No second prize: Hunt for Chatham Cup glory heats up for Napier City Rovers
Having twice endured a Chatham Cup final loss, Stephen Hoyle talks to Neil Reid on his desire to help Napier City Rovers go all the way for title number six.
Stephen Hoyle says he’s “desperate” to add the sweet taste of success into his personal Chatham Cup history which is tinged with too much on-field agony.
The Napier City Rovers player and assistant coach shapes as a key member of the squad which will face fellow top-four Central League side Miramar Rangers at Bluewater Stadium in Sunday’s fourth round clash of the knock-out competition.
A Chatham Cup-winner’s medal has so far eluded 31-year-old Hoyle, the older brother of Napier City Rovers captain and 2019 Chatham Cup-winner Jim Hoyle.
That’s not through a lack of trying; losing two finals and two semifinals.
“I feel like there’s nobody more desperate here [at Napier City Rovers] to win a Chatham Cup than me,” he said.
“It’s the biggest competition in New Zealand football and one I need to win. I’ve lost two finals, I’ve lost semifinals. It’s one [title} I need to get before I finish playing.”
Napier City Rovers are the equal third-most successful club in the Chatham Cup’s 101-year history.
Along with Central United, they have won the famous trophy five times.
University-Mount Wellington and Christchurch United have won it seven times.
They were widely tipped to win in 2015 – a match which would turn out to be Hoyle’s first grand final loss – after smashing all-comers in that year’s Central League; including setting a new record for points scored in a season.
But Eastern Suburbs denied them 2-1 in the final.
Hoyle was also part of the Eastern Suburbs team which lost to fellow Auckland club, Auckland City, 1-0 in the 2022 final.
“I still remember it. It still hurts,” Hoyle said.
“When Jimbo [James Hoyle] got over the line in 2019, when I wasn’t here at the club, I was super proud of him. But I want to feel that as well, I want to get a Chatham Cup before I finish.”
Hoyle said the knock-out format of the Chatham Cup showed just how football results could be decided by “fine margins”.
A “little bit of luck” also was sometimes the difference between success and failure.
Sunday’s top-16 clash will see several Hoyle and several other Napier City Rovers players come up against former teammate Martin Bueno.
The Uruguayan striker was part of a member of Napier City Rovers’ 2019 Chatham Cup-winning team.
He later played with Hoyle at Eastern Suburbs, before joining Wellington side Miramar Rangers this year.
“It’s a massive game against one of my best friends, Martin Bueno,” Hoyle said.
“If Jim and I are selected to play at the back, then that’s a good match-up; the Hoyle brothers against him.
“He’s a very good player, so I’m looking forward to it.”
Hoyle said there was no mistaking the importance of the Chatham Cup at the club he has proudly returned to in 2024.
“To be a provincial team, located here in Napier, and to win as many cups as we have . . . they have no right,” Hoyle said of final wins over clubs from major centres.
“If you look at the other teams who have won lots of Chatham Cups, they’re from the big cities.
“We are that little dog that keeps on barking, keeps on fighting and has more than it should have in that clubrooms.”
Napier City Rovers go into Sunday’s match sitting in third spot in the Central League after their first 12 matches in the 18-round competition.
On Saturday they dispatched bottom-placed Stop Out 2-0 in Wellington.
That came on the back of a rampant second half the weekend before against Waterside Karori, with the Bill Robertson-coached team turning around a 1-0 deficit at the break to score seven unanswered goals in the final 45 minutes.
And the week prior to that, they won their third-round Chatham Cup clash against North Wellington; a match where they again bounced back from being 1-0 down, this time with just 10 men for the final 40 minutes, to win 2-1.
The nature of the wins over Waterside Karori and North Wellington in particular highlighted the spirit in the 2024 Napier City Rovers squad, a unit Hoyle described as a “resilient group”.
“We’ve proved a point this year when we don’t start how we want to,” he said.
“If we do go behind in games, we’re never out of games and you know that’s a good habit to have.
“I try not to get too caught up with the scoreboard. Bill and I both want us to play a certain style of play that’s aggressive, that’s attacking, that’s on the front foot.
“I’m old enough now to not get worried and just keep doing what we’re doing. As long as we’re creating chances, we’ve got very good forwards and they’ll put it in the net.”
Napier City Rovers’ coaching staff and players have made no secret of their desire to go deep into this year’s Chatham Cup.
Qualifying for the 10-team National League is also a firm goal; with the side in a strong position after 12 rounds.
Four teams from Central League will qualify; the Wellington Phoenix Reserves are guaranteed a spot in their participation agreement, with the other places going to the top three finishing clubs.
Rovers are in third place on the league table. But they do have a match in hand over both first-placed Wellington Olympic and Western Suburbs, who are in second but on the same number of competition points as Napier City Rovers.
“The points table is very tight and we just have to focus on one game at a time,” Hoyle said.
“I know it’s a cliche, but it’s about that focus of how good are you week-to-week and keep trying to pick up results.”
Watch the Inside the Rovers video series:
Episode One: Back to Work
Episode Two: The Darkest Days
Episode Three: Skin Deep
Episode Four: Good as Gould
Episode Five: The Hard Yards
Episode Six: Leaving a Legacy
Episode Seven: Fun and Games
Episode Eight: Game Day
Episode Nine: The Great Dane
Episode 10: Back-to-Back
Episode 11: Long Road Back
Episode 12: Total Commitment
Episode 13: The Bravest Boy
Episode 14: Love of the Game
Episode 15: A Rapid Rise
Episode 16: Mixed Emotions
Episode 17: Cup Fever
Episode 18: 50-Year Love Affair
Episode 19: The Music Man
Episode 20: Sammy’s On Fire
Neil Reid is a Napier-based senior reporter who covers general news, features and sport. He joined the Herald in 2014 and has 30 years of newsroom experience.