Match Report: Round 13 vs Bay Olympic

28 Jun

Northern League Round 13 Match Report: East Coast Bays vs Bay Olympic FC, Bay City Park, Saturday 22nd June 2024.

Another must win game ends in a disappointing final result for Bays

East Coast Bays returned home after away games and no game last weekend, due to being out of the Chatham Cup. With Louie & Jack away in Fiji, Mikey Williams made a very rare start in goal and Billy came back into the backline after his one game suspension. Ryusei & Thomson were back in the starting eleven as Moses & Orlando dropped to the bench. It was a big welcome to new signing Will Stephen who recently signed from Auckland Utd. He made his debut in the starting line-up.

Bays started off really well in this important game. A poor back header almost let in Guy, but the keeper was out quickly to save his defender’s mistake. Malcolm took a corner on the left that was glanced just wide by Will. Nathan played a great ball down the left flank for Guy to cross into the middle. The ball was cleared just before Malcolm could get to it. A foul on Ryusei led to a free kick into the middle that Billy headed over the top when completely unmarked. A free kick for a hand ball offence saw Malcolm’s drive go wide of the left post. Bay Olympic took a while to get into the game but Konstandini-Ziu drove forward and his shot along the ground was comfortably saved by Mikey.

Malcolm’s next corner to the back post saw Callum’s header hit a defender before being cleared. Nick lost the ball in midfield which led to Woolford’s shot going just past the post. Malcolm & Will were switching wings from time to time. One run down the right saw Malcolm’s cross into the middle met by a scuffed shot by Will & Callum’s follow up went straight to the keeper. Another Malcom run down the right saw another cross to the back post that was headed wide by Will. Bay Olympic took the lead completely against the run of play. McNeill hoofed the ball forward and unfortunately Mikey missed the loose ball instead of getting it clear. Freeman squared the ball to Nadir and he side footed it into an empty net. After 27 minutes the score was EC Bays 0 Bay Olympic 1.

It only took Bays three minutes to get back on level terms with another route one goal. James launched the ball forward, Guy went shoulder to shoulder with one of the centre backs, and then Guy was away to place a shot under the advancing keeper. After 30 minutes the score was EC Bays 1 Bay Olympic 1. Millicich launched a long throw on the right that led to a weak shot straight to Mikey. The biggest moment of controversy in the game came in the 33rd minute when Bays lost possession and the ball was played forward to Konstandidni-Ziu just to the right of the Bays box. He attempted to turn James and in doing so he slipped & fell into the box. From 40 yards away the referee (with no help from the assistant referees) blew for a penalty to the shock of the Bays players & supporters. After discussions with the referee, which fell on deaf ears, Nadir stepped up to drill the penalty into the bottom right corner to make the score EC Bays 1 Bay Olympic 2.

Some good team play by Bay Olympic saw the ball played down the left wing. Stephan headed it on, Konstandini-Ziu played it sideways, and Nadir shot way over the goal. Bays had a lucky escape when a cross in from Freeman saw McNeill head against the base of the post before it was cleared to safety. Just before the break a quick break by Bays saw Guy away again. He played in Will, but Millicich put in a great last-ditch tackle that saw the ball put behind for a corner. The half time whistle went and the score was EC Bays 1 Bay Olympic 2. It was a very even first half with plenty of chances for both sides but the whole momentum of the game changed with the very poor penalty decision.

The second half started off with Hameedi playing a diagonal ball to Freeman, but his shot went straight to Mikey. Another long throw into the box by Millicich saw a bit of a goalmouth scramble before it was collected by Mikey. Guy played the ball forward to Thomson who in turn played in Malcolm. He cut in but his left foot shot went well wide. Will was then shown a yellow card for dissent when questioning a blatant back pass that wasn’t picked up. Nathan then committed a foul but luckily the free kick cleared everyone at the back post. Nathan was guilty of losing the ball but luckily was not punished as Konstandini-Ziu shot into the side netting.

Will was very lively on his debut for Bays. He played the ball down the right for Guy to give chase to. Guy sent in a cross into the middle that was originally missed by the keeper but cleared by his captain, McNeill, at the back post. Another run by Guy saw another cross to the back post that missed all of the Bays attackers. Malcolm picked up the loose ball and teed up Nick for a shot that went way over. A cross in from the left was put behind by Nathan but it wasn’t that far off being an own goal. Bays made two changes in the 65th minute with Logan & Orlando coming on for James & Ryusei. Another win of the ball by Guy saw Will away and his cross into the middle was stabbed into the ground by Malcolm. Bays were caught on the break in the 69th minute when a ball down the right flank saw Konstandini-Ziu turn inside his defender before striking the ball into the far corner to give Bay Olympic a two goal cushion. After 70 minutes the score was now EC Bays 1 Bay Olympic 3.

Bay Olympic made their first change three minutes later with Palmer coming on for Freeman. A calamity of errors in the Bays defence almost led to another goal for Nadir, but he shot over. Malcolm then had a powerful shot pushed behind by the Bay Olympic keeper. Bays made two more changes in the 77th minute with Sam & Yun coming on for Nathan & Will. Thomson then set up Malcolm who cut inside his defender and let fly with another left footer that went wide. Bays made their final change in the 81st minute with Moses coming on for Nick. Bay Olympic also made a change with James Ray coming on for Konstandini-Ziu.

The game was still very open and Mikey had to be sharp to make a point blank save from a shot from Woolford. Bays made a quick break down the right and the Bay Olympic keeper made no attempt to play the ball but instead took out one of the Bays attackers. The free kick went flashing across the face of the goal but found no one. By now it was hosing down with rain, so it was a bit of a challenge to carry on writing notes. Stephan had a shot go wide, Moses had a shot blocked and a couple of crosses into the centre were easily collected by the Bay Olympic keeper. Guy almost got a second goal when he had a close-range shot saved by the keeper. Olympic made one last change with Lovelock coming on for the hard working, impressive Bailey.

Shortly after, the rain stopped and the final whistle went. In a very competitive game Bays came out second best and the final score was EC Bays 1 Bay Olympic 3. Billy was named Bays Player of the Day. This Saturday Bays are on the road again to take on high flying Eastern Suburbs at Madills Farm. It’s a 3pm kick off so see you all there.                               

Final Score: East Coast Bays 1 vs Bay Olympic 2

East Coast Bays: M Williams, N Maisey (S Wilson 77), J Edgeler (L Archer 65), R Ishibashi (O Thorpe 65), C Simmonds, N Gaze (M Akimana 81), T Nkoy, W Stephen (YS Chang 77), M Young, B Jones, G F Essome Penda

Bay Olympic FC: L Taylor, L Bailey (L Lovelock 90), MB Nagar, C McNeill, I Hameedi, I Nadir, E Kostandini Ziu (J Ray 81), J Woolford, N Millicich, S Stephan, H Freeman (M Palmer 73)

Goals: East Coast Bays: G F Essome Penda 30

Bay Olympic: I Nadir 27 & 33 penalty, E Kostandidni Ziu 69

Unoffical attendance: 48,203

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