MATCH REPORT: Chatham Cup Round 3 vs Melville Utd
Chatham Cup Round 3 Match Report – Melville Utd vs East Coast Bays, Chatham Cup Round 3, Gower Park, Hamilton – Saturday 18th June 2022.
Crazy ten minutes in second half takes game away from Bays after holding their own against higher ranked opposition in first half
EC Bays travelled down to the fog & mist of Hamilton to take on Premier League side Melville in the third round of the Chatham Cup. Lots of changes to the starting lineup because of illness & unavailability. James, Oscar, Todd & Sam all returned to start while it was a welcome back to Mikey Gaze after suspension, followed by an injury.
It had been raining solidly for an hour before kickoff but stopped just in time for the sides to make it out on to the field. Melville were first to strike when Dowling hit a shot from the left side that was deflected out for a corner. Bays responded with Sam W breaking down the left and his cross was cleared. Melville then had a corner that was headed over by Searle. Another ball down the left found Sam W who’s cross led to a long range shot by Declan going wide. Galletly was then booked for a foul on Oscar. Two minutes later Logan put in a great block to stop a shot from Wisnewski.
The opening goal came two minutes later when a cross from the right by Lagos was met at the back post by a leaping header from Dowling to make it 1-0 to Melville. Bays had an immediate response with Keegan driving straight down the middle and his pass was shot wide by Oscar. Logan then put in another block to stop a Galletly shot. Brown then made a break but his cross shot was put out for a corner by Todd. Five minutes later Lagos tried an acrobatic bicycle kick that went wide. Five minutes later a ball down the right found Nicolai who cut in & won a corner. Callum’s corner to the back post found James but he was penalized for a foul. Scott then played a long ball forward that was cut out by Sam C.
On the half hour mark Oscar went on a burst down the middle but as he closed in on goal he was deemed to have fouled one of the defenders who were sandwiching him. A minute later a fast break by Keegan & Oscar was eventually cleared by the Melville defence. Oscar then fed Nicolai who set up Liam for a shot that was blocked for a corner. From the corner a goalmouth scramble was on with shots by James & Sam W before the ball was cleared to safety. Nicolai then tried his luck with a left foot drive that went over. Logan then played a great diagonal ball down the left & Sam’s cross was blocked. Just before half time Liam played in Oscar who had his shot saved by the keeper. Melville had a free kick that James headed clear and the half time whistle was blown.
The half time score was Melville 1 EC Bays 0 but Bays could have been leading at half time if they had taken any of the half chances they had created. The young Bays team were holding their own against their more highly ranked opponents and competing really well. The fine weather start to the game was well & truly over as steady rain fell for most of the remainder of the match.
Two minutes into the second half a cross from the right by Lagos was well claimed by Sam C. A minute later Melville doubled their lead when Sam C made a judgement call to try & clear a ball. But he was beaten to the ball by Brown who went around Sam & passed the ball back into the net with James trying to clear as the ball trickled over the line for 2-0. Four minutes later Nicolai was free on the left and he whipped in a cross that had a bit too much pace on it for Declan at the back post who shot wide off his shin. A minute later a cross by Nicolai was blocked by Aaron Scott’s arm but no penalty given. Oscar’s follow up shot looped over the Melville keeper but was cleared off the line by the Melville defence.
The ten minutes of second half madness carried on in the 56th minute when Dowling made a break down the right, cut in, and passed to Richards. He cut inside a Bays defender and planted a right foot shot across Sam C into the far corner for 3-0 to Melville. Sam C then made a fantastic save to push Galletly’s shot over the top. But from the corner, the ball was cleared to just outside the box. Richards immediately killed the ball dead and smashed in a right foot shot into the bottom corner for 4-0 to Melville. In the space of a crazy ten minutes the game was now well & truly gone from the Bays side.
A minute later Keegan had a shot that went over and after a Sam W cross from the left was blocked for a corner, the Melville keeper punched clear from the corner. Two minutes later a long ball was played down the right side. Todd tried to intercept but misjudged it only slightly and Lagos was away. He ran to the right corner of the box and powered a shot past Sam C into the far corner to make it 5-0. A ball through from Callum found Sam W but his left foot shot went narrowly wide. Bays then made a couple of changes with Todd & Oscar being replaced by Codey & Matt Beaton. Melville also made two changes with Lawrence & Kivolyn coming on for Liddicoat & Brown.
Nicolai then had a left footed drive saved down well by the Melville keeper. Sam C then made another smart save from Lagos. El President was making a lot of noise that it was about time a couple of brothers came on and four minutes later it happened as Mikey & Nick Gaze replaced Declan & James. Dowling made another break down the right and his cross came off Codey for a corner. The resulting corner was not cleared convincingly and substitute Lawrence made no mistake with a fine left foot drive into the bottom corner for 6-0 to Melville.
Bays then almost conceded a comedy own goal when Logan’s back header skidded past Sam C but also luckily just past the post. In the 82nd minute a ball was played from the right to the left flank to Matty B. He took the ball down well and rocketed a left foot shot over the keeper for his debut 1st team goal and a great consolation goal for a young Bays team that did not give up trying. Codey then had a right foot shot go wide. The Bays goal stung Melville into action. Dowling had a shot blocked and a minute before full time Dowling was clean through down the middle but Nick did brilliantly to get back to catch up with Dowling & eventually close down the threat on goal.
The final whistle went and the score read 6-1 to Melville who go through to the next round of the Chatham Cup. The young Bays side certainly battled hard right through the game and held their own for long periods of the game. There were valuable lessons for the guys to learn from this game with being clinical in front of goal and some little errors that lead to the score blowing out a bit. But, congrats to Matt Beaton for his debut 1st team goal and to the Gaze family with Mikey & Nick playing a first team game together for the first time. Next week it’s back to league action with a home game against Top of the table West Coast Rangers.
On another note I apologize to Codey & especially to Sarah as I gave an assist in the Ellerslie game to Callum when in fact it should have been to Codey who passed to Keegan to blast that great shot into the top corner in that game.
Final Score: Melville Utd 6 vs East Coast Bays 1
Line Ups: Melville Utd: M Tommy, A Scott, L Searle, C Brown (L Kivolyn 65), L Wisnewski (B Quilter-Phipps 46), J Lagos, Q Kipara, K Richards, S Liddicoat (R Lawrence 65), S Dowling, J Galletly
East Coast Bays: S Carpenter, J Edgeler (M Gaze 77), K Kelly, C Simmonds, O Garcia (M Beaton 64), D Sweeney (N Gaze 77), N Berry, T Gibbs (C Phoenix 64), L Anderson, S Wilson, L Archer
Scorers: Melville Utd: S Dowling 13, C Brown 48, K Richards 56 & 58, J Lagos 63, R Lawrence 79
East Coast Bays: M Beaton 82
