Island Bay United AFC

Saturday's game against Miramar was a game played for pride more than anything else, as our Capital One side had to win (and well) to give them any chance of remaining in the league that they had played so well last season to be promoted into.

This, coupled with players away, suspended, or simply having vanished, meant our normal first team squad was depleted, giving a great chance to some younger players to get in some Senior first team football. The weather was great, and possibly even too much of a change to what we've become used to playing in this year. The water bottles were definitely given a pounding.

This was certainly a game of two halves. The first ended 0-0, and though there were more chances than the scoreline suggests, it wasn't really even worth talking about, although Dave did have to make one really good save to keep us level.

In the second half both teams knew time was running out, and as the heat began to take it's toll, gaps were appearing for both teams to exploit. Dave wasn't able to gather in a dangerous corner from Miramar, and after 4 or 5 players smashing the ball at each other from 2 yards out, the ball ended up over the line, and gave Miramar the lead they had been hunting for.

We continued to probe for a goal, and pulled the lead back after Ian Paterson crossed a superb ball over the heads of the defense where all I had to do was head the ball on target (something which I wish I had been able to do more often this season).

A draw wasnt on the cards for either team, and as we pushed forward to get our winner, Miramar continued to pressure our defense. For the most part we dealt with them neatly enough, and turned defense into quick attacks.

We brought our super striker (Anthony Volpicelli) on for his 50th Cap with about 10 minutes to go, but unfortunately most of the action from then on was at the other end. Good support from their players outside our box finally worked for them, and an unmarked player slotted the ball home from the edge of the area to give them the lead again. We were still committed to getting something out of the game, but were simply missing the killer ball into their box to run on to.

With time running out a ball over the top was caught by one of their players who then managed to round Dave. I was sure he would put the ball in himself, but he actually passed the ball to another player (who was by now a flaming football pitch offside) to stub in from 3 yards, killing the game off and leaving us scratching our heads in frustration, and with our 6th loss of the season.

All in all, Miramar probably deserved the points, but it's always disappointing to come out of a game feeling the referees had a hand in the result.

The three College lads we had certainly never looked out of place, and I think they all should be proud of the performances they put in. It would be nice to think that they will become permanent Island Bay players once they leave college, and don't give the game away like so many do once school is out.

Island Bay's Premier season is over and pending the outcome of Stop Out's 3 catch up games (they have to win 2 of them) we'll either place 4th or 5th. If Tawa win their remaining game at home to Kapiti, they'll sew up the league with Karori probably coming 2nd (they only need 2 points from 3 games).

A special thanks to all the spectators who came to watch during 2009, and Island Bay will certainly endeavour to provide even more, (and hopefully winning) footballing spectacles next season.

Shark Attack!

Labels: away, lost, miramar, premier

Saturday's game against Naenae was as disappointing as being I.D'd in a bar at 30 years old, only to find you left your Driver's license in the car.

The game was moved from Naenae 1 (which looked like it had been subject to an archaeological dig, and then refilled with earth) to Naenae 2, which was at least green.

Naenae could have taken the lead within ten seconds (yes, seconds) of kickoff, as a hopeful punt forward from the kickoff, held up on the soggy ground for their striker to run onto to, however his final touch saw the ball sail away off target.

We settled down into a rhythm (somewhat) and played some really great football in places. Mostly though, the final touch was letting us down, and our desire to play flick and backheel stuff was almost always cut out by the determined Naenae players.

A flash move down our left flank was flicked on by a near death Ian Paterson, and missed by my marker as he tried to make contact before the ball got to me. With a nice touch (for a change) I was slightly out from the box with the ball neatly positioned in front of me and no Naenae players nearby. A hard, low drive saw the ball curl into the net and give us the lead around the 10 minute mark.

Naenae were only really dangerous when the ball made it to their Striker, who caused us problems with his great touch. We had numerous shots and corners which we couldn't put away, not to mention two great one-on-ones from Lucci and Ian, before we had stopped for half-time.

The soggy ground was making us tired, and our midfield were having to cover a lot of ground in order to close down a resilient Naenae team. I'm sure that the dismal prospect of relegated in their first Premier year was motivating them to play for every ball, and why not!

The second half was more of the same. Scores of shots at goal, mostly on target as well, were repelled by the Naenae Keeper, who was having such a great game that he was even holding onto strikes which I've seen Premier League Keepers have no chance over, so I'm glad he was their man of the match. In Particular, a volley by Jody could not have missed the top left hand corner, but the keeper didn't just reach it and parry it around the post, no, he caught it!

We never look comfortable with a one goal lead, and with good reason. In the 83rd minute, a hopeful ball and the close proximity of Attackers put Musso under pressure at the back, and as he headed the ball back to Dave in goal, he hadn't seen that Dave had initially come for the ball and then thought better of it, only to watch the ball lobbing over his head and into the net, despite getting a hand to it.

The last minutes saw us push the ball forward as fast as possible, and a great run in to the box by Jody looked like it would give us the lead back, but unfortunately he shot wide (real wide huh Jody? :P) and with it our chance of regaining the lead (albeit momentarily).

