Kerikeri FC are hoping that with a little help from their friends, they can continue their Chatham Cup run on Monday. Player-coach Jeremy Rintoul said their second round opponents, Takapuna, would play against North Force in a US1 premier league match at Tikipunga today. "Hopefully, North Force can run them ragged andgive them a hard time so they'll have a few injuries when they turn up here," he laughed. Kerikeri have been impressive in their two victories to date in the national club knockout competition. They caused a big upset by beating a handy Western Springs side 2-1 away in the preliminary round and then backed it up with a 4-1 win over Waitakere City at home in the first round proper. Rintoul is hoping that playing at the Waipapa Domain will also help them to overcome their more highly rated opponents - third in US1 - come Monday. "They'll be the toughest side we've played with a couple of internationals playing for them this year but we're still confident we can beat them - Kerikeri are a tough side to beat at home," he said. Kerikeri play Madhatters today in Whangarei and the coach said he would try and check out their opponents at Tikipunga before heading home.
