Island Bay United AFC

Capital 1 vs. Karori Dreamers - 3 April - L 1-3
&
Capital 1 vs. North Wellington - 5 April - L 0-3

First game up for the season and as is fairly common for a reserves team we looked a fair bit different from the year before. Being Easter weekend didn't help either, but we had worked hard pre-season and were happy for the season to be underway.

We were up against a Karori Dreamers side who we know are quality (finishing 3rd in 2009) and are a team who should be near the top come the business end of the season.
But that didn't daunt us, and we started strongly, on a typically wind-swept Wakefield no1 whose rock hard cricket blocks posed quite a hazard.

We created chances-a-plenty and probably should've been in the lead, after some nice work down the wings from Oli and Fred resulting in dangerous crosses in to the area. Some dazzling footwork from Andy and Ronald in particular had Karori lads in trouble in the middle. The finishing touch wasn't quite there but we continued to push, and held on to the ball well.

Unfortunately 10 seconds of disorganisation cost us, as the Dreamers tidily converted from a corner. And even more unfortunately it wasn't long till we were two down after a very unlucky own goal.

Still, we knew we weren't out of it, and that was exactly the message at half time.

And when Ryan nodded a cross from young Sam into the back of the net we knew we were a chance to get a well earned draw if not kick on for a win. We became more attacking, through substitutions and endeavour, as the Dreamers scrambled for their life, but we just couldn't find that clinical finish.

Then, in the last 30 seconds, another long ball from the Dreamers was latched onto and after the initial blocked shot came back off the post, the ball wasn't cleared properly and their striker calmly squared the ball to an unmarked team mate to easily side foot home.

It was great to see all the support on the sidelines and sorry we couldn't notch a win for you all!

We had competed well though, both physically and tactically, so it was an encouraging start to the season. . .

But that made it all the more disappointing on Monday when we really never 'turned up' against North Wellington's (NW) first team.

Again we had quite a few changes and just couldn't seem to gel. On what was a beautiful day for football in J'ville, NW were putting us under pressure and dominated the game. They were probably unlucky to not be in the lead at half time after a lot of last ditch saves, including at least two off the line by man of the match Karl. But that was fine by us and while we were frustrated at things not going our way, so was NW as they couldn't find the goal they probably deserved and we went in to half time at nil-nil.

We continued to battle away but around 60 minutes after a wayward pass, ex-shark Kevin Provis pinched it on half way and ran 30 meters before calmly chipping Russ in goal.

We still tried in vain to get into the game and started to play with the ball a bit more, but NW had their tails up and were harassing well. We showed some gritty defence, but NW's domination of possession and field position told when a couple of defensive lapses cost us a couple more goals. Working on our support play and improving our vision to enable quicker ball movement are two key lessons from Monday.

It was certainly not the opening weekend we were hoping for but it's very early days and with the keen young squad we've got lots of energy and motivation to change things around. You could sense the will to learn from the weekend's experiences in the attitude and intensity at training on Tuesday so bring on Saturday and Olympic. . .
Shark Attack!

Labels: away, capital 1, easter, home, karori, loss, north wellington

Another beautiful Wellington day, along with the carpet like Endeavour Park surface set the scene for a massive game against Tawa reserves, who finished 2nd in Cap 2.

It was great to have some consistency with the line-up, as we rolled out the same 11 from the last game against Petone, but we got off to a sluggish start.

Maybe it was the early start (Midday), maybe it was the week off, maybe it was nerves or maybe it was just Tawa coming out that little bit more fired up, whatever the reason we were almost immediately under the pump. Dangerous balls were being delivered into our area and while we scrambled well to survive for the first 10 minutes, we just couldn't settle the game down.

It resulted in a nicely taken goal as Tawa's strikers and midfielders worked well together, leaving Adam no chance in goal after the Tawa midfielder calmly picked his spot to put them 1 nil up.

The good news was this seemed to be the kick we needed to get going and immediately we had an attack up the right where Steelo won himself a penalty after one of his booming throws was hand balled in the box. No prize for guessing the result of the penalty - duly slotted and back to square at 1 - 1.

Tawa were still fired up though, but now we were matching them for intensity. Ball security probably wasn't the best (from either team) and chances were coming at both ends. And it wasn't too long before Luciano was through on goal - he used his pace to latch onto a long ball, outdoing his marker, and clinically finished past the stranded 'keeper to give us the lead, and a bit more confidence.

