They say no sooner does one season end than the next one begins... however it’s probably taking that idea a bit too literally when you play last season’s cup final during the following preseason. That was the situation that befell the prestigious Chatham Cup due to the biological shenanigan that is the coronavirus. Cashmere Technical qualified for this stage with a thrilling late 1-0 win over Western Suburbs back in early October. Miramar Rangers didn’t book their spot until, after several delays, North Shore United finally had to withdraw from the competition at the semi-final stage in February. Four months and an entire National League season after that match was initially meant to be played.

Thus it came to pass that the Chatham Cup final, a knockout club competition which has existed in Aotearoa for 99 years, was contested in March between two teams preparing for a fresh league season due to begin in a couple of weeks. Not quite the golden spot on the calendar that the competition deserves but it was either this or not play the final at all so gotta make do. Cashy Tech ain’t complaining, that’s for sure. Not after they lifted the Chattie for the third time in eight years (after going back to back in 2013 & 2014).

They were deserved 4-2 winners. Miramar Rangers may have won the National League in electrifying fashion but they clearly suffered more from the preseason factors than Cashmere did. A fate that was definitely in the forecast from looking at the respective line-ups. From the eleven that started the 7-2 NL final win over Wellington Olympic, eight still remained – but suffice to say the three they were missing were rather important dudes.

For instance, Ollie Whyte was the standout player in the South Central Series but he’s off scoring goals professionally in Finland now (at FC Haka alongside Logan Rogerson). Zac Jones was their ever-present keeper in the SCS but he’s since moved to Wales. And Andy Bevin was absent here too, one of the smartest creative players out, not sure where he was but coach Scotty Hales did mention they were without a few squad members due to covid protocols (this article’s being written from the confines of household-contact isolation, so I can sympathise for sure). On the positive side, Haris Zeb was back from the injury that cost him the last couple SCS matches, while captain Sam Dewar was suspended for the SCS final. Naturally he was back for this one. Ryan Foord also came in at goalkeeper.

Meanwhile Cashmere Tech were pretty much at full strength. Every single starter featured prominently during the South Central Series and, being a cup competition, they also presumably weren’t bound to the U20 player rule which meant they could fit all the old heads in there. Plenty of experience to go around. Always massively important in a cup final. The likes of Tom Schwarz and Danny Knight were even around for previous Chatham Cup triumphs.

The preseason state of affairs made for a pretty sloppy game, to be totally honest. But Cashy Tech were the least sloppy. They had a familiar formation with familiar combinations and had not been at all weakened since the SCS. Sure, the match fitness wasn’t there to the same degree, but they weren’t as affected by that as Miramar who were also trying to figure out new creative outlets in the absence of Whyte and Bevin. (Makes you wonder what Western Suburbs might’ve done had they made the final, given how many of their guys have since flown off for overseas opportunities – they might’ve had to chuck out the under-17s).

As such the first half kinda breezed by with Tech trying to get Lyle Matthysen and Yuya Taguchi as involved as possible, plenty of attempts to square that ball across goal. Only drama for them was that no matter how short of match fitness they might be, a Rangers back three of Flynn O’Brien, Taylor Schrijvers, and Liam Wood is always going to be up for the battle and for most of the half they were able to repel what came their way. Miramar had a few little sorties forward but overall they struggled to maintain possession. There was a level of messiness in their play that wasn’t quite there from Technical, preventing Rangers from getting a proper foothold. No doubt missing the link men of Whyte and Bevin (just to beat on that drum once more).

It took 41 minutes for a goal to arrive. When it did, it was pretty fortunate. Jake Richards going down as he charged onto a loose ball in the area (typically devised by Garbhan Coughlan running onto a Taguchi ball forward) ahead of Haris Zeb. To be honest there wasn’t a heap of contact visible on the livestream but hey the ref was in a better position. And, to be fair, it had been coming. Cashmere Tech were getting the ball into that Miramar Rangers 18-yard box and eventually something was gonna happen. Garbhan Coughlan dispatched it smoothly from the penalty spot.

