One cup final to another?

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33612, 14 August 1974, Page 30

One cup final to another?

A man who played In the Scottish Cup soccer final at Hampden Park before a crowd of 75,000 only four months ago is now only one match away from the final of New Zealand’s national knock-out competition, the Lion Chatham Cup.

The player is Sandy Davie, the North Shore United goal-keeper. He will be star attraction In the Shore’s Chatham Cup semi-final against Christchurch United at Queen Elizabeth II Park on Saturday. Since he joined Shore, immediately after he ap-

peared for Dundee United against Glasgow Celtic in the Scottish Cup final, last May, Davie has helped to transform the Auckland club. He joined forces with another Scottish newcomer, the centre-back, J. Smith, who played for Aberdeen, and Shore has won through to the semi-finals with upset victories over Blockhouse Bay and New Brighton. A player who had seen Davie in action in Scotland is the Christchurch United left-back, L. Blyth, who himself comes from Dundee. “He is an exciting goal-keep-er, the complete boss of his area, like Phil Dando is in the United goal, but even more so,” Blyth said yesterday. “He is a six-footer, has very good hands, is brilliant in the air, and has only one weakness, to shots going in the right-hand comer. He will be very difficult to beat.” ENGLISH CLUBS Davie started his soccer career with Dundee United in 1964, and then played for both Luton Town and Southampton in the English League before he returned to Dundee United in 1972. Twice, at the Scottish club, Davie had to withstand personal rivalries, with Donald McKay during his first period in Dundee and with Hamish McAlpine during the second. An Injury to McAlpine during the 1973-74 season allowed Davie to make the goal-keeping role his own again, and he held it up to the Scottish Cup final, which Celtic won, 34..