MATCH REPORT: Round 12 vs Waitamata FC

NRFL Men's First Team Round 12 Match Report – Waitemata FC vs East Coast Bays, McLeod Park, Te Atatu, Saturday 4th June 2022. Battle right into injury time sees a match winner from an unlikely source. Bays travelled across to Te Atatu to face bottom of the table Waitemata. Lots of changes to the starting lineup because of injuries and illness. Mikey Williams returned in goal after a long injury lay off and Nick Gaze & Matty Beaton made their starting debuts. A very young & inexperienced line up alongside some very experienced players. On a very pleasant Saturday afternoon Bays kicked off on a very bumpy & patchy McLeod Park pitch. After three minutes a Waitemata free kick saw a Sam miss hit clearance saved by Mikey and cleared by Liam. Up the other end Matt picked up the ball in midfield, cut inside a defender and pushed the ball down the outside left. Liam burst down the wing, his cross was blocked and the follow up cross from Codey was also blocked. After 11 minutes Webster was booked for a tackle from behind on Mikey K. Waitemata almost opened the scoring when a close range shot by Sabich was saved low down by Mikey. Bays then came close when a cross was met by Sam but his header hit another Bays player and went out for a goal kick. Zane then went into the ref’s notebook for a few too many late tackles. Murphy then had a weak shot straight at Mikey. Bays thought they had scored when a through ball by Matt found Liam who scored but was ruled to be offside. Bays then had a deluge of attacking play on the Waitemata goal. Liam made another break down the left and his cross was blocked for a corner. From Callum’s corner James had an attacking header but was called for a foul. Callum then broke into the box & was brought down but no penalty given. Codey then had a cross turned behind by Robinson. The corner to the far post saw Zane head back across goal but James header went out for a goal kick. Waitemata then had a cross from the right cut out by Mikey. Callum then had a crack from a free kick just outside the box but his shot went wide. Half time arrived and the score was 0-0 but not for the lack of trying. Plenty of chances but most just off target. The young Bays side were holding their own against a very physical & niggly Waitemata side. Six minutes into the second half a Bays corner was cleared to the edge of the box. Nick lined up an excellent volley but his shot was blocked. Six minutes later Waitemata had a free kick just outside the Bays box. The first shot by Tanner went into the wall and the follow up shot was saved. Silver was then booked for a foul on Nick Gaze. Callum’s free kick down the middle was just out of reach for Zane to get to. In the 59th minute Waitemata made their first change when Aalbers came on for Sabich. For the second time in the match Liam thought he had scored but was wrongly ruled offside this time. After 64 minutes Bays made a double change with Keegan & Daewook coming on for Zane & Nick. Two minutes later Sellar missed an open goal when he pushed his shot past the post when straight through on goal. A minute later a ball straight down the Bays middle saw a shot over by Webster. In the 72nd minute Waitemata took the lead when a ball down the right by Silver was missed by the Bays defence. The cross was met at the near post by Webster who’s shot was clipped home between Mikey & his near post for 1-0 to Waitemata. A minute later a ball down the left was put across the face of goal but missed all the Bays attackers. Three minutes later a long throw by Mikey K was headed over the goal by Sam. Three minutes later a diagonal ball to the right found Codey who had his close range shot smothered & saved. After 80 minutes Todd Gibbs came on for an injured & limping James. Two minutes after that Waitemata replaced Webster with Van Leeuwen. A goalmouth scramble in the Waitemata box led to Robinson being down injured for around 5 minutes. He couldn’t continue and replaced by Marsh. Waitemata then tried some time wasting tactics and niggly fouls to try & break up the Bays attacking onslaught. Bays had a free kick just outside the box but Daewook’s poor shot went straight into the wall. Aalbers then was booked for a shirt pull back. Five minutes into injury time Bays finally equalized. Sam made a break down the left wing, cut in and then his cross/shot deflected up & over the keeper into the far corner for 1-1. It should probably go down as an own goal but no doubt Sammy will be telling everyone it was going in without the big deflection. The dubious goals panel should definitely take a look at that one!! Bays continued to attack looking for the winner and in the 99th minute another Sam cross from the left found Matt at the back post. His mishit shot rolled nicely into the path of Callum and he placed his shot into the net for a very late winner. Shortly after, the final whistle went and Bays had won 2-1. Great job by the lads for battling right to the end and for continuing to strive for the win, in what was a must win game. The young Bays side did very well and the match winner came from a very unlikely source. Great to see Callum get one at last. Next up its Chatham Cup Round Two at home against Tauranga City on Queens Birthday Monday. Final Score: Waitamata FC 1 vs East Coast Bays 2 Line Ups: Waitemata FC: L Sherpa, J O’Neill, S Sedon, L Webster (R van Leeuwen 82), S Tanner, P Silver, H Murphy, I Sellar, R Sabich (J Allbers 59), J Telford, R Robinson (J Marsh 87) East Coast Bays: M Williams, J Edgeler (T Gibbs 80), C Simmonds, N Gaze (K Kelly 64), M Kolston, M Beaton, L Anderson, S Wilson, C Phoenix, L Archer, Z Olla (DW Kim 64) Scorers: Waitemata: L Webster 72 East Coast Bays: S Wilson 95, C Simmonds 99