Match Report: Round 04 vs Fencibles United FC
Dettol Northern League Round 04 Match Report: East Coast Bays vs Fencibles Utd, Bay City Park, Saturday 12th April 2025.
Bays punished for too many missed chances in disappointing home loss
EC Bays returned home to Bay City Park after the battling 2-2 draw against Bay Olympic over at Olympic Park the previous Saturday. Nathan came back into the side after his one match suspension which meant a switch to right back for Devon and Cam going to the bench. Damion came into the starting line up in place of Ryusei and Liam started in place of the unfortunate, injured James Elder.
Bays started off very quickly. Liam played an excellent switch ball to Devon and his cross was headed away for a throw in. Jack’s long throw in from the right side was headed away to safety. Fencibles resorted to quick counter attacks and from one of these Adam mis controlled the ball but luckily Currie’s weak shot went straight to Louie. Bays then had a long range shot blocked and the rebound saw Matt’s shot spiral through to the keeper. A ball down the Bays right wing saw Clarke play in Currie and his shot went into the side netting. Damion made a good break down the left wing, Nathan put in a cross and Fuller headed behind for a corner. Nathan’s corner was too long and sailed out past the back post for a goal kick. Another Fencibles counterattack saw a great covering tackle by Jack to thwart Burns from shooting.
Fencibles were close to taking the lead when Palma was through when he was clearly offside. But his shot was saved by Louie and then cleared away by Devon. Devon then went on a run down the right wing, passed to Liam, and his cross to the back post was just a little bit too high for Matt to get his head on. A good team move between Billy, Orlando & Matt saw the latter have a right foot shot blocked for a corner. A foul on Liam saw Orlando’s free kick reach Adam at the back post. He headed the ball back and Matt had another shot blocked.
Orlando’s corner to the back post saw chaos in the box before Jack saw his snapshot blocked. A long throw into the box saw a clearance that was handled by a Fencibles defender for a Bays free kick just outside the box. Orlando was so unlucky not to score when his perfectly placed free kick bent around the wall, beat the keeper, and hit the inside of the left post. But instead of going into the goal in the opposite side the ball rolled along the goal line before being cleared. A very lucky escape for Fencibles. Maddox was then shown the first yellow card of the game for a nasty studs up challenge from behind which could have easily been a red card offence. Devon then played in Liam who played in Orlando and his cross in from the right was cleared away for a throw in.
In the process of pumping the ball forward it looked like Devon had a muscle problem and he couldn’t continue. So, Bays made their first change in the 36th minute with Cam coming on for Devon. Another long throw by Jack saw the ball cleared and Orlando tried a hook shot that went straight to the Fencibles keeper. Damion played in Guy and after a nice turn and skip across to the right Guy had a right foot drive go into the side netting. Another quick break by Fencibles saw Palma through but he scooped the ball over the bar. Liam then went on a jinking run down the right flank before cutting inside and letting fly with a left foot drive that sailed just past the post.
Another quick counterattack by Fencibles saw Currie play Burns through but a great covering tackle by Cam saw the danger averted. But from the resulting corner Fencibles took the lead against the run of play.The corner looked like it had been cleared when Louie pushed the cross away, but Maddox was at the back post to volley home into the back of the net. In the 44th Minute the score was EC Bays 0 Fencibles 1. Bays almost levelled up straight away when Guy had a close-range shot palmed away. The follow up shot from Liam was blocked and then a 3rd shot from Guy was pushed away for a corner. Nathan’s corner from the right found Adam at the back post. But his header was narrowly wide.
Shortly after, the half time whistle went and the score at half time was EC Bays 0 Fencibles Utd 1. The first half was all about taking chances with Bays not taking the many chances they had (and being a bit unlucky with a couple that were very close) whereas Fencibles took their chance from a player that probably should not have still been on the field.
