Match Report: Round 06 vs Birkenhead United
Northern League Round 06 Match Report: Birkenhead Utd vs East Coast Bays, Shepherds Park, Friday 19th April 2024.
Bays claw their way to a priceless away draw after being dominated in the first half
After a string of home games, Bays were away at Birkenhead, under the lights in a Friday night kick off. A number of changes to the starting line up saw Mikey K & Jack start in defence, Orlando started in midfield and Moses back after his one match suspension. James & Nathan dropped to the bench and Peter Morrison was on the bench for his Bays debut.
The match notes this week are a bit abbreviated as it was a bit difficult to write notes with the rain pouring down most of the game. The match kicked off and it seemed like thirty seconds later the heavens opened for nonstop rain for the next half an hour. Birkenhead were quickly out of the blocks and a shot by Putt was saved by Louie at the expense of a corner. A ball down the Bays right flank found Zeb whose cross went straight to Louie. Down the other end a through ball by Mikey K was just a fraction too far in front of Ryusei. Orlando then had a snapshot that went straight to the keeper. Another ball in from the right by Putt was intercepted at the back post by Ryusei. Another shot by Putt was saved low down and then a cross in from the left turned into a goalmouth scramble before being cleared.
Monty Patterson was a constant threat to the Bays defence. He received the ball on the left flank, turned inside and let fly with a powerful shot that just sailed over the crossbar. Putt was then shown a yellow card for kicking the ball away after a foul had been blown by the referee against Birkenhead. Patterson then had a shot brilliantly saved by the feet of Louie and another cross in by Putt was cleared to safety by Billy. In a rare venture into the Birkenhead box Nick was crowded off the ball before he had a chance to shoot. Another Putt cross was headed down at the far post but there was no one there to take a shot at the Bays goal.
Patterson then had a left foot shot saved low down by Louie. Patterson was then through on goal, but Louie was out quickly to collect the ball. Patterson followed through with a studs up challenge on Louie’s shin and was very lucky to only be shown a yellow card. Down the other end there was some nice link up play between Moses & Thomson before the ball was cleared. A long ball down the right flank found Ryusei. He turned inside of his defender and his left footer went well over the goal. Birko continued their attack on the Bays goal, but Putt was well shackled by the Bays defence. A corner by G Brown was punched away by Louie and just before half time Bays had a quick break downfield with Ryusei trying to lob Rodic from some distance in the Birkenhead goal.
The half time whistle went, and Bays had done very well to have the score at 0-0 considering the possession stakes were probably 80% to 20% in Birkenhead’s favour. The crowd had a ten minute respite from the driving rain and thirty seconds into the second half the rain came pelting down again. In that time Patterson had continued his running battle with Louie with a shot saved by the Bays custodian. One shot did beat Louie but luckily it was cleared off the line. Ryusei then broke through the Birkenhead defence and his one-on-one shot was saved. Nick was then booked for a pull back on Patterson.
Birkenhead made three changes in the 64th minute with Connolly, S Philip & Hughes coming on. Bays responded a minute later with Nathan & Hwi Chang coming on for Mikey K & Orlando. Thomson put in a cross from the left that was put behind for a corner. The next corner taken by Callum was headed wide by Thomson. Zeb was a constant menace on the flanks and on one of his runs he was tripped. The free kick was floated to the back post, met by a header and then a shot fizzled wide. Bays were getting more & more into the game in the second half. Thomson had a shot straight at the keeper and Nick made a break into the box before his shot was saved by the keeper.
Bays were lucky to escape midway through the second half when a break down the left wing saw Zeb cross into the middle. Patterson met the cross with a full-length diving header that Louie saved brilliantly by pushing the effort over the crossbar. Birkenhead then made two more changes to their defence with O’Leary & Cromb coming on. A minute later James came on for Jack, who got through his first start in a very long time. Birkenhead continued their attack with a cross headed behind by Moses. From that corner the ball dipped wickedly under the crossbar and had to be punched over by Louie.
Another cross in from Patterson found Philip but he headed straight at Louie. Bays almost broke the deadlock with a quick break away from their own goal. Nick strode away through midfield and played in Ryusei. He turned his defender and let fly with a left footer that looked like it was sailing over the keeper. Rodic did brilliantly to back track and palm the ball over the goal when it looked like the shot was past him. Van der Hoven then had a shot straight at Louie down the other end.
Hughes was then shown a yellow card for backing into James recklessly in an aerial dual. Bays then made their last two changes with Peter & YS Chang coming on for Nick & Thomson in the 89th minute. Congratulations to Peter on making his Bays first team debut. Louie was still alert to make a point blank save from a snapshot. Logan was shown a yellow card for a late tackle on Philip. Birkenhead’s free kick to the back post was headed over the crossbar. McArthur was then shown a yellow card for too much back chat at the referee.
Shortly afterwards the final whistle went and both sides had battled to a 0-0 draw. A fair result considering Bays came into the game far more in the second half after Birkenhead had a very dominant first half. Especially in the possession stakes. Then it was home to dry out after being drenched for most of the game. The point secured was very valuable as it has now taken Bays off the bottom of the table on goal difference from Hamilton. Bays are back on the road again this weekend with a trip down to the Bay of Plenty (let’s hope so) to play Tauranga City on Saturday afternoon. See you down there.
Final Score: Birkenhead United 0 v East Coast Bays 0
Birkenhead: S Rodic, D Botica, L Van den Hoven, T Putt, L Jorgensen, H Zeb, M Patterson, G Brown, A McArthur, J Rodwell, C Piper
Subs: D Connolly + S Philip + C Hughes 64, E O’Leary + A Cromb 74
East Coast Bays: L Caunter, R Ishibashi, C Simmonds, M Akimana, O Thorpe (HS Chang 65), N Gaze (P Harrison 89), M Kolston (N Maisey 65), T Nkoy (YS Chang 89), J Caunter (J Edgeler 75), L Archer, B Jones
Photo credit: Simon Harmer
