Thumped

Zephyr Rovers were soundly beaten today by an in form Don Logan team at the Shed of Dreams. "We had two players on debut and George coming back from surgery" said Hall "but they turned out a strong team and simply took us to the cleaners". Hall made the rare move of bringing himself out into the outfield in the second half but the goals kept coming. Ï thought they played very well and would have been a handful for our best line up" said Hall "but the reality is you can't afford to debut two new players in the same game and expect to have team cohesion". Hall said with injuries and unavailability it was getting hard to maintain continuity. "You'd think a squad of ten for five starting positions would be enough"bemoaned Hall "but the reality this season is we needed more". Hall said the result meant a win in the last match would be needed to steer Rovers through to a semi-final. "We missed Matty and John today (both pictured)" said Hall "and even with themback we still need a Jamie like replacement to put some goals in".

Final: Rovers 5 Don Logan 13

Tough Road Ahead

Zephyr Rovers Manager Steve Hall said today that one more win should see Rovers through to the final but warned that notwithstanding Rovers had beaten Harp Shooters and Don Logan in the first round, both teams were tough opponents. "We won't be able to sleep walk to the finals, Don Logan has been in good form and Harp Shooters tend to play a defensive pattern and can be very hard to break down". Hall said Rovers were particularly short for this weeks fixture against Don Logan. "It is starting to look like we'll have to bring in two or three new players and we've lost all our recognised strikers for this one so it will be a hard ask". Hall said the departure of Jamie Johnstone and the absence of Matty Cantwell (pictured) might make goals hard to come by. "We may have to play it very tight and hope we can sneak it 4 -3"confessed Hall "but we won't know how our new players will fit in so that is the great unknown".

Bellies Down

Zephyr Rovers sent of Jamie Johnston today in style by beating Jimmie Five Bellies at the Shed of Dreams. "We had six for this match and it was one of our stronger line ups of recent times" said Hall ""only problem for Jimmies was that they were up against it because they only had four players". Hal said if it was difficult to play against ten players in eleven aside then it wasn't that easy to break down four players in five aside. Understandably they played deep in their half and tried to get breaks to score against us"said Hall "and whilst we looked comfortable for the whole match we couldn't break them down that easily so a big score was never going to eventuate". Hall said it was only at the end that Rovers slackened off and gave Jimmies a few cheap goals. "This result puts us firmly in second place"said Hall "but you could see enough to know we have to find another level to be competitive in a semi-final or final against them". Hall said Eddie Hussey would be back in the country next week and it was a case of goodye Jamie and hello Eddie. "An Irishman for a Scotsman" chuckled Hall "I'm not sure if that is a good deal or not".

Final: Rovers 10 Jimmies 5

Back Home Laddie

Zephyr Rovers Chairman George Nash (pictured) and Manager Steve Hall attended a farewell function for Jamie Johnston last evening. "Jamie has been a good servant to Rovers and whilst we were hoping he'd be around for another thirty years or so, we understand that family comes first and Jamie needs to return home at this point" said Nash "I understand this all too well and we wish Jamie well and hope he will return to the Rovers fold should he return to New Zealand further down the track". Manager Hall said it was unusual to be drinking before a big match so whilst he had appeared to have been drinking beer, he had in fact not swallowed. "Not everyone can make a drink disappear without drinking it"said Hall "but with a big game coming up I knew we had to go to the function and give the appearance of enjoying ourselves" said Hall and I was particularly impressed with Jamie who really did look like he was drinking that scotch, it certainly fooled me". Hall denied media speculation that he had booked a seat for Nash on the same flight.

Fire In Their Bellies

Zephyr Rovers Manager Steve Hall said Zephyr Rovers would have to play with "fire in their bellies"" if they were to get a result against Jimmy Five Bellies. Ï don't think there is much doubt that when these guys play their strongest line up they are the class act of the division" said Zephyr Rovers Manager Steve Hall "they are the team that we measure ourselves against in our desire to win this league by 2030". Hall said whilst he acknowledged that Rovers had the opportunity to consolidate second place if they could win the match, he knew that this match would be a chance to have a peak at possibly the strongest team in the league. "We know Els Gaye is currently top but that won't mean a thing at semi-final time"said Hall "we know these guys have the fire power and fortunately this week we'll have a good line up out to test them". Hall said Matty Cantwell (pictured) would be forming a potent strike force with Jamie Johnston who would be playing his last match for the Rovers before returning to Scotland.

