Cashmere Technical will host the 2pm National League clash with Coastal Spirit at Ngā Puna Wai. Both teams are in a congested battle to make the top two and qualify for the final.
Tech are in seventh on five points. But they are not far off Coastal who are on seven points and flying high in second within reach of leaders Auckland City.
Coastal have the wood over Tech this season – knocking them out of the Chatham Cup, beating them in the Southern League and romping to a 4-0 win in the English Cup final, while the first match back in April ended in a 4-4 draw.
But Coastal captain Joe Hoole said the form book will mean nothing when the teams step out on Sunday.
“People can say that we might have edged them this year, but I think when it comes, Cash Tech always front up and are always hard to beat,” he said.
“So we’re expecting another really tough game at the weekend.”
He praised the form his team are in. After getting dusted up 6-2 by Western Springs two weeks ago, they’ve since beaten Western Suburbs 5-0 and Wellington Phoenix Reserves 3-0 on Saturday.
Striker Alex Steinwascher scored a hat-trick in the latter victory, and Hoole said he and the rest of the team are hitting form at the right time.
“He was awesome. A few people have been questioning whether he could do it at the National League (level), and I think he proved them all wrong.
“He was great at the weekend, took all his chances, and I’m sure there’ll be plenty more goals to come from him.”
“I think we just need to commit more numbers forward. We’ve been slow and on the back foot when we played them previously.”
Schwarz is hoping for a bumper crowd with Tech looking to get back to winning ways after draws with Auckland City and Wellington Olympic in their last two matches.
“It’s back at Ngā Puna Wai, which is looking fantastic. The surface will be great and I’m hoping there will be some good numbers coming down to the game to support both teams, and a lot of Canterbury football people in attendance to watch an exciting spectacle.”
Canterbury United Pride will be in action at noon on Saturday at English Park against Auckland United. The two teams sit in third and second respectively on the ladder, level on points with leaders Waterside Karori but separated by points differential.
The Pride came from behind to beat Southern United 2-1 in Dunedin on Sunday to keep pace with their title rivals.
