Match Report: Round 19 vs Western Springs
Northern League Round 19 Match Report: Western Springs vs East Coast Bays, Seddon Fields, Western Springs, Saturday 10th August 2024.
Action a Plenty Under the lights as both teams lose a player in massive battle for points at both ends of the table
After the hard-earned point at home the previous week against Auckland Utd, Bays travelled to Western Springs to play the home side under lights on the artificial turf, at Seddon Fields. Plenty of changes to the starting line up with Mikey Williams starting in goal with Louie away and Mikey K coming in at right back in the place of recently departed Thomson. Peter Harrison made his starting debut for Bays in the heart of midfield & Liam was in the starting line up as well as taking the captain’s armband. While Bays were playing for points to stay in the Northern League Western Springs were playing for points to try & make the Top 4 for the upcoming National League.
Not a lot happened in the first 5 to 10 minutes as both teams played possession football in trying to find a way through each other’s defence. The first move of any note was when Drake cut in from the left and placed a right foot shot along the ground straight to Mikey W. A great ball over the top by Guy saw Nick run through but he ran out of room before the ball ran out of play. Drake played a crossfield ball to Browne on the right and his cross into the middle was shot over the bar by Ellis. Ellis was a constant threat down the left wing with his pace and trickery. One run saw him skip past Moses before his shot was deflected and Mikey made a great save punching the ball away for a corner. The corner reached the middle of the box but a fine clearing header by James saw the danger go away.
Good interplay between Nick & Guy saw a left foot shot by Guy deflected behind for a corner. The corner to the back post was cleared with James lurking with intent. The next corner was headed out and met by a volley by Callum that was blocked. Ellis set up Straffon for a left foot shot that Mikey did well to get down to save smartly. A ball down the right wing by Guy saw Malcolm scamper away before his shot was blocked for a corner. Malcolm’s corner was cleared to just outside the box where Callum had another go with a volley that went quite a way over the goal. A stray pass by James was intercepted by Gatkek, who had a shot saved by Mikey.
Bays took the lead in the 25th minute with a very good team goal. Billy played a goal kick forward to Peter and he played the ball down the right wing to Guy. His cross in from the wing found Nick. He dummied one defender and shifted the ball from right foot to left foot before launching a shot into the opposite corner past a stranded Springs keeper. The score now read Western Springs 0 EC Bays 1. Springs reacted swiftly with a ball right down the middle of the Bays defence. Drake brought the long ball down, but his weak shot went straight to Mikey. Another ball forward by Drake bounced over Mikey K and Ellis was away to cross from the by-line. None of his attackers were in the centre to put away this chance and the ball was cleared safely away.
Bays weren’t so lucky a few minutes later when Springs equalised. A ball in from the right found an unmarked Ellis. He stepped inside one of the Bays defenders before rifling a right foot shot that took a huge deflection to go into the opposite side of the net to where Mikey was diving to save. After 36 minutes the score was now Western Springs 1 EC Bays 1. A foul on Ellis on the left saw a free kick by Drake go over everyone in the middle, for a goal kick. Bays almost took the lead again when a long ball out of defence by James saw Guy chase after the ball. One of the Springs defenders tried heading the ball back that almost went over his own goalkeeper. But luckily, Diver was able to clutch the ball out of the air just when it looked like the ball was heading over him.
Ellis played in Drake, and he shot with the outside of his foot just past the far post. A foul by Malcom up field saw a Drake free kick played into the Bays penalty box. A first shot was saved but the rebound saw Tobin head the ball past Mikey. Billy reacted by punching the ball away to stop it going in and this led to a straight red card for Billy. After the dust settled down Straffon stepped forward to send his penalty into the far corner and after 45 minutes Western Springs now lead 2-1. The half time whistle went and both teams headed into the sheds after a crazy couple of minutes before half time. Bays had started well but Springs had come back hard at them to lead 2- 1 at the break.