Perhaps not being used to having (or trusting) linesman we were probably sitting a bit deep, giving space for both Tawa's strikers and midfielders to run in, and eventually Tawa hit back to take us into the break all square again at 2 - 2. A run from midfield, feed to the striker and resulting layoff and goal all appeared too easy as we urged each other to keep up our standards and intensity.

I don't know what it was at the break, maybe I'll give the credit to Mez ;) but we came out a lot more relaxed and began to dominate the game. We withstood the pressure on defense, Millsy and Milky had control of the midfield, and the lads up front were asking plenty of questions of the Tawa defense.

As everyone began to tire, and the game seemed to be heading for extra time, the impact of our substitutions began to show. Freddy had come on for Mitch, and Jimmy for Josh (with Milney dropping back) and the fresh legs were really testing Tawa. Freddy seemed to be having a field day on the right wing and after dispossessing his defender one time, he charged down field and produced a beautiful finish into the inside left side netting to give us back the lead with only 10 minutes to go.

Desperation then started to tell on Tawa, as they pressed players forward and went all out in a bid to push for extra time. As our D held tight and there was now even more space up front, we wanted the killer blow.
And it came courtesy of another attack down our right. The build up was tidy and once Freddy was released, all he had to do was cut the ball back across goal for a lone Luciano to tap home into an open goal.

Tawa were visibly tired now, but weren't giving up and again we got them on a break. This time on the left side Millsy and Luc combined well, and once the ball found it's way to Jimmy he perfectly sliced the ball through for Freddy Double to bag a double. The ball rolled into the same side netting as before and what a super sub young Freddy had proved to be!

As mentioned the other week, I think we deserve another crack at Cap 1 after some encouraging signs this year and we will be a lot better for this year's tough season, so well done lads, I already can't wait for next year!

Congrats again to Olympic, this time for winning their promotion match, beating Naenae 8-7 on penalties after it stayed 1-1 after normal and extra time. Good luck for next year.

Prize giving next weekend (5 September), so don't forget to get your tickets and we'll see you all there, or at Summer League.

Shark Attack!

Labels: capital 1, neutral, playoff, tawa, win

Gameday 18.
The last of the season.
Last position only on goal difference.
Beautiful day.
Quality pitch.
The opposition a team we've already beaten this season.

The scene was set for us to prove our quality and get out of that dreaded auto relegation spot.

Dave Wiggins took his spot in the centre of defence, despite a slight scare after training on Thursday. It was double good news, as it meant a consistent back four and also that Milney could be released up front.

And it wasn't long before Milney got the opening goal. We had kicked off into the sun and immediately took hold of the game. We worked the ball down the wings and had threatened a couple of times through crosses and corners.

Merrick has been keen for us to use our set pieces better all season and it may have taken all season but it looks like we have finally got there! After about 15 minutes Kev Mills, being welcomed back after a holiday to Canada, knocked in a quality corner and Milney was right there to nod it goal bound. The 'keeper was beaten but the Petone player on the post got across to let loose a fly kick, clearing the ball. The ref was well placed though and ruled the ball had already crossed the line. A big call, but apparently the right one.

It was the start we needed, knowing that 3 points was the minimum required result, to hopefully jump ahead of Brooklyn (who were playing Stokes Valley back at Wakefield park). But we were also conscious our fate could be decided on goal difference so we couldn't sit back happy with a 1 goal lead.

Shortly, Milney was celebrating wildly for a second time. We'd won a free kick about 25 yards out and Milney was straight on the ball, demanding he take it. The rest of us got forward, in case of a half block, but knew full well where this kick was going...

Milney hit it well, but straight at the wall and a hefty deflection made it sail into the goal, just under the crossbar. Maybe a little lucky, but Milney wasn't worried and neither were the rest of us!

2 nil is how it stayed till the halftime break and we went into the sheds a little anxious at how the Brooklyn game was going but also knowing we were best just to focus on our own game.
We did find out Brooklyn were 2-2 with Stokes Valley at halftime, so there was definitely no sitting back.

We had looked good in the first half, and were sure more opportunities would follow. It was also important to keep our D solid, as the pace of Petone's attack had turned us round a few times, and Adam had already made two amazing saves to keep our buffer. One of them he came from nowhere to get the slightest of touches on, which was just enough to have the ball hit the post and rebound away.

So as we turned around and the Sun lowered directly into Petone's faces there was plenty of chatter to make sure we tested their 'keeper and defence with the kind of tricky long balls we received in the first half.

We continued in the same vain in which we ended the first half, with Mills controlling the midfield well and our wide players, Mitch, Luciano, Matt W and Steelo creating and using the space well to deliver quality crosses.

