Singh Marist's hero in quarterfinal shoot out

Football

By Gary Caffell

Hold your horses - a report on the Football New Zealand website which said Palmerston North Marist are through to the quarter-finals of the Chatham Cup football competition after their gripping 4-2 penalty shootout win over Napier City Rovers on Saturday could be somewhat premature.

If an appeal by Wairarapa United against their disqualification for allegedly fielding an ineligible player in their 2-1 win over Napier City Rovers in a third-round Cup match a fortnight ago is successful, the result of Saturday's game will be annulled, and Palmerston North Marist will have to front up to Wairarapa United to decide which of them goes through.

As has been well documented Wairarapa United are basing their appeal around the fact it was Football New Zealand which gave the green light to include Vanuatu international Brian Kalteck in their squad for the Napier City Rovers, and bring him off the bench.

By classifying Kalteck as a "non-guest" player, even after being told he had returned to Vanuatu inside the past 12 months to play for his national side, FNZ might have broken their own rules, but whether Wairarapa United should be made to pay for their indiscretion is hugely debatable.

It was goalkeeper Gurkarnivir Singh who was the toast of Palmerston North Marist after Saturday's win.

He saved Napier City Rover's first and third penalties and with Marist slotting each of their first four attempts that was the ball game. It was 1-1 at the end of both ordinary and extra time.

"He's harped on about practising penalties all season so we did on Wednesday and it paid off," Marist coach Simon Lees said of Singh. "He's been sublime for us all season."

Meanwhile in Capital Football matches Douglas Villa were on the end of an 11-1 beating by Upper Hutt City in the second division, while third division games saw Gardner Electrical Masterton beat Wainuiomata 3-0 and White Swan Greytown lost 3-2 to NW Inglorious White Socks.