The rest of the weekends results meant that 10 points still separate the top 6 spots, but with only got two games left to close a four point gap on Tawa, who also have a game in hand, you could say it's going to be tough. Another way to look at it might be "We're up "insert appropriate expletive" creek without a paddle."

This weekend, Miramar have finally donated enough to Capital Football's coffers for them to be granted a Sunday game, on Miramar Park. Thanks must apparantly go to their first side playing Chatham Cup on Saturday at Home, and their Women's team playing at Home on Sunday as well. Oh well, we're used to sh*t pitches anyway, and Island Bay will play on, despite our teams staunch religious "No Play on the Lord's day" views.

Shark Attack!

Labels: away, drew, naenae, premier

Apologies for not getting this report out sooner, but it was difficult to get the events of Saturdays game clear.

It was a beautiful day at Weka Park and the ground was also perfect. Something we definitely aren't used to enjoying.

It's fair to say that we began the game in dis-array. Our midfield was pushing up too high too often, and the bounce of the ball wasn't going our way, allowing them to pick up loose balls in the vacant gaps and pressure our defense.

We got a penalty, somehow, and as normal Richard Steel made no mistake. Minutes later a foul by us led to a freekick, which was taken in a new style, on the bounce. A perfect ball out wide gave their winger some time to line up, and beat, his man. As our defense scrambled to cover, the guy delivered a pin point pass to an unmarked attacker, calmly slotting the ball past our keeper to square the game up.

Much frivality and laughter ensued for the rest of the half, with numerous fouls, insults and curious decisions keeping both teams intrigued.

The second half carried on in much the same vein, until a superb cross was met by Steve Davey, who controlled the ball AND beat his player with his first touch, before slotting the ball into the corner of the goal, giving us the go ahead goal.

Kapiti were in no mood to lose points, and fought tooth and nail to get back into the game, while we pushed to kill the game off with a third goal.

Scott was sent off after a mistimed header hit a Kapiti player instead, so we played on with ten men. Minutes later, when their tall timber at the back elbowed Jamie Milne's nose open, we were reduced to nine.

Thankfully, before we ran out of players, David Rutherford had heroically headed the ball over their keeper and into the corner of the goal, after just getting back onto his feet from a prior horrendous challenge aimed at his head.

Eventually, time ran out and we had won, but it was not a pretty match, nor was it an example of how we want to play. Kudos to all of our players for sticking to their tasks for the whole 90 minutes, even though it wasn't panning out according to plan.

Another 3 points puts more pressure on the top teams, and hopefully we'll win this weeks home game against Upper Hutt, widening the gap between us and some other teams.

Shark Attack!

Labels: away, kapiti, premier, won

Firstly, on behalf of the Premier Team and it's Management, we express our sincerest and deepest condolences to Jamie Milne and his family, as they farewell his father.

Bruce lost his battle with Cancer early on Saturday morning.

About the game:

What can I say? A week after receiving a mauling at the hands of Tawa, and we were a completely different team. Sure, we still conceded our standard early soft goal, but it didn't faze us.

Against Lower Hutt, we almost became South American's. We were simply going to score more than the other team did. It's called self-belief, and yesterday we played like a unit who believed in one another from the first whistle until the last, and it was magic!

15 minutes in, Lower Hutt's striker finished well with a lobbed header over a stranded keeper, after the Ref told us to stand still while he talked to one of our players, but then let Lower Hutt take the free kick early anyway. That was interesting.

We fought back by playing the ball out wide to both of our wingers, and were unlucky several times to be flagged back by the linesman for offside, as both wingers were destroying their markers. Mo Terlau latched onto a neat cross from Steve Davey (after Steve left the right back doing spinning dance moves) and scored from close range to level the game up.

Steve smashed one in only to be declared offside yet again, and Mo helped a ball which was running alongside him in with his hands, receiving a bright yellow card for his troubles.

At the other end, Lower Hutt scored again when a great save by Dave Plowright landed sweetly to one of their players who then slammed home through a crowded defence, seeing us into the break 2-1 down on the score sheet.

Plenty of chat in the changing rooms proved that we didn't believe the scoreline correctly reflected the game at all, and we were determined to switch the result around in our favour during the second half.

The first 20 minutes of the second half was all Island Bay. We pushed Lower Hutt as far back as possible, with them only being able to play on the counter. Steve was put through on goal by a deflection, and tucked the ball away from an acute angle to level the score up at 2-2.

Lower Hutt tried to come back, but at this point Pedro Garcia was their only real attacking option and he was having to make the plays as well, dropping deeper and deeper to pick up the ball in midfield.

Another great run by Steve gave him some space to cross the ball into the box, and Ian Paterson's magic left foot smashed the volley into the far corner, giving us the lead for the first time, with 15 minutes to go.

It was slightly disappointing to see us revert to kicking the ball away in the last spell rather than holding onto possession, and forcing Lower Hutt into more defensive mistakes, but despite their attempts to draw level, they ran out of time, and the game ended 3-2, seeing us back in winning form, and giving us a much needed 3 points!

In other important games, No. 1 Tawa played No. 2 Miramar (Miramar won 1-0, which sees them take the No.1 spot) and 4th placed Stop Out drew 2-2 with 5th placed Upper Hutt, giving Island Bay back 5th Place on the ladder, and yet only 1 win shy of 1st place.

