2026 Kate Sheppard Cup & Chatham Cup Grand Finals
Kate Sheppard Cup Final:
Cashmere Technical vs Eastern Suburbs
It was the first ever game of football at the new Christchurch stadium and local hopefuls Cashmere Technical were hosting Auckland travellers Eastern Suburbs in the Kate Sheppard Cup final. Cashmere had swept aside all challengers in their season to day, cruising to an undefeated South Island League championship winning 13 games and drawing only one, scoring 57 goals and conceding a mere four. The early cup fixtures were no less emphatic... though they had to do it the hard way against Dunedin City Royals and Wellington Phoenix Reserves in the latter rounds – scoring twice after the 88th minute to beat the WeeNix (and by doing so avenge their late defeat against the same opposition at the same semi-final stage last year). No doubting the form... but this was the club’s first Kate Sheppard Cup final and the team’s first game against a senior team from outside the South Island (seeing as the WeeNix Reserves are an U20s side, of course).
For those reasons and more, Eastern Suburbs turned up to their fourth overall KSC final as a pretty substantial favourite. This was their first KSC final appearance since winning the thing 4-0 against a different Christchurch club, Coastal Spirit, back in 2019. Rebekah van Dort, Ella Findlay, and Nicole Mettam all played in that 2019 final and were back for more seven years later (each having left Suburbs in that time and then returned). The Lilywhites had been on track for a league and cup double a few weeks ago until a 6-4 defeat against Auckland United (whom they’d already bounced out of the KSC) spoiled that dream, with AUFC going on to claim the NRFL Premiership on goal difference. They’ll get another crack at their main rivals in the National League but before that came an opportunity to get their mitts on the national cup.
No surprises that Eastern Suburbs had most of the ball from the outset, albeit with Cashmere Tech always a capable threat on the break thanks to the pace of Anya Stephen. As is often the case in cup finals, the big pitch and the big occasion made things a little cautious and even more so when dealing with two such excellent defences as these. But Eastern Suburbs were asking more questions, usually involving American winger Erika Skindlov who would soon enough set up the opening goal when her lovely inswinging corner kick was headed home from close range by her compatriot TJ Anderson after 19 minutes.
Contrary to assumptions, Suburbs didn’t ramp it up from there like they might have. The game continued on the steady way it had been going until suddenly Cashy Tech equalised on 37’ when Margi Dias won the ball back on the press and then Anya Stephan, who’d scored the winner in the semi-final and is originally from Auckland (a Western Springs product who played off the bench in the 2024 KSC final), whacked a pinpoint perfect strike into the top corner to make it 1-1. And unlike their opponents, that goal did spring Tech into life as they finished the half swinging repeated deliveries into the mixer and keeping everyone on their toes.
The break came at a fortunate time for the Lilywhites, who were able to get back into the sheds, take on some hydration, have a wee chat about proceedings, and then head back out and win this thing in the first ten minutes of the second spell. Because that’s what they did. 48th minute and it was Anna McPhie (originally from Nelson and a previous Canterbury United teammate of many of this Tech squad) who struck a magical dipping volley to beat Freya Herdman after the Tech keeper had been caught on the ball by Maddi Ollington. The initial shot from Olly was cleared off the line but only as far as McPhie who added another to her collection of televised bangers. But that wasn’t all. 52nd minute and this time it was Erika Skindlov who drove into a shooting position down the left channel and slammed her shot under the Tech goalie to make it 3-1. There was the ruthlessness that Suburbs didn’t show in the initial forty-five.
Tough few minutes for Herdman, who otherwise had a strong performance. But, to be honest, Eastern Suburbs always had it in them to go up the gears. Tech went to their bench to try inject some more athleticism into the side yet other than a sketchy offside call against Stephan they just couldn’t get anything going. Eastern Subs did a superb job of keeping Margi Dias quiet after she’d been scoring goals for fun throughout the South Island League. When the final whistle sounded, it confirmed a 3-1 win for the Lilywhites, meaning that the KSC trophy will remain in Auckland for the fifth consecutive year.
Erika Skindlov was deservedly awarded the Maia Jackman Trophy for her goal and assist. Pretty sure that makes her the first foreign player to ever win that award – could be wrong but pretty much everyone else on the list represented Aotearoa at senior or youth level. Coincidentally, Tech midfield stalwart Kate Loye (a one-cap Football Fern from back in 2015) won the MJ Trophy back in 2017 playing for Glenfield Rovers when they beat Eastern Suburbs. Rebekah van Dort and Nicole Mettam played for Suburbs in that final too – making this their third KSC final together. Meanwhile Zoe Barrott’s previous appearances with Wellington United means she’s played in three of the past six KSC finals (2021, 2023, 2026). Very impressive work for someone who has never been registered to Auckland United (Talisha Green played in 2018, 2022, 2024 & 2025).
