FC Whangarei football fans and players alike won't be blamed for humming a few bars of a Split Enz anthem History Never Repeats before the Federation Cup semifinal starts at Morningside Park tomorrow.
The home side face Waitakere City in the match, conscious that the West Auckland side have knocked them
out of contention before.
"The boys are really looking forward to this match because they know that Waitakere have beaten us a couple of times at this particular stage in the competition - so they have something to prove," FC Whangarei coach Peter Brown said.
"Waitakere have got a hell of a lot of depth in their club and that makes them tough but if we can play our game and forget about what they're doing, then we can do it."
It has been a good season for the FC Whangarei top side. They just need one more win in the Northland premier division to claim the title and Brown said they had been growing stronger all season.
"We're strong all over the park now and we've got four or five good subs on the bench waiting to come on ... Depth has been a long time coming but we're nearly there now," Brown said.
The match kicks off at 2pm, with the victor to play the winner of Albany Phoenix and Waitemata in the final.
The second round of the Stafford Choat knockout tournament takes centre stage in Northland senior football this weekend with FC Whangarei and Madhatters getting a bye through to the quarterfinals.
Kamo Mico play Central Brown at home, while Paihia host Madhatters Green at the Bledisloe Domain and Tikipunga play Madhatters Black at home.
A fourth Madhatters team - their third-division side - are still alive in the competition and will play Onerahi at William Fraser Park in the other 12.30pm game.
Kerikeri take on their northern rivals Kaikohe at Baysports Park in Waipapa at 2pm, while Central Brown reserves host first-division Bay Cosmos at Otaika Park at 2.45pm.
