When father and son Darryn and Isaak Cunningham squared off for Richmond Athletic and FC Nelson respectively on Saturday, club rivalry gave way to something more family-oriented.
The match finished in an absorbing 1-1 draw, but Darryn knew he’d have some questions to answer across the dinner table that night.
“I don’t think (Isaak) is going to let me forget the missed penalty – he better not bring it up,” Darryn joked.
Both men admitted it was certainly a strange feeling lining up against each other.
“I’ve been with him since he was 13 or 14 so it was strange in a way but I thought he played really well,” Darryn says.
“I didn’t see much of Dad out there,” Isaak says. “I was too busy and he had his hands full.
Isaak says the pre-match had its interesting moments.
“It was probably the strangest in the warm-ups when you hear “Cunny” coming from both teams.”
Darryn says he was impressed with what the youthful looking FC Nelson team produced, saying he felt a draw was a fair result for what both teams contributed to the match.
He says he expected both teams to be vying for the league title along with the Nelson College first XI by the end of the campaign.