Karori (presently in 4th) are really still in the driving seat though, with 2 games in hand, as they played Palmerston North End in the Chatham Cup, coming from behind to win 3-2 in Extra Time and getting them through to Round 4.

This weekend we play host to Stop Out, in another six point game which is sure to produce fireworks!

Shark Attack!

Labels: away, lower hutt, premier, won

Our Saturday trip away to Karori proved just why Wellington needs Artificial Grounds and fast. Unfortunately, this Karori Park is Wellington's latest pitch, and what a waste of money it's proving to be.

I'm sure it's great during Summer, when Mums and Dads can happily stroll their Prams across the park to the cafe and playground, but it's not much chop when you need a snorkel to kick off and it's only halfway through the season.

I digress....And I suppose I digress because we lost. And, we lost because we aren't a flipping water polo team.

Actually, we lost because while we played some good football in patches, and some great football in others, we made 3 poor choices at the back, and weren't able to penetrate at the front often enough to even get shots on target. Add to that a double line clearance (first by the keeper, and the follow up a point blank header by a defender) in the first half which would have seen us take the lead, and two awesome saves by Karori's keeper which might have seen us draw level, and what does it all equal?

It equals us, still on 15 points, still in fourth place, but letting Karori join Stop Out for first, as they drew with Wests 1-1.

Monday sees us host a resurgent Kapiti team, who, after being on the receiving end of several hidings, (7-0, 8-0 and 8-1 I believe) turned up and unleashed hell on Lower Hutt, pounding them 8-0. We will have to dig deep if we are to get anything out of this long weekend except influenza. Happy birthday Queenie......

In other games Karori play Tawa in the Cup, and Stop Out face Wellington United's top team, meaning that all the teams above us will have a game in hand. Upper Hutt will host Naenae, and Miramar's second team will mirror it's First team, playing Wests, although not in the Cup....

Shark Attack!

Labels: away, karori, lost, premier

On Saturday, 3rd (Us) played 4th (Upper Hutt) and 1st (Tawa) played 2nd (Stop Out) so we knew it was possibly a good chance to get our noses clear in front, providing we focused our attention of defeating an always strong Upper Hutt team.

It did not start well.

It wasn't that we were lethargic, which we weren't. It wasn't that we weren't well prepared, which we were. It just seems to be that we can't settle and get comfortable with the game until we give away a soft goal.

Unfortunately, it didn't help when in the first five minutes I was put through with a superb, defense splitting pass, only to smash it into the Keeper's legs. It felt like only seconds later when Dave Plowright couldn't contain a shot and one of Upper Hutt's players had it in the back of our net - after Dave had tried valiantly to parry his first stab at goal. As anyone who has been to Upper Hutt's home ground can appreciate, the gallery went nuts!

Luckily Upper Hutt's defense were also in goal gifting mood's and one of their centre backs attempted to "back" head the ball to his own keeper from the edge of the box, while the keeper was unfortunately still on his line. This left me to run around the defender and head the ball into the net over the Keeper's flailing arms, evening up the game.

In true Wellington v Hutt style, the game often reflected the movie "Bloodsport" with high kicks, low kicks, side kicks, back kicks, jersey pulling and all sorts keeping the Referee busy. This is however (and despite what anyone might say or think) a contact sport, and as such, will always have some physical elements to it. Neither side backed down, and this made it a good match to be involved in, and to watch as well, I believe.

At times we played some beautiful, fluent and pacey football, which was impressive enough to draw some claps from our own players. These times did not eventuate in goals though, and we entered halftime deadlocked.

More of the same followed in the second half. Upper Hutt played lots of long balls out to their hopeful front men, but it was not a performance which saw much continuity from their midfield, thankfully. Island Bay, on the other hand, looked dangerous on attack, except whenever we lost the ball during a counter attack........

We finally broke the game open when I latched onto a nice ball over their defense and squared it inside to Ian Patterson (who had made a fantastic run inside :)) who bet his marker on the six yard line and then squeezed the ball under the keeper and onto a poor defender, who could only smash the ball into the roof of the net, making it 2-1.

We all thought it was going to be a shooting fest when their Keeper had to retire injured and their subbed on Striker donned the gloves, but I don't remember any of us having a shot on target from then on, so we must have been busy defending our lead. Credit must then go to Upper Hutt, who never gave up, and are going to be a team which hopefully make life very hard for other teams.

Stop Out are our new league leaders on goal difference (over us), after coming from a goal down to Tawa in the first half to runaway with the game 4-1. Elsewhere, Miramar defeated Kapiti Coast United, just (8-0!!!), Naenae bet Lower Hutt 1-0 and Karori won 2-0 over Wests.

This weekend sees Island Bay back home for 3 weeks, after 4 weeks on the road (I thought games were supposed to be Home and Away, Home and Away????), firstly taking on Naenae, then Miramar's first team in Chatham Cup play, before having another run in with Miramar, but this time Miramar's Capital Premier Team.

Go Sharks!

