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Chatham Cup quarter-final spot up for grabs

Words: ACFC Media

Friday 7 July 2023

AUCKLAND, New Zealand - Reigning title holders Auckland City FC will face Northern League rivals Western Springs for a place in the quarter-finals of the Chatham Cup, New Zealand Football’s premier cup competition which celebrates its 100th anniversary this year.

Saturday’s match at Seddon Fields will be the third meetings between the two sides this season after the Navy Blues cruised to a comfortable 4-0 win in their 2023 Northern League opener at Kiwitea Street followed by 3-1 away victory by Albert Riera’s charges in Round 12 of the competition in early June.

Overall the two sides have met on five previous occasions with Auckland City coming out on top every time.

Following two byes during the early stages of the competition, the Navy Blues have advanced to the fourth round of the Chatham Cup courtesy of a 2-0 Dominion Road Derby win over Auckland United FC at Keith Hay Park before crushing Northern Conference outfit Bucklands Beach 9-0 at Kiwitea Street.

Meanwhile Western Springs defeated East Coast Bays AFC 2-1 before eliminating South Auckland Rangers AFC with four unanswered goals to progress to the fourth round.

Both clubs are also still in contention for National League honours with the Navy Blues sitting on top of the Northern League with twelve wins and two draws from their 14 games, while Springs are just two points outside the the top-four after recording seven victories, a draw and seven defeats from their 15 games played,

All eyes will again be on Auckland City striker Ryan De Vries who last week has followed in the footsteps of Keryn Jordan and Angus Kilkolly by becoming only the third player in the club’s history to score in ten consecutive games.

If he scores against Springs, De Vries will create another slice of history as City’s outright record holder.

Defender Michal Den Heijer says the Navy Blues are really looking forward to Saturday’s clash and they are well prepared for the challenge ahead.

“The boys are really excited for it, I know especially for myself, I haven’t won the Chatham Cup before so extra motivation there, but yeah I’m sure the boys get the job done, it should be an exciting match against a tough opponent.

"They are a tough team, you can see they are making a run for the top-four at the moment in the league, I think it’s going to be a tough challenge and they have some really experienced players, ex-Auckland City players as well, so no doubt it’s going to be an interesting match,” he added.

His teammate Jordan Vale is also expecting a stern test.

“We go out to every game expecting a hard battle, everyone wants to do really well against us, we set a high standard for ourselves, it’s going to be a hard game, I expect us to de well and hopefully we will, “ he explained.

Ends

Match Details
Chatham Cup Round 4
Saturday 8 July 2023
Western Springs AFC v Auckland City FC
Seddon Fields, Westmere
Kick-off 2.00pm NZST

AC SQUAD: 1-Conor TRACEY (GK), 2- Mario ILICH, 3- Adam MITCHELL, 4-Christian GRAY, 5-Michael DEN HEIJER, 6-Dan MORGAN, 7-Cam HOWIESON (c), 8-Gerard GARRIGA, 9-Angus KILKOLLY, 10-Dylan MANICKUM, 11-Ryan DE VRIES, 12-Regont MURATI, 13-Nathan LOBO, 14-Jordan VALE, 15- Aidan CAREY, 16-Joseph LEE, 18. Sebastian CIGANDA (GK), 19-Liam GILLION, 20- Emiliano TADE, 21- Adam BELL, 22-Tong ZHOU. 24-Joe WALLIS (GK), 25-Takuya IWATA, 26-Rayan TAYEB, 27-Stipe UKICH

COACH: Albert RIERA
ASSISTANT COACH: Ivan VICELICH
GK COACH: Enaut ZUBIKARAI
TECHNICAL: Adria CASALS
TECHNICAL: Jarrod WALLACE
LOGISTICS: Keith COTON
PHYSIO: Matt PAYNE

CHATHAM CUP Rd4

Western Springs v Auckland City FC
Fencibles United v Melville United
Birkenhead United v Eastern Suburbs
Hamilton Wanderers v Ngaruawahia United
Napier City Rovers v Waterside Karori
Petone v Wellington Olympic
Cashmere Technical v Christchurch United
Roslyn Wakari v Wanaka