1974 Chatham Cup
Encyclopedia
The 1974 Chatham Cup was the 47th annual nationwide knockout football competition in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

.

Early stages of the competition were run in three regions, with the National League
New Zealand National Soccer League
The National Soccer League is a name given to competitions in which New Zealand's top soccer clubs play each other, at least two times, on a home and away basis . At the completion of the competition, the best-performed team is declared as the New Zealand champion...

 teams receiving a bye until the later stages of the competition. In all, 114 teams took part in the competition, at that time a record number. Note: Different sources give different numberings for the rounds of the competition: some start round one with the beginning of the regional qualifications; others start numbering from the first national knock-out stage. The former numbering scheme is used in this article.

A change was made in the way tied matches were decided, with penalty shoot-outs introduced in the event of ties after extra time. Replays were still used for the later rounds, with a replay being needed in one semi-final.

The 1974 final

With the exception of replays, 1974 was the first time that the final had been held in the South Island
South Island
The South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean...

, at Queen Elizabeth II Park
Queen Elizabeth II Park
Queen Elizabeth II Park is a multi-use stadium in Christchurch, New Zealand. The stadium has a capacity of 25,000 people. It was built in 1973, to host the 1974 British Commonwealth Games in which a temporary 15000 seat western stand was erected for the event taking capacity to 35000...

, Christchurch
Christchurch
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...

. The venue had been used earlier in the year for the Commonwealth Games
Commonwealth Games
The Commonwealth Games is an international, multi-sport event involving athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930 and takes place every four years....

.

The game was played on a heavily sodden pitch, the result of several days of heavy rain, and thousands of gallons of water had to be removed before the surface was usable. Despite the poor conditions, the game was entertaining, and Christchurch ran out the winners with a late Brian Hardman
Brian Hardman
Brian Hardman is a former association football player who represented New Zealand at international level.Hardman made his full All Whites debut in a 2-4 loss to New Caledonia on 18 July 1971 and ended his international playing career with 9 A-international caps and 1 goal to his credit, his final...

 goal adding to an earlier strike from Ian Park
Ian Park
Ian Park is a former soccer player who represented New Zealand.Park made his full All Whites debut as a substitute in a 0-0 draw with Iran on 18 August 1973, and ended his international playing career with 20 A-international caps to his credit, his final cap in a 6-1 win over Solomon Islands on 29...

.

Third Round

Replay

Fourth Round

* aet. Manawatu won 4-3 on penalties

Fifth Round

* Eastern Suburbs won 8-7 on penalties

Sixth Round

Semi-finals

Replay

Final

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