Match Report: Round 16 vs Bay Olympic
Dettol Northern League Round 16 Match Report: East Coast Bays vs Bay Olympic, Bay City Park, Saturday 12th July 2025.
Battle of The Bays Ends all Square After Late Drama
After another week off because of Chatham Cup action, Bays were back in Northern League action with another home game against Bay Olympic. James Edgeler came back into the starting eleven partnering Adam H at the back and Billy the Kid was moved back into midfield, replacing Chase. Guy was back up front with James Elder on the bench.
The first twenty minutes saw the Ultras under the umbrellas with constant rain coming in sideways from the west making it a bit of a difficult watch & to make notes. A series of long throws down the right wing by James Edgeler eventually led to Adam P getting a cross in that was cleared away just before reaching Matt. Down the other end a quick break down the Bays left wing saw a ball in just a bit too hard for Tieku to control as it hit him in the shins and went out for a goal kick. A cross in from the left wing by Nathan was just a little too far ahead of both Liam & Guy to get to. The first decent chance of the match came when a ball down the middle by Billy was turned around the corner by Orlando and Adam P was away down the right flank. He bore down on the keeper and let fly with a right footed drive that was straight at the keeper. The keeper was able to push the shot over the bar.
From the corner Orlando sent the ball to beyond the back post where James Edgeler headed wide. Liam beat Stephen down the right wing and had his cross blocked for a corner. Jack’s corner was picked up by the wind and sailed out past the back post. Bay Olympic then won a free kick and this led to a corner that was headed over by Swain. Another long ball down the middle saw Adam P away again but his left foot shot was wayward & wide of goal. A ball forward from the left saw Orlando switch play to the right. Liam beat his man and cut inside before his left foot shot was blocked by a very good sliding block tackle. Liam was having a good series of runs down the right wing and from one of his crosses the ball was in but only our smallest player on the field was in the box and the cross was dealt with comfortably.
Another break from Liam saw him away but in trying to cross the block ricocheted back off him for an Olympic goal kick. Liam then won a ball in midfield, cut infield, and left fly with a left footer that went high & wide. Orlando played a ball out to the right wing and Liam’s cross to the back post was met by of all people, Nathan, who headed over from an unmarked spot in the box. Shortly after the half time whistle went and despite the endeavour from both sides the score read East Coast Bays 0 Bay Olympic 0. Lots of chances created but only a couple of clear-cut chances that weren’t taken.
Early in the second half Billy hooked a ball forward and Guy was away. Only thing was that he had jumped the gun and was flagged offside. Bays had a lucky escape when a poor ball back by Guy found Tieku who dragged his left foot shot wide of Louie and the far post. Olympic then had a series of corners cleared by a combination of Louie and his defence. Jack headed one away and then Adam P cleared one away. Nathan made a break down the left wing and played the ball back to Jack. His cross into the middle was brought down by Matt and his left foot shot was dragged past the near post.
Olympic had used the long throw by Millicich constantly as one of their main strike weapon and one of these paid off in the 58th minute. A long throw from the right side was flicked on and a glancing header from close range by Saxon saw the ball in the bottom corner of the net. The score now read East Coast Bays 0 Bay Olympic 1. Bays immediately reacted to going behind by bringing on Moses and James Elder for Matt & James Edgeler in the 59th minute. Two minutes later Olympic made their first two changes with Burge & Palmer coming on for Swain and Baldoni.
Adam P was a constant threat and was brought down just outside the box as he turned past one of the Olympic defenders. Orlando’s free kick didn’t clear the wall, but the ball went to Jack who crossed to the back post. Adam H jostled with the keeper and was shown a yellow card for his troubles. Down the other end a ball down the middle of the Bays defence saw Tieku try his luck from long range, but the shot went well wide. Bays almost equalised when Guy was tripped which led to a yellow card for Millicich. Orlando’s free kick from the right saw a glancing header by Liam come off the base of the far post. The rebound fell to James Elder, but his tame shot was well saved by the keeper.
Bays made another change in the 74th minute with latest Bays centurion Nicolai coming on for Nathan. Bays were still pushing for the equaliser but some of the balls forward weren’t quite accurate enough. Billy tried one but it was just a little bit too far in front of James Elder. A burst down the left wing by Adam P saw a pass forward to James Elder and he set up Guy for a shot that was blocked for a corner. Bay Olympic made their next change in the 78th minute with McNeill coming on for Eng to bolster the Olympic defensive ranks.
Jack then launched a long throw forward to Adam P who played the ball back to Jack who crossed in for James Elder to hit a snapshot straight at the keeper. Joe took the opposite approach to the Olympic coach by bringing on Chase for Adam H in the 84th minute which meant most of the starting defence were now off the field. Attack, Attack was the obvious war cry!!! This worked perfectly a minute later when a cross in from Adam P saw a shot by Chase saved by the keeper. But the rebound fell nicely to Nicolai on the right to place a left footer into the far corner for the equaliser. After 85 minutes gone the score now read East Coast Bays 1 Bay Olympic 1.
Olympic reacted to the Bays goal by bringing on Hall for Stephen in the 87th minute. A cross in from the right-hand side saw a snapshot by Burge go wide. Olympic then had a succession of corners. The first one of these was headed away. The second one saw a left foot shot by Kaiser that went narrowly wide. The third corner was eventually cleared by Jack. From the last corner a powerful close-range header by Burge was expertly pushed out and around the post by Louie for the save of the match. Bays survived a barrage of 5 corners in a row and then the referee blew for full time to the relief of the home supporters. The final score was East Coast Bays 1 Bay Olympic 1.
Points shared in a fairly entertaining game but with other results not going Bays way we dropped a position in the table from 5th to 6th. Billy was named Bays Player of the day. Next Saturday it’s a trip over to the Eastern beaches to take on Eastern Suburbs at Madills Farm with a 3pm kick off. See you all there.
Final Score: East Coast Bays 1 vs Bay Olympic 1
East Coast Bays: L Caunter, N Maisey (N Berry 74), J Edgeler (M Akimana 59), A Huskic (C Taylor 84), O Thorpe, GFE Penda, B Jones, A Paulsen, L Andersen, M Matanyayire (J Elder 59), J Caunter
Bay Olympic: J Gardner, J Gage, L Lovelock, M Kaiser, W Eng (C McNeill 78), F Saxon, N Millicich, S Stephen (L Hall 87), K Swain (J Burge 61), A Baldoni (M Palmer 61), D Tieku
Goals: East Coast Bays: N Berry 85
Bay Olympic: F Saxon 58
