Napier City Rovers into first Chatham Cup semi-final since 2019; draw released
Napier City Rovers are into their first Chatham Cup semi-final since 2019, and will head to Christchurch to play Cashmere Technical.
The Napier side defeated Hibiscus Coast 5-2 in their quarter-final on Sunday during a “chaotic” away match in Auckland.
The draw for the semi-finals was released on Tuesday, with Rovers scheduled for an away match against Cashmere Tech on the weekend of August 15-16.
The exact date and time of the match have yet to be confirmed.
The last time Rovers reached this stage of the competition, they went on to win the title (in 2019).
The Thirsty Whale Napier City Rovers have a rich history in the Chatham Cup, having won five times – 1985, 1993, 2000, 2002 and 2019.
The nationwide knockout competition has been running for over a century and is considered by many to be the most-coveted prize in New Zealand domestic football.
Rovers coach Bill Robertson said they were delighted to reach the semi-finals.
“Napier City Rovers as a club has a proud history in the Chatham Cup.
“At the start of the season we set our goals to go as far as we can in the competition; we always want to do well in the Chatham Cup.
“Our priority this year was to try and qualify for the National League for next year [with its] new structure.
“However, to have a cup run has been fantastic and to get to this stage is a massive achievement for the club ... and we are looking forward to that game.”
He said the conditions were tricky in their quarter-final, as a lot of rain fell in the lead-up to the match and during the game.
“The pitch had a lot of rain, there was a lot of surface water.
“It was probably at danger of possibly being called off at one stage.
Robertson said the first 10-15 minutes of the game “were pretty chaotic”.
Hibiscus Coast went 1-0 up early on, but Rovers hit back within a minute, then scored twice more to lead 3-1 inside about 20 minutes.
They did not lose the lead from there and the game eventually ended 5-2.
Rovers’ goalscorers were Dan Makowem, Aston Hurd, Ben Stanley, Ross Willox and Jim Hoyle.
Remarkably, Napier City Rovers remain in a position to potentially do a Central League-Chatham Cup double this season, as they are top of the Central League with four games to go.
Their next game is at home on Sunday (at 1pm) against Petone in the Central League.
Chatham Cup semi-finals (home team first)
Cashmere Tech (Christchurch) v Napier City Rovers
Fencibles United (Auckland) v Nelson Suburbs