Kate Sheppard Cup: Four Bay of Plenty teams discover Round One opponents.
Tauranga City, Otūmoetai, Lakes FC and Tauranga Blue Rovers are all entering the cup at the First Round stage.
Four of the Bay of Plenty’s women’s teams learned their opponents in the nation’s foremost domestic cup competition last week following the draw for Round One of the Kate Sheppard Cup.
Tauranga City and Otūmoetai will have high hopes of advancing while Lakes FC and Tauranga Blue Rovers will be doing everything they can to join them.
The cup was founded in 1994 and was renamed after the women’s suffrage leader on the 125th anniversary of the movement in 2018.
No team from the Bay of Plenty has ever reached the final so all four teams will be looking to progress and make history in this year’s competition.
Tauranga City had a memorable run last year, reaching the quarter-finals after big wins over former champions Claudelands Rovers as well as Onehunga Sports and Birkenhead United, before succumbing to eventual champions Auckland United in the last-eight.
They face a tough Melville side, who have won both of their games in the WaiBOP W-League this season, scoring 16 goals in the process.
Otūmoetai reached the second round last year where they exited to an impressive Eastern Suburbs side who will be playing in the OFC Champions League this year.
But Oats are in impressive form in the NRFL Women’s Championship, currently, joint-top with Fencibles United after four straight wins, and will have high hopes of getting the better of NRF Women’s Conference side Bay Olympic.
Lakes FC also face Conference opposition in Beachlands Maraetai in their First Round match in Rotorua. Their opponents are currently top of their league after two wins and a draw from their opening four fixtures. However, Lakes have also started their season strongly, sitting top of the WaiBOP W-League and have a player in great form in Sinead Doherty.
Tauranga Blue Rovers are in the tournament this year and head to Auckland to take on Championship side Central United who lost to Bay opposition in the form of Pāpāmoa in their last Kate Sheppard Cup game in 2021. Can history repeat itself?
The Kate Sheppard Cup fixtures take place on the weekend of May 13-14.
Here are the full Kate Sheppard Cup Round 1 fixtures:
Central United FC v Tauranga Blue Rovers FC
Lakes Football Club v Beachlands Maraetai AFC
Manukau United FC v Onerahi
Birkenhead United AFC v Franklin United FC
Bay Olympic FC v Otūmoetai FC
Cambridge FC v Onehunga Sports FC
Fencibles United AFC v Greenhithe FC
Tauranga City AFC v Melville Utd AFC
New Plymouth Rangers AFC v Palmerston North Marist FC
Havelock North Wanderers AFC v Kaitake FC
Massey University - Manawatu Campus v Moturoa AFC
Lower Hutt City AFC v Miramar Rangers AFC
Waterside Karori v North Wellington FC
Petone FC v Brooklyn Northern United
Victoria University v Seatoun AFC
Kapiti Coast Utd v Wellington United
Nelson Suburbs FC v Richmond Football Club
Coastal Spirit v Universities of Canterbury Association Football Club
Nomads United AFC v Cashmere Technical
Northern AFC v Mosgiel AFC
Dunedin City Royals FC v Green Island AFC