A substitute helped settle it with 10 minutes left, in front of 11,267 people in Christchurch
Fencibles United have won the Chatham Cup, beating Cashmere Technical 2-1 in Christchurch on Saturday to take New Zealand football’s oldest trophy for the first time in the club’s history.
The first half hour was tense at One NZ Stadium, with no goals scored until the 33rd minute.
Then Fencibles went ahead as Liam Wessels reached a loose ball first and found Ronaldo Lopez Munoz, who controlled it on the edge of the area, beat a defender and finished low into the corner.
Cashmere came out for the second half and pressed. They thought they had levelled when Garbhan Coughlan dispossessed the Fencibles goalkeeper and finished into an empty net, but the goal was disallowed for a foul.
They equalised in the 61st minute through Nick Murphy, who controlled the ball and struck it from well outside the penalty area.
Fencibles regained the lead with 10 minutes left. Captain Connor Probert delivered a deep cross, substitute Riwai Rangihuna-Stanton diverted it against the inside of the post, and the ball rolled across the goalmouth for fellow substitute Kodie Nicol to turn in.
Cashmere kept looking for a second equaliser and did not find one.
Fencibles beat Auckland City 3-2 in the quarter-final at Riverhills Park in July, then Nelson Suburbs 3-0 at the same ground in the semi-final on 15 August. Nicol scored inside the first minute of that match and Dylan Laing-McConnel scored twice.
Promoted to the Northern League two seasons ago, the club finished fifth this season and missed the championship round on goal difference.
Cashmere Technical were chasing a men’s and women’s cup double on the same afternoon.
Yoichi Kawachi was named player of the final.
Fencibles was formed in 1995 out of the merger of Howick AFC and Pakuranga Town AFC, and takes its name from the Royal New Zealand Fencibles Corps, the retired soldiers who settled the district from 1847. Its red and blue strip is drawn from their uniforms.
It now has about 2,000 players from under-fives up, and more than 6,000 members counting the parents of junior players.
This is the first Fencibles side to go beyond the quarter-finals, and the first to bring the cup back to Pakuranga.
