A red card welcome-back to Chris Jackson saw Medallion Napier City shrink to a 1 – 2 loss to Delta Tapware Metro in the first North Island Soccer League match yesterday.
Prior to mid-fielder Jackson’s departure for an aggressive tackle the Blues looked set to cut Metro to shreds in the second half. The All White looked masterful in the first stanza, using his touch passing and off-the-ball tracking play to underline his skills.
The Blues prospered from his interplay with New Zealand under-23 mid-fielder Jeremy Brown and striker David Barry, all three looking superior to their opposite numbers early.
Rovers started with a spark. After 14 minutes, Jackson opened up the Metro team with a precision pass to Jeremy Brown lurking just inside the goalbox. Brown went left round the Metro defence and shot with his left passed veteran former All White keeper Grant Schofield.
At times the Metro team camped in Rovers territory during the first half but Napier’s defence held strong. There was little panic and the Metro side had few shots on goal.
Blues defensive leader Andy Rennie and Metro striker Heath McCormack engaged in a torrid first half battle where both players picked up yellow cards.
The Blues took the 1 – 0 lead into half-time but Metro came out fired up. The Auckland based side scored in the 48th minute when Napier keeper Mark Paston parried a shot from Metro’s New Zealand under-23 rep Hoani Edwards to McCormack who pounded the ball into the net.
Jackson then got his marching orders and the complexion of the game changed completely. In the 67th minute Metro’s Stuart Roberts latched onto a failed clearance in the Rovers box and slid the ball passed Paston for the final goal. Jonathon Taylor stood out in defence for Rovers and Brown and Batty were tireless workers.
Medalion Napier City Rovers 1 (Jeremy Brown 14)
Delta Tapware Metro 2 (Heath McCormack 48, Stuart Roberts 67)

Metro thanks Jeremy Norton (Napier City Rovers) and Fraser Kennedy (Daily Telegraph – Napier) for their help with this article.

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