Paul Hughes (left) with his father Grant.
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29 September 1999
Christchurch Star
By Nick Tolerton
It's easy, winning a Chatham Cup medal.
Teenage Christchurch soccer player Paul Hughes could be excused if he believes that, even though a winners' medal has eluded many top New Zealand players - including his father.
Hughes got one when he helped Dunedin Technical to a 4-0 win against Waitakere in the cup final in Auckland last week.
The 19-year-old left back moved to Dunedin this year to study sports performance at the Otago Polytechnic.
If he gets complacent about his medal during the holidays, his father Grant Hughes is quick to remind him they don't come easy.
Grant has only a losers' medal to show for a career of about 18 years in senior soccer.
He came on as a substitute for the last 25min in Rangers' 0-6 loss to Napier in the 1993 final - the last time a Christchurch team reached the final.
Although it's far from the first time a father and son have won cup medals, it's doubtful if their appearances have been as close as this - only six years apart.
Hughes senior, who played this season for the Rangers team which won the masters' grade, has always played for Rangers apart from two years in Dunedin when he played for Green Island and Mosgiel.
He is one of only three players to make more than 300 appearances for Rangers.
Another former Rangers player, Nick Longley, cruelly missed a cup medal last week - he was suspended for the final after a sending off.