Richmond bow out of cup

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Richmond Athletic have bowed out of the ASB Chatham Cup at the third round, but coach Marc Evans was full of praise after pushing Coastal Spirit right to the edge.
The Mainland Premier League side from Christchurch were firm favourites going into the game, and had actually knocked out Richmond at this same stage of the competition just a few years ago.
But on Sunday at Jubilee Park you’d have thought the two football teams were at the same level.
Richmond scored first through Keegan Hollis and they were up for challenge in most aspects of the game, before Coastal scored two late goals, one after Richmond’s Dion Keetley was shown a red card.
“We gave it everything but once you go down to ten men it’s really hard,” says Marc. “They were a decent side but our boys fought hard.”
Marc says Coastal were bigger, quicker and stronger than any side they had faced in the Nelson Pine Industries division one competition, so it was a good experience for his young players.
“They know what to expect at the next level. But they held their own, I reckon.”