Sam Lack says there’s no uncertainty in terms of what faces him and his Napier City Rovers teammates to keep their National League dream alive.
The team play Upper Hutt City Football in Central League action in Wellington on Saturday, six days after their heartbreaking exit from the Chatham Cup.
The five-time knockout tournament winners lost their fourth round Chatham Cup clash to champions Wellington Olympic 3-2 on Sunday, a result that continues a run in 2025 of being another game they dominated but failed to win.
It’s a sequence of results that has them fifth on the Central League points table after 12 rounds, four points below fourth-placed Western Suburbs.
The side has to nail a top-four finish if they want to qualify for New Zealand Football’s top-tier National League domestic competition.
To get there, Napier City Rovers have to target winning their remaining six games and also hope Western Suburbs drop points on the run home.
“Obviously, now the focus is just on Central League and obviously, making the National League,” a gutted Lack said moments after his side’s Chatham Cup exit.
“We have to go game by game and, honestly, every game we have to win. That’s all it is now .... focus on making the National League and give it our all.”
Napier City Rovers have qualified for the past three National Leagues, including last year when they came agonisingly close to making the final.
The emotion displayed by Napier City Rovers at the end of Sunday’s game showed how much success in this year’s Chatham Cup would have meant to the team.
That includes departing veteran player and assistant coach Stephen Hoyle, left in tears on the Bluewater Stadium pitch as the realisation he would depart the Kiwi domestic scene without gaining a Chatham Cup winners’ medal sank in.
Midfielder Cameron Emerson, who had a stunning performance, combining brute force and skill in the middle of the park, was another left downhearted post-match.
Lack said the result was a “rough one” to take.
Napier City Rovers had opened the scoring, were locked 2-2 with Wellington Olympic at halftime, but despite dominating the second half couldn’t overcome a one-goal deficit.
“I feel for the boys because we put a lot of work in and obviously our Central League season is not going to plan ... but we were going good in the cup,” Lack said.
“We had a hard run in the cup; the Wellington Phoenix Reserves, then Miramar and now Olympic. And I thought we honestly did very well.
“The goals we conceded were just a bit scrappy and it’s just unfortunate.
“Obviously we dominated towards the end and had chances but we just couldn’t get there. At the end of the day that’s football ... but yeah, it’s a tough one to take.”
Napier City Rovers’ goals came via striker Jordan Annear, who used his physical presence to out-hustle a defender before scoring, and then from Lack, who fired home his 10th goal of the season.
Lack’s goal levelled the score at 2-2, before Wellington Olympic’s eventual winner, which came via a deflection from a free kick.
“It was good scoring another goal, but the result I wanted at the end of the day was a win,” Lack said.
“It was good to get the boys back into the game, but it was a bit unfortunate conceding in the second half through a deflection. That’s just rough.”
Sunday’s loss is the latest in a series of near-misses this season.
In the Central League, the side has dropped points in games they failed to win despite dominating; including eventual draws to Petone FC, Upper Hutt and the Wellington Phoenix Reserves, and losses to Waterside Karori, Western Suburbs and North Wellington.
Lack said those results had been “very frustrating”.
Given how well the side has played without always getting the results their form would warrant, it would be unwise to bet against Napier City Rovers qualifying for the National League.
“This season has been really confusing because we’ve played some really good football,” he said.
“It’s just mistakes that cost us games.
“We were 3-1 up against Petone in the 88th minute, and then we concede two sloppy goals at the end. Then against Upper Hutt we are 2-1 up and drop points in the last minute.
“The season’s been up and down. We just haven’t really got a run on yet.”
Inside the Rovers video series:
Episode 1: Match Fit
Episode 2: Teen’s Dream
Episode 3: New Beginnings
Episode 4: For Keeps
Episode 5: Kiwi Steve
Episode 6: Capital Punishment
Episode 7: Bouncing Back
Episode 8: The Centurion
Episode 9: The Running Man
Episode 10: Family Pride
Episode 11: On Target
Episode 12: Road Trip Blues
Episode 13: A-League Bound
Neil Reid is a Napier-based senior reporter who covers general news, features and sport. He joined the Herald in 2014 and has 33 years of newsroom experience.
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