Huntly Thistle are an association football club based in the New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

 town of Huntly

Huntly, New Zealand

Huntly is a town in the Waikato region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is on State Highway 1, 93 kilometres south of Auckland and 35 kilometres north of Hamilton. It is situated on the North Island Main Trunk Railway and straddles the Waikato River.Huntly was called Rahui Pokeka when...

, in the northern Waikato Region. The club currently play in the lower reaches of the Northern League

Northern League (New Zealand)

The Northern Region Football League, or Lotto Sport Italia NRFL Premier for sponsorship reasons, is a professional/semi-professional New Zealand association football league competition that is run by the...

, but at earlier points in their history they were one of the stronger teams in the Waikato. The club played in the top flight of the Northern League in the early 1970s, and at that time contained the club's only full international player, Jim Moyes

Jim Moyes

James "Jim" Moyes is a former association football player who represented New Zealand at international level.Moyes made his full All Whites debut in a 0-0 draw with New Caledonia on 25 July 1969 and ended his international playing career with six A-international caps to his credit, his final cap...

.

The team has reached the last-32 stage of the Chatham Cup

Chatham Cup

The Chatham Cup, currently known as the ASB Chatham Cup for sponsorship purposes, is New Zealand's premier knockout tournament in men's football...

 on three occasions, in 1971

1971 Chatham Cup

The 1971 Chatham Cup was the 44th annual nationwide knockout football competition in New Zealand.Early stages of the competition were run on a regional basis, with the National League teams receiving a bye until the later stages of the competition. In all, 99 teams took part in the competition...

, 1977

1977 Chatham Cup

The 1977 Chatham Cup was the 50th annual nationwide knockout football competition in New Zealand.Early stages of the competition were run in three regions , with the National League teams receiving a bye until the Fourth Round of the competition. In all, 142 teams took part in the competition...

, and 1989

1989 Chatham Cup

The 1989 Chatham Cup was the 62nd annual nationwide knockout football competition in New Zealand.Up to the last 16 of the competition, the cup was run in three regions . National League teams received a bye until the final 64 stage...

. Early records of the Chatham Cup are incomplete, but it appears likely that Thistle reached far later stages of the competition during the competition's early years, as they were regular entrants from the fourth year of the competition's existence, at which time far fewer teams took part, and qualified as Waikato regional champions in 1926

1926 Chatham Cup

The 1926 Chatham Cup was the fourth annual nationwide knockout football competition in New Zealand.The competition was run on a regional basis, with five regional associations each holding separate qualifying rounds...

, 1931

1931 Chatham Cup

The 1931 Chatham Cup was the ninth annual nationwide knockout football competition in New Zealand.The competition was run on a regional basis, with six regional associations each holding separate qualifying rounds...

, 1951

1951 Chatham Cup

The 1951 Chatham Cup was the 24th annual nationwide knockout football competition in New Zealand.The competition was run on a regional basis, with regional associations each holding separate qualifying rounds....

, 1953

1953 Chatham Cup

The 1953 Chatham Cup was the 26th annual nationwide knockout football competition in New Zealand.The competition was run on a regional basis, with regional associations each holding separate qualifying rounds....

, and 1955

1955 Chatham Cup

The 1955 Chatham Cup was the 28th annual nationwide knockout football competition in New Zealand.The competition was run on a regional basis, with regional associations each holding separate qualifying rounds....

.