Chatham Cup football finally returns this Sunday, as Cashmere Technical host Western Suburbs, but who is going to make the final? 

When the whistle blew at the end of the Chatham Cup quarter-finals in July, few would have expected having to wait over two months to play the next round. After a full shutdown of football across the country, and recent restart for clubs outside Auckland, the first of the semi-finals for one of New Zealand's oldest and most coveted trophies can finally get underway. And it’s a cracker of a tie. 

This Sunday Southern League Champions Cashmere Technical host the Central League’s third National League Championship qualifier Western Suburbs. Both sides have a strong cup history with each winning it on three occasions, most recently Cashmere Technical’s back-to-back 2013 and 2014 titles. 

Sunday’s fixture is a rematch of the 2018 semi-final with Cash Tech looking to avenge their 2:3 extra time loss which saw Wests progress to the final. The match also serves as a preview of the upcoming National League Championship where both clubs will be facing each other. 

Christchurch’s Cashmere Technical stormed to victory in the Southern League, finishing 5 points ahead of second placed Selwyn United with +16 better goal difference. They also won all but one of their games, a 0-1 home defeat to Coastal Spirit in Round 2. Their good form continued in the cup with an impressive 0-4 away win away to Hamilton Wanderers in their quarter-final. 

Western Suburbs finished 4^th in the Central League, claiming the third qualification spot due to 3^rd placed Lower Hutt City automatically qualifying as their linked Wellington Phoenix Academy side. They qualified comfortably, 7 points ahead of 5^th placed of Wairapara United and saw-off the Northern League’s Melville United in a tight 1-0 home win. 
 

Otto Ingham and Wan Gatkek in the quarter-final (Photosport NZ)

Both teams have a number of exciting players to watch.

For Wests, 18-year-old goalkeeper Kees Sims played every minute of the Central League season as the side finished with the third best defensive record in the league. His side come into the semi-final with a perfect defensive record having not conceded a goal so far in the competition. 

A side strong on youth development, 19-year-old attacker Otto Ingham finished the season with 8 goals, playing every game from Round 2 onwards. 

Still only 21, there is winning experience in the middle of the park with ISPS Handa Men’s Premiership winner Wan Gatkek playing every game league game this season. 

For Cashmere Technical, the main man is Garbhan Coughlan. The Irish striker has continually shown his quality across Southern United, Canterbury United and now at Cash Tech where he finished as the league’s top scorer with 7 goals in 6 games, as well as 5 goals in the last 3 rounds of the cup.

Japanese attacker Yuya Taguchi is another player to watch after scoring a hattrick in Cashmere Technical’s final game of the season. 

So who is going to secure their place in the final? There is only one way to find out. Stream the game live from 1pm on the New Zealand Football YouTube channel.


Article added: Saturday 02 October 2021