Soccer: Depleted cup-holders facing difficult test

By Terry Maddaford

There will be no place for sentiment when three-times Chatham Cup victors Waitakere City host cup-holders Central in the feature fourth-round tie at Fred Taylor Park tomorrow.

While mindful that Central will be without All Whites Ross Nicholson, Ivan Vicelich, Mark Elrick, Paul Urlovic and Tinoi Christie, Waitakere must put that out of their minds and simply do the business.

City chairman Peter Bult said that while he and the team would have preferred to play a full-strength Central side, that was an issue beyond anyone's control and they could not let that cloud their approach.

"We beat them in the North Island league when they were at full strength so we should be capable of repeating that on Sunday," said Bult.

City handed Central their first defeat of the season, 3-2 at Kiwitea St six weeks ago, to get their season on track.

Since that win, Waitakere have advanced into sixth place with three games in hand and are capable of testing any of the 15 other teams remaining in the competition.

The other northern games will attract their share of interest with most centred on Whitney St, where Bay Olympic, who as Blockhouse Bay, won the coveted trophy in 1970, are at home to Auckland Grammar School.

Already progressing further than any school team in the cup's long history, Auckland Grammar need to get by Bay Olympic to book a place in the quarter-finals.

Mt Wellington, the most successful side (with five previous cup triumphs) left in the 1999 cup, face a difficult away task against Bluebird premier frontrunners Tauranga City.