Olympic 5 Rovers 2
Wakefield Park, Wellington
Just 45 minutes into the new season and Napier City Rovers' players, many making their debut, were given a wake-up call that was as fervent as it was unexpected.
By that stage the defending Central League champions were 4-0 behind to Olympic FC in Wellington and coach Grant Hastings provided what he described as an "encouraging halftime talk".
Asked exactly what this encouragement entailed, Hastings gave a peek into his management style when things go wrong, as they did so spectacularly on Saturday.
"Put it this way I had to check if there were no old ladies or children within earshot before I walked into the changing room."
Were there any hairdryers about I said, in reference to the in-your-face-and-shouting treatment that Sir Alex Ferguson purportedly dished out to underperforming players?
"No, no, but it was one he would have been proud of."
It was without doubt one of the Rovers worst spells in recent years and Hastings wasn't in any mood to hold back afterwards.
"We were absolutely awful. We had no shape, no structure, no passion, no pride - everyone was flat."
Hastings' tirade had some impact: Danny Wilson scored 10 minutes after the restart, and Jared Bloor scored again later on, but by that stage Olympic had already scored again on their way to a comfortable 5-2 victory.
But it wasn't just about the goals, the defence finally found their purpose with two goal-line clearances and other clearcut chances denied.
Having lost nine of the players who were behind successful season last year, Rovers were always going to find time to settle into the defence of their title.
The exodus of Stephen Hoyle, Fergus Neil and Matt Hastings and the unavailability of captain Bill Robertson for several weeks would hinder any team and it will take time for their replacements, a mixture of old hands and youth, to gel.
Nevertheless, Hastings was concerned about the lack of pride and passion during much of the opener.
"You know what, I'm not worried about losing the first game, I'm worried about how we performed in the first 45 minutes. But then we went some way to putting that right in the second half. Hopefully it will be the last half-time team talk I will have to give like that one today."
The first three goals were from Rovers' errors, he said, a defender getting caught on the ball, or a midfielder making a wayward pass.
Hastings had, he admitted, plenty to think about and only seven days to do it, when the Park Island side host Lower Hutt City, which turfed them out of the Chatham Cup last season.
Hastings said part of his problem this early on was having players only start training with them two weeks before the season kicked off because they were tied up with Hawke's Bay Utd.
"We get them in because they're quality but we don't have them long enough," he said.
The coach reveals up to three new players will join the squad soon.
They too will need to bed in quickly if the Rovers aren't going to be playing catch-up this early.
Result: Olympic 5 (Andrew Abba, Jimmy Hadaikis, Clayton Lewis, Colm Kenny, Van Elia) Rovers 2 (Danny Wilson, Jared Bloor). HT: 4-0.