Sunday’s Chatham Cup semi-final between Auckland City and Wellington Olympic will be live streamed by NZ Football’s YouTube channel.
The match kicks off at Kiwitea Street, Sandringham, Auckland at 2pm on August 21, 2022.
The winner will meet seven-time winners Eastern Suburbs in next month’s final.
READ MORE: Semi-final – Eastern Suburbs 1, Hamilton Wanderers 0 >>>>
Watch the live stream
You can watch it here:
Auckland City
With the Northern League and OFC Champions League already in the bag, Auckland City are shooting for a dream treble by trying to add the Chatham Cup to their Kiwitea St trophy cabinet.
To get to the final, City will need to extend this year’s unbeaten run to 30 games, and they go into Sunday’s game as favourites, despite the hot form of their rivals from the capital.
The two-week OFC Champions League tournament was taxing, with five matches against highly-motivated clubs forcing high levels of physical and mental performance.
The question is whether the tournament has left City battle-hardened or weary.
The Navy Blues have the advantage of playing at Kiwitea Street, in front of their own fans for the last time this season.
Key player: Emiliano Tade
With more than 200 appearances for City since his debut in 2011, striker Tade has been coming off the bench lately, and scoring vital goals when the opposition is tiring. The perfect impact player for a cup tie, especially if it goes to extra time.
Wellington Olympic
Wellington Olympic are enjoying a stellar season, having lost only once — a 3-0 defeat to Wellington Phoenix Reserves on July 16.
Despite that loss, Olympic lead the Central League by two points from Miramar Rangers and have ploughed through their Chatham Cup ties.
They won four rounds on the road, all by big scores, and then knocked out cup holders Cashmere Technical in the quarter-final.
The rise of Olympic this year followed their appointment of head coach Rupert Kemeys, who joined from Capital Premier League winners Wainuiomata.
In 2020, Wainuiamata cleaned up the awards, winning the Capital’s Team of the Year while Kemeys was Coach of the Year and Golden Boot winner Kallan Gould — now on the Olympic roster — was the region’s Player of the Year.
While plenty of focus has gone on Auckland City’s dream treble campaign, Olympic are closing in on a league/cup double of their own.
Key player: Gianni Bouzoukis
Bouzoukis arrives as Olympic’s leading goalscorer with 16 goals this season, half scored in the past month. These include four goals in last weekend’s 11-1 rout of Western Suburbs.
Cup credentials
Wellington Olympic won the Chatham Cup in 2009, beating Three Kings United 2-1, and were beaten finalists in 1994 when they lost 1-0 to Waitakere City, through a Noel Barkley winner.
Auckland City have yet to have their name engraved on the Chatham Cup.
How they got to the semi-finals
Auckland City
Prelim: Bye
R1: Bye
R2: Beat Albany United 6-1 (home)
R3: Beat Manukau United 6-0 (home)
R4: Beat Bay Olympic 2-1 (away)
QF: Beat Dunedin City Royals 6-0 (away)
Wellington Olympic
Prelim: Bye
R1: Beat Seatoun 8-0 (away)
R2: Beat Whanganui Athletic 5-0 (away)
R3: Beat North Wellington 6-1 (away)
R4: Beat Napier City Rovers 4-0 (away)
QF: Beat Cashmere Technical 3-2 (home)
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