Football: Big call coming for coach

Jerahl Hughes has shown his worth with a series of strong performances over the last month.Photo/George Novak

Belvedere Group Tauranga City United coach Duncan Lowry has a tough decision on his hands less than a fortnight out from his side's fourth round Chatham Cup match against Onehunga Sports.

Captain Sam O'Regan, who scored his side's first goal against East Coast Bays from the penalty spot, will miss Saturday's Northern League Division Two match against Warkworth AFC due to his sending off after 70 minutes on Saturday.

Warkworth are not highly rated, and with fellow defensive pillar Raymond How one yellow card short of missing a match, Lowry will have to carefully consider how he manages his squad.

"We'll have to have a chat about that at training," Lowry said regarding whether How is likely to sit out Saturday's match to ensure his availability for the Chatham Cup tie.

"When you look at our bookings, around half of them have been for giving lip rather than for the tackles.

"We talked about how important that was a few weeks back, I've still never seen a referee change their mind.

"You can't point at anything when you're talking back to the ref."

Lowry believed his side had flown under the radar thus far, but would not have that luxury in the final 16 after playing 50 minutes with 10 men against East Coast Bays and twice scoring two goals in extra time during their Chatham Cup run.

He hoped the match against Onehunga Sports would be played on Sunday, June 29, so a large junior crowd would have the opportunity to watch.

The fourth round draw contains five former winners and four runner-ups, meaning the 91st version of the national tournament still includes plenty of the top seeds.

Ngongotaha AFC - the Waikato Bay of Plenty Federation League 1 team which sent Northern Regional League Division 1 side Hibiscus Coast AFC out on Saturday - will entertain Northern League Division One side Melville United after the 2003 runners-up put out 2013 losing finalists Waitakere City at Fred Taylor Park on Saturday.