Napier City Rovers romped to a 10-0 Chatham Cup round-two victory last weekend. Neil Reid reports six days on they face New Zealand’s top club Wellington Olympic in Central League action.
Stephen Hoyle is under no illusion what awaits Napier City Rovers on Saturday.
But he also isn’t shying away from wholeheartedly backing the Central League team he both plays for and is an assistant coach of, ahead of their road trip to the capital to take on Wellington Olympic.
The Paul Ifill-coached team leads the Central League – a competition they won last year, along with the National League – by two competition points as the second round kicks off.
Napier City Rovers and Western Suburbs are in third and second respectively, separated by goal difference.
Hoyle said there was no denying Saturday’s match was a “massive challenge”, but it was one he and his teammates would embrace.
“There’s no better games than these games for me,” Hoyle said.
“We have to believe that we can go on and really do some good things this season. And to do that, you have to beat teams like Olympic.
“I’m looking forward to getting out there and trying to get on top. We’re going down to win the game.”
Wellington Olympic triumphed 3-0 when the two teams clashed in the opening round of the 2024 Central League at Bluewater Stadium on March 31.
Napier City Rovers were unable to translate some of the dominance they showed for decent periods of the match to points on the scoreboard.
Wellington Olympic led 1-0 with just six minutes remaining, then went on to triple their lead as Napier City Rovers were reduced to nine men after brothers Kieran and Ethan Richards were red-carded.
Hoyle said the result highlighted how close the line between victory and defeat could be.
“When you play a team like Olympic, with their quality, it’s all about the fine margins,” he said. “You have to take your moments and you have to stop them getting them.
“So while the game was 50-50, they had three moments and took them.
“It’s one thing to get within a close distance of them. It’s another thing to get that extra 1 and 2 per cent it takes to beat the top side.”
Napier City Rovers will take on Wellington Olympic six days after their 10-0 blitz over Palmerston North Marist in Chatham Cup action.
From the get-go, the Bill Robertson-coached team were both clinical and adopted a level of intensity that the table leaders in Central Football’s Federation League – a tier down from Central League – struggled to handle.
They held a 9-0 lead at halftime, via hat-tricks from Jonny McNamara and Sam Lack, a double from Adam Hewson and a sweetly taken curling strike from Benjamin Stanley, just reward for what was an impressive showing from him.
“I thought we came flying out of the blocks,” Hoyle said.
“The way we came out and dominated, I was really impressed with that.
“I think everything Jonny touched turned to gold. He was very, very good. He finished off his chances and created some as well.”
McNamara added a fourth in the second half to secure the double-figure victory.
The scoreline would have been higher if not for some desperate saves by Palmerston North Marist goalkeeper Nick Hayward.
At the other end of the pitch, Napier City Rovers goalkeeper William Tonning was rarely tested; but when he was, he pulled off a couple of great saves that ensured he kept a clean sheet.
In the draw for round-three matches - which was carried out on Tuesday afternoon – Napier City Rovers have been drawn to host North Wellington on June 16.
The Bluewater Stadium-based club has one of the proudest records in the 101-year history of the knockout competition.
They’ve won it five times in their 51-year history; just two titles short of the record jointly held by Christchurch United and University-Mount Wellington.
But it is one trophy that has so far eluded Barnsley-born Hoyle, whose career has seen him play on pitches in the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
The lure of winning it was “massive” for him.
“I feel like there’s nobody more desperate here to win a Champion Cup than me. I’ve lost two finals. I’ve lost multiple semifinals.
“I’m desperate to add number six for this club and for me before I finish playing, which is obviously closer than it is far away. I’m hopeful that we can do that this year.”
Hoyle returned to Napier City Rovers – who are captained by his younger brother, Jim – this season, nine years after ending his first stint in Hawke’s Bay.
His career then took him to Canada, as well as stints at Canterbury United, WaiBOP United and between 2019-22 at Auckland’s Eastern Suburbs. The return to Napier sees him playing and being one of Robertson’s assistants.
The 10-0 win over Palmerston North Marist saw Hoyle switch from being a forward – where he had played earlier in the season – to slotting in as a centre back.
“I will do whatever is needed for the team, but I enjoyed my football [against Palmerston North Marist],” he said.
“When I play as a middle centre back, I think I can kind of lead and talk and communicate from there. I was excited to get an opportunity to do that.”
Hoyle said he was enjoying his return to Napier City Rovers as a player and assistant coach.
“We’ve got a lot of good characters, it’s a great club and we’ve got a great surface to come out and play on,” he said.
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
Episode 10: Back-to-Back
Episode 11: Long Road Back
Episode 12: Total Commitment
Episode 13: The Bravest Boy
Episode 14: Love of the Game
Episode 15: A Rapid Rise
Episode 16: Mixed Emotions
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.
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