Labels: away, premier, upper hutt, won

On Saturday Island Bay boarded the bus, ready for the long haul trip to Marist's Kilbirne Park, for our first Chatham Cup tie of 2009. How ironic we should draw Marist first up. A derby for sure, and it was a beautiful still day. Just perfect for kickball! :)

We knew we were in for a tough match against Marist, who would be looking to put on a good show and prove that their Premier relegation last season was more bad luck than poor performances. They started better than we did, moving the ball around quickly amongst lots of showing players meant that Island Bay's defense was forced to shift smartly if we were to plug all the holes.

An unfortunate dipping cross from a Marist player outwitted the outstretched arms of our Keeper, and we were down a goal before we could settle into our style of play.

We did settle down though and began to play some football in the dying moments of the first half, but Marist's players were on a high and determined not to let their lead slip. Both teams made chances, but neither could complete that final killer ball in the first 45. 1-0 at halftime.

We had hoped that Marist would tire in the second half, and continued to probe their defense looking for a breakthrough, which finally came in the last 15 minutes of the game, when a desperate lunge from Marist to clear the ball out of the 6 yard box was ruled handball and up stepped Richard Steel, to calmly (as always) SMASH it into the corner.

1-1 at Full time meant playing extra time, which, given a late start time, almost meant night soccer, without lights.

It seemed we were set for penalties, as neither team could turn any of their build up play into goals, when Mr Paul Muollo decided it was up to him as Captain/President to put us through to the next round, first using his fabled left foot to poke the ball goal ward from 4 yards, then using his slightly less fabled right foot to smash the ball into the roof of the net, making the score 2-1, and setting up an easy cup tie against Miramar Rangers (Winners of this, that, and everything else at some stage) on 16/17 May.

We'll be at home on Shark Park, and you can guarantee Island Bay will do their best to come out on top despite their underdog status.

Go Sharks!

Labels: away, chatham cup, marist, won

Sundays match report for the match against Western Suburbs is summed up using imagery, as most of my written text would most likely have been censored.



For those of you who did not participate at the pictionary world champs.
[Down 2, 10 Men after, 5 minutes = A POUNDING]

It was a tough ask of the ten players left on the pitch to hold a bottom placed team who were desperate for points, and at home for 85 minutes of football.

The remaining guys ALL showed a gutsy determination to keep a point at the very least, but after Wests had scored one [typically, we had just nearly scored at the other end], we had no choice but to chase the game, and this resulted in being caught out twice more as Wests extra man advantage told in the last twenty minutes of the second half.

The League is now even closer than before, with Tawa and Stop Out joining Island Bay at the top of the table.

This weekend is a Chatham Cup round, with Island Bay playing Marist away at Kilbirnie Park

Go Sharks!

Labels: away, lost, western suburbs

Easter Monday came around all too quick for my liking, considering only 48 hours prior we'd had a physical encounter against a youthful Lower Hutt side. Still, it's the same for both sides, and both Stop Out and Island Bay turned up at Hutt Park Raceway determined to put in a good showing despite the windy weather.

We started in to the wind, and tried to play Football by keeping the ball on the deck. We took some time to get into our flow, but once we had settled down, we played some great football in difficult conditions.

Ian Paterson reacted quickly to a soft clearance off a Richard Steele super throw, superbly rifling the ball in the top left hand corner (over several defenders), only to be (somehow) denied by the linesman's flag.

Stop Out began to use the wind to good effect, slotting nice balls in between our defense, and we were saved several times by last minute desperation tackles, great saves from David Plowright, and some poor finishing.

With about 10 minutes to go before half time, Ian Paterson decided to step up his game, and bet 3 players on his way down Stop Out's Goal line, before slipping the ball back for Luciano Colucci to slot in the near corner from 10 yards out.

At half time, we were convinced having the wind behind us was worth at least a goal but were still conscience that Stop Out would be all out to tie up the game, and accordingly, both teams battled end to end until Stop Out went down to 10 men after a straight red for a tripping off the ball (but in front of the Ref :S).

Even down to 10 men, Stop Out played some great football which had us stretched all over Hutt Park, and might have evened the scoreline, had it not been for the great attitudes and commitment shown by all of the Island Bay players.

Several sets of fresh legs came on from both teams, but it was a cross into the box which saw substitute Mo Terlau fouled and let Richard Steel notch up his 2nd from the spot in 3 games to give us some breathing room. The game ended at 2-0, and sees Island Bay take up a 3 point lead on the league ladder after 3 games.

Lots of the 2009 season left, and 10 hungry teams looking to win the league, so it'll be a tough ask to maintain first place for the next 15 games. I trust (And Expect!!!) Island Bay to show their character, take nothing for granted, and front up to every game with 100% commitment to walk away with 3 points, while enjoying playing good football at the same time.

This week we are playing away at Western Suburbs, and as such will play on SUNDAY out at Endeavour Park.

Go Sharks!

Labels: away, stop out, won

On Saturday Island Bays Premier squad had a show down with Tawa, who were going to come out onto Redwood Park fresh off a Hilton Cup Final win, and looking to avenge their 2008 season (we won and drew with them which hampered their push for 1st place).

In blustery condition, neither team could dominate, with possession, and composure, swinging both ways constantly during both halves of play.

