Chance for Technical to finally avenge quarterfinal loss

A long wait is nearly over for the high-flying Dunedin Technical women.

The 2018 Kate Sheppard Cup champions will today get a quarterfinal rematch with Coastal Spirit, the club that knocked Technical out of the competition on penalties in 2019.

The competition was cancelled due to Covid last year.

"This has been building up for two years, since they beat us on penalties," Technical coach Craig Johnston said ahead of today’s game at the Logan Park turf.

"We were looking forward to it last year — obviously it was taken away with Covid — and the bulk of those girls are back this year."

Technical is again dominating the southern premiership with 12 straight wins and a rather imposing goal difference of plus-56.

Cup football can be a different beast, however, and Johnston knows his women will need to play well against the Christchurch club.

"We’re happy with where we are but we’re going in with our eyes wide open. They’re a fantastic team, and they’ve got representative players throughout their squad.

"We’ll put in an honest performance and hopefully get the right result.

"The opposition is obviously something we don’t see regularly down here. But we’re happy with the way we’ve been playing this season.

"Cup football is the ultimate — it’s great to be involved — and it should be a great game.

"But you make a mistake and you could be out."

Johnston said the Technical squad had had a "rather extensive" session on penalties on Tuesday night, and worked on spot kicks again on Thursday.

Georgia Kennedy is still on crutches and will be a major loss for Technical.

The talented attacker who has been involved in New Zealand under-17 camps is not far off a return but will not be risked.

Emily Morison will move up top and look to use all her trickery and experience.

Nieve Collin, Margarida Dias and Chelsea Whittaker have all scored in double figures in the league and will be keen to show their skills in the cup.

In other quarterfinals, Hamilton Wanderers play Ellerslie, and Wellington United hosts Wairarapa United. Eastern Suburbs will play the winner of the postponed game between Western Springs and Northern Rovers, which is being played tomorrow.

Add a Comment