With being a man down at the break it was no surprise to see Liam substituted at the break and Logan came on to take his place in the centre of the Bays defence. Bays didn’t start the second half brilliantly when a ball out by Mikey was picked up by McGavin. He let fly with a left footed rocket that came back off the underside of the crossbar to safety. The next part of this crazy game came in the 49th minute when a ball forward saw Guy chase after the ball. Diver came racing out of his penalty box and made very little attempt to get the ball as he looked like a flying Hong Kong Phooey as his raised foot clattered into Guy’s midriff. Diver was shown a straight red card and after recovering from his attack Guy was able to continue. With their keeper sent off Springs brought on substitute keeper, Mason, who had already conceded eight goals in the Under 23’s match.
Malcolm lined up the free kick just outside the box and hit a peach of a shot that took a hefty deflection off Manuel on the end of the wall to wrong foot Mason and go into the back of the net. Mason had conceded another goal but this time it was without even having a touch of the ball. The goal should have been Malcolm’s but has been put down as a Manuel own goal and the score after 53 minutes was now Western Springs 2 EC Bays 2.
Peter then had a driven shot that was deflected wide of the goal by Malcolm. The corner from the right saw Peter rise highest but his header was straight at the keeper. A foul by Logan on the right-hand side saw a free kick in that saw Tobin head down into the ground and straight to Mikey. A break down the right flank saw a cross by Mikey K end up on the roof of the Springs goal. A cross into the back post by Tobin saw a downward header go wide of the Bays goal. Guy was booked for a foul on Manuel in the 67th minute. A ball down the left side saw Ellis’s cross into the middle and Straffon had a shot saved by Mikey. Down the other end Nick made a great run through the Springs defence before being sandwiched in the box. For the second week in a row no penalty for a foul on Nick.
James played another excellent ball downfield that Guy chased after, but he lost control of the ball before being blocked out by a combination of the defence & the Springs keeper. Springs should have taken the lead shortly after when Drake played Ellis through. His shot was blocked by Logan and the rebound fell to Gatkek at the back post who shot over from very close range for a pretty bad miss. Ellis was having lots of runs down the left wing and another cross in saw Straffon’s left foot shot tipped over spectacularly by Mikey.
With Bays under the cosh for the past fifteen minutes two changes were made with Ryusei & HS Chang coming on for Mikey K & Peter, in the 78th minute. Another ball right down the guts of the Springs defence saw Nick through and his shot was deflected on to the top of the net for a corner. The ball was lost in midfield and played on to Drake who let fly with a left footed drive that flew over the goal. Bays almost pinched it when a ball was played back from the right flank by Malcolm to Ryusei. Nothing much looked like it was on, but Ryusei let rip with a right foot volley that crashed against the base of the post with Mason well beaten & stranded.
Moses played the ball down the left wing and cut in along the by-line before his cross was deflected out for a corner. Next up Logan launched a long throw from the left that was cleared away from the Springs goal. Nick took on Tobin with another great run before his shot was deflected off Gatkek for another corner. Just before the end Logan spoiled his copybook by being booked for a pull back on Drake as he was trying to get away on a fast break. Shortly after, the final whistle went to end a very action-packed game. The final score read Western Springs 2 EC Bays 2 so both teams shared the spoils with a point each. Bays had battled hard after the unfortunate red card just before half time and rode their luck a bit with some good saves by Mikey & some bad misses by Springs. Joe named Guy the Bays player of the day for his nonstop running for the team. This Saturday Bays are back at home for what looks like another big battle against West Coast Rangers with a 3pm kick off. See you all there.
Final Score: Western Springs 2 vs East Coast Bays 2
Western Springs: R Diver, P Tobin, A Carey, J Manuel, D Straffon, W Gatkek, O Browne, R Drake, C McGavin (O Mason 50), M Ellis, T Iwata
East Coast Bays: M Williams, J Edgeler, C Simmonds, P Harrison (R Ishibashi 78), M Akimana, N Gaze, M Kolston (HS Chang 78), L Andersen (L Archer 46), M Young, B Jones, GFE Penda
Goals: Western Springs: M Ellis 30, D Straffon 45pen
East Coast Bays: N Gaze 25, J Manuel Own Goal 53
Red Cards: Western Springs: R Diver 50
East Coast Bays: B Jones 45