Tauranga City's Adam Davidson makes a run against Forrest Hill Milford in the Chatham Cup. Photo / Andrew Warner
Tauranga City's Adam Davidson makes a run against Forrest Hill Milford in the Chatham Cup. Photo / Andrew Warner
Tauranga City's ISPS Handa Chatham Cup campaign ended with a heavy defeat on Saturday.
Tauranga were beaten 4-0 by Forest Hill Milford United at Links Ave Reserve in a game that was scoreless at halftime.
Tauranga City coach Nic Millichip said his side created chances in the first half but could not capitalise on the opportunities.
"We came out a bit slow and did not begin with the intensity we needed. If we put one away in the first half it could have spurred us on. They scored one and scored again soon after."
Taupō's cup run was also halted as they lost 3-2 to Albany United. The Chatham Cup is one of New Zealand's more illustrious sporting trophies and Millichip says it is great to be a part of.
"The cup is a bonus and you get what you can out of it. The cup is a fantastic competition," Millichip said.
The silver lining in the loss is that Tauranga can now focus on the Northern League Football first division, where they are eighth on the table but just a couple of wins outside the top three. They had a goal-less draw with Three Kings United two weeks ago and resume the competition against Bay Olympic in Auckland this Saturday.
After two consecutive games without Tauranga scoring a goal, Millichip hopes his side can move forward this weekend.
"The things we have been doing in the league are good. Out of that [cup fixture] we hope the loss is just a little speed hump we can deal with. There are no gimmes in this competition and if we don't bring it, we will get punished."
Bay Olympic are in fifth place, five points ahead of Tauranga, and are one of the most prolific teams in the league with 24 goals in nine games.
"They came down from premier division this year. They have had some good results and it will be a decent match.
"We are playing a good brand of football, we just have to stick to it. There are a couple of passes going astray that we want to fix up. There is fine-tuning there and there are things that are just about falling into place. Tactically what other teams bring against us, we know we can deal with it.
"We want to score more goals, if we had put more in the net we would have six or seven more points under our belt. It is that final pass and we just need a couple to go in to get a bit of confidence around it, and I think it will. I certainly believe in the guys we have out there."
We are playing a good brand of football, we just have to stick to it. There are a couple of passes going astray that we want to fix up.
With the season not even at the halfway point there is still plenty of football ahead and Millichip is confident the team is coping.
"We have picked up a few injuries here and there, but we do train as a wider squad so we have a consistency about the messages we can deliver."
In the second division, McDonalds Ngongotahā Men's NRFL first team will resume their campaign against Albany United at North Harbour this Saturday. Ngongotahā have lost all 10 of their games this season.
Chatham Cup results
Tauranga City 0 Forest Hill Milford United 4, Taupō 2 Albany United 3.
Northern League Football fixtures for Saturday, June 8
First division Bay Olympic v Tauranga City, Auckland Waitemata v Takapuna, Auckland Forrest Hill Milford v Fencibles United, Auckland Three Kings United v Bucklands Beach, Auckland Hibiscus Coast v Ellerslie, Auckland Mt Albert Ponsonby v Waiheke United, Auckland
Second division Albany United v Ngongotahā, Auckland Unimount Bohemian Celtic v Claudelands Rovers, Auckland Manurewa v Oratia United, Auckland Metro v Cambridge, Auckland Onehunga Mangere v Greenhithe Catimba, Auckland Northland v Franklin United, Whangarei
