Match Report: Round 14 vs Eastern Suburbs
Northern League Round 14 Match Report: Eastern Suburbs vs East Coast Bays, Madills Farm, Kohimarama, Saturday 29th June 2024.
Bays manage to hold out a siege from Suburbs to register shock away win
East Coast Bays were on the road for an away trip to high flying Eastern Suburbs, at Madills Farm. Louie was back from Fiji, so it was good to see him back in goal. Orlando came back into the starting 11 and Will moved to left back, with Nathan on the bench from the start.
Bays started off on the attack first with Orlando making a break down the left wing before Will’s cross went right across the face of the goal. At the other end Mechell sent Karunaratne through and his right foot shot was saved low down by Louie. Bays took the lead completely against the run of play in the 6th minute with a fantastic team goal. From a Suburbs corner, the ball was cleared to outside the box. Will took off on a great run before finding Malcolm on the right. He in turn played a ball to Nick that was returned further up field. Malcolm put in a cross that managed to miss everyone in the middle. But Ryusei was at the back post unmarked to tap the ball home just inside the post. Early on the score read Eastern Suburbs 0 East Coast Bays 1.
Suburbs then upped the ante with wave after wave of attacks. Rutherford was a constant menace on the right flank. One of his crosses in was headed away by Billy & cleared by Callum. Another ball forward saw McKenlay let rip with a left footed drive that went into the side netting. In a rare Bays break Malcolm passed to Guy down the right and his cross into the middle was cleared before Ryusei could get to it. A free kick was given against Will. This was driven in by Rutherford but headed away by Malcolm before the next cross into the middle was taken comfortably by Louie. Malcolm was guilty of losing the ball just outside the box which led to a low shot straight at Louie and then McKenlay shot over.
Suburbs kept attacking down the left wing and a cross came off Thomson for a corner. Rutherford took this and Mechell headed wide of the goal. The next corner saw Mechell bring the ball down, but he muffed his lines when trying to shoot. Another ball down the left wing saw a shot by Verney blocked by James. Bays had another quick counterattack with Ryusei setting up Malcolm who turned his defender before shooting well wide. Boxall was guilty of a number of pushes in the back on Guy but got away with it all game. Suburbs were back in the game in the 35th minute when a long ball forward saw Jarvie cut inside Thomson and he sent a powerful left foot shot into the bottom corner, past Louie. The game was now all level as the score was Eastern Suburbs 1 East Coast Bays 1.
Suburbs should have doubled their goals scored when an excellent move saw Jarvie pass to Verney who’s cross in was put over the crossbar by an unmarked Rutherford. Another cross in saw James head into Callum’s back and the rebound was mishit by Mechell, who was having a bit of an off day. Mechell then crossed for Verney to head wide. Billy then tried a long ball right down the middle of the Suburbs defence, but it was just out of range of Malcolm. Bays then took the lead with a goal that was all about Ryusei’s persistence. A cross into the middle was picked up by Ryusei on the left side. He then dribbled across field before finding an angle to shoot. The shot hit the right post and nestled in the net on the other side. So, just before half time the score was Eastern Suburbs 1 EC Bays 2.
Not long after the goal the half time whistle went and despite the absence of much possession Bays had taken two half chances to lead 2-1 at the break. Bays had weathered a storm of goal chances & misses by Suburbs to have an unlikely lead at the break. Not long into the second half Will was shouldered off the ball, but Mechell had his shot blocked. Next up Karunaratne teed up Lissette, but his shot sailed way over. A corner of the right was bundled home but was ruled out for offside. In another rare Bays attack a good win in midfield by Nick saw him play the ball to Guy who set up Malcolm for left footed shot along the ground to the Suburbs keeper. Another corner from the right saw a free header for Boxall, who headed wide.
