The pleasure of pressure: Goalkeeper’s pride in being the last line of defence

• Napier City Rovers goalkeeper Harry Townsend made a winning debut in a 3-2 victory over Western Suburbs.
• Townsend, 23, enjoys the pressure and challenges of being a goalkeeper.
• He reunited with defender Matt Jones, both previously teammates at Missouri State University.

Goalkeeper can be football’s loneliest position – especially when your team is losing.

But it’s a position Napier City Rovers goalkeeper Harry Townsend wouldn’t swap for any other on the football pitch.

The 23-year-old is one of two recruits hailing from Britain for the Bill Robertson-coached team before this year’s top-tier domestic football leagues.

He made his first-team league debut in his side’s 3-2 win in their Central League opener against Western Suburbs in Wellington on Saturday.

Harry Townsend says when the going gets tough it's good to reflect on past successes and why they happened. Photo / Neil Reid

Before Sunday’s clash with North Wellington at Bluewater Stadium, the young shot-stopper talked about his love for wearing the No 1 shirt.

“I love that it’s a sort of a position where it’s a sport within a sport,” he said.

“It’s a bit lonely at times. But it’s nice that you have that sort of pressure on you all the time. I really enjoy that.

“You don’t get a lot of plaudits, but it’s nice to have that pressure and try to do your job well.”

Townsend made a winning start to his Napier City Rovers career last Saturday.

Napier City Rovers fans will be hoping these pair of hands have a strong season in 2025, Photo / Neil Reid

Goals from Sam Lack, Jack Albertini and Adam Hewson helped the team to a 3-2 win over the side Napier City Rovers were locked in second spot with at the end of last year’s 2024 Central League.

Sunday’s clash will see the return of former Napier City Rovers player Alex Mort in the colours of North Wellington. He has returned to the capital to play football after his 2024 season was ruined by a groin injury.

Just like strikers talk of the euphoria they feel after slotting a goal into the net, Townsend said pulling off a crucial save provided a heck of a buzz.

“Yeah, it’s a nice feeling,” he said.

“It’s a nice little rush. And that’s what you sort of live for in goal.”

When things weren’t going so well, Townsend said it was important to keep perspective and think back on things that had worked well.

Harry Townsend warms up at Park Island before a midweek training session. Photo / Neil Reid

“I’ve had a lot of experiences, good and bad, and you can always reflect on them,” he said.

“They always get you through. And normally the good outweigh the bad.”

For Townsend, those good experiences include two trophy-winning seasons at Missouri State University and in 2022 keeping the most clean sheets in the US league the side played in.

Like so many other goalkeepers, Townsend has a locked-in matchday routine, including what he eats, the order he puts his kit on and the things he has to cover during his warm-up.

Townsend’s signing with Napier City Rovers has him linking back up on the pitch with close friend and defender Matt Jones.

Matt Jones (No 6) played in the same university team as Harry Townsend when they were studying in the US. Photo / Neil Reid

Jones was a standout for the side in 2024, his first season with the team.

The pair had previously been teammates for two seasons at Missouri State University after Townsend had travelled from England to study in the US.

After graduating from the university last year, he was considering his next options when Jones told him about life at Napier City Rovers.

The club was in the market for a new goalkeeper after Danish goal-stopper William Tonning secured a professional contract in Europe.

“I thought, ‘Why not?’ ... have a new experience,” Townsend said.

“I was looking at coming over [to New Zealand] before for a new experience and to try something new. I was in contact with Jonesy at the time and Tonners [Tonning] left for a new opportunity, so it all came about.”

The pair had bonded well when they were at Missouri State, with Townsend joking “it’s like the middle of nowhere, there’s not much going on, so all the boys spent a lot of time together”.

Jones and Townsend are not only mates and teammates, but they’re also housemates.

The pair are among five players – including Max Chretien, Kieran Richards and Mason Johnson – who are renting a house together.

Like Townsend, 19-year-old Englishman Johnson is also new to Napier City Rovers this season.

Jones, Chretien and Richards were key performers for the side throughout 2024; a year that ended with the Jim Hoyle-captained team finishing two competition points shy of reaching the National League final.

“Pretty much the core of the team has returned,” Townsend said.

“So, we want to try and build on that and win some trophies, hopefully.”

Townsend arrived in Napier during the tail-end of summer, in time for the start of his side’s pre-season campaign that began on February 6.

Away from the footy pitch, he has enjoyed the outdoors including playing some golf with Jones – “he’s a lot better than me,” he joked – and visits to the beach.

English goalkeeper Harry Townsend is a new signing for Napier City Rovers for 2025 as the side aims for a successful Central League season and qualification for the National League. Photo / Neil Reid

“It’s a lot different lifestyle to Missouri and England,” he said. “It’s been cool.”

Neil Reid is a Napier-based senior reporter who covers general news, features and sport. He joined the Herald in 2014 and has 33 years of newsroom experience.

Sign up to The Daily H, a free newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.