Assistant coach Craig Alexander promises Glenfield Rovers will not be overawed by the occasion when it plays Dunedin Technical in the Chatham Cup semifinal in Dunedin tomorrow.
These are exciting times for the North Shore club, which has never previously got this far in New Zealand's premier knock-out tournament.
Glenfield reached the quarterfinals in 1996 and is hoping to upset Technical to become one of the least-fashionable Chatham Cup finalists in recent history.
Alexander said the club, which has won two Northern League titles in the last decade, had poured its energy into a Cup run this season.
"They've rejigged our league up here and that's been a real bone of contention," Alexander told the Otago Daily Times.
"We've focused intently on the Chatham Cup and it's been exciting for the club to get to this stage."
Glenfield will travel to Dunedin today to give the players a chance to prepare properly for the game at the Caledonian.
Alexander, who joined coach Andy Moore only three months ago, said the Rovers side was a mix of national league players and locals.
Theary Thou played for Waitakere and won a Chatham Cup with Mt Wellington, goalkeeper Mark Fulcher was with Waikato, Mike Gwyther played for both Waikato and Auckland City, and Dunedin fans would remember former Otago striker Kuba Sinkora.
"We maybe haven't got a lot of well-known names but we won't be overawed by the occasion," Alexander said.
He expects Dunedin Technical to be a hard-working team desperate to reach the Chatham Cup final and fly the flag for the South Island.
"I know a lot of people in Otago football and I know they've got the valid belief they've been relatively ignored by the hierarchy of the game over the last five or six years.
"I'm sure they'd love to get one over a North Island side."
Glenfield was originally the Chelsea Sugar Refinery football team but became the Rovers in 1963.
It came close to promotion to the old national league a few years ago but was beaten in a play-off by Dunedin club Caversham.