The Bays midfield was shall we say a lot smaller in size than the Suburbs big men. Nick, Orlando & Ryusei were up against some giants. To counter this Bays made their first change in the 56th minute with Moses coming on for Nick. Within a minute Moses was recovering from an assault from the back from Mitchell with a dreadful challenge where he made little attempt to get the ball. Instead, he earned the first yellow card of the game. McKenlay, who was very influential on the Suburbs play in the first half took a little while to get going in the second half. He made a break through the Bays defence but his right foot shot flashed wide of the goal. Mechell then turned well in the box, but his shot was blocked by James. Will was then shown a yellow card for a late challenge on Kalua. Suburbs then made two changes in the 67th minute with Built & Laing-McConnell coming on for Verney & Karunaratne. Boxall then tried a long throw from the right-hand side that was cleared by a combination of Billy & Orlando.
That was Orlando’s last contribution to the game as he was substituted in the 70th minute. Logan came on and there was a change in positions for some of the team. Logan played a long ball forward that Malcolm played on to Thomson. Unfortunately, no shot was taken, and the chance was lost. Moses won a good header and played the ball forward to Ryusei. He found Guy and his shot was saved. Will then set up Ryusei and after another run his right footer sailed over the goal. Suburbs then made a third change with Galletly coming on for Lissette.
Bays then should have scored from a free kick. Ryusei was fouled on the right. Malcolm’s free kick into the middle saw Logan unmarked but his header went straight into Kalua and out for a corner. Another long throw into the Bays box saw the ball cleared to just outside the box where Galletly let fly with a half volley that went over. Rutherford then put in a cross from the right and a firm downward header was saved by the feet of Louie, for probably the best save of the match. Another cross in from Rutherford saw a half bicycle attempt by Mechell go just wide. Bays were under the cosh at this stage.
Bays then made two more changes in the 87th minute with Nathan & Jun coming on for Will & Malcolm. By now things were getting a bit testy with Suburbs frustrated by the many chances they had missed. Jarvie was shown a yellow card for a trip on Ryusei. Callum’s free kick in found Logan completely unmarked at the back post. Logan did the first part right by bringing the ball down smartly but the less said about the next bit, as his shot went wide of the far post. A quick break down the right by Guy saw a cross to the back post but Moses didn’t meet it well enough and his scuffed shot went straight to the keeper. Yet more fouls by Boxall went unpunished but McKenlay wasn’t so lucky when Nathan won the ball & tried to quickly get away down the left. A poor challenge from behind saw McKenlay in the referee’s book. Suburbs made one more change when Stewart came on for Jarvie in the 90th minute.
There was still enough time for the Bays defence to repel yet more Suburbs attacks and Billy put in a fantastic block when Built was about to pull the trigger. Shortly after, the final whistle went. Bays had come away with an impressive smash & grab win and a vital three points on the road. There were no speeches after the game and no player of the day awards, but Bays player of the day was surely Ryusei in what was probably his best game of the season for Bays. Just behind him would be an honourable mention to Billy & James who kept a very talented Suburbs attack at bay. And on his return to the Bays goal, Louie made a crucial save right at the end to make sure of the three points. No game this coming weekend because of the Chatham Cup. So, the next Bays game will be on the 13th of July with a visit to Kiwitea Street to take on Auckland City. See you all there.
Final Score: Eastern Suburbs 1 vs East Coast Bays 2
Eastern Suburbs: J Knowles, J Jarvie (A Stewart 90), T Lissette (J Galletly 77), K Kalua, N Karunaratne (M Built 67), R Rutherford, F McKenlay, N Boxall, J Mechell, R Verney (D Laing McConnell 67), J Mitchell
East Coast Bays: L Caunter, J Edgeler, R Ishibashi, C Simmonds, O Thorpe (L Archer 70), N Gaze (M Akimana 56), T Nkoy, W Stephen (N Maisey 87), M Young (YS Chang 87), B Jones, G-F E Penda
Goals: Eastern Suburbs: J Jarvie 35
East Coast Bays: R Ishibashi 6, 45