Vale rue loss after Tawa fightback

Maycenvale United could be excused for thinking their first foes in the Central League would be easybeats after soaring to a two-goal lead with less than half an hour gone in the capital on Saturday.
It was a fair enough thought for anyone watching, as Tawa - seventh of 10 teams in last year's league - looked out of sorts as the Cru Bar-sponsored Vale surged forward continually, the strikeforce of Leon Birnie and Joachim Rande giving their defence a torrid time.
But that bus trip back to Hastings would have been a painful one as the team reflected on an opportunity lost, with Tawa striking back to win 3-2 in an engrossing encounter at Redwood Park in Wellington's northern suburbs.
It will be a learning experience for last year's Federation League champions, who had looked impressive in play-off victories against Upper Hutt and Team Taranaki. They will need to be quick learners as league heavyweights Miramar Rangers, Western Suburbs and Olympic loom over the next few months.
After the match, Vale player-coach Chris Greatholder was left to rue some missed chances and allowing Tawa to get two goals back before half-time.
"We started really well and missed a couple of good chances so could have been four up with half an hour gone," Greatholder said.
"Fair play to them. They came back with a bit of nous through experience playing in this league. We've learnt a cruel lesson today, but we now know what to do to compete at this level."
The Englishman admitted some mistakes were made.
"They dropped a little deeper and we still went long (ball) when possibly we should have changed our game plan and tried to find some joy through the middle. The goals we conceded were pretty sloppy ones."
Greatholder also said Maycenvale might have to look at their fitness levels and how they approach the rest of the season.
It all looked good when Rande put Maycenvale in front after 17 minutes, taking advantage of poor marking and creating history in becoming the first player to score in the league for the club.
Ten minutes later Adam Chandler's dangerous chip into the penalty area was prodded into the net by a panicking home player.
But the red-topped Tawa - whose shirts clashed with Vale's orange ones - got one back on the half-hour mark through Mike Ramaekers and, before the break, Karl Romjin drove past keeper Kyle Baxter.
It wasn't a good day for the Scottish goalkeeper who went off injured in the second half after a leg knock.
Losing a goal three minutes into the second half knocked the stuffing out of the visitors and the game descended into mediocrity with Vale unable to make much of an impact, although Rande came close with a header.
Olympic 4 NCR 1 Bluewater Napier City Rovers coach Grant Hastings refused to be downcast despite his team's 4-1 defeat to the hands of Olympic at Wellington's Newtown Park yesterday.
Rovers were one-all with the defending champions at halftime but it would take a cruel heart to say they deserved to go down by such an unflattering scoreline.
There were some notable performances from the largely new-look team and they should enjoy success against several clubs this year.
However, Olympic are clearly a classy act with stars such as Hicham Kamri and Jimmy Haidakis in their ranks.
Despite the magnitude of the task, Hastings felt they could have done much better.
"We battled hard and showed plenty of character but it was also a day where we didn't have much luck," he said.
"Unfortunately, at 2-1 when we were very much in the game and creating a few chances, there was a really bad deflection that made it 3-1 and it's game, set and match, really.
"They're a class act, you can't argue with that but we competed well to be fair. We showed more character than we did when we were here last season and you can't fault the determination of the players. They just need to be a wee bit more accurate."
Olympic scored an early penalty through Kamri and followed this in the second spell with a header by Haidakis, who latched on to a brilliant cross, a Barry Lewis shot that was turned into his own net by Rovers captain Regan Cameron and, late on, a header from Jamie O'Connor from another pinpoint cross.
Napier's goal came through a Stu Wilson penalty on the half hour mark. They also had a good claim for another spot kick after Andy Bevin was bundled off the ball with Olympic holding a one-goal advantage.
It is such decisions that can make or break a game.