Bill Robertson has played against Lower Hutt but never at Fraser Park. Photo/File
Forget for a moment any religious connotations to Good Friday and fleetingly embrace the literal meaning of everything good.
Bluewater Napier City Rovers soccer coach Bill Robertson will take that offering any time in his troops' approach to their game against Lower Hutt City in Wellington tomorrow.
Coming off a 5-1 thrashing to Miramar Rangers in the previous round of their Lotto Central League match at David Farrington Park, Robertson is optimistic about quickly getting their campaign back on track.
"It was a disappointment last weekend but, like I said, the result didn't reflect how well we played," he said after Rangers, reduced to 10 men following 20 minutes of play, dished out a don't-argue performance.
"However, it was a defeat, so it's important for us to bounce back," he says before the 2.30pm kickoff at Fraser Park.
The Brendan McIntyre-coached Canaries have moved from their traditional home ground of Bell Park and Robertson, who is recovering from ankle surgery, hastens to add he has never played on the park before.
Needless to say, training has gone well and the Danny Wilson-captained Blues are itching to kick off.
"When you're coming from a losing match, you want the next game to come around as quickly as possible to put things right to claim the maximum three points."
Easier said than done because Lower Hutt are the O'Brien Challenge Shield holders, which should add spice to the encounter.
A cursory glance at the encounters between the sides shows Rovers haven't really stamped their supremacy against predominantly young talent.
In September last year, the teams played a thrilling 4-4 stalemate in what was effectively a dead rubber at Bell Park, as neither side was in contention for the title.
McIntyre was the more aggrieved, seeing his youthful side squander a 4-2 lead, but they kept the shield.
In April that year, the Glaswegian and the then Rovers coach, Grant Hastings, were left in a melancholic mood after a 1-1 draw at Park Island, with the latter this time filthy they hadn't claimed three points on home turf.
In October 2012, the McIntyre-coached Lower Hutt under-19 side showed they should not be taken lightly after they clinched the "Football Central"-sponsored Youth Championship at Bluewater Stadium.
In August 2012, the Lower Hutt Central League team's fairytale run to the Chatham Cup ended in a 6-1 thrashing in the final at the hands of a star-studded Central United but they were far from disgraced.
Rovers last beat the Wellingtonians 2-0 in June 2012 at Park Island.
Tomorrow, Rovers will be without silent achiever and right back Fergus Neil, who will jet off to Ontario to play for Kingston FC in the Canadian Premier League.
Robertson won't decide on his replacement in the starting XI until later today, with Phil Dol and Josh Anstis the contenders to replace Neil.
However, it'll be hard to look past Dol, who came off the bench against Miramar last Saturday to score a consolation goal.
Niggles aside, the rest of the squad is able and willing.
"If we can perform to the standard I know we can, then we're confident of returning with a win," Robertson says.
Lower Hutt find themselves on the second rung of the league ladder, on equal six points with Miramar but an inferior goal difference, after technically registering two wins, although they lost 2-0 to Western Suburbs in their league opener.
That's because Western Suburbs fielded Michael Fraser, who scored both goals, when he should have been serving a match suspension picked up at the end of last season.
"We got the points. They had a struggling centre forward, so Michael played and particularly well, so all the more reason for us to get the three points," says McIntyre, lauding Western Suburbs, who starved them of possession.
Assistant coach to Jonathan Gould, of Napier, in last year's Wellington Phoenix A team, McIntyre impresses he has for the past five years developed young talent.
Ex-Bay United and Lower Hutt striker Hamish Watson is a product of his tenure as he awaited his turn off the A-League bench.
Happy with where they are at, he is mindful of the backlash from a smarting Rovers.
"Bill's taken over Napier City and they have got a couple of good imports from [the United Kingdom]," he says of 19-year-old central midfielders Ryan Tinsley, of England, and Miles John, of Wales.
"We get our imports from Porirua and Wellington. We don't go as far as England."
McIntyre says his club, incorporating juniors, has opted for Fraser Park because the authorities in the area are upgrading facilities for the benefit of all codes.
"It's fair because Bell Park has not been great for a number of years," the Scotsman says.