Import William Tonning has been a key player in Napier City Rovers’ season to date. His coach talked to Neil Reid about the classy goalkeeper.
Danish goalkeeper William Tonning made no secret of his ambition when he arrived at pre-season training for Napier City Rovers.
The 25-year-old - who travelled almost 18,000km to link with the club – made it clear he wanted his time being based in Napier to be a successful one.
That included chasing silverware in the Chatham Cup and Central League and doing all he could to help Napier City Rovers qualify for the National League and then contending for that title.
Tonning – who had previously played in Denmark, Sweden, Canada, America and the Faroe Islands – was also clear he wanted to be the best goalkeeper in the Central League and replicate that form in the National League should his new team qualify.
Over the past three months, Tonning has turned in repeated man-of-the-match performances – and a trio of penalty saves – as Napier City Rovers hold third place in the Central League.
On Sunday, he will again be in action as the Bill Robertson-coached team takes on North Wellington in a third-round Chatham Cup clash.
“He’s very professional. He’s got really high standards for himself,” Robertson said.
“What I like about him is he’s accountable. If he makes a mistake, he knows he’s made a mistake and he’s working hard to correct that moving forward.
“He challenges himself to not concede goals. And every goal that goes in, he looks at and asks, ‘How could I have done better there?’ That’s a really good trait to have.
“I’ve been impressed with his professionalism. There’s no doubt he’s a good goalkeeper and he will be very important for us moving forward.”
Tonning has replaced New Zealand age-grade international Oscar Mason in goal for Napier City Rovers this season. Mason earlier signed with Auckland’s Western Springs AFC who are challenging for National League qualification from the Northern League.
Tonning continued his outstanding form all season in Central League action last weekend during Napier City Rovers’ eventual 2-0 loss to Wellington Olympic in the capital.
The scores were locked 0-0 at the break after several crucial Tonning saves, including his third penalty stop of the season.
The Dane pulled off several more cracking saves in the second half. But not even Tonning’s strong form could do anything to stop Tor Davenport Petersen’s stunning 81st-minute strike to make the final scoreline 2-0.
At the other end of the pitch, the side’s strike force was unable to capitalise on several goal-scoring opportunities.
Robertson said signing players overseas could be a “gamble”, given highlights reels compiled by individual players – might be the only game footage they could access of a prospective signing.
But in Tonning, they had secured a goalkeeper with a strong presence who his defenders had total confidence in.
“He’s got a good presence about him,” Robertson said.
“He’s put some really good performances in and hopefully he can continue to do that for the second half of the Central League, and hopefully in the National League and in a Chatham Cup run.”
Tonning and his teammates will face North Wellington in Chatham Cup action on Sunday.
Last month they beat the side 3-2 in Central League action.
North Wellington are in ninth spot in the 10-team Central League. Napier City sit in third spot after 10 rounds of the 18-round league.
But league spots count for nothing when it comes to knockout football in the Chatham Cup.
“We know it’s not going to be an easy game,” Robertson said.
“Although North Wellington are towards the bottom of the league in the Central League, they’ve had some reasonable results recently.
“They beat Wellington Phoenix Reserves 4-1 in the last round of the Chatham Cup which was a really good result. And they drew [against Waterside Karori] in the Central League last weekend.
“We were 2-0 down to them at one stage in our Central League clash before we came back to win 3-2. We’re expecting a difficult game.”
Sunday’s game is the first of two crucial games on successive Sundays for Napier City Rovers.
They will return to Bluewater Stadium’s pitch on June 23 for a Central League clash against Waterside Karori.
Robertson’s team battered Waterside Karori 5-1 in the capital earlier this season. But since then the Wellington club has strung together some impressive results to sit in fourth spot on the Central League table.
“They’ve had a really good run and they’re sitting just outside the top three . . . they’re knocking on the door,” he said.
“So it will be another important game for us in terms of us making the top three and qualifying for the National League.”
Watch the Inside the Rovers video series:
Episode One: Back to Work
Episode Two: The Darkest Days
Episode Three: Skin Deep
Episode Four: Good as Gould
Episode Five: The Hard Yards
Episode Six: Leaving a Legacy
Episode Seven: Fun and Games
Episode Eight: Game Day
Episode Nine: The Great Dane
Episode 10: Back-to-Back
Episode 11: Long Road Back
Episode 12: Total Commitment
Episode 13: The Bravest Boy
Episode 14: Love of the Game
Episode 15: A Rapid Rise
Episode 16: Mixed Emotions
Episode 17: Cup Fever
Neil Reid is a Napier-based senior reporter who covers general news, features and sport. He joined the Herald in 2014 and has 30 years of newsroom experience.