Match Report: Round 5 vs Fencibles Utd
Dettol Northern League Round 5 Match Report: East Coast Bays vs Fencibles United, Bay City Park, Saturday 11th April 2026.
Bays eventually triumph with two injury time goals to go second in the table
After back-to-back wins over the Easter break Bays returned home to Bay City Park in a match that saw Fencibles in second take on Bays in third. After a number of players were rested for most of the Western Springs game many of them returned to the starting lineup – Cam, Ihaia, Marius, Louis & Moses – while Nick, Ben, & Harry were on the bench joined by Ryusei and for the first time this season Jack after his recent injury.
Fencibles made the better start with Clarke having a right foot shot from long range comfortably being saved by Louie. Louis played a ball down the right and Cam’s cross in was met by a shot by Marius that was blocked. Guy robbed one of the defenders of the ball and sent the ball forward to Marius but just a fraction too far ahead of him. Down the other end Munoz played the ball on to Morris and his shot was blocked. A cross in from the right-hand side by Morris was headed away by Billy. A crossfield ball was intercepted by Guy and his long-range shot saw the Fencibles keeper back tracking to clear the ball for a corner. Cam made a break down the right before exchanging passes with Guy and then saw his shot pushed away by the keeper.
A good break away by Louis saw his cross sail just over Ihaia in the middle. Gavilan played a ball inside to Morris and he set up Clarke for a right foot shot that sailed over the bar. The Fencibles keeper spent a lot of time out of his penalty box, and he was almost caught out when a long ball forward saw Cam away. Cam should have chipped the keeper, but he shot at close range with the keeper heading for him and managed to hit the keeper instead. Bays took the lead in the 21st minute when a ball into the middle was swept home by Marius to make the score East Coast Bays 1 Fencibles Utd 0.
Liam made repeated breaks down the left wing and one of his crosses was headed away under pressure. Down the other end a free kick on the left into the middle was headed clear by Jackson. A fast break by Bays saw Liam away down the left and his ball down the left saw Guy send Marius away. Marius took a couple of touches and drilled a left foot shot under the keeper into the back of the net. After twenty-seven minutes gone the score now read East Coast Bays 2 Fencibles Utd 0. Guy was shown a yellow card for what the referee deemed a dangerous tackle after he had rolled past his defender but was pulled up for a foul instead. A ball from right to left saw Ihaia cut inside his defender and sent a right foot shot straight to the keeper.
Louis sent the ball into Orlando who saw his shot spin away to safety off a defender. Fencibles were forced to make an early change with the injured Clarke being replaced by L Wessels after 35 minutes. A long throw down the right wing saw Lai-Sai away. His first shot was blocked and from the rebound his second shot was blocked for a corner. The corner was poor and comfortably headed away by Louis at the near post. Good team play involving Liam saw a ball down the far left for Marius and his cross in was eventually cleared. What looked like a foul on Billy was not given and this led to a shot by Munoz that was blocked by Jackson. A long throw in from the left was headed on by Morris and this led to a hooked shot that went wide.
The half time whistle went, and the score was East Coast Bays 2 Fencibles Utd 0. After a bright start Fencibles were caught out at the back a couple of times. But they were always threatening to get back into the game with half chances here & there. Fencibles made a change at half time with Fuller coming on for Gavilan at the back. Bays clearly were not settled straight after half time, they were guilty of repeatedly giving the ball away. A shot from Morris was just over the bar and then a ball forward on the right was headed back and Lai-Sai shot straight to Louie.
Liam intercepted another pass and sent the ball down the left to Marius. He found Orlando and he played the ball back to Liam whose shot was blocked. Orlando played the corner shot to Guy and then crossed into the middle where the keeper punched clear. Marius closed down Probert and played the ball into Orlando who had his shot blocked. Bays had a lucky escape when a long ball forward saw the defence appeal for offside to no avail. L Wessels was away, and Louie blocked his shot with his body before the ball was cleared away.
Bays made their first two changes after 58 minutes, with Ben & Nick coming on for Ihaia & Louis. Indecision in the Fencibles defence saw Cam away but a last-ditch toe poke saw the ball go behind for a Bays corner. F Wessels was lucky to stay on the field after a deliberate elbow into the face of Marius. Only a yellow card shown on this occasion. From Orlando’s free kick he played the ball sideways to Ben who had a left foot drive go around the wall but straight to the keeper. The midfield gave the ball away and L Wessels played the ball on to Morris who had his shot saved by Louie.
Ben played a ball out to the right and Cam’s cross was blocked for a corner. Fencibles clawed a goal back against the run of play. What looked like a foul on Orlando saw play continue and Morris’s shot was in the net with the help of a deflection. After 73 minutes the score now read East Coast Bays 2 Fencibles 1. Fencibles then made two more changes with Nicol & Purkis coming on for Lai-Sai and Rooney. At the same time Bays also made two changes with Jack and Ryusei coming on for Cam and Marius.
Ryusei made an instant impact when he cut inside a defender, and his left foot shot went straight to the keeper. Orlando gave away a foul and from the free kick Purkis had a shot blocked at the back post. Moses was then shown a yellow card for kicking the ball away. A ball down the right saw Jackson send in a cross that was played back at the back post and another shot blocked. Fencibles levelled the scores in the 87th minute when L Wessels was through and we squared the ball for Munoz to shoot past Louie. With three minutes of normal time to go the score was now East Coast Bays 2 Fencibles Utd 2.
A foul on Orlando saw the free kick played to the back post where Moses was penalised for a foul leading to a Fencibles free kick. Jackson then played a long ball forward from the right-hand side to the left. Nick picked up the ball, cut inside his defender to shoot and the ball rolled forward nicely for Guy to fire past the keeper. Bays had retaken the lead in the 93rd minute and the score now read East Coast Bays 3 Fencibles Utd 2. There was still enough time for yet another goal in injury time as Orlando put in a hefty tackle on one of the Fencibles players. The ball rolled forward to Ryusei, and he cut back inside his defender before sending his left foot shot expertly into the bottom corner to further Bays lead. After 96 minutes the score now read East Coast Bays 4 Fencibles Utd 2.
Shortly after all this drama, the final whistle went and to the relief of the home supporters another three points were in the bag. The final score read East Coast Bays 4 Fencibles Utd 2. Another topsy turvy game that had lots of back & forth action. Both sides showed their attacking flair and credit was due for the Fencibles fight back in the second half. A number of the home players had good, steady games and Joe’s player of the day was Liam. Congratulations to Joe on reaching his own personal milestone of one hundred East Coast Bays First team games coached and thank you for all you have done for the club. This Saturday Bays are away at Olympic Park, New Lynn, taking on Bay Olympic with a 3pm kick off. See you all there.
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Final Score: East Coast Bays 4 vs Fencibles Utd 2
East Coast Bays: L Caunter, J Jarvie, I Delaney (N Gaze 58), O Thorpe M Akimana, B Jones, M Zabarauskas (R Ishibashi 73), L Andersen, C Brown (J Caunter 73), L Wicks (B Hooper 58), GFE Penda
Fencibles Utd: S Yuasa, F Wessels, L Gavilan (J Fuller 46), J Boon, D Lai-Sai (K Nicol 73), R Munoz, R Clarke (L Wessels 35), N Rooney (A Purkis 73), C Probert, N Stoychev, D Morris
Goals: East Coast Bays: M Zabarauskas 21 & 27, GFE Penda 93, R Ishibashi 96
Fencibles Utd: D Morris 73, R Munoz 87
