Giantkillers Te Puke line up Central next!

When Te Puke College's groundsman wandered over to Litt Park earlier this week, offering to run the heavy roller over the main soccer pitch in readiness for the biggest day in Te Puke United's history, co-coach Lee Hillier waved him away with the flick of a hand.

"It was a nice gesture and I said "sure you can roll it ... on Monday!"" Hillier laughed, surveying Litt Park's No1 ground, a dusty, pock-marked surface looking more like a parched Waikato paddock in the middle of summer than the venue for a Chatham Cup tie.

Te Puke, the lowest ranked soccer team left in the last 32 of the Chatham Cup, have been handed a dream date with tomorrow's home match against holders Central United.

They now sit atop division one but Central have featured in six of the past 11 Chatham Cup finals.

Not that anyone at the Super Liquor-sponsored Te Puke is complaining. Co-coach Shaun McIlwaine who, with Hillier, took over at the helm last season, is thrilled.

"I'm chuffed with that draw," McIlwaine said. "It's going to be fantastic to have the best players in the country at Litt Park."

Says club president Kevin Reeves: "It's massive. We're the talk of the town in Te Puke and I think Central will be shocked by the turnout and all the noise that our supporters make."

McIlwaine said Te Puke, who beat Rotorua 5-4 in the second round on Queen's Birthday Monday, were enjoying the buzz created by their cup run.

"We have to give a team like Central respect for all that they've won and sure we may get beat, but if the lads give 120 per cent and we have some luck, who knows?"

Te Puke might be having a stellar season but there's a chasm in the form of a combined Waikato-Bay league and two divisions of Northern League football between them and Central United.

Hillier, who has netted 25 goals in the past 10 games, doubts the players (including two 16-year-olds still at high school) will be overawed, although a win tomorrow would rank as the greatest upset since 1949, when lowly Petone, then playing in the third tier of Wellington football, went on all the way to win the Cup.

"Central are bringing the Cup down with them, which will gee our boys up, especially as a couple of the lads plan to tie some black and white ribbons (Te Puke's colours) on to it before the game. We don't fear anyone, especially on our home ground." Te Puke have pulled out all the stops for Central's visit, clearing the small 100-capacity grandstand of rubbish and graffiti and cleaning the windows and carpets. They've even given the changing sheds _ which are positively postage stamp-sized _ a lick of paint, although the playing surface, complete with holes where the rugby posts once sat, is untouched. ``I think Central will get a shock when they arrive,' Te Puke manager Steve McIntyre said. ``I can't imagine they'll be too happy once they realise they won't all fit in the changing shed and we've been a bit remiss in not warning them about the state of the ground!' Te Puke just held on to beat Rotorua United 11 days ago after earlier Cup wins over Bohemian Celtic and Navy. Reeves knows an upset win is unlikely. ``I don't see why we can't give them a good run though. The thing with these lads is they play with heart and, on their day, wouldn't be out of place against any team in New Zealand. Whatever the result, it's going to be a huge day in the history of this small club.'

Oh well, Te Puke lost 5 - 0 and it sounds like it could have been a few more! We wished our rivals Te Puke all the best and would have liked to be there watching, but had to play in Tauranga at the same time. We look forward to the spruced up changing rooms next Saturday when we hope to knock Te P over in BOP div one!!

Bazza, Plains Rangers

This day was a great advert for Chatham Cup football. Te Puke United put on a top afternoon and it was clearly evident that the club had done a hell of a lot of work preparing for this match. Great to see the "Bay of Plenty Times" promoting the clash so well and also to see a great turnout from local supporters. The faces of the young kids who had their pictures taken with the Cup were priceless!Their players never stopped trying and they put in a really gutsy effort for the full 90 mins. They can certainly be proud of their performance. The hospitality shown to Central and their supporters, before, during and after the match was fantastic. The Te Puke club has certainly won a few new fans from Auckland who will keenly watch their progress in the Bay1  League for the remainder of the season. Pity there was no NZF presence at a match like this though...it would have been a perfect opportunity for them to get out to the provinces and connect with the grassroots of the game.