The second half started with some good link up play between Liam and Cam. A cross in from the right the ball cleared to just outside the box where Nathan tried his luck from long range. But his left footer sailed high & wide of the goal. Paulsen was then shown a yellow card for bringing Liam down just outside the box. Orlando took the free kick and even though it cleared the wall it also cleared the crossbar. Guy then picked up the ball on the left, turned his defender and crossed to the back post where Billy sliced his shot wide. A corner from Nathan saw Liam slide in as the ball was cleared for another corner. This was played short and Damion’s cross / shot was blocked & cleared. Palma was again flirting with offside when he cut inside Nathan and his left foot shot was deflected behind for a corner. Burns then had a break down the left but his daisy cutter shot along the ground went straight to Louie. Grubjesic was then shown a yellow card for kicking the ball away after a foul on Guy.
Fencibles doubled their lead in the 65th minute when a long ball down the right found Palma. He beat Nathan and sent a left foot drive into the far corner across Louie’s dive. This made the score EC Bays 0 Fencibles Utd 2. Bays reacted straight away by bringing on Ryusei & Peter for Damion & Matt. A minute later Fencibles made their first change with Nicol coming on for Paulsen. Cam made another great run down the right wing but his cross to the back post was too long for any Bays attackers. Boon was then shown a yellow card for a push in the back on Peter. From the free kick Orlando curled the ball again and it clipped off the head of a defender in the wall for a corner.
The resulting corner was cleared to outside the box where Jack played the ball back in. Adam’s header was a bit tame and straight to the keeper. Billy then saw a yellow card after he lost the ball and fouled his opponent. A couple of minutes later Liam was shown a yellow card for pulling back an attacker on a quick break. Fencibles were still doing well on the counterattack with a ball down the right sailing over Nathan. Palma played the ball into the middle which Jack headed away for a corner. In the 78th minute Fencibles made their second change with Martin coming on for Burns. Billy then played the ball down the right wing and Cam crossed in for Guy to slice wide before the offside flag went up. Ryusei linked well with Cam before Orlando had another shot blocked & cleared.
Fencibles made a third change in the 82nd minute with Moosbally coming on for Clarke. Fencibles almost increased their lead further when Martin had a shot saved by the outstretched legs of Louie. Palma then tried his luck again with a cut in from the right and a left foot shot straight at Louie. Palma set up Currie who saw his shot saved point blank by Louie before being cleared by Adam. Currie then set up Nicol on the fast break and his shot was saved by Louie. After a sustained period of attack by Fencibles, Bays had a rare foray down the other end with Billy linking up with Cam. His cross saw Orlando shoot over the top of the goal on the run.
Bays made two more changes in the 90th minute with James Edgeler & Yun coming on for Billy and Nathan. Palma was then shown a yellow card for another foul. Peter had a long-range shot go well wide and then another run & cross in from the right by Cam went right across the face of the goal. Martin was then shown a yellow card for a late tackle. In the last minute a Bays corner reached the back post, and a shot was blocked by a Fencibles hand, but no penalty was given. Shortly after, the final whistle went, and the final score was EC Bays 0 Fencibles Utd 2.
A very disappointing result for Bays in a game that was there for the taking but Bays were punished for not taking any of their many chances created whereas Fencibles were clinical with their finishing. Man of the Match for Bays was Louie for his many saves, especially in the second half. Over the Easter weekend Bays have two matches playing Auckland FC at Fred Taylor Park on Easter Friday (3pm kick off) and playing Eastern Suburbs at home on Easter Monday (3pm kick off). Apologies in advance as I will be away for these matches and there won’t be any match reports for these games. Enjoy the games and have a great Easter break.
Final Score: East Coast Bays 0 vs Fencibles 2
East Coast Bays: L Caunter, N Maisey (J Edgeler 90), A Huskic, O Thorpe, D Kim (R Ishibashi 65), G FE Penda, B Jones (YS Chang 90), D Slingsby (C Brown 36), L Andersen, M Matanyayire (P Harrison 65), J Caunter
Fencibles Utd: N Burke, J Fuller, M Reynolds, J Grubjesic, J Boon, D Palma, A Paulsen (K Nicol 66), R Currie, A Burns (N Martin 78), F Clarke (J Moosbally 82), X Maddox
Goals: X Maddox 44, D Palma 65
Unofficlal attendance: 85,921