Soccer: Cup final one sided affair

Tikipunga rose to the occasion to outclass Central Brown 6-0 to win the Stafford Choat Cup final.

The final at Toll Stadium on Saturday was a one-sided affair with Tikipunga up 2-0 early on thanks to a Mark Ruddle double.

Central Brown lifted themselves off the canvas to compete for the rest of the spell but a Marcus Mulhearn strike just before the break hurt them badly.

Down 0-3, Central Brown came out after the half-time break to play their best football of the match and Tikipunga were hard pressed at times to keep them out.

They couldn't find the net, however, and another goal to Tikipunga midway through the spell - this time by Steve Crowley - was enough to kill them off.

Tikipunga added two more, to Don Johnson and Lance Dinsdale, to complete the rout.

Tikipunga coach Clive Adams said his troops were highly motivated to win.

"It was a bit of grudge match, to be honest. We drew 2-2 earlier in the season in a very physical match and as soon as the boys started their warm-up yesterday, you see how much they wanted to win," he said.

He said playing on Toll Stadium added to the atmosphere, the occasion and the quality of football.

"It's a great surface to play football on and we're lucky to be able to play on it.

"It's onwards and upward for us now. We have Kerikeri in the Federation Cup final this week, so we're looking forward to that now," he said.

It simply wasn't a great day overall for Central Brown, as their reserve team got hammered 14-0 by the Northland Premier Grade Champions Kamo in the Bowl final.

Kamo were knocked out in the early rounds of the Stafford Choat Cup by Tikipunga and were by far the better team as the final scoreline over their second-division rivals showed.

The Stafford Choat Plate final between Bay Cosmo's second-division side and Kamo's reserves was the only tight game of the day. The score was tied up at 1-1 at fulltime and the game went to penalties with Kamo winning 4-2.In the women's cup competition yesterday, Kamo beat Kerikeri High School 4-0 and Hora Hora beat Bream Bay 7-0.