The 1970 Final
The final was the first all-North Island final, and was also the first final to require a replay. The replay was held in Auckland, making this first Chatham Cup final to be decided outside Wellington, and the first not to be decided at the Basin Reserve since 1927. The first match was memorable, and pitted favourites against underdogs. The two teams had both been in the first season of the national league, with Blockhouse Bay emerging as clear champions and Western Suburb propping up the foot of the table with just one win from 14 league matches. It was the underdogs who had the makings of the trophy, however, leading by two Wayne Huntley goals with only a handful of minutes remaining. Between the 83rd and 86th minutes, however, Colin Shaw hit the target twice for the Bay, the second of the goals coming from a penalty which had to be retaken. Bay dominated the two periods of extra time, yet it was Suburbs who came closest to gaining the upper hand, hitting the woodwork on two occasions. The old rule of counting corners to decide the outcome of a tie had been scrapped and the idea of a penalty shootout had not yet been introduced, so the match headed to a replay.
The rematch was a seesaw affair, with Bay leading twice only for Suburbs to equalise each time. With minutes remaining, Suburbs found what looked like the winning strike, but it was ruled out for offside. With seconds to go, it was Blockhouse Bay who finally tipped the scales. Goals in the match came from Clive Campbell, Iain Ormond and Colin Shaw for the Bay and Bruce Baker and Barry Humphreys for Suburbs.
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