Match Report: Round 9 vs Auckland City FC
Dettol Northern League Round 9 Match Report: Auckland City FC vs East Coast Bays, Kiwitea Street, Sandringham, Saturday 9th May 2026.
Bays fall to first defeat of the season in very tight battle
After a last-minute win, the previous week against Auckland FC Reserves, Bays travelled over the bridge to take on Auckland City at Kiwitea Street. Ryusei and Jack came into the starting X1 in place of Nick and James. Guy was back on the bench after resting his hamstring last week. And it was congratulations to both Nathan & Billy on playing their 50th games for the Bays First team.
City started off quickly when a cross in from the left by Doudera was headed away by Nathan before being cleared by Moses. Billy played a long ball forward and the ball was played off a defender by Ryusei for a corner. The corner in by Nathan was cleared back out to him and the next cross in was taken by the keeper under pressure from a couple of Bays players. A cross in by Doudera comes off Cam for a corner but the corner by Garriga lands on the roof of the net. A long diagonal ball by Mitchell saw Connolly beat Cam but his cross along the ground was straight to Louie. Billy played a ball out to the right to Cam who cut inside and saw his shot roll along the ground to the keeper.
Murati was a constant threat down the right wing and his cross in deflected off one of his own players in the middle for a throw in on the opposite side of the field. Great team play eventually saw a cross in from Ryusei from the right wing for Louis to pick up & turn, but he lost control of the ball. City were unlucky not to take the lead when a ball in from the right saw a deflection off Jack saved by Louie and the rebound bounced off Kilkolly straight back into Louie’s hands. Connolly & Doudera linked up down the left and set up Ilich to send a cross into the box that was cleared by Louis for a corner. A curling corner was punched clear by Louie before being cleared by Marius.
A break down the right wing saw Ryusei away before he was dragged back by the shirt then shoulder charged over the sideline by Connolly right in front of the assistant referee. Down the opposite end a foul by Nathan on Murati lead to a free kick in by Doudera saw a back heal by Murati come off Moses for a corner. A short corner was blocked and cleared.
A long ball forward to Orlando saw him make his way to the edge of the box before phizzing a cross across the face of goal. Moses played a ball out to Nathan on the left wing and his cross hit a defender and was deflected away. Ilich played a ball out to Kilkolly on the left and his low cross in went right across the box and out. City really turned up the pace & pressure in the ten minutes before half time. A cross in from the right was brought down and volleyed on the full by Kilkolly but a fine reaction save saw Louie push the rocket shot away for a corner. A cross in again from the right saw a clearance by Billy go straight to Kilkolly who shot, and another fine save saw Louie push the ball over the bar.
The half time whistle went, and Bays were relieved to head into the sheds with the score reading Auckland City 0 East Coast Bays 0. The match had been fairly evenly matched for the first thirty-five minutes, but Bays were really under the cosh in that last ten minutes of the first half.
City were straight out of the blocks after half time as a ball down the right wing saw Murati away and his cross cleared everyone in the middle. Cam played a ball on to Ryusei and he found Nathan on the left wing. He crossed and again the ball again cleared everyone. A mistake with a back pass by Foo saw the keeper clear just before Zaba got to the loose ball. A cross in from the right side by Foo was dropped by Louie but luckily for him a shot by Doudera was blocked. Manickum played a ball into Kilkolly whose left shot across Louie was pushed away for a corner. Bays made their first change in the 58th minute with Guy coming on for Ryusei who had been bashed around a fair bit.
A shot by Ilich was blocked by Moses for another City corner. Murati got to the byline and his cross across the box saw a mishit clearance by Billy go spinning out for a corner. After 65 minutes gone Bays made a second change with Nick coming on for Marius who had had an unusually quiet day by his standards. Nick chased a ball down the left wing before laying the ball back to Nathan, His cross was driven into Rostron before being cleared. Murati made another break down the right and his cross in saw Doudera turn & shoot with Louie saving low down. After 69 minutes gone City made their first change with Golding coming on for Foo. Golding made an immediate impact when a clearance from a corner fell to him just outside the box and he sent a long range shot wide. Doudera then put on a smart turn and tried a curling shot that was heading for the top corner before it clipped the crossbar. A cross in saw a shot by Manickum blocked and a second shot saved by the body of Louie.
The only goal of the game came in the 72nd minute and it was from a defensive mistake by the Bays defence. A breakdown in communication saw a pass from Billy to Cam end up in space. The loose ball was picked up by Kilkolly and he sent a left foot shot into the bottom corner past Louie. After 72 minutes the score now read Auckland City 1 East Coast Bays 0. City kept up the pressure and from a free kick by Golding Murati sent a very long range shot well over the goal as well as clearing the City clubrooms.
Garriga was then shown a yellow card for a cynical foul on Nick when he was away. Orlando played a ball out to the left wing and Nathan’s cross was blocked behind for a corner. Orlando’s corner was punched up in the air by the home keeper and this saw an air swing of a shot by Billy go out for a goal kick. Down the other end a ball from right to left by Murati to Golding saw the latter turn Cam before gaining a corner. With 83 minutes gone, Bays made two more changes with James & Ben coming on for Jack and Cam. At the same time City made a change with Bell coming on for Garriga.
Bell had only been on the pitch for less than a minute when he received a yellow card when delaying the game in taking way too long with a throw in. Kilkolly then handled a cross which led to a Bays free kick. Kilkolly was then shown a yellow card for either dissent or delaying the game. Orlando’s free kick to the back post saw James put a header into the back of a defender. Doudera was then shown a yellow card for a trip on Nick. A poor pass out by the home keeper saw Ihaia pick up the ball. He squared it to Nick who sent his shot well wide. A long ball forward almost caught out the Bays defence as Manickum was away before eventually being flagged for offside.
In the 95th minute City made their last change with Kacurov coming on for the matchwinner Kilkolly. Shortly after the final whistle was blown by the referee and City had won narrowly to end Bays unbeaten start to the season. The final score read Auckland City 1 East Coast Bays 0. A very good defensive display by Bays despite the one mistake and a number of fine saves by Louie kept Bays in the game. The only disappointment was the lack of chances created by Bays. Let’s hope we can get back on the horse next week with a home game against Eastern Suburbs at Bay City Park Number 2 field with an evening 6.00pm kick off. If selected Jack Caunter will play his 50th game for the Bays First team. See you all there.
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Final Score: Auckland City FC 1 vs East Coast Bays 0
Auckland City FC: N Garrow, M Illich, A Mitchell, N Rostron, M Doudera, G Garriga (A Bell 83), A Kilkolly (B Kacrurov 95), D Manickum, R Murati, J Foo (T Golding 68), D Connolly
East Coast Bays: L Caunter, N Maisey, R Ishibashi (GFE Penda 58), I Delaney, O Thorpe, M Akimana, B Jones, M Zabarauskas (N Gaze 65), C Brown (B Hooper 83), L Wicks, J Caunter (J Edgeler 83)
Goals: Auckland City FC: A Kilkolly 72