1923 Chatham Cup
| Dates | September 22 – October 1, 1923 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Championship venue | Athletic Park, Wellington | ||
| Champions | Seacliff (1st title) | ||
| Runners-up | YMCA | ||
| Championship match score | 4 – 0 | ||
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The 1923 Chatham Cup was the first annual nationwide football competition in New Zealand.
The competition was run on a regional basis, with separate northern and southern tournaments, with the winners of the two meeting in the final. Very few teams entered the competition, including only two from the southern South Island; Seacliff easily won the only match played there, thumping Oamaru 7-0, and repeated this in the final, accounting for Wellington's YMCA 4-0.
Of the teams taking part, it is known that four were from Wellington; contemporary reports indicate that Diamonds, Hospital, YMCA, and Waterside took part.[1] There is some suggestion that the Auckland regional winners, Northcote required a play-off against North Shore United to progress. There is some confusion as to the spelling of the name of the champion Manawatu side, it being listed in various publications as either Daubers or Dawbers, and either with or without an apostrophe.
There is some confusion about the earlier rounds of the competition, with various Charity Cups being held to decide entrants to the Chatham Cup, and with regional qualification finals, island finals, and the national final all simply being referred to in contemporary reports as "finals". Compounding this, different regional football associations were allowed to choose their champion team by whatever method they liked, meaning that some regions (such as Auckland) used league position to determine their entrant for the inter-regional matches,[2] rather than a knockout competition. Compounding matters further are the incomplete records held by the NZFA, which omit several matches (including the semi-final between Seacliff and Oamaru Rangers).
The 1923 final
In the final, YMCA had the better of early possession, but Seacliff gained the upper hand as the match progressed. Centre-forward Bill Hooper scored the first goal just before the half-time interval. Shortly after the break Reg Baxter doubled the lead. Late on right wing Malcolm McDougall scored again, followed only a minute later by a second from Hooper. The line-up of the first Chatham Cup winning side was as follows: Charlie Rivers, Jock Anderson, George Anderson, Bill Rogers, Hugh McKechnie, Bill Murray, Malcolm McDougall, Reg Baxter, Bill Hooper, R. "Tommy" Burns, Wattie Hanlin.[3]
Results
Early rounds
- Hospital (Wellington) beat Diamonds 1–0 at Association Park on August 25[4]
- YMCA beat Waterside 2–1 in a replay at Association Park on August 25,[4] the first match (played at the Basin Reserve on August 11)[5] having finished in a 1-1 draw
Regional finals
- YMCA beat Hospital 2-1 in the Wellington regional final at the Basin Reserve on September 8[6]
Inter-region matches
- YMCA beat Nelson Wanderers 8-1 at Nelson on September 15[7]
- Dauber's Motor Depot (Foxton) beat Waingawa (Masterton)[8] at Masterton
Quarter-final
Sept. 22, 1923 |
| Wellington YMCA | 3 – 2 | Dauber's Motor Depot |
|---|---|---|
| Phillips, McGirr (pen.), Ballard | report | Davis,Chapman |
Association Park, Kilbirnie, Wellington Referee: W.G. Bryce |
Semi-final ("Island final")
Aug. 25, 1923 |
| Oamaru Rangers | 0 – 7 | Seacliff |
|---|---|---|
| [9][10] | Hooper 5, ? (o.g.), Burns |
Oamaru Referee: Rutherford |
Sept. 29, 1923 |
| Wellington YMCA | 2 – 0 | Huntly |
|---|---|---|
| Campbell 2 | report |
Athletic Park, Wellington Referee: F. Campbell |
Final
October 1, 1923 |
| Seacliff | 4 – 0 | Wellington YMCA |
|---|---|---|
| Hooper 2, Baxter, MacDougall | report |
Athletic Park, Wellington Referee: J.A. Leddy |
References
- ↑ Papers Past — Evening Post — 4 August 1923 — SOCCER
- ↑ Papers Past — Evening Post — 11 August 1923 — SOCCER
- ↑ Hilton, T. (1991) An association with soccer. Auckland: The New Zealand Football Association. ISBN 0-473-01291-X. pp. 66 & 167
- 1 2 Papers Past — Evening Post — 27 August 1923 — BAY OF BIG FIXTURES
- ↑ Papers Past — Evening Post — 10 August 1923 — ASSOCIATION
- ↑ Papers Past — Evening Post — 10 September 1923 — CHATHAM CUP FINAL
- ↑ Papers Past — Evening Post — 17 September 1923 — FOR THE CHATHAM CUP
- ↑ Papers Past — Evening Post — 22 September 1923 — SOCCER
- ↑ "Seacliff defeats Oamaru", Otago Daily Times, 27 August 1923, p. 4
- ↑ "Association", Oamaru Mail, 27 August 1923, p. 6
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