Soccer: Napier make no race of Chatham Cup final

By TERRY MADDAFORD

New Zealand Soccer got it right in naming Napier City Rovers their club of the year.

If the national body had waited a day and taken Napier's 4-1 demolition of Central United in Saturday's Chatham Cup final into account, a couple of other awards could well have gone their way.

Coach Charlie Howe surely would have been a contender for that award, while effervescent midfielder Jimmy Cudd must have staked a claim as player of the year.

Cudd at least had his efforts in the Bluebird Chatham Cup final recognised in picking up the player of the day award, but for Howe, there is just the memory of an outstanding job in picking up the reins mid-season and guiding the best team in the country to their second league-cup double.

But rewards, not awards, were on Howe's mind as he watched his charges celebrate their comprehensive victory at North Harbour Stadium.

"I just loved it. They are a great bunch of guys," said Howe, who was pitched in to the job when former coach John McKenna was sent packing. "They are a magic team.

"And," he warned, "we ain't seen the best yet. I'm ready to carry on and I'm sure the players are too, even the old hands like Martin Akers and Perry Cotton."

The victory, on a puggy surface, capped a memorable, unbeaten 14-match run since Howe and his assistant, Mick Waitt, took charge.

"Football week in, week out has been hard on their legs, but the cup final was easier than the club championship, which came at the end of a hard week. This has been a real team effort. There are no superstars.

"Sure, we didn't have any players recognised at the awards ceremony but they all have two medals, nothing compares with that."

Cudd, who set the ball rolling with a magnificent, 15th-minute, long-range strike, epitomised the Napier effort. He ran and ran and just kept working in the heart of the midfield.

"If you do that, you make your own luck," said the 24-year-old, who started his football in Gisborne under the watchful eye of his father and Gisborne City stalwart Len Cudd before moving to Auckland and the North Shore club. He then moved on to the Hawkes Bay.

"I'm over the moon. I feel like crying. I can't believe it. We went out to work as a team, and we did. It is the biggest thrill I've had in football."

Once Cudd set things alight, it was only a matter of time before Napier would take complete control.

The second goal came just four minutes later, when Scott Pilcher found Chris McIvor with a great ball. McIvor met it pinpoint perfect to thump it into the roof of the Central goal. In the 36th minute Rovers made certain of their second double triumph in seven years when import Ricky Ravenhill was unchallenged in scoring.

A solo effort from Bruce Hill, palmed away by goalkeeper Mark Paston, in added time at the end of the first spell gave Central some hope and sparked what was to become an all-out assault early in the second half.

From the restart Brian Hawke played the ball deep and Hill's diving header was just wide.

Three minutes later, Fred de Jong found Michael Ridenton, who sent a long ball wide. Noah Hickey gathered deftly before playing it square to substitute Stephen Mack, who calmly slotted home.

But any chance of it remaining even half a contest ended in the 56th minute, when referee Derek Rugg harshly handed de Jong a second yellow card and then a red.

Central continued to attack but there was no way back. Substitute Leon Birnie, with his first touch, added Napier's fourth 15 minutes from time as the visitors simply played it out.

Central were always up against it. Rugg penalised Central for 15 fouls, Napier only seven. Central were caught offside six times, Napier three.

But the statistics told only part of the story. This was a complete performance and one surely befitting the top club in the country.

The curtainraiser for the women's Uncle Toby's Knockout Cup was even more one-sided, with the Terry McCahill-led Lynn Avon side beating Wairarapa 6-0 after leading 2-0 at halftime.

Spearheaded by player of the match, Amanada Crawford who scored three and had a hand in setting up two more, Lynn Avon cruised to their second cup triumph.

The lopsided final again underlined just how strong the powerbase of women's football is in Auckland. There has never been more than the odd goal in it in the games between Lynn Avon and last year's top dogs, Three Kings, but with a regionalised format, the two clubs were again destined to meet in the semifinals.

"Sure, there is a big difference between women's club football in Auckland and the rest of the country," said McCahill who won her first medal four years ago. "But we understand that there are plans to have open semifinals next year."