Football: First or last, fire still burns in belly of Napier City Rovers, Havelock North Wanderers

Wanderers winger Liam Shackleton can't slip past Rovers striker Patryk Misik's sliding tackle in their derby match early last month. Photo/file

Just because one team is in the hunt for silverware on the top perch of the ladder it doesn't mean the other, languishing on the last rung, have nothing to play for.

That is best illustrated in Ultra Football Central League where leaders Thirsty Whale Napier City Rovers are eyeing their third crown while Building King Havelock North Wanderers are hellbent on staving off relegation, after responding to an 11th-hour SOS from the organisers to join the premier winter men's competition after Team Taranaki pulled out due to a dearth of players.

Only the brave or misguided will dare juxtapose the passion and intensity required to stamp one's supremacy as powerhouses or dig one's toes in to show they belong in a top-tier competition.

As the two Hawke's Bay campaigners prepare for the double-header league and ISPS Handa Chatham Cup (national knockout) matches today and on Queen's Birthday Monday one can be excused for having pangs of sympathy for the villagers in the quality of oppositions they are facing.

"I think they know that any football game at this level isn't a given so they'll be going there with the right attitude and mentality to try to get a result," says Rovers player/coach Bill Robertson, whose Blues kick off at 2.30pm away against Integration Works Waterside Karori in round 10 today before returning to Wellington to play Parapine ITM Upper Hutt City in a 2pm kick off on Monday.

Conversely the Chris Greatholder-coached Wanderers host second-placed Stop Out Sports Club in a 1pm kick off at Guthrie Park today and then reload against third-placed Advanced Electrical Western Suburbs, who slayed them 9-0 here last Sunday, in the cup clash in the village.

Robertson says they are half way through the season now so he suspects the league will become stronger with marquee players returning to the fold from higher honours.

"We just kind of need to maintain our own standards to pick up as many points as we can," he says.

A cursory glance at the bottom of the ladder, says the centreback, shows how close Karori and the Wanderers are to each other with the former coming away from defeats where a goal could have gone either way.

"We're not expecting an easy game by any stretch of the imagination. We think it's going to be a difficult fixture because they've got some experience in there so it'll be another tough game but we'll go into very game trying to pick up three points," he says of the Blues, who have just one loss to date.

Robertson says the Rovers don't have the luxury to stay two nights in a motel so they'll return home before heading back to the capital city.

"Obviously that in itself has it's share of challenges so we'll try to do as much as we can for our preparation and recovery but that's what it takes to play in this league," he says, adding the Rovers will not be finding any excuses in the face of any negative results.

He doesn't believe he needs to motivate captain James Hoyle and his men because they understand how the second half of the campaign is panning out.

The cup clash, he says, means they are playing a lower-tier Capital Premier League side but he doesn't expect his troops to take their foot of the throat on the artificial turf at Maidstone Park.

"In a knockout competition you have to take your best in every game and we want to be in round three so we have two very important games this weekend."

Wanderers striker Ian Paia and Rovers midfielder Karan Mandair tussle for possession as Blues Canadian import Wesley Cain watches early last month. Photo/file

Robertson will rotate players in his squad to ensure bench players have more time while some starting XI members have adequate rest to keep everyone fresh.

"Two games in three days and the travel factor isn't easy because sitting on the bus is not the same recovery you'd have games at home."

English import defender Jamie Wilkinson seems to have recovered from a broken toe while Bjorn Christensen is closer to making his debut for the Blues after crossing the floor from Havelock North.

While they had conceded leaked goals against Agvet Keinzley Wairarapa United in the 7-5 victory in Masterton last Saturday Robertson is pleased with how they have defended collectively.

On the other end of the park, it delights in the Blues scoring 38 goals, averaging 4.2 a game, which they intend to maintain.

Greatholder says not too many people would have expected them to claim six points in the season but taking a beating against the likes of Suburbs and Rovers shouldn't come as a surprise considering their hasty preparations.

"If we happen to win [today] then to have nine points from 10 games will be a fantastic achievement so you've got to keep yourself sane like and not be too rough with yourselves during the bad times," says the player/coach.

He reiterates promoted Karori, on the same points but above them on the ladder on goal average, are a decent side.

"It's a big deal for them as well so we don't have any god-given rights just because we're passionate about it and we want to remain in the league."

He recalls the irony of how if Wairarapa had scored that 90th-minute penalty a fortnight ago in Karori's 2-1 win it would have given Havelock North a nice buffer.