Napier City Rovers coach Bill Robertson talks to Neil Reid about his side’s positive start to the 2024 Central League and the red-hot battle for starting spots.
It’s not just the opposition providing challenges for coach Bill Robertson in Napier City Rovers’ promising start to the 2024 Central League.
So too are selection calls, given the rapidly increasing internal competition for spots in the starting 11.
The team that beat Wellington side Stop Out last weekend was again missing club hero Liam Schofield and new import Benjamin Stanley, who played in the season’s opening match.
And again, those players who came off the bench in the 3-0 win – as some did in earlier wins over Waterside Karori and the season-opening loss to national champs Wellington Olympic – took their chances to push for regular squad inclusion.
On Saturday the side faces the Wellington Phoenix Reserves in the capital.
Missing will be veteran defender Fergus Neil – who has played well in the first two matches of the season – as the Phoenix clash will be played on artificial turf. Kieran Richards is also out due to suspension.
Robertson said there was strong competition throughout the squad for match-day places, a positive dilemma to have.
“We’ve got a competitive squad,” he said.
“There are lads not in the squad that beat Stop Out, that are very important to this group. And by training well and keeping everything competitive, [they’re pushing for selection].
“We’ll digest the Stop Out win and have a look again at training this week.”
One of the things Robertson has to juggle is New Zealand Football’s regulation that each match-day squad can feature just four non-local players.
For the past two weeks that quartet has featured captain Jim Hoyle, his brother and returning forward Stephen Hoyle (also on deck this year as the side’s assistant coach), goal-scorer Jonny McNamara and Danish goalkeeper William Tonning.
Barnsley-born Schofield is still classified as a non-local despite being here since 2018.
Stanley is also British born, and despite growing up in NZ is still classified as a foreign player; something that pending paperwork will resolve and see him classed as a local.
Stephen Hoyle is also working through that process, having first played in NZ in 2012.
Several other quality players are yet to feature in a Central League match-day squad due to injury; Max Chretien, Ben Lack and Alex Mort.
Napier City Rovers will head to Wellington this weekend after successive dominant wins over Waterside Karori and then Stop Out.
Robertson’s team controlled both halves before a strong crowd at Bluewater Stadium.
Defender Matt Jones had a cracking shot saved by Stop Out keeper James Sutcliffe, McNamara struck the woodwork and several other chances narrowly missed.
In the second half, Napier City Rovers increased the match tempo and the goals that eluded them narrowly in the first half were delivered.
Forward Oscar Faulds opened the score in the 55th minute, before a McNamara brace in the 63rd and 66th minute.
“It’s important obviously to keep chalking off the wins,” Robertson said afterwards.
“And if we’re going to achieve anything we’ve got to win most of our games at home, if not all of them.
“I thought the performance was really good, it was control. It took us a while to break them down, they were quite resilient, they sat deep and obviously defended quite well.
“We limited them to not many shots and we’ve dominated possession and created plenty of opportunities which was good.”
The challenge going forward is to be “a little bit more ruthless at times”.
Faulds’ goal pushed his tally to four after the opening three rounds of the Central League, having earlier scored a hat-trick in the 5-1 win over Waterside Karori.
The Swedish-born Kiwi again showed against Stop Out how his large frame and turn of pace will be a handful for plenty of defensive systems this season.
“He likes to score goals, as all forwards do,” Robertson said.
“And so far, he’s doing that. He’s had a good start to his time at Napier City Rovers.”
It’s been hard to miss fellow 2024 recruit Stephen Hoyle, either during pre-season training, at the three-weekly training sessions the side now completes or in their three Central League matches to date.
Sunday’s win over Stop Out came 12 years, and one day, since making his Napier City Rovers debut.
Hoyle’s footballing journey – which has included two Central League triumphs with the club – later saw him play in Canada, Australia and at three other NZ clubs.
As an assistant to Robertson, Hoyle’s presence has been strong on the training pitch.
In action, he continues to show he is hugely valuable as a starter up front and has repeatedly come close to scoring over the past two weeks.
“Steve’s come full circle . . . he’s had a really good career in the game,” Robertson said.
“He’s still obviously really effective as we’ve seen [against Stop Out]. He didn’t quite get a goal, but that will come.
“He does the work in training during the week as a coach and he’s offering a huge amount of value back to the club where he started in NZ.”
Watch the Inside the Rovers video series:
Episode One: Back to Work
Episode Two: The Darkest Days
Episode Three: Skin Deep
Episode Four: Good as Gould
Episode Five: The Hard Yards
Episode Six: Leaving a Legacy
Episode Seven: Fun and Games
Episode Eight: Game Day
Episode Nine: The Great Dane
Neil Reid is a Napier-based senior reporter who covers general news, features and sport. He joined the Herald in 2014 and has 30 years of newsroom experience.