Numerous offsides, and slicing clearances by both teams re-iterated that it was the first game of the season. Each team tested the keepers a few times, but we entered half time locked at 0-0.

In the second half, Island Bay seemed to cope well with Tawa's re-invigorated attacking prowess, and created many chances of our own, just lacking the final killer ball in Tawa's final third. It seemed the game was destined for a draw, but then a deft cross was met well by one of the Tawa players, and it took a line clearance by Mike Jessitt to keep Island Bay's head above water.

A few substitutes later, and into the final ten minutes, a dangerous through ball to David Rutherford was met with a clumsy sliding tackle, leading to a spot kick for Richard Steel to smash into the corner in his usual calm style, finally breaking the deadlock.

Tawa's late push for a draw in the dying minutes tested the resolve of the Island Bay defensive system, but it was not to be Tawa's day, and the Referee blew full time at 96 minutes to a joyous victory cry from the Squad and Bay Faithful!

Next weekend is Easter, with Island Bay hosting Lower Hutt City on Saturday, and playing away to league newcomers Stop Out on Monday. Come and show your support as we try and win six more points!

Go Sharks!

Labels: away, tawa, won

A beautiful sunny Sunday on a mostly pristine Endeavour Park invited both Island bay and Western Suburbs to play some great football, rather than the game of Kick Mud that has plagued our football for most of the '08 season.

The game was played end to end for 90 minutes, with both sides enjoying lots of possession and showing some great skills. Island Bay looked very strong for long periods, with our revamped side working hard to create space and support for one another.

West's Central Leaguers showed why they've been brought down to try and keep West's second team in our grade, with Darren Cheriton, Rupert Ryan, Jonathan Rowe, and Jon Harahap and Sam Peters controlling Wests outfield play, while Jake Gleeson in goal consistantly stopped Island Bays goal bound shots, including a spectacular reflex save to deny a certain own goal deflection in the first half.

West's played too much long ball in the first half, fell over the heads of the defenders and left Chemo to comfortably mop up, but they looked dangerous when the ball was played into the space between our Midfield and Defense as the Wests attack dropped deep to pick up the ball and turn with time.

Island Bay played out from the back through MJ, Nate and Milky, with all three combining to play several great one-twos up the field before offloading to Hicham in the middle, or out wide to Lucci and Benn who constantly bet their markers and whipped in some nice crosses.

The second half was more of the same, but eventually Rupert Ryan's work rate and finishing skills paid off after a hopeful lobbed cross wasn't dealt with effectively enough, and he whipped around his marker to slot home from 8 yards despite Chemo getting a good hand to it.

If Wests had after match speeches it would have been hard not to reward their goalie with MOM, even if Rupert did get them all 3 points in the finish, while our MOM went to Oliver Davie, who did a great job defending the speedy Jon Rowe on the right wing while also managing to support our attack for the full 90.

This weekend is the finale of Island Bay's Premier season, playing Upper Hutt at Wakefield Park with a win needed to secure them third place.

Go Sharks!

Labels: away, lost, premier, western suburbs

Up 1-0 within 2 minutes, only to be 2-1 down at half-time and absolutely thrashed 8-3 at the end of 90 minutes by a waterside team desperate to stay up, and who's commitment to that task, coupled with some great touches constantly overpowered our midfield and defense and led to some great goals (for them).

It was a sad way to farewell Petero from NZ football in '08, but the coaches, club and particularly the players who played alongside him, wish him all the best for the future and feel privileged to have been able to play alongside him during his short time here.

We hope that the few people who made Petero's life in NZ extremely difficult do not linger in his memory too long and are quickly replaced with all the good reasons why the rest of us stay in the country and also play our football in NZ: good friends, good living standards, and a guaranteed right to be kept free from persecution, entrapment and extortion.

On Saturday we play Upper Hutt in our last home game of the season, where we'll look to get some dignity back and make up for our last HORRIBLE performance.

Go Sharks!

Labels: away, karori, lost, notices, premier

Island Bay Premier faced off against Tawa on Saturday, hoping to walk away from Redwood Park with 3 points, edge away from Tawa on the table and in the process apply some much needed pressure on Wairarapa.

Upon arriving at Redwood, we were told the pitch was flooded, the ref had gone to Kura Park to see what that was like, and that Capital Football wanted the game played!! (Tawa had already had 2 whole games postponed which meant the football was just going to have to suffer!) The ref returned, and told us we were on our way to Kura Park as it was much better. Somehow we lost a linesman on the way, so a spectator was given the job of waving a flag around on the sideline, and being overruled for 90 minutes. A contract I'm sure he's still bragging about winning.

The Pitch might have been better that Redwood, but it was still absolutely destroyed within ten minutes of kickoff, with both teams finding it difficult to play any kind of football, and guilty of the occasional late, sliding tackle.

Island Bay looked a little shaky in defense playing against the wind in the first half, for while they coped with Tawa's long balls adequately enough, they struggled to get the ball out of defense and find their own players feet.

At the other end their keeper was giving a man of the match performance, saving a number of shots from our attack, including one which looked to be well over the line. Lucci finally broke the deadlock, slamming a ball into the side netting despite the keepers best efforts to get over to it.

