2004 Chatham Cup Final

The Ultimate New Zealand Soccer Website | home

Golden Goal Clinches Cup For Miramar

by Jeremy Ruane

A "golden goal" forty-three seconds into the second half of extra-time from Miramar Rangers’ "Supersub", Michele Zannoto, clinched a third Bluebird Chatham Cup triumph for the Wellington club on September 6, as they downed a gallant Waitakere City 1-0 at North Harbour Stadium before a 3000-strong crowd - an excellent attendance for a televised Monday night fixture.

Zannoto’s strike settled a close encounter which saw plenty of chances created, but a combination of poor finishing, fine goalkeeping and stout defending ensured that, for 105 minutes of this match, those watching both at the ground and on television nationwide were denied the goals they craved.

The first chance of a game which was refereed in masterly fashion by Peter O’Leary - the powers-that-be got this appointment spot-on - took five minutes to materialise, and followed a Kris Bright break on the right for City. Craig Wylie’s corner found Hone Fowler powering in through the middle of the Miramar goalmouth, and his downward header bounced up and flashed past the angle of post and crossbar.

Fowler and the wily Andy Hedge, Rangers’ defensive lynchpin, were steadfast in their duties throughout this encounter, often seen stepping in to break up an opposing attack with calm efficiency. Behind them, City’s Michael Utting and Rangers’ Dylan Hall were the epitome of high competence, dealing capably with just about everything which came their way.

The latter was first called into action in the twelfth minute, racing out to save at the feet of Bright after a Matthew West blunder - not his last by any means - had been pounced on by the young Gillingham-bound striker, who heads to the English Football League club later this week for trials.

Matt Keene, with a delightful twenty-five yard chip of Utting which just cleared the crossbar, and Wylie, with a well-struck thirty-five yard piledriver which fizzed wide of the mark, were next to chance their arm in a match which was slow to gain any kind of momentum - in short, a typical Cup Final, with cageyness the key word for both sides.

A brief flurry of action brought the match to life just before the half-hour mark, with City calling the tune at this stage. Hall punched the ball off the head of Bright as he homed in on a Wylie cross in the 25th minute, while City’s leading marksman was thwarted by a vital block from West seconds later, as he charged towards Rangers’ goal.

Hall grabbed Fowler’s downward header in the 27th minute, following a Michael Williams free-kick, while Bright put James Slack in on the right two minutes later, only for the speedster to be closed down by Chris Peck, at the expense of a corner. Wylie’s delivery found Bright at the near post, but his header went the wrong side of the angle, much to Miramar’s relief.

Tim Butterfield offered them a brief respite in the 32nd minute, but shot tamely at Utting, who launched a City raid which culminated in Bright flicking the ball on into Slack’s path. This time, the closing presence of Hedge forced the speedster to fire wide of the mark.

Utting produced the best save of the match thus far in the 36th minute, diving low to his left to turn a fine shot on the turn by Graham Little to safety. And it was City’s turn to breathe a sigh of relief on the stroke of half-time, as Rangers came desperately close to opening the scoring.

Peck’s deep cross from the left arced beyond Bryan Little to the incoming Keene, who let fly with a cracking drive. The ball cannoned off Ben Steward towards Butterfield, whose close-range effort was blocked to seeming safety.

The rebound fell to Graham Little, who hit a piledriver towards the target. But again, the massed ranks of Waitakere defenders held firm, only for a poor clearance to present the hard-working Tariq Imam with a chance from twenty yards out. Utting didn’t see it till late, and looked on as the ball fizzed past his right-hand post.

The resulting goal kick was played short, with Geoff Gray sending the ball forward to release Slack down the left at pace - where Jamie Farrington had disappeared to, only he will know, but there was a gaping hole where Rangers’ right full-back should have been, and Slack wasted little time exploiting it.

Hedge came across as Bright charged through the middle in anticipation of a cross, but Slack went for glory, and sent the ball blazing well wide of the target to bring the first half to a close on something of an anti-climactic note.

Miramar began the second half brightly, with Jason Rowley thwarting Bryan Little within seconds of the resumption, and a Peck cross arcing narrowly over the head of Roddy Brown five minutes later, in much the same manner Steward’s cross had cleared the head of Bright two minutes earlier.

There was very little between the sides, in truth - little wonder they were both claiming the underdog tag in the build-up to the final, ‘cause neither side produced a performance befitting cup favourites, particularly with regard to taking their chances in front of goal.

A chance for Bright presented itself on the hour mark, as linesman Martin Pepper found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time when the striker and Hedge contested possession on the touchline.

Both players swerved round the official, one on either side, with the striker taking the goal-side route. It proved suffice to win the foot-race, but the finish he produced to reflect his best chance of the match was not great, pulling his shot wide of Hall but across the face of goal.

Utting surpassed his 36th minute save in the 63rd minute with a quite stunning stop low to his left. Brown wriggled out of an all-embracing challenge from Wylie and clipped in a cross to the completely unmarked Bryan Little. Everything about his downward header was text-book perfect, but Utting produced something from the top drawer to maintain parity on the

scoreboard.

