Lower Hutt made sure of their passage to the final on the weekend of August 25 and 26 with a 4-0 win over Caversham at Dunedin’s Caledonian Ground, while Auckland’s Central United banged six unanswered goals past eight-man Miramar Rangers at David Farrington Park in Wellington to end hopes of an all-capital final.
Hamish Watson threatened early for Lower Hutt and finally broke the deadlock in the 38th minute, poking home a corner at the back post.
Pomare Te Anau doubled the lead from outside the box in the 63rd minute and Taban Mokaii’s goal four minutes later looked to have wrapped up the tie, before Andrew Coad added another six minutes from time.
The result means Caversham’s semi-final curse continues with their seventh loss at the final four stage from as many appearances.
In Wellington, former Lower Hutt player Emiliano Tade led Central United’s charge to the final with a hat-trick that included two penalties.
His seventh-minute spot kick was all that separated the teams at halftime but Patrick Fleming’s 52nd-minute dismissal for a second yellow card left Miramar with a mountain to climb.
Paul Urlovic made it 2-0 in the 57th minute and Adam Dickinson extended the lead further in the 82nd minute to kick start a final flourish from the five-time Chatham Cup winners.
Seven minutes from fulltime Miramar goalkeeper Sacha Nathu brought down Tade to earn himself an early shower and the Argentinean striker slotted the resulting penalty past makeshift custodian Campbell Parkin and completed his hat-trick with Central’s fifth goal in the first minute of injury time.
A forgettable day for Miramar was compounded in the fourth minute of additional time with another red card, this time to Tom Doyle, with Daniel Koprivcic converting to wrap up the 6-0 win.
The venue for the 85th ASB Chatham Cup final will be confirmed during the week with North Harbour Stadium – the host of 11 of the last 14 finals – due to host provincial rugby that weekend.
Chatham Cup semi-finals
Caversham: 0
Lower Hutt City: 4 (Hamish WATSON 38’, Pomare TE ANAU 63’, Taban MOKAII 67’, Andrew COAD 84’)
Halftime: 0-1
Caledonian, Dunedin
Miramar Rangers: 0
Central United: 6 (Emiliano TADE pen 7’, pen-83’, 90+1’; Paul URLOVIC 57’, Adam DICKINSON 82’, Daniel KOPRIVCIC pen-90+4’)
Halftime: 0-1
David Farrington Park, Wellington
Story courtesy of New Zealand Football.
For more on New Zealand Football visit www.nzfootball.co.nz

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