Corners and free kicks were plentiful as Steve Davey was charging around the pitch like a teenager and it was another set piece that gave us our third. This time from the right hand side, Mitch swung in a pinpoint corner to Steelo's noggin and Steelo would not waste this opportunity to get his first open field goal of the season to add to his multiple penalties. Up goes the trademark shark fin, but we were still conscious three mightn't be enough to save us from auto relegation so we continued to push forward.

And on such a roll with set pieces it wasn't surprising that no 4 also came from one. This time Mills was over the ball, about 35 out and got the free kick into the mixer. The Sun was right behind him and as the ball came down the 'keeper must've lost it in the brightness and meekly fell half on it. It popped out the back though, where an excited Luciano was waiting to sweep the ball into the empty net.
Assist no3 for Mills apparently - after he claimed ownership for 'creating' the hole in the wall for Milney's free kick - yeah right!

4 zip, and while we were still being tested every now and then at the back, good cover from Josh as well as scrambling from the back four was evidence of our determination to keep that clean sheet.

Josh was eventually replaced by a wired Jimmy, who went up front, and that resulted in a couple of great chances for Jimmy. First, he couldn't quite get on top of a top notch cross from Looch, and second, he got it his header on target, but not with the contact he needed and the 'keeper cleaned it up.

So 4 nil it stayed and we went into the sheds satisfied but intrigued as to how Brooklyn had fared against Stokes Valley. And after a painful 10 minutes or so when we couldn't get hold of anyone, the call finally came through. And boy was it interesting. We got the full story of how the game panned out and in the end it was probably good we never had any progress reports. Brooklyn apparently went 2 nil up, and Stokes Valley clawed back to 2-2, but then then had a man sent off. Much to our relief though, they still managed a third and also to hold out Brooklyn. Wahoo! We'll get that chance to prove we belong in Cap 1 and build on our year, with a playoff.

Congratulations to Marist on taking the League (just, on goal difference), and earning direct promotion back to Cap Premier at their first attempt. With a stingy defence conceding less than a goal a game to go with an attack that scored just enough when required, you deserve it.

Also congrats to Olympic who will get another well deserved crack at promotion, after last year losing the corresponding playoff fixture to Miramar. This year it'll be against Naenae who were only last year promoted from Cap 1.

I feel a bit for Brooklyn as it was a very close league and I don't really think either of us were far off the pace that Marist, Olympic and the Dreamers had set all season. But someone had to come last and I'm just stoked it wasn't us.

After a fair amount of disruptions from the year before this year turned into a rebuilding one for the club and it's great that our destiny is in our own hands with a possible playoff to come against one of Miramar, Olympic and Tawa, depending on results in the final week of Cap 2.

It means the season isn't quite over and we'll continue to train with purpose, knowing we deserve another crack at Cap 1 and that given that chance, we can even give the title a good nudge next year.

Shark Attack!

Labels: away, capital 1, clean sheet, Petone, win

A very late report for this game and really there's not too much to report.

The wise heads of the Dreamers outplayed us again, as we didn't man up to their physical long ball game, and struggled to hold on to possession. We fought gamely though and their second goal took a large deflection after a corner wasn't cleared too well. And but for that goal, we were doing enough to have a chance of pinching a draw.

As it was we couldn't quite manage it, and we slipped back to last place on goal difference.

But who cares about that game, this weeks was much more interesting...

Shark Attack!

Labels: capital 1, home, karori, loss

Back to that winning feeling - you beauty!

The sun came out and the wind went away to produce a magnificent day for football last Saturday. And the IBU boys turned up ready to play.

We went into the game knowing that a win was the only acceptable result, and we started in our usual manner - with desire, control and menace. Right from the first whistle we dominated the play with Josh tackling anything that moved and together with MJ he controlled the midfield brilliantly.

Matty W and Ian were constantly wreaking havoc down our left hand side with great passing and purposeful running, which was only foiled by desperate clearances once the cross came in.

Milney was also running his bollocks off in his role between the striker and midfield and he was unlucky to fire over on one opportunity after smartly pinching the ball off their centre back's shonky first touch.

Ian was also dreadfully unlucky when he got on the end of a cross from the right (think it was Freddy) and turned it nicely on goal only for a despairing save from their 'keeper turned it away for a corner.

It was one of a bucket load of corners we earned too and the delivery was top notch every time. Stokes Valley (SV) were up to the task though, but you could sense their anxiety was rising with every opportunity we created.

