By Max Fletcher
The benefits of home advantage will play a part in the two-legged promotion play-off series between Lotto NRFL Conference winners Waiheke United and Cambridge.
Last season, promotion was decided by a one-off game between Franklin United and Waikato Unicol at a neutral venue.
This year, NRF decided the best way to decide who’ll play in next year’s Lotto NRFL Men’s Championship would be a home and away series between the winners of the Northern and Southern Conferences.
Both clubs are known for their stong levels of home ground support and for this series, expect them to take fans to the away legs as well.
Cambridge get home advantage first, hosting Waiheke at John Kerkhof Park on Saturday.
They’ll want to take a decent first-leg lead when they catch the ferry to Waiheke a week later.
For this season’s Chatham Cup tie against Auckland City — which, by the way, is the only loss this year for Cambridge — more than 1,000 crammed into the Vogel St ground.
Waiheke United are sure to arrive with a large contingent of vocal supporters.
Cambridge go into the match with a perfect record in the league this season, winning all 21 games and having the best goal-scoring and defensive record in the league, scoring 122 goals and conceding 22 goals.
The two men up front for Cambridge most likely to do the damage are Josh Clarkin and Jack Connor who have scored 56 goals between them.
Connor carried off the Southern Conference Golden Boot while Clarkin came third, having missed four of Cambridge’s early games.
Both are a handful for defenders, and they’ve had a fortnight to freshen since Cambridge’s last league game.
Waiheke United had a tougher journey to the Northern Conference title, overhauling long-time leader Waitemata only in the final fixture, which they won 5-2.
The win gives Waiheke the chance to return to the Lotto NRFL Men’s Championship, from which they were relegated a year ago.
They’ll know the importance of getting back to Onetangi with a decent result from the first leg.
Sebastian Ciganda, the man at the back, has been the team’s rock in goal this season. He’ll be fired up for this match and is a vital player for the visitors.
He is also known for taking free kicks and penalties, so we may even see him on the scoresheet.
Nicolas Vanina (31) is Waiheke’s top goalscorer in the league this season, scoring 10 goals. He rejoined the club for this season, after spending the second half of the 2023 season with Northern League outfit Birkenhead United.
Waiheke will be without experienced forward Federico Parentella who serves a one-match ban for a red card in last weekend’s title decider against Waitemata.
Last meeting
It’s six years since these clubs last met in a competitive fixture.
In May 2018, Waiheke United travelled to John Kerkhof Park for a Chatham Cup tie that ended in a 3-2 win for the visitors.
Bold prediction
I think this match will show how well both sides can defend as I predict it will be end-to-end football.
This match will be a cagey affair for a while but in the end, I think Cambridge will win the first leg 2-1.
Fixtures
Game to be played on Saturday September 14, 2024
First leg
Cambridge v Waiheke United
John Kerkhof Park, Cambridge, 3pm
Game to be played on Saturday September 21, 2024
Second leg
Waiheke United v Cambridge
Onetangi Sports Complex, Waiheke, 2pm
Max Fletcher
Waikato-based Max Fletcher is a writer for Friends of Football. He’s also a qualified football and futsal referee.
This story was first published on September 12, 2024.
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