Feet Second

Zephyr Rovers never looked in much danger today at the Shed of Dreams as they dispatched Ten Left Feet 7 - 2. "We resorted to using Tim Hall again this week due to so many players being unavailable"said Zephyr Rovers Manager Steve Hall "" and he managed to score a goal which makes him the youngest player in the team and quite possibly the league to do so". Hall said he had planned to bring his son Tim into the squad as part of the youth development programme about 2027. "We're looking to win this league by 30 June 2030 and obviously I'd be amiss as a manager if I didn't have a long term plan to strengthen the squad"said Hall "so yes I am looking ahead to see when we can draft in new players and you can be sure we'll be keeping an eye on other players to make the step up to play for Rovers". Hall said a solid defensive effort backed by the twinkle toes of Matty Cantwell had seen the team through. "We were the only team playing with our right feet"said Hall "so it helped us win this one".
Final: Rovers 7 Ten Left Feet 2

More Left Feet

Zephyr Rovers would again be playing old enemy Ten Left Feet this Friday at the Shed of Dreams. "We've been playing these guys since our Division 7 days and they're always a tough nut to crack, especially as they seem to have large squad an you never know who will turn up" said Rovers Manager Steve Hall and that's why we may no heed whatsoever to the popular press who I'm sure are thinking we will walk away with this one". Rovers have been struggling with absences and injuries this season and have tried a few new players to get make up the numbers. "My son will be playing again this week a sit is still school holidays and we're not confident yet we'll get our five players"said hall "but getting a team on the park is a big consideration in this league and no team is able to play their strongest line up week in week out". Hall said he had considered dragging Colin "Chopper"Mc Intosh out of retirement again but hadn't had the opportunity to see if his zimmer frame could get through the court doors. "There was also the question of what would happen if Chopper saved a goal with the zimmer frame"said Hall ""I don't think they've formulated a rule on that eventuality yet".

Aberdeen Calls

Jamie Johnston has announced today that he will be returning to Scotland for family reasons and is unsure when or if he will return to New Zealand. "I've tried to get him a transfer to a Scottish club" said Zephyr Rovers Manager Steve Hall "but apparently he thinks there is another team up there besides Glasgow Rangers, which George Nash assures me there isn't". Hall said Johnston had been a useful acquisition with his speed and handy left boot and the team would miss him. "We'll be looking to get a few of the lads along to his send off, of that I think we can be sure" said Hall "we'll probably end up with George getting the kilt out and doing a few of those highland jigs around the bar". Hall said Johnston would play two more games for Rovers before his departure".

Mercy Mercy Mercer

A depleted Zephyr Rovers today took on fellow leaders Mercer at the Shed of Dreams. "We got a mate of Ben's Kenny and my son to play for us and George was back for another run" said Hall "so we cobbled together a team although we looked a bit shaky at the start". Mercer got out to an early lead and were 4 - 1 up before Rovers started to knit it together. "We knuckled down and I thought we were getting the better of them midway through the second half when we got back to 4 - 3 down" said Hall "but unfortunately we then made two subs and lost the pattern, which handed the initiative back to Mercer". Hall said a bad throw out from the back saw it all fall apart. "I was trying to get them on a quick break but they intercepted and at 5 - 3 we didn't have the time to come back" said Hall "they got one more and it ended 6 - 3". Hall said that was probably Mercers strongest line up so their wasn't that much to fear if Rovers could put out a full line up. "We're not at full strength this week although Ben White (pictured) is starting to return to his old form which is good" said Hall "but we can improve and as long as we make the top four we can beat anyone".

Rovers 3 Mercer 6

Holidays In The Sun

Zephyr Rovers will be without a "galaxy of stars" for their match against Mercer this Thursday at the Shed of Dreams. "Remarkably we have three players out of the country, either swanning around Europe or putting their feet up on the Sunshine Coast" said Rovers Manager Steve Hall "so we've not only had to draft George (pictured) back in but we'll have two players making their debut for Rovers including my son who is on his school holidays". Hall said it was difficult to plan holidays in a league that never had an off-season. "I can understand people wanting to get away from Wellington at this time of the year as the weather is less than optimal" said Hall "but just because it has been raining for three weeks doesn't mean they all had to go at the same time". Mercer and Rovers are currently two of the four teams that are first equal in the league. "They got thrashed a few weeks ago fielding an understrength team so I'm sure there best line up will be out there" said Hall "but we'll give them a game and you never know we might steal the points if we're lucky".

Back On Form

The return of Matty Cantwell (pictured) and Jamie Johnston provided firepower for Rovers in a return to form at the Shed of Dreams. "I probably should confess it also saw the return of Player Chariman George Nash who played part of both halves up front" said Hall "but he looked a bit underdone and struggled to find both the net and his breath". Rovers dominated the match and Ben White was also back to form showing his ability to hit the net from a defensive position. "It's always good to have a number of threats as the opposition find it hard to close everyone down" said Hall "so with Matty and Jamie doing the damage up front and Ben, John and Dan capable of scoring as well we had plenty of options". Hall said the game was largely over by half time against a team that had one two out of three like Rovers. "After today we are in second place and their are four teams all on 19 points" said Hall "It's going to be a great race and we play Mercer next week who knocked of Els Gaye this afternoon".

Final: Rovers 11 Datacom 5