If it hadn’t been Skindlov then it could as easily have been TJ Anderson or Stacey Martin in the midfield getting that Player of the Day honour – that was where they won this thing. Tech did what they could to cope with the Suburbs frontline, switching it up to a back three that allowed them to get Maya Alcantara (an American-born Philippines international), Lily Fisher, and Laney Strachan all out there together. Those three were really good, only gotta look at how limited Ollington’s impact was as they kept the NRFL Premiership Golden Boot winner (who scored a hat-trick in a very eventful outing in the semis) about as contained as it’s possible to keep her. Maybe Suburbs missed that focal point up top a little bit with Sam Tawharu on the bench but unused, presumably not 100% fit. But it didn’t really matter. Tech just couldn't get a foothold outside their own half aside from that one nice spell immediately after scoring. Fair enough, the better team won. That’s how it usually goes.
Team Line-Ups
Highlights
Chatham Cup Final:
Cashmere Technical vs Fencibles United
About an hour later, the Chatham Cup final kicked off where Cashmere Technical’s men’s side were seeking to save the day for the hefty home crowd. The Kate Shepp final had gone about as expected but Tech’s blokes were more prepared for their Auckland opposition. For starters, they’ve been to four CC finals since 2013 (no other club has made more than two in that time) and incredibly the big man at the back Tom Schwarz has started all four of those finals. That longevity is crazy but there was a decent contingent still there from the 2021 victory against Miramar Rangers too, including attacking talismans of Garbhan Coughlan, Yuya Taguchi, and Lyle Matthysen. The Tech lads also have plenty of National League experience so playing outside their region isn’t a drama – as shown by the victories against Miramar Rangers and Napier City Rovers on their road to the final.
Fencibles United have never made it to the Chatham Cup final before, nor have they ever qualified for the National League (they missed out on the 2026 edition last week by goal difference). They do have a few guys in their squad with useful experience at that level (Conor Probert, Ronaldo Munoz Lopez, etc) but only a few of them. However, while they might have lacked for experience, Fencies arrived battle-hardened for this occasion. They knocked out Birkenhead and Auckland City on their way to the final and were second-top scorers in the Northern League which, let’s be honest, runs a bit deeper and more competitive than the Southern League. On the one hand, Cash Tech going 16-1-0 with +73 goal difference (and one game remaining) in the Southern League suggests an efficient footballing machine that knows how to win and win often. On the other hand, they’ve only had a small handful of games this season where they’ve been genuinely challenged. Fencies were an unknown quantity but they turned up Te Kaha with scalps. Fascinating match-up.
The initial phases of the game were all about Fencies working the ball around, making good use of the big pitch with three at the back, a ball-playing goalkeeper, and wing-backs getting very high and wide. Tech pressed with urgency but were struggling to solve the puzzle aside from one hint courtesy of Lyle Matthysen on the counter. Very little from either of the number nines – tall timber Dylan Laing-McConnell for Fencies or the talismanic Garbhan Coughlan for Tech to begin with. It was the same deal as the women’s final where the objective #1 was to get into the game without any mistakes.
But just as it was getting too careful out there, Fencibles scored. Liam Wessels turned the ball over the right wing and was able to pick out Ronaldo Lopez Munoz ahead of him. A couple shimmies from the Chilean caught the Tech defenders retreating, allowing Munoz the room to pick his spot and put Fencibles United ahead 1-0 after 33 minutes. Can’t say they didn’t deserve it... and if it weren’t for Nick Murphy’s Surmanesque block against Dylan Laing-McConnell in the box then it might have been worse. As it was, Tech would have been relatively happy to get through to the break only one down with a chance to reassess.
The standoffishness for the Munoz goal was a rare one for Tech because other than that their backline, especially centre-backs Schwarz and Kane, were very aggressive at closing out or getting a toe in. Couple critical such instances early in the second stanza... at which point we finally began to see some Garbhan Coughlan stuff. There was a slicing run from the Irishman that took him into the area only he couldn’t quite find the space to shoot until he’d been pushed too far wide to threaten. Soon afterwards he did put the ball in the net after Yuasa had slipped over trying to gather a loose ball except that Coughlan had committed a foul in taking the ball away from the keeper, slightly too eager to capitalise.
