2022 Chatham Cup Final

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City Prevail In "Gridlock Derby" Cup Final

by Jeremy Ruane

Auckland City scored their maiden Chatham Cup triumph at North Harbour Stadium on September 11, edging Eastern Suburbs 1-0 in a largely sterile "Gridlock Derby" final watched by 2,839 fans on a chilly afternoon.

In winning New Zealand football's most revered honour, the "Navy Blues" completed an unprecedented treble, having already won the Lotto Northern Premier League and the OFC Champions League this season. And they'll now look to complete the set by prevailing in the National League Championship throughout the final quarter of the year.

They'll have to perform better than they did in this match, however. Auckland were far from their best throughout proceedings, something which "The Lilywhites" looked to take advantage of just three minutes into the contest, one which City was heavily favoured to win.

Jordan Vale's back-pass to Conor Tracey was slightly under-hit, forcing the well-performed 'keeper to dash out of goal and clear off the toes of the fast-closing figure of Adam Thurston, who featured in Suburbs' next attack when felled just outside the area on the quarter-hour. Referee Ben O'Connell waved play on, however, much to the consternation of "The Lilywhites"' fans.

Either side of this, Auckland threatened to open the scoring. Dylan Manickum was on manoeuvres in the ninth minute before bringing Joe Lee into play. He evaded a challenge before cutting inside and curling an effort past the far post.

Nine minutes later, Vale's ball forward brought Ryan de Vries into play, only for Kelvin Kalua's timely interception to deny the striker the chance he sought on this occasion. Within two minutes, Thurston squandered a great chance to open the scoring, shooting straight at Tracey after Mario Ilich's awful error in midfield, an area of the park where executing the perfect air-shot is not recommended!

In the 25th minute, Lee's angled ball targeted Manickum, only to be intercepted by Jackson Jarvie. The defender promptly undid his good work by gifting possession to Cameron Howieson. He was swiftly closed down, but de Vries somehow emerged with the ball seconds later, only for Stephen Hoyle - he was outstanding throughout proceedings - to clear off his toes on the edge of the area.

On the half-hour, Howieson featured again, slipping a pass inside for Ilich, who made amends for his earlier blemish with an exquisitely weighted first-time ball over the defence for Alfie Rogers to dash onto, the fullback having hurtled forward to join the attack. His shot was smothered well to his left by Joe Knowles, the first save either goalkeeper had been called upon to produce, such had been the sterility of this final to this point in time.

Tracey's aerial prowess - he was nigh on unbeatable when anything above head height came his way during this contest - saw him punching Aaryan Raj's corner off the head of Jake Mechell three minutes before half-time.

Seven minutes after it, Howieson dragged a twenty-yarder wide of the target after concerted City pressure in and around the right-hand side of Suburbs penalty area which featured Vale, Lee and Reid Drake.

It was off the opposite flank that Auckland finally found the route to goal in the 56th minute. Rogers played the ball forward to Howieson, whose deft back-heeled pass invited Manickum to cut inside past three defenders before drilling a twenty yard grasscutter between Knowles and his near post to open the scoring, in doing so giving the goal that this game badly needed.

Because as an advert for the best of men's football in New Zealand, this match didn't cut the mustard! As so often happens when a fixture of this calibre is preceded by the equivalent match in the women's game, the second contest is very much "after the Lord Mayor's show" spectacle-wise, and rarely threatens to eclipse the intensity and entertainment levels on display in the first fixture.

Suburbs now had to raise their game, given they needed an equaliser against the best-performed team in the northern region this season. Before they threatened in this regard, Vale and Lee combined on the right in the 66th minute, the latter getting in behind the defence before picking out de Vries, who set up Vale for a glorious chance …

Vale's mother, former Football Ferns goalkeeper Yvonne Vale, never taught her son to shoot as wildly nor as waywardly as this!! It can most kindly be described as a defender's finish - par excellence!

After Kalua's timely tackle thwarted Rogers in the area, and de Vries had chipped the resulting loose ball over the bar, "The Lilywhites" pounded away in search of an equaliser against a City side which certainly rode its luck at times in the final twenty minutes, and generally played with an air of extreme confidence where playing their way out of tight spots via their ever-impressive passing game was concerned - not for them ye olde row Z, at least if it could be avoided!

Jirayu Twigg lashed a twenty-five yarder over the top for Suburbs in the 76th minute, a feat matched from within that distance by both Thurston and Hoyle before the final whistle as "The Lilywhites" threw everything at their crosstown rivals.

City hung on, however, surviving an almighty goalmouth melee in the 78th minute following a Michael Built corner. Kalua saw his shot blocked on the line by Sam Brotherton, while substitute Gerard Garriga was perfectly placed to put paid to Mechell's hopes of providing parity seconds later.

It would have been cruel for Suburbs had City substitute Emiliano Tade chipped Knowles from twenty-five yards after weaving past three opponents just seconds after entering the fray, but as it was, Auckland had already done enough to win the trophy, Manickum's goal eleven minutes into the second half settling this latest "Gridlock Derby" in the manner in which the vast majority of those preceding it have ended - victory for "The Navy Blues", inaugural Chatham Cup winners.

Auckland: Tracey; Vale, Mitchell, Brotherton, Rogers; Drake (Garriga, 72), Ilich, Howieson; Lee (Tade, 85), de Vries (booked, 54) (Kilkolly, 90), Manickum

Suburbs: Knowles; Jarvie (booked, 90), Kalua, Hoyle, Raj (booked, 84); Built, Lissette, Twigg (booked, 50) (Van der Heijden, 77 (booked, 80)), Opperman (Stewart, 68); Mechell (booked, 65), Thurston

Referee: Ben O'Connell

Chatham Cup