Wānaka is in uncharted territory — but that makes it exciting.
The Central Otago football side has advanced to round four of the Chatham Cup, taking on Roslyn Wakari at Ellis Park today.
It will be a big game between the two sides, with the winner advancing to the quarterfinals.
Wānaka has previously only made it as far as the third round of the national competition, but generally has been knocked out in the first two rounds.
"Some of the players obviously haven’t been this far in the competition before and we’re looking collectively to keep our momentum going and progress," coach Blair Scoullar said.
Wānaka beat Queenstown in the derby in the first round and caused an upset when it beat Dunedin City Royals, who play in the Southern League, 1-0 in the second round. It then beat Green Island, another Southern League side, in a penalty shootout last week.
Scoullar felt the momentum was in Wānaka’s favour and he looked forward to another good game.
"We’re just coming down as little old Wānaka and we want to play some football and hopefully keep our winning streak intact and get to the last eight.
"We play a really good style of football. We’re possession-based and we knock the ball round and we try and have fun doing it."
However, Roslyn has also been on a roll, beating Northern 2-1, Thistle 5-0 and Otago University 1-0 to reach the fourth round.
It also arguably has the upper hand against Wānaka, having beaten the visitors 2-1 in the Men’s Southern Premiership a fortnight ago.
Roslyn coach Terry Boylan said it was a big game for his side, but the team was treating it as "business as usual".
"It’s another game, really.
"It’s a buzz, but it’s a cup game, so obviously it changes a lot from the league."
He was pleased with the way Roslyn had been tracking and it was a matter of his players doing their job on the pitch.
"They’re training really well, working really hard and making it hard for us to select a good starting line-up."
There is plenty more football action this weekend with the Dunedin City Royals hosting Coastal Spirit in the quarterfinals of the Kate Sheppard Cup tomorrow.
The Royals should have the upper edge after a convincing 4-2 win against the Christchurch club in the South Island League on June 25 and securing a 3-1 victory against Cashmere Technical to make the Kate Sheppard quarterfinal.
The home side will be looking to follow on from last year’s success when it advanced to the semifinals, only to be knocked out in a penalty shootout to Northern Rovers.
