Howard Booth Park in Carterton will again be the venue if Wairarapa United draw a home game for the semifinals of the Chatham Cup knockout football competition to be played over the weekend of August 13 and 14.
Considering the miserably cold and wet weather, the playing surface for Sunday's quarterfinalwith Waitakere City was remarkably good, thanks to extra work done by Carterton District Council staff.
Good enough to convince Wairarapa United coach Phil Keinzley the venue won't be changed if his side had the good fortune to draw a home semifinal as well.
"We'll be staying in Carterton, no doubt about that," Keinzley said. "We're very grateful for the support given us by the council there. Things were getting a bit desperate before they came to the party."
Also through to the cup semis are Napier City Rovers, Caversham of Dunedin, and Bay Olympic of Auckland, with Keinzley "not too worried" over who Wairarapa United were drawn against when the random draw is made live on Radio Sport early this afternoon.
"If we had a choice, we wouldn't want to travel to either Dunedin or Auckland but when it's out of your control you just have to take what comes out of the hat. All we know is that whoever we draw will be tough, there's no easy games now."
Caversham scored an impressive 4-0 win over Onehunga Sports in Auckland, with Onehunga Sports finishing with eight players on the paddock. They lost Paul Day when he was sent for an early shower after bringing down Caversham's Tom Schwartz in the box, and then both Reece Day and Scott Foster for dissent.
Bay Olympic travelled for their quarterfinal with Dunedin Technical and, while last year's runners-up came out on top 5-3, it was not without a titanic struggle, their last two goals coming in extra time after it was 3-3 at the end of ordinary time.
Wairarapa United's fellow central league club Napier City Rovers also had a battle royal with Manurewa, coming from 2-0 to level up at 2-2 and force extra time, where they scored the goal that counted most.
