Manukau win shootout to reach ASB Chatham Cup quarters

Ten-man Manukau City reached the quarterfinals of the ASB Chatham Cup after upsetting Papatoetoe in a dramatic 4-3 fourth round penalty shootout win on Saturday.

Manukau City players celebrate their win. Photo: Shane Wenzlick, www.photosport.co.nz

July 7, 2012

AUCKLAND – Ten-man Manukau City reached the quarterfinals of the ASB Chatham Cup after upsetting Papatoetoe in a dramatic 4-3 fourth round penalty shootout win on Saturday.

The home side, who ply their trade in third tier of the Northern region, fell a goal behind to first division Papatoetoe just before halftime through Gurjeet Singh but battled hard and drew level just before fulltime through a William McClure penalty.

Even that had a touch of extra drama about it with McClure first attempt saved by goalkeeper Jason Mann who moved early and earned a retake for McClure who gladly converted to cue extra time.

Manukau’s fortunes seemed to falter when Mohammed Imraz Shah was sent off in the first period of extra time but they kept the scores level to send the game to a penalty shootout.

Despite missing their first attempt, Manukau held their nerve better than Papatoetoe who missed the target twice to hand their South Auckland neighbours an upset win.

Fellow underdogs Stop Out didn’t fare as well in Wellington with Miramar Rangers bulldozing their way to a 4-0 win at Wakefield Park.

Michael Fifii and Sam Mason-Smith scored a goal apiece in each half with Fifii’s second an acrobatic bicycle kick to put a emphatic full stop on Stop Out's giant killing cup run.

Lower Hutt City completed a trifecta of home wins in the remaining Saturday fixture, with second half goals to Tobias Bertsch and Hamish Watson securing a 2-0 win over last year’s finalists Napier City Rovers at Fraser Park.

The fourth round continues on Sunday with five more fixtures. A Dunedin versus Christchurch double header sees Caversham meet Cashmere Wanderers and Dunedin Technical face Western while Melville United welcome Auckland’s Eastern Suburbs to Hamilton.

Hamilton Wanderers travel in the opposite direction to play Birkenhead United on Auckland’s North Shore while Three Kings United host Central United at Keith Hay Park.

View the full fourth round results