That was better from Tech yet they probably should have conceded when Aidan Purkiss got to the byline and flipped the ball back to Ryan Clarke six yards out only for Clarke to get his feet around the wrong way and fail to find a proper finish. That miss looked even more regrettable when Nick Murphy did this...
Bloody hell. In a cup final, no less.
Suddenly Fencies were the team required to step in front of shots and frantically clear their lines... although they proved equally as capable as Tech had been. Then the dynamic shifted again after Tech captain Tom Schwarz limped off with twenty to go, replaced by Erik Panzer. Rory Hibbert also got a run up top at the same time. A couple mins later the visitors went to the bench with Kodie Nicol and Riwai Rangihuna-Stanton introduced. Lots of game-changer candidates there, which of them would make the difference? The correct answer was Kodie Nicol. It was nearly Rangihuna-Stanton instead because he was the bloke who met Connor Probert’s angled cross at the near post. Alas his touch ricocheted off the woodwork... but straight to Nicol for the wide open finish. 2-1 after 80 minutes. Cashmere Tech tried to muster another response but Fencies managed proceedings very well from there and what do ya know they’re now Chatham Cup champs. Both national cups will reside in East Auckland for the next twelve months.
It was Yoichi Kawachi who was given the Jack Batty Memorial Cup for his slick work in midfield for Fencibles. That can’t have been an easy decision because it was very much a team effort from which nobody especially stood out for Fencies. Jordan Boon’s work at the back marshalling Coughlan is worth a shout. Connor Probert was really good at the base of midfield. Kawachi was certainly up there. Ronaldo Lopez Munoz with his spark. It’s just hard to single anyone out when they all did their bit. Including the subs.
Such a pity that Fencibles didn’t qualify for National League. They’d have been great value in that competition, adding a bit of freshness on top of simply being a fun team to watch. They score a lot of goals but they concede a lot of goals. They’ve been part of some thrilling finishes this season. They way they set up with the back three and the deep build-ups is a point of difference to most Nats teams. Would have been a worthy inclusion but nevertheless. They’ll just have to earn promotion for 2028 (their women’s team has qualified for the 2026 Nats though).
Also gotta spare a moment during this Fencibles coronation to mention that this clubs is right up there with the likes of Melville Utd and Tauranga City for youth development success outside of the traditional forces. Whenever a national age grade squad is named, you’re more likely than not to see Fencibles United mentioned beside one of the names. Right now there’s an NZ Men’s U19s squad with Eli Jones and Nathan Martin involved (both now with Auckland FC), a Women’s U20 World Cup squad with Mikaela Bangalan (now at Wellington Phoenix), and a Women’s U16 squad with Mila Clark and Morgan Day. The Fencibles women won the Youth National League last year. Nathan Walker, Ryan Mackay, Aston Burns, Cailean Hamilton, Taylah Byers, Millee Loxton, Micaela Besley, and Eden Chaytor are others off the Fencies production line who’ve played for such sides in recent times. It’s immensely impressive mahi.
As for Cashmere Technical, well, that’s not how it was supposed to go. Couldn’t get moving on attack, couldn’t figure out how to progress through that Fencibles midfield set-up, couldn’t quite hang on at the back despite some valiant efforts. But they do at least have National League to look forward to both this year and next. And Nicholas Murphy did provide an all-timer Chatham Cup final moment with that goal... he had a belter of a game even aside from that too. Former Christchurch United youngster who joined Cash Tech this year after wrapping up his time in the Wellington Phoenix Academy. They had a pair of local 21yos in midfield too: Alex Ballard and Finn Caughey. It’s a club renowned for their veteran talent but they’re bringing them through at a slick rate too.
And while the results didn’t go the way of the local sides, the official crowd figure for this double-header was 11,267 - an astonishing number that reflects gloriously upon the Christchurch football community. Sure the tickets were free and sure the new stadium hype had a bit to do with that. But we’re talking about an amateur football game drawing an attendance in excess of the last two Wellington Phoenix A-League Men’s home games combined. In fact, this was a bigger crowd than the third NZ Derby last season (the one where Josh Oluwayemi scored that own goal). Slightly more than the Phoenix drew to Christchurch back in April (11,066) for their game at the old stadium. The All Whites will face India at Te Kaha in November. There’s definitely something brewing here.
Team Line-Ups
Highlights
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