It was a third consecutive away scalp, three more goals and three more vital points in the race for that top four spot for Thirsty Whale Napier City Rovers with their 3-0 win against Waterside Karori in Wellington on Saturday.

Played in unbelievably tough conditions with a howling southernly gale that was brutal, even for Wellington standards, and on the artificial surface of Wakefield Park after the game was moved from the sodden Karori Park, the Blues were outstanding. The conditions were seriously next level with the gale coming straight across the pitch, and at times making keeping the ball inside the playing arena difficult, let alone playing any semblance of possession football. The Blues did what Karori had done two weeks ago at Park Island and adapted to the conditions, and boy, did they have some adapting to do.

The back three of Kaeden Atkins – playing after his red card from last weekend was rescinded – skipper Jim Hoyle, and debutant George Andrew dealt with the long ball brilliantly. Wing backs Jack Albertini and Christian Leopard worked tirelessly in defense while being vital outlets and dangerous in attack. Goalkeeper Oscar Mason made a couple of good early saves, was calm under pressure and directed those in front of him around expertly. In midfield Ta Eh Doe was outstanding, hustling into every challenge, retaining possession and using it thoughtfully and accurately, whilst his midfield partner in crime, Cam Emerson, was simply immense. The front three of Jonny McNamara, Deri Corfe and Stefan Karajovanovic chased everything and defended from the front superbly. They all showed their quality by retaining possession – something in normal conditions you would take for granted but this game was played in anything other than “normal” conditions – and linked up well when the chance arose.

Head Coach Bill Robertson was delighted with the performance and obviously the result which saw his side leapfrog Western Suburbs into third spot with four games to play in the Central League. The race for third and fourth places, and National League qualification, now looks to have come down to a three into two equation. Wests have suffered a form slump over the past few weeks having lost three on the bounce, while Petone upset league leaders Wellington Olympic in formidable fashion 4-0 to keep in touch with the Blues. There is still plenty of work to be done by Robertson’s troops in the next month, but signs are positive.

Back to the game itself, the first 30 minutes or so were a matter of both sides gauging how to best combat the testing conditions and so whilst there was plenty of endeavour, the game was one of throw-ins, goal kicks, the odd corner, and the ball bouncing uncontrollably around the halfway line. That all said, there was a good save from Mason from a snapshot from Karori’s Ben Lack, a break from Karajovanovic where his slight delay in getting his shot away enabled Karori to clear, and shots from distance at each end, none of which troubled either keeper.

It wasn’t until five minutes before the break that the Blues were able to produce a real moment of genuine quality to open the scoring. Christian Leopard took a corner that was hit directly into the gale. It hung up in the wind and was eventually headed back out to him. Leopard is a player of rare athletic ability, work rate and sporting prowess but he states himself that he is not necessarily technically gifted. Based on his first-time strike that flew into the far top corner of the net, he may need to reassess that. The finish was an outstanding demonstration of technique and finesse from Leopard for his fifth league goal of the season.

Napier gave themselves breathing space 20 minutes into the second half when Jack Albertini was on hand to slot in his first goal for the Blues. The opportunity came from an attacking throw-in on the left where Corfe did brilliantly to hold the ball, laying it off to Cam Emerson. His defense-splitting pass with the outside of his right boot was “Luka Modric” like and found the run into the penalty area of Jonny McNamara. Karori defender Luca Barclay stretched and towed the ball away from McNamara but only towards the edge of the box where Albertini was on hand to calmly slide it home. It was another moment of real quality from the Blues and deservedly gave them some breathing space on the scoreboard.

Emerson was back involved in a serious way as the clock ticked over 90 minutes. He gathered the ball around the halfway line and set off. Driving forward with pace and power that the Karori defenders had no answer to. As Emerson broke into the penalty area, Karori keeper Zac Dean came out and did enough to deflect the attempted finish away from goal, but he was able to regather, turn, and slide in a cross that invitingly allowed Jonny McNamara to tap home from a yard out for 3-0. Game over.

Rovers’ excellent form over the past month or so, and particularly the past three away wins, have featured several outstanding individual performances, but one player that has been at the very top of his game in each of these performances has been Cameron Emerson. Often over the past couple of seasons Emerson has shown flashes of what he is capable of but inconsistency and maybe a lack of a fixed position or regular starting spot hasn’t enabled him to show his quality regularly. That is not the case now and on his showings over the past six weeks or so, there would be very few better all-round midfielders in the league at the moment. He is combining work rate and ball winning out of possession with a top-class passing game and power and pace when driving forward with the ball, and he has been simply outstanding. His telling contribution in two of the goals in this game was fitting given it was his 50th league appearance for the club.

Robertson didn’t look to his bench in this one, preferring to keep the eleven that had been able to adapt to the conditions and had collectively, and individually rewarded that faith with a top performance. 

So, four games to go, two at Bluewater Stadium, and two back down in Wellington. Interestingly the four games remaining are against the current top two and the current bottom, but on form, two on the table. All are winnable. The Blues have a weekend off before they face bottom placed Whanganui Athletic at Bluewater Stadium on Sunday 6 August, kick-off at 2pm.

Article added: Tuesday 25 July 2023