback Paul Dalzell's clearance kick to set the match alight at Memorial Park.
Dunning said a bad patch followed, after the hosts conceded an own goal to trail 2-0, opening the way for Manawatu to claw their way back into the game.
Liam Patterson (20th), Ryan Noble (35th) and Brandon Jackson (43rd) pumped in goals for Red Sox to go into halftime 3-2 up.
"I told the boys you score early and you'll win the game," said Dunning as attacking midfielder Josh Murphy obliged in the 49th minute before leftwing back Dylan DuRoss sealed victory in the 67th.
Manawatu threw the kitchen at them but he felt they hadn't threatened Marist much.
"We just took in a nothing-to-lose attitude, actually," Dunning said when asked if the giant-killing tag was sitting well with the third-tier Computer Care HB Premiership team.
After upsetting Gisborne Thistle in the preliminaries, Marist will enter the second round. They ran on yesterday with the aim of having fun but Dunning was confident of a win against the second-tier Lotto Federation League side.
"We've beaten two teams in leagues above us to show what we can achieve depending on how far these boys can go in their careers," he said yesterday.
A chuckling Dunning said his mainly youthful players would no doubt be crowing for a Rovers derby in round two although his preference his a match against Palmerston North Marist.
Red Sox coach Neil Perry felt the game could have gone either way but his troops, who lost three players to injuries during the game, started poorly.
"We scored three goals but we have to stop conceding goals," lamented Perry, putting it down to their worst performance this season even though they missed four one-on-one chances.
Conversely, he gave credit to Marist for putting his men under pressure with their pace.
"They played well and thoroughly deserved their win," Perry said.