Minutes later Tawa drew level, with a Tawa "Super Sub" scoring a once in a lifetime volley over Dave's head from an acute angle. I'm sure he'll tell his kids (or any one's kids for that matter) about it later on in life and it was good enough that I think he's totally entitled to. Score 1-1 at the break.

Both teams came out after the half looking to get something out of the game. We looked the more attacking of the two sides, and attacked Tawa down the flanks, trying to get the ball away from the middle of the pitch (The Bog). Midway into the the half, a poor clearance from Tawa was headed back down the flank, Lucci turned his man inside out, then delivered a pin point ball to Hicham's Feet. Hicham, with his back to goal, somehow hypnotised his marker into diving out of the way, so he could promptly pivot and slot the ball into the corner.

Again, minutes later, Tawa drew level again when the "Super Sub" had a ball played in between Lee and Petero for him to muscle his way onto and slot home despite an honourable attempt by Dave to keep us in front.

Fearful that if we kept scoring, the final outcome could be 10-10, we decided to just keep coming close to scoring instead, thus ensuring Tawa and the "Super Sub" wouldn't keep scoring come back goals.

The game ended in Wairarapa's favour, a 2-2 draw between 2nd and 3rd place letting them get a further two points out in front (as they downed Upper Hutt 2-0).

This week we play Waterside Karori at their new Whitby Ground (Adventure Park), and here's hoping that the team show the same gritty determination as they did against Tawa, with perhaps a little more concentration and finesse (Ground and Weather permitting)

Side Note: The Ref had a great game.

Go Sharks!

Labels: away, drew, premier, tawa

Last Saturday we faced Kapiti United, and found that the 1 hour trip away had been reduced to a trip to Whitby as Kapiti Council had closed all their grounds.

Despite both teams essentially having an away game, we knew from our last encounter with them that it would be a hard fought game played for the full 90 minutes. Injuries and Ground closures had disrupted our preparation during the week, but we were determined to put this past us and keep to our winning ways.

We did not start well though, and the first half belonged to Kapiti who put pressure on us at the back by pumping high balls forward which were lost in the sun until the last minute. Their striker proved to be extremely dangerous, hitting the crossbar, and forcing Dave P to make some fantastic saves to keep the sheet clean.

We weren't creating much, but one excursion forward saw Benn Florence slot one home against the run of play, bringing us into halftime 1-0 up and very relieved to get into the break ahead.

Calm heads were going to be needed to get the three points, and in the second half Kapiti pushed us all to the limits, sending many players forward and pressuring us for every inch of space around the park when we had the ball. They hit the post, sent a few wide, and did everything except score.

The Kapiti faithful made for an interesting and noisy sideline, egging their team on at every opportunity, but unfortunately perhaps they pushed too hard, getting one of their players so worked up that he was given a straight red for molesting our Keeper, and that in turn relieved some of the pressure on our back line.

Near full time, one of our fast counter attacks finally paid off, when Petero ran 80 metres out of our defense to receive a good ball, smash a great shot which the keeper could only parry and Zac buried it from one yard to end the game 2-0.

Full respect to Kapiti United who forced us to battle for each of the 90 minutes on the park, and kudos to our guys, who put in a gutsy performance and proved that we can still win games when our brand of football might not be flowing freely as we'd like.

This weekend sees us hosting Wairarapa in what could decide how the season will go for both teams. They've handed us our only loss of the season so far, and Island Bay will be looking to set the record straight.

Go Sharks!

Labels: away, kapiti, premier, won

The start of the second round meant we played Lower Hutt out at Fraser Park, in what we hoped was going to be a continuation of our winning ways and the start of us winning away from home, which we had failed to do in the first round, coming away with three draws and a loss.

We were a little unstable to begin with, the ball wasn't sitting right, the passes weren't flowing and we didn't seem to have much spring in our steps, but that all changed when we started putting interlinking passes together in dangerous areas, overpowering the Lower Hutt defence and getting in behind, around and through them at almost every opportunity.

The First half romp was started by Benn sliding the ball past the stalled keeper, then Hicham scored twice (once from the Spot) Zac scored again with his head, and then Benn got his brace before the 45 minutes was up. Lower Hutt did score through a corner when a Lower Hutt player "helped" the ball on towards the far post using Maradona's famous "Hand of god" technique for an unmarked player to head home, but in reality we had them dead and buried at the half time whistle.

The referee's disappeared for a quick tea break, only to come back after half an hour (so we can assume they had scones aswell) and restarted the match. Lower Hutt's frustration was showing more and more, with tackles becoming more focused on players than the ball, and as is always the case with being up by lots of goals at half time, the whole Island Bay team decided to play as individuals and get themselves on the score sheet aswell. Naturally neither of this was good for our football, and our game degraded dramatically.

So dramatically in fact that Lower Hutt won the second half 1-0, one of their players finally finishing off after we'de made two or three poor clearance attempts inside our box.

Although our second half performance was poor, and lacked any enthusiam or passion whatsoever, our first half performance was great. We got our first win away from home, and as Tawa were turned over by Upper Hutt 2-1, we now sit perched on top of the table with 21 points from a possible 30 [though Tawa 19 and Wairarapa 18 have a game in hand each].

