Cambridge played host to some of the biggest names in football last weekend when former All Whites and Football Ferns gathered for WaiBOP United’s latest game at John Kerkhof Park.
They included some of the heroes of New Zealand’s 1982 and 2010 World Cup campaigns such as coaches John Adshead and Ricki Herbert, Brian Turner, James Bannatyne and Ken Cresswell.
The match also attracted some pioneers of women’s football including the first ever captain of a New Zealand side, Barbara Cox, Jo Fisher and Julie Hogg.
Julie Hogg had the added incentive of watching her All White son Ian play for the visiting Team Wellington, one of five international players in action on the pitch.
Ricki Herbert was guest speaker at a pre-match lunch attended by members of the Friends of Football group, and supporters of WaiBOP United.
The day was capped by our 2-1 win against the ASB Premiership leaders, meaning the side has won two from two games at Cambridge, and giving us a chance of making the end of season play-offs.
More than 700 spectators filled the ground, suggesting that this year’s attendances will exceed last summer, especially with the upcoming visits of Auckland City and Wellington Phoenix.
Auckland’s game has been rescheduled from Wednesday February 11 to Wednesday February 18 (6pm kick off) due to the visitors’ involvement at the Halberg Awards.
The Phoenix come to Cambridge on February 28 and we are expecting both matches to attract crowds of close to 1,000.
Pictured: (back, from left) All Whites Ken Cresswell, Bill de Graaf, Ricki Herbert and Brian Turner, and (front, from left) Ferns Julie Hogg, Jo Fisher and Barbara Cox.
