HomeCommunityFencibles reach first Chatham Cup final

Fencibles reach first Chatham Cup final

The Pakuranga club beat Nelson Suburbs 3-0 and meets Cashmere Technical in Christchurch on Saturday 5 September.

Kodie Nicol scored inside a minute under lights at Riverhills Park, and Fencibles United are through to their first Chatham Cup final.

They meet Cashmere Technical at One New Zealand Stadium in Christchurch at 4pm on Saturday 5 September.

Fencibles beat Nelson Suburbs 3-0 in the semi-final on Saturday 15 August. Dylan Laing-McConnell added the second goal in the fifth minute and the third in stoppage time.

Nelson Suburbs did not reply.

In a nod to the high performance of the Fencibles team, two days before that match, the Cook Islands Football Association named Fencibles men’s first-team head coach Rhys Ruka as its national men’s coach, on a contract to 2028.

Ruka has an esteemed background, having joined the club in 2024, after taking Manurewa up into the Northern League in 2022.

He has also tasted Chatham Cup victory before, having won it as a player for Eastern Suburbs in 2015.

Cashmere Technical have won the Chatham Cup three times, most recently in 2021. They beat Napier City Rovers 2-1 in the other semi-final.

Their women play Eastern Suburbs in the Kate Sheppard Cup final at the same stadium at 1pm.

One New Zealand Stadium opened in March under a fixed transparent roof. It has 25,000 permanent seats, rising to 30,000 for major events.

The cup finals will be the first football played there.

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