The big guns had little trouble moving through to the last eight in the Chatham Cup.
Wellington Olympic advanced to the quarterfinals with an eight-goal romp over fellow Capital club Stop Out on Saturday, while Auckland City surged past third-tier club Cambridge FC with relative ease.
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Gianni Bouzoukis and captain Ben Mata both scored hat-tricks as The Greeks strolled to an 8-0 victory over Stop Out at Wakefield Park, leading 4-0 at halftime.
Mata did his scoring in the first half, with goals in the second and 36th minutes, before his hat-trick goal from the penalty spot in the 40th minute. It was Bouzoukis' turn in the second half, finding the net in the 52nd, 62nd (penalty) and 84th minutes.
City, the 2022 Cup winners, were held scoreless for 35 minutes by Cambridge at John Kerkhof Park, before Gerard Garriga struck. The match was tied again minutes later but Christian Gray scored just before halftime.
Second-half goals from Angus Kilkolly (53rd) and Regont Murati (80th) sealed the Navy Blues' place in the quarters.
Current Northern League leaders Birkenhead United went the distance to get by Western Springs 6-5 in a penalty shootout at Seddon Fields, after a 2-2 draw at full-time and 3-3 draw after extra-time.
Former All White Monty Patterson put Birkenhead up 2-1 in the 83rd minute with his second of the match but Emiliano Tade equalised two minutes later. In extra-time, Reid Drake gave Springs the lead in the 103rd minute with his second, but Haris Zeb forced a shootout in the 11th minute.
Two other matches went past the 90 minutes, with Coastal Spirit and Manurewa prevailing.
Coastal came from a goal down twice, with Ryan Stanley giving them the lead in extra-time, before Apisai Rabuka scored two goals in two minutes to beat fellow Southern League club Ferrymead Bays 5-3.
Eber Ramirez converted from the penalty spot in the 114th minute to earn Manurewa a 3-2 victory over second-tier Onehunga Mangere, after Max Sutton had forced extra-time with a 90th minute strike.
Two lower-tier clubs remain after Hibiscus Coast and Otago University sprung upsets on Northern League and Southern League opponents.
Emmanuel Darkwa scored in the 16th minute as second-tier Hibiscus Coast kept a clean-sheet in a 1-0 win over Melville United, while Finley Husheer, Ashton Hodson and Ben Campbell scored first-half goals as the Students defeated Dunedin City Royals 3-2.
In an all-Central League matchup, Napier City Rovers got two second-half goals from Oscar Faulds, the winner coming in the 89th minute, in a 2-1 victory over Miramar Rangers on Sunday.
Olympic will host Manurewa in the quarterfinals on July 27, while City travel to Dunedin to take on Otago University. Hibiscus Coast will welcome Coastal Spirit to Whangaparoa, while Birkenhead will head to Napier to face Rovers on July 28.
In the women's Kate Sheppard Cup, Auckland United dominated West Coast Rangers in a battle of the first- and second-placed NRFL Women's Premier teams.
United had five different goalscorers - started by Alexis Cook in the second minute and finished by Saskia Vosper in the 71st minute - in a 5-1 victory over Rangers at Keith Hay Park on Saturday.
Fellow NRFL Women's Premier club Western Springs knocked off second-tier Franklin United at Drury Sports Complex, with second-half goals from Rina Hirano and Maia Lythe.
Manaia Elliott scored a second-half double to lift the Wellington Phoenix Reserves Women to a 3-2 win over Waterside Karori, after Ella McCann opened the scoring with a penalty in the 34th minute.
Karori got late goals from Emma Narelle Kruszona and Kennedy Bryant to give the Nix Reserves some nervous moments.
Further south, Shontelle Smith scored the winning goal in the 88th minute for Dunedin City Royals in a 1-0 victory over Cashmere Technical at Tahuna Park.
Both NRFL Women's Premier clubs will be on the road in the semifinals, with United heading to the Capital region to face the Nix Reserves, and Western Springs travelling to Dunedin to meet the Royals.
CHATHAM CUP RESULTS - FOURTH ROUND
Coastal Spirit 5 Ferrymead Bays 3 AET
Auckland City 4 Cambridge 1
Hibiscus Coast 1 Melville United 0
Manurewa 3 Onehunga Mangere United 2 AET
Wellington Olympic 8 Stop Out 0
Birkenhead United 0 (6) Western Springs 0 (5)
Napier City Rovers 2 Miramar Rangers 1
Otago University 3 Dunedin City Royals 2
CHATHAM CUP FIXTURES - QUARTERFINALS
Saturday, July 27
Hibiscus Coast vs Coastal Spirit, Stanmore Bay Park, Whangaparoa, 2pm
Otago University vs Auckland City, Logan Park, Dunedin, 2pm
Wellington Olympic vs Manurewa, Wakefield Park, Wellington, 2pm
Sunday, July 28
Napier City Rovers vs Birkenhead United, Bluewater Stadium, Napier, 2pm
KATE SHEPPARD CUP RESULTS - QUARTERFINALS
Western Springs 3 Franklin United 1
Phoenix Reserves 3 Waterside Karori 2
Auckland United 5 West Coast Rangers 1
Dunedin City Royals 1 Cashmere Technical 0
KATE SHEPPARD CUP FIXTURES - SEMIFINALS
Saturday, August 17
Phoenix Reserves vs Auckland United, Fraser Park, Lower Hutt, 1pm
Dunedin City Royals vs Western Springs, Tahuna Park, Dunedin, 1pm