HOUSEKEEPING is something Shaun Peta is very familiar with.
Cooking, cleaning, taking the garbage out, doing the dishes, hanging the laundry on the clothesline have all been part of his repertoire.
Now you can add nappy changing, bathing, bringing up the burp and rocking the cradle to that impressive list because he and partner, Hannah Duff, have had their first child, 6-week-old Maia, keeping them on their toes at their Poukawa home.
"She's my daughter, so I'm really loving doing it," the 26-year-old footballer says, but it's another type of domestic duties the goalkeeper has become renowned for before his Bluewater Napier City Rovers side prepare for tomorrow's 2pm kick-off against Wairarapa United in Napier.
The Central League match at the Bluewater Stadium at Park Islander should be a humdinger because the Phil Keinzley-coached visitors are also in the running with the Rovers as the last 16 teams in the road to Chatham Cup (national knockout) glory.
As of late, Rovers coach Grant Hastings has referred to Peta's prowess as "housekeeping", clarifying the gloveman doesn't do anything extraordinary.
"We have five clean sheets with zero goals against us, so that in itself is pleasing," Hastings says of his men who will host Palmerston North Marist in the Chatham Cup game on Sunday, July 3, while Wairarapa will make their maiden appearance in the cup quarter-finals against Wellington United at Newtown Park.
The Rovers are relishing the consistency in line-ups for the past few weeks although explosive midfielder Joe Simpkins is out this week after his first start last Sunday.
Hastings is mindful of Wairarapa's ability to attack clinically from broken play with the flair they possess in a dazzling midfield and potent strikers.
"They are forever threatening, there you go. They have the best attack in the league with Adam Cowan and Pita Rabo in the middle, and Campbell Banks and Seuele Soromon up front, so not too many teams wouldn't want players like that in their side, too," he says.
Peta, who has conceded only one goal, to Olympic in their 1-1 stalemate at Park Island, says Wairarapa are lethal on counter-attacks but are also a side who can forget to come to the park at times.
"It'll be a tough game," says Peta, bemoaning the Rovers' 1-0 loss at Masterton in the first round when a player "dived in the box" and the referee waved play on, enabling Cowan to toe-poke the ball into the back of the net while the defenders were still howling in protest.
On his housekeeping, Peta says he simply organises the defence and keeps barking instructions during freekicks and cornerkicks.
"It's nothing flashy. I do my job and I know everyone will do theirs. I just keep things clean," he says, mindful that third-placed Wairarapa's national and international players will test him.
Having come off an arduous stretch of road games early in the season, the Rovers now "know how to win".
Having had major surgery last winter after shattering his cheekbones in Wellington, Peta says he's found his confidence and tries not to have the incident in the back of his mind in 50-50 confrontational situations.
Keinzley is happy with his troops, who thumped Red Sox Manawatu 6-0 in the last Chatham Cup round and are unbeaten after three games.
"I've had to tweak players so everyone is playing in different positions," he reveals, after drawing 1-1 with Cru Bar Maycenvale United in Hastings on May 29 when they should have won.
His efforts to get another Fijian international, Valerio Nawatu, hit a glitch and the striker has returned home after his Lautoka club declined to release him.
"He trained with us and he was excellent, but we'll have to appeal to Fifa to get him back for next season," Keinzley says.
Vale are hosting Lower Hutt City, the team whose scalp they historically claimed for their maiden league victory, in a 2pm kick off tomorrow at the Hawke's Bay Regional Sports Park.
Housekeeping sits just fine with Peta
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