This weekend we play Marist at home where we'll look to improve on our 1-1 draw with them in the last round, and keep our noses in front at the top of the league ladder.

Go Sharks!

Labels: away, lower hutt, premier, won

Island Bay's Chatham Cup hopes were going to be tough to realise after drawing Western Suburbs away [2006 Chatham Cup Winners, 2007 Chatham Cup Runners Up and 2007 Central League Winners] and were only made tougher by the torrential rain and water logged pitch.

Despite the draw, the weather and the pitch, it was business as usual in the changing rooms, and the squad were brimming with confidence. We started off a lot better than our Upper Hutt encounter, but the pitch conditions turned the game into a comedy with players unable to kick the ball out of the water, overrunning it, sliding in from 10 metres etc. Wests scored in the first ten minutes, tucking the ball inside the near post with Shaan only able deflect the shot off his legs, after a few comical clearance attempts by the Island Bay defense. They scored again when a through ball, which was easily covered, stopped dead on the penalty spot, the Wests player stopped with it but we didn't and he had a wide open goal to tuck the ball into.

Despite this, Island Bay maintained good possession, and played quality football in extremely difficult conditions. We couldn't create enough goal bound chances though, Hicham's torpedo like ground hugging free kick coming close and one cleared off the line after the water stopped it dead [Did I see a hand in there?].

Even though Wests were leading, the atmosphere in the changing rooms at half time was buoyant, everyone believed that we could score twice in 45 minutes and force extra time. This was not to be though, with Wests scoring twice [in much the same comical fashion as the first two] within five minutes of the restart to put the match beyond doubt.

To our credit we played amazing football for the full 90 minutes, and had we not been playing on a waterlogged ground which favoured the amazing clinical finishing of the Central league sides strike force, the result would surely have been closer.

This week we play Western Suburbs again, although their second team [and on Wakefield Park] who maybe be showing signs of coming to life, but hopefully we'll be looking for revenge.

Go Sharks!

Labels: away, chatham cup, lost, premier, western suburbs

While the mens first team's home form has been outstanding, winning all four of our Wakefield Park encounters, and scoring at least three in each game so far, our results on the road have been less than glorious, drawing two and losing one coming into the game against Upper Hutt.

Winning away today was going to be tough though, with Upper Hutt surely looking for revenge after we knocked them out of the Chatham Cup two weeks prior. A five car pile up on the motorway was not a good start, and most of our team were late getting to the ground, let alone the strip, which turned up with 15 minutes to go before kickoff. Once again, Harcourt Park was a groomed and amazing surface to play on (Thanks very much to the Grounds Staff), and it was a beautiful day to play good football.

Unfortunately we didn't start well, and let Upper Hutt run the midfield, spread the ball wide and attack our defence from all over the park. We seemed satisfied to let them do this, and it wasn't until their striker managed to run from wide on halfway, all the way into our box and around Shaan before passing the ball into the net from six yards that we realised this wasn't the way to play.

From the restart we got into the game, pushing players forward of the ball and penetrating through gaps in their backline. We didn't create many golden opportunities in the first half though, and the score remained 1-0 to Upper Hutt going into the break.

The second half was a complete turn around, with our Midfielders and Frontmen shredding the Upper Hutt defense at every turn, Hicham finally finishing off well after the ball was poorly cleared and put back into the danger area. Upper Hutt had to settle for counter attacking, and while they did create several tense moments at the back, we were unfazed and still pushing for a winner when the ref blew up full time.

Final score was 1-1, meaning another draw on the road, 3 points from a possible 12, and left us wondering what we have to do to get a win away from Shark Park.

Go Sharks!

Labels: away, drew, premier, upper hutt

On Saturday Island Bay played our first Chatham Cup tie against an Upper Hutt team who had proven problematic to us over previous seasons. Upper Hutt had also beaten Wairarapa United the week before.

Chatham Cup matches are a bonus for us as the primary focus is to win the league this year, but with last weeks win against a very good Tawa team and an emphasis on enjoying our football in the lead up to this game, the guys turned up noticeably relaxed. Sometimes taking this attitude has leaded to lethargy on the park, but it wasn't to be the case this time, and we quickly imposed ourselves on the game. Playing forwards, we seemed to have the run of the midfield in particular, with Upper Hutt failing to pick us up as we came through.

Our first goals came quickly with Petero playing Nate through with a great ball for a simple tap in finish. The second goal came shortly after with Petero this time playing a one two to put himself in front of goal and finishing in solid fashion. Upper Hutt looked a bit shell shocked, but held their heads and tried to get back into the game. Just before half time they were rewarded, after learning from our approach towards goal, playing a nice one two of their own to put a player through one on one with Shaan and getting themselves back into the game with the score 2-1 at half time.

Island Bay looked by far the better team, but it's points on the board that matter and so it was with concern when half way through the second half a hard tackle resulted in a penalty being awarded, and our Captain being sent off for asking one question too many of the referee. However, Shaan's pre shot dance on the goal line completely put the penalty taker off and the poor shot was well saved.