Both Bryan Little and Fowler, with a glancing header from a Wylie free-kick, went close in the next seven minutes, their attempts sandwiching another close shave for Miramar in the 68th minute.

A vicious inswinging corner from Williams was somehow pawed out from under the crossbar by Hall, only for Malcolm Wakefield, City’s captain, to let fly from close-range. But Rangers’ rearguard blocked his effort on the line - the scoreless stalemate continued.

City continued to press, Bright narrowly failing to get on the end of a delightfully flighted cross from Steward in the 73rd minute, while Hedge managed to contain both Bright and Slack with a classy piece of defensive play four minutes later, sparking a raid from man-of-the-match Butterfield.

He surged fully fifty yards with the ball until getting to the edge of City’s penalty area, from where he let fly. Utting saved low to his right this time, then looked on seconds later as at the conclusion of a strong run by Imam, Brown sent a screamer sailing wide of the mark, a feat he was to replicate in stoppage time.

With extra-time looming large, City pressed hard for a late winner, but it wasn’t to be, although it certainly wasn’t for the want of trying. A Farrington error was pounced on by Mauro Donoso, who picked out Slack with his pass. But Hedge was on hand to foil this opportunity.

Hall was next to intervene and frustrate City, punching a Wylie free-kick off the head of Bright. The striker then played a lovely ball wide into the path of substitute Nathan Fry, who, with his first touch, brought a fine save with his legs out of the advancing Hall, two minutes from time.

Fry was in again in stoppage time, after Wylie, Slack and Donoso had teamed up, the latter’s angled cross being headed out by Hedge to the substitute. He was forced wide by the defender, but still got a shot in, one which Hall parried to safety.

The first half of extra time saw Miramar up the tempo, as they sought to add the Chatham Cup to the National Club Championship and Capital Premier League honours they’ve claimed in the last couple of years.

Substitute Zannoto had entered the fray by this time, and wasn’t too far away from getting on the end of a teasing Graham Little cross in the 98th minute. Seconds later, an Imam corner had Utting flapping in vain, the ball falling perfectly for Butterfield.

He hit a thunderbolt through the crowded goalmouth, and how no-one made contact with the ball, given the fearsome pace at which it was travelling, and the cluster of legs in the vicinity, defies logic.

A timely clearance from Donoso denied Kevin Thompson, as the Little brothers looked to link with the early second half substitute, but the real drama was to come at the other end of the park, in the 103rd minute.

Fry battled down the right, his fresh legs of great value to Waitakere at this stage of the match, although it was something of a surprise, given the number of games City have played of late, that he was the only substitute they used.

On this occasion, his cross was touched on by Slack to Bright, who hit a gem of a shot on the turn. Hall somehow blocked it, and recovered quickly to prevent the striker from turning home the rebound - coming as it did late in the first half of "Golden Goal" extra-time, it was arguably the most important and most significant save of the entire match.

On the stroke of half-time in the additional period, Miramar produced a lovely move, featuring Imam and Butterfield. But Zannoto spoilt it all with an awful finish, firing well wide of the mark with just Utting to beat, prompting groans all round from the Miramar faithful who had made the trip north from the capital for their club’s first Chatham Cup Final since their 1992 victory over Waikato United at the Basin Reserve.

But the substitute was to go from villain to "Miramar Legend" status just forty-three seconds after the teams had changed ends to commence the second period of extra-time.

Breaking down the left, Graham Little fired in a low cross behind Zannoto, who turned and lashed the ball inside Utting’s near post from eight yards to win the cup for Rangers, as the goalkeeper’s momentum took him away from the ball at the wrong moment.

Instantly, Miramar’s bench raced onto the pitch, ecstatic in triumph, their 1-0 victory sealed by their very own "Supersub" to provide a fitting send-off for coach Dave Farrington, taking charge of his last match in senior level soccer, and bowing out a winner.

At the same moment, Waitakere’s players slumped to the ground, despair etched all over their faces, as their dreams of claiming a fourth Chatham Cup for the West Auckland club evaporated in the cool night air, to be replaced by the most bitter pill of all to swallow.

It was a hard way for either combatant to win or lose, given their efforts over the preceding 106 minutes, but far better that the game be decided in this manner, compared to the penalty shoot-out which was looming large on the horizon. Thankfully, it wasn’t needed, due to a goal from loyal club-man Zannoto, Miramar Rangers’ cup final hero.

Miramar: Hall; Farrington, West, Hedge, Peck; Keene (Thompson, 56), Butterfield, Imam, B. Little; G. Little, Brown (Zannoto, 92)

Waitakere: Utting; Rowley (Fry, 87), Wakefield, Fowler; Williams, Steward, Gray, Donoso, Wylie; Slack, Bright

Referee: Peter O’Leary

Scorer: Miramar: M. Zannoto (106)

Chatham Cup