Soccer: Upper Hutt result sign of things for Rovers

Angus Kilkolly rues a missed chance but the striker went on to draw first blood for Rovers as Upper Hutt player/coach Pedro Garcias' face sums up the feeling in Napier. Photo/Paul Taylor

It's definitely early days but more often than not the opening match is a good indicator of how the season will pan out.

At face value, the 4-0 result showed Bluewater Napier City Rovers crushed Upper Hutt in Napier yesterday in their Lotto Central League soccer match.

However, take a more incisive look at the Park Island clash and a template of sorts appears.

Will the Rovers be title contenders and will Upper Hutt be staving off relegation with the advent of spring?

Big calls if one concurs but on the evidence of the Bill Robertson-coached Blues' performance yesterday it's a pretty fair assumption.

Sure, the opposition weren't Miramar Rangers, Wellington Olympic, Western Suburbs or Wairarapa United but the signs are promising.

Crisp passing, cohesiveness, resilience in defence and a scrambling cover when chinks appeared, lateral vision to switch play when traffic is busy, putting passes out wide before turning the money ball into the 18m "stock exchange" zone - the Rovers had it all.

Conversely, Upper Hutt seldom ever looked like scoring from any constructive play.

In the couple of times they were gifted opportunities to redeem themselves, the Pedro Garcias-coached side appeared bereft of ideas and a killer instinct.

Bluntly, the visitors lacked all the attributes of the hosts listed above and Garcias would have been better off letting one of his younger charges take the field before him.

"We're pleased with the first game of the season but it was good to get a win under our belt," Robertson said.

While they dominated, he felt it was imperative to put their opposition in perspective against the league's movers and shakers.

"For such a cohesive performance first up, considering our preparation was disrupted, it's quite pleasing," Robertson said.

The turnaround time for the Danny Wilson-captained Blues is minimal as they face defending champions Miramar at David Farrington Park this Saturday.

"We're mindful it's a huge step up but our confidence is high so we'll work on a few things this week."

Defenders winning aerial battles during freekicks and corner kicks should be one of them on the evidence of yesterday's effort when an Upper Hutt player surrounded by Blue shirts somehow got his head first to the ball.

With the upright denying him a goal in the the 5th minute following a ranging throw from Stu Wilson, Rovers striker Angus Kilkolly didn't make a mistake two minutes later from about 25m out, drilling the ball past a diving Chris Campbell to put Rovers up 1-0.

Upper Hutt centre back Jake Harris brought down midfielder Josh Stevenson in the 18m box in the 34th minute to concede a penalty kick which left back Matt Hastings scored from for a 2-0 lead.

A minute after halftime, English import Ryan Tinsley made it 3-0 with a header after a cross from Welsh import Miles John.

Tinsley bagged his second goal to make it 4-0, after a deft corner kick from Hastings.