MATCH REPORT: Round 16 vs Waiheke Utd AFC
NRFL Men's First Team Round 16 Match Report: Waiheke Utd AFC v East Coast Bays, Onetangi Sports Reserve, Saturday 22nd July 2023.
Bays made to work hard for the points by much improved Waiheke but last minute decider results in three hard-earned points
On what turned out to be a very nice day EC Bays made the trip over to Waiheke Island as top played bottom in the league clash. A couple of changes to the starting line-up saw Oscar start after an absence of about a month and young Orlando Thorpe made his debut start for the Bays first team.
Waiheke were quickest out of the blocks and after a foul by Moses, the free kick was headed away by Logan. Oscar brought down a long ball and a neat turn saw him play in Moses whose shot was blocked. Another break by Oscar down the left saw a cross into the middle that was met by a glancing header by Dylan that was punched over the crossbar by the Waiheke keeper. Dylan then played in Orlando but the keeper was out smartly to save at Orlando’s feet. Waiheke then had a fast break that was halted by James with a foul that earned James a yellow card after only 9 minutes.
A neat one-two by the Waiheke forwards saw a shot by Canay saved between his legs by Louie. Orlando then played in Dylan but the ball was put out for a corner as Dyl was about to pull the trigger. Another through ball to Orlando saw his snap shot saved by the keeper’s legs for another corner. A ball down the left found Moses. He cut in and played the ball to the back post where it looked like Dylan was fouled in the process of getting a left foot shot away. No penalty given. Mikey K played in Oscar again down the left. His cross was blocked and then Bays had a succession of corners. James had a close range header saved and Moses tried his luck from the rebound with a bicycle kick. Leo burst down the right flank and his cross was cleared for a corner.
Mikey K played Oscar in down the left flank and after crossing, a foul was called on the goalkeeper. Logan launched a long throw from the right and Orlando’s volley hit the crossbar before bouncing away to safety. Waiheke took the lead in the 26th minute when a ball down the Bays right side saw Canay bump Mikey K off the ball before he headed off towards goal. He drew Louie out and crossed to the centre for Burke-Munns to clip the ball over Louie for 1-0 to the home side. Bays were level within a minute when Callum’s free kick was brought down by Dylan. He turned and laid the ball off to Oscar to drive home into the bottom corner to level things up. Waiheke 1 EC Bays 1.
Bays had another free kick that Dylan drove in but it was punched clear by the Waiheke goalkeeper. There was then a dreadful foul from behind on Orlando that earned Bays a free kick but where on earth was the yellow card for that poor challenge. Waiheke had another free kick that was driven into the middle but it was well taken by Louie. The half time whistle went and it was all square at half time in the very even, passionate battle.
Waiheke started the second half brightly as well and a corner was played short leading to a cross to the middle that was comfortably cleared. Oscar was causing plenty of problems for the Waiheke defence and a foul on him lead to Dylan’s free kick being pushed behind for a corner. Unfortunately, Callum’s corner only reached the front post and was easily cleared. A ball down the right saw Dylan’s attempted cross was cleared by Yacar. Oscar then had a close range shot saved and Dylan’s shot from the rebound was palmed away. Waiheke were good on the counter and a shot by De Raat was blocked by a combination of Mike K and Leo.
From a Waiheke corner, the Bays defence cleared a cross by Cabanal. A long ball downfield found Dylan and he laid the ball off for Nick to shoot over the crossbar. Moses cut in from the left and found Leo. He set up Dylan for a right foot shot that was cleared for yet another corner. Bays took the lead in the 62nd minute with a nice team goal. At the end of it, Oscar played in Orlando and he hit a great left footer into the bottom corner for his debut 1st team goal. Congrats, Orlando. The score was now Waiheke 1 EC Bays 2. Five minutes after the goal Bays made two changes with YS Chang & Nathan Maisey replacing the two goal scorers – Oscar & Orlando. Three minutes later the scores were level again. A long-range shot hit James in the leg and bounced up into his hands. Purely accidental but the referee pointed to the penalty spot. Canay stepped up and sent the penalty into the bottom right hand corner to make the score Waiheke 2 EC Bays 2.
Waiheke followed this up with another fast break down the left and a shot along the ground straight to Louie. Logan went on a run and was brought down just outside the box. Dylan’s free kick clipped the top of the wall for a corner. Callum’s corner found Nathan and his shot hit the hand of a defender but no free kick given yet again. JS Chang then had a shot that deflected off a defender for another corner. Logan tried another long throw but Dylan did not get enough contact on his header to trouble the keeper. With eight minutes to go Bays made two defensive changes with Bailey & Mikey G coming on for James & Mikey K.
Bays turned up the pressure in pursuit of the winner. First, there was a free kick for a holding foul on Nick. Callum’s free kick did not trouble the defence. A long ball by Louie down the left to JS Chang lead to a clearance for a corner. The corner was punched clear by the under siege keeper. Waiheke were still playing counter attack and Cabanal had his cross blocked by Logan. Just when it looked like the game was going to end up all square Bays managed to conjure up the winner in injury time. A long ball downfield found Dylan. He in turn found Moses on the left hand side. He cut in and drilled a left footer into the bottom corner to make the score Waiheke 2 EC Bays 3. There was just enough time for another long ball that Dylan brought down, drove past the defender and then blazed wildly over. The final whistle went shortly after and to the relief of the Bays players and supporters a great battle with Waiheke had ended with a narrow win.
Final score was Waiheke 2 EC Bays 3. Waiheke gave a very good account of themselves and battled very hard all game. They certainly gave Bays a very tough game and were unlucky not to come away with any points. Bays stay top of the league by 5 points with a game in hand and now face another tricky away trip to Tauranga this coming weekend.
Final Score: Waiheke Utd 2 vs East Coast Bays 3
Waiheke Utd: H Mehrabi, M Yacar, A Llunes, F Cabanal, A Villasana, E Candia, B De Raat, J Eskamp, K Burke-Munns, J Canay, T Benfield
East Coast Bays: L Caunter, J Edgeler (B Stevenson 82), C Simmons, O Garcia (N Maisey 67), M Akimana, O Thorpe (J S Chang 67), T Kim, N Gaze, M Kolston (M Gaze 82), D Stansfield, L Archer
Goals: Waiheke: K Burke-Munns 26, J Canay 70 pen
East Coast Bays: O Garcia 31, O Thorpe 62, M Akimana 90
Official Attendance: 785