Presumably Scotty Hales had some hefty words to offer his team at the break because Miramar Rangers were much improved when the game resumed. Bit more of a presence from their midfield and Hugo Delhommelle was getting plenty of chances to whip set piece deliveries into the area. Of course, Cashmere Tech also have a formidable defence – Schwarz and Andrew Storer are not going to miss many headers – but at least both teams were at the races now. At 1-0 it was still anybody’s game. An equaliser and they might even fancy themselves on top with the momentum. Joao Moreira was just about ready to be subbed on.

But before he could enter the game, Rangers conceded. Keeper Ryan Foord unfortunately found himself in a waking nightmare as he was tackled in possession on 60 mins by Richards. Tried to control the ball across his body and JJR swooped in to take it from him. The ball fell to Yuya Taguchi and, although Foord managed to get a diving hand on it, the Japanese playmaker’s finish was too good. Same bloke who scored the 86th minute winner against Wests that got them to this stage.

Roughly five minutes later, the Techers worked another smooth move. Richards with a nutmeg to put Taguchi into a crossing area, whose ball over the top was too deep but Matthysen recovered it and tried to square for Coughlan. Too close to the keeper who scooped it up... and then dropped it at the feet of old mate Garbs who could not feasibly miss from there. Tough day at the office for the replacement keeper, gotta feel for him. From 1-0 to 3-0 in a hurry and that was surely the end of that. Cashmere Tech had been the stronger team throughout and now they had a healthy lead to nurse over the final quarter of the contest. All was sweet and dandy.

Until Flynn O’Brien, of all people, did this...

No deflection necessary, just a wicked knuckle ball strike to leave Danny Knight on his heels and Rangers had a wee lifeline. Wonderful goal. Cue some frantic attacking to try and salvage another one to get them back within range. Miramar though they had one when Sam Mason-Smith struck home after a pullback from Zeb... but the referee ruled that the ball had already crossed the line for a corner. No decent angle to be sure of it on the replay, Rangers were annoyed (though not overly so), but as we all know the referee’s decision is final.

But would you believe it they scored from the corner kick anyway? Uncharacteristically slapstick defending from Cashy Tech with an own goal the official end product. Not even gonna begin to explain what happened. See if you can make any sense of this for yourself...

Suddenly it was 3-2 and Miramar had six minutes plus stoppage time to find a third to force extra time. Not great on the legs in a preseason situation but mate there was a trophy to be won. Doesn’t matter how you do it in a final. This one would’ve been all sorts of wild given that they’d been thoroughly outplayed for the majority of the match.

But nah in the end the Cup was destined for Christchurch. If you didn’t believe it before then you had to after a brilliant one-two between Taguchi and Matthysen put the former through to slide in his second of the afternoon, clinching the Chatham Cup for his team with a 4-2 victory, and also sneakily earning himself the Jack Batty Memorial Cup for the player of the day.

Curiously, Taguchi is the second Japanese player in a row to win the JNMC. There was no Chatham Cup in 2020 due to the pandemic but Sho Goto won the thing for Napier City in 2019. Meanwhile Cashmere Technical claimed their third CC, becoming the first team from the South Island to win the thing since they themselves also won it in 2014 (and, as established earlier, in 2013 too). In fact they are the only South Island club to have won the Chatham this century. Gotta go back to Dunedin Tech in 1999 for the next.

And there ya go. A Chatham Cup final that was played at Jerry Collins Stadium in Wellington in corporeal form but which was played on an island in metaphorical terms. Supposed to happen at the end of the winter season but ended up taking place right before the start of the next one. Ordinarily we’d be talking about how these teams are looking heading into the National League season. Instead it’s a sudden reset ahead of the winter stuff starting all over again.

All goods. No matter how it fits in, the undeniable truth of the matter is that Cashmere Technical are Chatham Cup champions for 2021. It just took a few months longer than it normal to find that out, is all.

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