Match Report: Round 22 vs Birkenhead United
Northern League Round 22 Match Report: East Coast Bays vs Birkenhead Utd, Bay City Park, Saturday 31st August 2024.
Gritty & Determined win sees EC Bays safe in the Northern Premier League
Bays returned home to play the last game of the regular season against local rivals Birkenhead Utd after the disappointing loss away to Melville the previous Saturday. With Louie back from his overseas travels, he returned in goal, which meant his able deputy Mikey Williams was back on the bench. Logan started in the centre of defence alongside James, Will switched from left wing back to right wing back, and Billy played in midfield alongside Moses & Nick. This game was extremely important as it was win at all costs to stay in the top league.
With quite a lot at stake, and in front of a large, vocal home crowd, Bays started off very quickly. A free kick in from the right saw the cross cleared before Billy had a left foot shot blocked. No sooner had this happened then the ball was in the back of the net in a flash. A ball crossed in from the left wing was met by a first-time left foot shot by Malcolm that flew past the keeper right into the corner of the net. The home crowd were celebrating but initially the assistant referee had his flag up. Referee Nick Waldron went over to consult with his assistant and the goal was finally awarded to the joy of the home crowd. After only two minutes gone the score was EC Bays 1 Birkenhead Utd 0.
Bays then had a lucky escape when a corner from the left was met with a firm header by Cromb. But the header went over when he should have probably done better with that chance. Bays then had a corner that was only just cleared at the back, with James threatening a header on goal. An attempted cross down the other end was blocked by Logan for a corner, that was then cleared away safely. A long ball was allowed to bounce and a missed clearance by James saw Hughes nip in and chip the ball over both Louie and luckily the crossbar. A defensive foul led to a break down the right which saw a cross pushed away by Louie, before it was cleared.
A long throw in on the right by Will was headed on by Liam and as he was trying to shoot Malcolm looked like he was fouled. No free kick was given and the danger on Birko’s goal was averted. The next corner saw Birko’s goalkeeper get a firm punch on the ball away from James who was lurking to head home if he missed. Will was making a number of great runs down the right wing. One run saw the ball played forward to Guy who then played it on to Liam. Unfortunately, just as he was steadying to shoot Liam slipped and then Cromb put in a great block tackle. Nick was getting more involved in the game and one of his through balls was just out of reach of Malcolm as the keeper came out just in time to intercept. Malcolm then went on a mazy run but blazed over when he closed in on goal.
Bays doubled their lead in the 38th minute when a long ball forward bounced over a defender’s attempted clearance and Guy was there at the back post to tuck a left foot shot into the bottom corner with a very smart finish to make the score EC Bays 2 Birkenhead Utd 0. While there was an inquest in Birko’s defence Nabenu was shown a yellow card for dissent. A few minutes later Logan was shown a yellow card for a foul on Botica. Just before half time a free kick by McArthur saw Louie put in strong punch away, before a foul was called on the Bays skipper.
The half time whistle went, and Bays were well worth their 2-0 lead at the break. Apart from a couple of early scares most of the play in the first half was around the Birko goal. Birko coach Paul Hobson made multiple changes at half time with four substitutes coming on. Palmer, Lindsay, Piper & Taylor all came on in the 46th minute. Straight after half time Guy played the ball forward to Liam. He played the ball out wide to Malcolm who spotted Will running inside him. Malcolm squared the ball to Will, and he let fly with a powerful left foot shot that Rodic did well to save with a full-length diving save.
Bays increased their lead even further in the 48th minute with a fine team goal. The ball was picked up in midfield and after a few exchanges of passes Nick stepped forward into the box and fired a fine right foot shot under the keeper to make the score EC Bays 3 Birkenhead Utd 0. A foul by Logan just outside the box saw a Birko free kick. Patterson lined this up and after the Bays defenders jumped up in the air Patterson shot under the wall along the ground all the way through to Louie. Piper was very lively after coming on at half time and a lot of Birko’s play went through him. Malcolm gave the ball away cheaply and Piper was away before sending a long range shot just wide.
Malcolm was injured and that led to the first Bays change with Ryusei coming on for him in the 58th minute. Being three down Birko stepped it up as you would expect them to do. A cross in from the right saw a left foot volley go wide from Brown. Louie then made the save of the match. A Birko free kick was met with a full-blooded header in the centre of the penalty box and Louie was at full stretch to push the ball on to the crossbar for a brilliant save. Billy was then shown a yellow card for alleged time wasting. Guy then played in Liam who saw his right foot shot saved at point blank range by a very busy Rodic. The corner by Will went to the back post where it was cleared away.
Birkenhead made their last change in the 71st minute with Stoychev coming on for Cromb. A minute later Bays brought on Orlando & Mikey K who came on for Liam and Nick (who was awarded a standing ovation for his fine performance and the killer third goal that almost certainly killed off the game). Guy was still full of running as he robbed the Birko defence and set off. Guy passed on to Will who shot left footed only for Rodic to make a great recovery dive to save the score line blowing out even further. Guy was then shown a yellow card for a foul and Palmer’s free kick was easily cleared away from danger.
The game was still fairly open and there was still plenty of time to play. A Birko corner saw an unmarked Piper head straight down into the ground and straight to Louie. Guy was then fouled, and Callum’s free kick into the penalty area was easily collected by Rodic. Bays then made their last change with Peter coming on for Guy in the 80th minute and Guy was also given a standing ovation for his fine all-round game. This meant all of Bays regular attackers were off the pitch which meant Will was pushed forward and there were a few rare sightings of Callum in the penalty area. Peter was fouled just outside the box and Moses tried his luck with the free kick that sailed well over the goal.
Ryusei was then shown a yellow card for not retreating ten yards from a free kick. Birko were still trying to find a way through the resolute Bays defence and after a cross in from Brown there was a right footed volley wide by Palmer. The final whistle went, and Bays had deservedly won this crucial survival game 3-0 against Birkenhead Utd. Bays had finished the season with possibly their best performance of the whole season. With Melville & Manurewa both losing this meant Bays finished 9th in the league so they were safe and also avoided the playoff game with Manukau FC. Congrats to Joe and the team for managing to stay up in our first season back in the Northern League top division after a topsy turvy season. Logan was named Bays player of the day and all the best to Logan as he heads overseas for a couple of years. Well, that’s it for another season. I hope all of you have enjoyed the match reports over the 2024 season, and I look forward to hopefully reporting for you all again next season. Enjoy the off season and all the best.
Final Score: East Coast Bays 3 vs Birkenhead United 0
East Coast Bays: L Caunter, J Edgeler, C Simmonds, M Akimana, N Gaze (O Thorpe 72), W Stephen, L Andersen (M Kolston 72), M Young (R Ishibashi 58), L Archer, B Jones, G-F E Penda (P Harrison 80)
Birkenhead Utd: S Rodic, E O’Leary, D Botica, A Cromb, T Putt, L Jorgensen, M Patterson, G Brown, S Nabenu, A McArthur, C Hughes
Subs: M Palmer + C Lindsay + C Piper + J Taylor 46, N Stoychev 70
Goals: EC Bays: M Young 2, G-F E Penda 38, N Gaze 48
Unofficlal attendance: 108,755
Photo credit: Kelly Rose
