2025 Chatham Cup Final

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Consecutive Chatham Cups For Olympic

by Jeremy Ruane

Wellington Olympic clinched back-to-back Delivereasy Chatham Cup triumphs at North Harbour Stadium on September 7, seeing off Auckland United 4-2 as coach Paul Ifill extended his record in the competition to nineteen successive ties without defeat.

He was Christchurch United's gaffer throughout their triumphant 2023 Cup-winning campaign, before switching to the team from the capital, whom he has now guided to successive Central Region Premier League - Chatham Cup doubles.

His quest to fulfil Olympic's latest honour couldn't have got off to a better start, as they opened the scoring in the fourth minute. Daniel Atkinson had already blocked a Noah Boyce effort by the time Hamish Watson was released on the left by Isa Prins, a pass which allowed the striker to cut in off the left before beating Joel Paterson all ends up at his near post.

Auckland looked to hit back straight away, Atkinson doing Boyce a treat en route to the by-line, from where he drove a sixth minute cross through the heart of the goalmouth and just beyond the incoming Oli Fay, who ended up in the net instead.

United pressed again six minutes later, this time on the counter-attack. Watson was well tackled in the area, prompting a clearance downfield to Emiliano Tade, lurking near the halfway line, where he sold his marker a brilliant dummy before scampering downfield.

Just as Olympic's defence caught up with him, Tade shaped to shoot, only for his standing leg to touch the ball in untimely fashion - it rolled out of play as the Argentine looked to the skies in frustration.

Five minutes later, Auckland threatened again, and this time were rewarded with an equaliser. Tade, inevitably, was in the thick of things, and when twenty-five yards out side-stepped a tackle before unleashing a shot which deflected perfectly into the path of Dre Vollenhoven, who was stealing in off the right. His arrival caught Scott Basalaj unawares, and the 'keeper could only watch as United's number eight tapped home from point blank range - 1-1.

Buoyed by the goal, Auckland kept on coming, Otto Ingham charging down the left before delivering a teasing 23rd minute cross which arced just beyond Atkinson, arriving on the far post. Cue an instant Olympic counter-attack, which culminated in Alex Solomon's thirty-yarder being smothered by Paterson after Boyd Curry had blocked a Gavin Hoy piledriver in that most painful of places - he took a few minutes to recover.

By the time he had, United were attacking again, Atkinson combining with Vollenhoven, who worked a one-two with Tade before evading a challenge and thrashing a twenty-yarder beyond Basalaj but just past his left-hand post as well.

Eleven minutes before half-time, Wellington regained the lead. A beautifully weighted ball over the top by Tor Davenport Petersen picked out Prins on the right. He darted between two defenders before executing a lovely lobbed finish over Paterson - 2-1 to the holders.

Back came Auckland, Abdallah Khaled tackling Watson before picking out Vollenhoven, who took on the defence before blazing over the angle of near post and crossbar in the 39th minute. United's scorer then tackled Watson in the shadows of the half-time whistle, a challenge to which the Wellington man took umbrage - he's quite happy dishing out the physical stuff, but when an opponent replies in kind …

A brief skirmish ensued, with referee Cory Mills - who let an awful lot of naughty and unnecessarily physical stuff go unpunished in this game, it must be said - awarding United a free-kick just inside Olympic's half. Tade unleashed a gem of a curling delivery, Curry just failing to get on the end of it and bring about parity at the break.

Wellington began the second spell as they had the first - hot on attack. Hoy thundered a twenty-five yard snapshot narrowly over the bar on receipt of Hoy's headed clearance, Prins' cross on the run down the left having failed to pick out Watson due to the defender's intervention.

Auckland came desperately close to a second equaliser in the 49th minute. Tade created problems on the left before linking with Will Mendoza. His ball into the area was cleared by William Vincent straight to Tade, whose low first-time shot curled agonisingly past the far post - a foot to the left and it was 2-2.

Paterson pulled off a fine save to deny Jack-Henry Sinclair soon afterwards, while Tade fluffed his lines again in the 54th minute after Ross Haviland, Vollenhoven and Ingham had combined to set up the playmaker. Seconds later, Atkinson and Ingham combined on the right to set up Tade, who sent this opportunity flashing over the bar from the edge of the penalty area.

Wellington responded by increasing their lead in the 59th minute. Davenport Petersen and Prins combined again, the latter chesting down the former's chipped pass into the stride of Sinclair, whose fulminating volley fair thundered into the back of the net - 3-1, with an exclamation mark thrown in for good measure!

Auckland were still reeling from that blow when Davenport Petersen and Prins combined again two minutes later. Khaled clipped the striker in the penalty area, and referee Mills promptly pointed to the spot.

Prins picked himself up and dusted himself down, but the goal his Jack Batty Memorial Cup-winning display as the Chatham Cup Final's MVP was denied him by Paterson, who plunged to his right to turn the penalty round the post - a superb save.

And one which gave Auckland hope, as did Tade's twenty yard free-kick in the 65th minute - it flew inches over the bar. Wellington's response to this was of the "this is how you do it" variety - they made it 4-1 two minutes later.

Watson was responsible for one of the most powerfully struck free-kicks in Chatham Cup Final history, a twenty yard thunderbolt which, had it not slammed into the corner of the net, would probably still be travelling - it was a phenomenal strike!

United never gave up, and after Hideto Takahashi headed a Tade free-kick narrowly past the post, they reduced the arrears in the 73rd minute via a diving header from Curry, who was picked out at the near post by Takahashi's cross on the run.

Now trailing 4-2, Auckland kept on coming. Bruce Izumi picked out Tade in the 78th minute, and he sent Jonty Roubos for an Echo before unleashing a shot which was diverted into the side-netting by the lunging figure of Vincent.

Four minutes later, with what turned out to be Auckland's last chance, Tade sent a fifteen-yarder flashing past the post after substitutes Matias Nunez and Izumi had combined to reward the striker's movement.

Wellington responded via Prins, who got in behind the defence only to be thwarted by the combined efforts of Takahashi and Paterson. The ball broke for Hoy, whose shot was blocked by Takahashi.

Watson was denied his hat-trick in the 87th minute for a foul on Paterson by Gianni Bouzoukis, but Wellington had already done enough to ensure the Chatham Cup would be residing in their Wakefield Park trophy cabinet again this summer, although not everyone present appreciated their physical style of play.

Auckland is one of the biggest clubs in the country playing numbers-wise, a large portion of which hail from the junior and youth ranks. A number of their younger fans had made themselves heard throughout the final, and their last chant of the day was as classic as it was defiant. "We played the better football!"

Out of the mouths of babes …

Auckland: Paterson; Khaled (Izumi, 67), Haviland, Curry; Atkinson (Nunez, 75), Takahashi (booked, 62), Mendoza, Ingham; Vollenhoven, Tade, Fay (Conroy, 60)

Wellington: Basalaj; Solomon (Reynolds, 77), Vincent, Supyk, Boyce; Sinclair (Roubos, 77), Manuel, Hoy (Bouzoukis, 68 (booked, 87)), Davenport Petersen, Prins (Auty, 90); Watson

Referee: Cory Mills

Chatham Cup