And so we had survived the immediate danger but were now down to 10 men with about 25 minutes to play. We re-shaped our lineup to compensate, with Steve becoming the lone striker (obviously he hadn't done enough running in the midfield), Lai and Zac dropping into midfield and looking to get forward in support when possible, and Petero playing in central defence.

With about 10 to go Nate played a ball into the Upper Hutt penalty area to Steve, who turned it back to find Lai on the penalty spot. Lai engaged in a quick bit of line dancing with the ball and Upper Hutt defenders then tucked it away in the corner to put the game beyond doubt.

The last few minutes then become a mere formality, Island Bay winning
3-1 and progressing to the next round, against Western Suburbs at 2:00 PM on Queens Birthday Monday on Endeavour Park.

This week we host Waterside Karori at Wakefield Park, as we fight over top spot on the league table.

Go Sharks!

Labels: away, chatham cup, premier, upper hutt, won

On Saturday Island Bay Capital Premier played Miramar, who had recently been thumped by both Tawa and Wairarapa. It was clear early on that our oppositions confidence had been shaken by the previous weeks experiences and we looked by far the more capable team. Balls flowed easily forward and our backs, playing into a very strong southerly, were easily dismissing their challenges. As a result we inevitably managed to get several chances on goal but failed time and again to convert chances, even one on one, into goals.

As more time went by without us scoring, Miramar definitely grew more confident. To their credit they were well organised and maintained a good shape to repel our attempts at securing the win. In the second half they got 10 players behind the ball on defence playing into the wind and looked to counter attack. Our stronger performances came from our backs and man of the match goal keeper Shaan. Unfortunately their match winning efforts were not converted by our forwards.

Early in the second half frustration lead to changed tactics, leaving only three at the back and putting three up front, to try and break the dead lock and injected fresh legs into the midfield. Though we came close on many occasions to getting the winner it was not going to be our day.

It is frustrating not to have been able to put teams like Miramar and Marist away especially going into the next couple of weeks challenges against Tawa and Waterside Karori who are undoubtedly two of the stronger teams in the competition. But the spirit within the side is very strong, as is the belief that we have a very good side this year. We are looking forward now to our next game, as we can only make amends by making a difference in these upcoming games.

This week sees us return home to take on league leaders Tawa.

Go Sharks!

Labels: away, drew, miramar, premier

A hard fought battle resulted in Island Bay's first premier loss of the 08 season.

Island Bay started well, attacking Wairarapa down the flanks, and creating lots of problems, but failing to get clear shots on target. Hicham finished a clinical strike, only to be denied yet again by the assistants flag.

Wairarapa settled down and started attacking, floating balls into Peter Rabo to knock down for their other lightning quick striker to run on to. Rabo scored when the ball was crossed to the edge of the penalty area and Shaan couldn't punch clear, leaving an empty net which the ball bounced into. 1-0 HT.

The second half started with Wairarapa dominating possession in their half, and trying to play the long ball through to their fast strikers. One of their fast breaks opened our defenses up, and I gave away a freekick about 25 yards out. Rabo again stepped up for Wairarapa, lofting the ball over Shaan, and giving them a two goal cushion.

We settled down, changed formation to attack them more, and a nice fast break led to Hicham being brought down in the box. He misheard the ref, didnt wait for the whistle, and put the ball to the right, beating the keeper only be told he'd have to retake it. He did the exact same thing again! On the third attempt he waited for the whistle, and slotted home in exactly the same place as before. 2-1.

Island Bay sent wave after wave of attacks at Wairarapa, but we couldn't find the equalising goal, and time was our enemy, running out before we could even things up.

This week we play Miramar at Centennial Park, and will turn up with our minds focussed on a return to our winning ways.

Go Sharks!

Labels: away, lost, premier, wairarapa

Marist won promotion to Capital Premier after coming second in Division 1 last season. They only lost one game while Miramar Rangers [who won Div 1] lost three, the difference proving to be Marist's draws.

Last week they lost to Miramar 3-2, after conceding three goals in the first 10. We knew that they would be looking to record a win in their first Premier game on their new home ground, and would try and play football, rather than long ball, or just beating us with their fists, so we were looking forward to the encounter.

The game started, but we failed to, and for the first 30, it was all Marist, using the wind to peg us in our own half, with their midfielders feeding their striker and wingers lots of good ball. Their goal came from a fast break down the line, a couple of missed offside calls, and an eventual tap in which was made harder by determined tracking from Steve Davey. 1-0 to Marist.

The last 15 minutes of the half would see us wake up slightly, but we conceded offside after offside, and when Hicham smashed the ball into the corner of their net, that was called offside as well. 1-0 HT.

The second half was not a lot better from us, but a reshuffle saw us play an extra man forward, and Steve Davey capitalised on a nice cut back to beat the keeper from close range and level things up at 1-1. Marist had let up from their great first half performance, but still gave us plenty of trouble down the flanks, partially from us handing them too much ball.

1-1 at full time seemed fair at the time given our performance, but upon reflection either team had enough chances to take the 3 points.

This week sees us hosting Kapiti which we'll be targeting to regain our winning ways while playing entertaining football.

Go Sharks!

Labels: away, drew, marist, premier