It’s possibly the most delayed and most disrupted final in the 99-year history of football’s Chatham Cup … but it finally gets underway on Sunday March 6.
Wellington’s Miramar Rangers and Christchurch’s Cashmere Technical go head-to-head at Porirua’s Jerry Collins Stadium, deciding whose name will be inscribed on the trophy donated to New Zealand by the crew of HMS Chatham almost a century ago.
Main photo: Finalists Miramar Rangers.
Technically, the winner’s name will go beside the year 2020 for that is when the competition started — the preliminary round was played last April.
Instead of a final played in September, as is the tradition, the cup was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic and the premature end to last season.
Even when the semi-finals were re-arranged for February, things did not run to plan.
North Shore United, the country’s oldest football club, pulled out of the oldest domestic club competition, defaulting to Miramar Rangers and surrendering the chance to reach the final for what would have been a record 13th time.
Come Sunday, all the delays and heartaches will be forgotten.
It will be a cup final and for some, the highlight of a playing career with memories to cherish.
One player will go into the record books as the holder of the Jack Batty Memorial Trophy, awarded to the Player of the Day. They’ll join some of the greats of New Zealand football, including Ivan Vicelich, Duncan Cole and Michael McGarry.
🟠 See the full list of Jack Batty Memorial Trophy winners at UltimateNZSoccer.com >>>>
The Cup Final
Miramar Rangers v Cashmere Technical
Final, Chatham Cup
Kick-off: 2pm
Jerry Collins Stadium, Porirua
Two clubs with proud Chatham Cup histories go head-to-head in Wellington.
Miramar Rangers (winners in 1966, 1992, 2004 and 2010) won last year’s Central/Southern League title while Cashmere Technical go into the game as reigning Southern League champions.
Technical will be playing in their 10th final – the first six played as Technical Old Boys and a seventh as Christchurch Technical.
They will be chasing their fourth cup victory, having won previously in 1948, 2013 and 2014.
Who is expected to win?
Going into the weekend, Rangers start as favourites (the TAB was offering $1.91 on a Rangers win; $3.40 for a Technical win and $3.60 for a draw after 90 mins).
How (and where) to watch the final
The match will be played behind closed doors for the first time since the competition’s introduction in 1923.
Cashmere Technical supporters have been invited to watch the game on the big screen in the private function room of The Final Whistle, 77 Stevens St.
The venue has a separate entrance for the function room.
The match will be broadcast on the Sky Sport Next – YouTube channel which is free to watch.
Tune in by clicking on the following panel on Sunday:
How they got to the final
Miramar Rangers
Prelim round: Bye
Round one: Bye
Round two: Miramar Rangers 5, Havelock North Wanderers 0
Scorers: Andrew Bevin, Ollie Whyte, Jorge Akers, Owen Barnett, Joao Moreira.
Round three: Miramar Rangers 4, North Wellington 1
Scorers: Mikhail Bredeveldt, Samuel Mason-Smith, Haris Zeb, Scott Midgeley
Round four: Miramar Rangers 4, Lower Hutt City 1
Scorers: Samuel Mason-Smith (3), own goal.
Quarter-final: Miramar Rangers 2, Auckland City 0
Scorers: Andrew Bevin, Joao Moreira.
Semi-final: Miramar Rangers 3, North Shore United
(Won by default – click here for details)
Cashmere Technical
Prelim round: Bye
Round one: Parklands United 0, Cashmere Technical 8
Scorers: Garbhan Coughlan (6), Yuya Taguchi, Jacob Richards.
Round two: Cashmere Technical 4, Selwyn United 0
Scorers: Yuya Taguchi, Kian Donkers, Fraser Angus, Lyle Matthysen.
Round three: Cashmere Technical 7, Nelson Suburbs 3
Scorers: Daniel Boys, Declan Tyndall (2), Garbhan Coughlan, Lyle Matthysen (2), Yuya Taguchi.
Round four: Cashmere Technical 3, Christchurch United 0
Scorers: Garbhan Coughlan (2), Lyle Matthysen.
Quarter-final: Hamilton Wanderers 0, Cashmere Technical 4
Scorers: Yuya Taguchi, Garbhan Coughlan (2), Luke Tongue.
Semi-final: Cashmere Technical 1, Western Suburbs 0
Scorer: Yuya Taguchi.
Video replay: How Technical reached the final
Watch a replay of Technical’s semi-final win against Western Suburbs:
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