Central League 2009

Napier City Rovers Central League goalkeeper Shaun Peta has been admitted to Lower Hutt Hospital for surgery after a horror injury during a soccer match on Saturday.

The Eastern Institute of Technology student came off second best during a clash with an opposition player in the goalmouth in the first half at Bell Park with the Rovers trailing 2-nil before eventually losing the match 3-nil.

Team manager Tim Kilkolly told SportToday Peta smashed his eye socket, cheekbone and broke his nose after the collision when the opposition player's ``knee connected with Shaun's head'.

Rovers were trailing 2-0 against Lower Hutt City and had seen Rainer Bauerfeind leave the field due to a recurrence of a groin injury when Peta received a brutal, albeit unintentional, blow to the head.

Rovers coach Matt Chandler looked on in horror as the sole goalkeeper in his squad lay stricken on the pitch, clearly in some difficulty. Almost 10 minutes later Peta was helped off.

Kilkolly said from Napier yesterday: ``Matt spoke to Shaun just after lunch today and he's holding up pretty well but it's been a pretty tough time for the young fellow.'

Peta had recently taken up a goalkeeping coaching stint to help out Hastings Boys' High School pupils.

In Saturday's match, defender Regan Cameron took over in goal and didn't have a great deal to do in the second half as Napier fought their way back. In fact, he looks as if he might be a handy wee stopper judging by how he handled what came his way, including a particularly dangerous attempt on goal.

Afterwards Chandler refused to let the twin injuries and the removal of Cameron from the defence become an excuse for the eventual 3-0 defeat.

``We didn't react well today. We didn't press them enough and we failed to stop them from playing,' was his frank assessment.

``I wouldn't say we were well beaten and that was never a 3-0 game but we didn't close them down.'

It's often said that the playing conditions are a great leveller but Hutt City had more drive and adjusted to the appalling conditions - not so much typical windy Wellington, but the Outer Hebrides on a bad day - far quicker than their foes, playing with what finesse was permissible on such a dire day.

The wind was so strong club officials spent most of the first half looking in adjacent roads and gardens for wayward balls. In the second half, those winds were joined by a downpour.

Kilkolly said: ``Matt couldn't even put down the cones and the ball bag was blown away during the warm-up session before the game.'

A great strike from Pedro Garcias within 20 minutes and a rebounded shot from veteran captain Phil Patterson, before Peta suffered his injury, put the home side in the ascendancy and Patterson added a third in the 78th minute.

Chandler was right, it wasn't a 3-0 game and Napier had chances, notably through fleet-footed Solomon Island striker Andrew Abba with a raking shot that went narrowly wide and Nick Dockary flashed a header past the post.

Now the coach has to sweat that the injuries to Peta and Bauerfeind won't hamper him too much with some crucial league games ahead.