SV weren't without their own chances as they do counter attack well, but we scrambled and covered nicely to ensure we didn't let them take an undeserved lead.

A little disappointingly we went into half time scoreless, but there was no doubt who was on top and it felt like it was only a matter of time till we got on the board.

Unfortunately we did give away that goal, about 10 minutes into the second half when SV were awarded a free kick about 8 yeards out from the box. It was a pinpoint shot that beat the wall, dipped amazingly and squeezed in at the near post.

Gutting, but all it did was lift our will to score and we went on a bit of a spree...

First up, Milney was on the end of some nice build up work down the right and with defenders and the 'keeper getting only half tackles in, he showed outstanding persistence in getting the ball goalward to get us level. It was an ugly goal (you know it Milney!), but was the perfect display of determination required for us to get the three points we deserved.

Next, one of the many times we got in behind their defence was rewarded with a (somewhat controversial) penalty. Ian chased down a long through ball, and while he was beaten to it by their 'keeper, as he turned to see where the clearance went he got a firm fend to the back of the neck. It was unnecessary and the Ref duly awarded a penalty. Steelo stepped up and made no mistake. The familiar shark fin celebration signalling our killer determination in taking our rightful lead.

In the lead up to the penalty being taken though, there was plenty of action. Ian had players abusing him as he lay face down on the ground, and twice the ball was firmly punted away in disgust amid a lot of consternation from almost every one of the SV players. Thankfully, the second ball hack was punished with a yellow card and this brain explosion would come back to haunt SV.

Play was probably evening up a bit now but we continued to create chances to try to get a two goal buffer.
And it came courtesy of a free kick wide on the left. We had numbers in the box, but in the end Ian decided he didn't need them as his 'shot' slotted perfectly into the top right corner, bulging the side netting.

We were 3-1 up and shortly SV were one man down.
The same guy that got the yellow for kicking the ball away had taken Milney very late and very heavy, and after a bit of confusion (the Ref thought he originally carded someone else, who didn't exist), the player had to leave the field after receiving his second yellow.

The game now opened up and we maybe relaxed a bit much, as SV, to their credit, just wouldn't die. A little too much space, a couple of cases of diving in and suddenly SV had pegged BOTH goals back. One flailing leg luckily lobbed the ball into the goal, and one flat hard strike from 18 yards left us a little bemused but keen to hit back again.

Matt Hickey was on at this stage and he revelled in the amount of space that was available, using his pace and skill to toy with the SV defence.
And on one of our blistering attacks, Luciano hared after a chip behind their defence. He beat the oncoming 'keeper to the ball and clinically chipped him with his first touch. Phew! The lead back and five to go - now HOLD OUT!

Hold out we did and there was even chance for a flying Steelo to latch onto a through ball and unleash a power drive. It didn't go in but it served as a great time waster as it sailed up the bank and into the bushes ;)

A thoroughly deserved win and it lifts us out of last place.
2 more games, 6 more gettable points. Starting crucially against the Karori Dreamers this week at home.
We're all looking forward to it, especially after getting a training run outside last night after so many weeks indoor!

Shark Attack!

Labels: capital 1, home, stokes valley, win

I was going to preach deja vu all over again for this weeks match, but really, other than the scoreline, this match was quite different to last weeks' match.

It was a game we never really threatened in, with probably only one close chance from a deflected free kick. In saying that, Marist didn't threaten all that much either, and perhaps they were lucky to pinch an early goal, which took the pressure off them to attack.

We still had moments of tidy, quick passing in the midfield and a few good balls over the top for our strikers, but all in all we didn't create enough to feel aggrieved at not picking up the three points. And credit to Marist's defense, they were pretty solid and showed again why they sit top and have only conceded 9 goals in 15 games.
Picking up one point is another story, but bad decisions happen (would you believe another offside goal?!) and we need to score goals to overcome them.

Admittedly the ground was an absolute bog which made running on it difficult let alone playing football in, but it's Winter, and we're in Wellington so it's not like we're not used to it.

While our defense hasn't exactly been brilliant - it's ranked 6th in the league, and we've only conceded 8 in the last 6 games, which ain't bad for the team sitting last - it's the goals for column that is really sorry reading.
We've scored only 17 goals from 15 games and if we want any chance at staying up, we're going to need to find the back of the net, starting this weekend at home against Stokes Valley.

Anyway, rant over, MAAAASIVE game on Saturday...

(Team for the record: Adam, Matt W, Dave, James, Nick, Josh, MJ, Mitch, Freddie, Jamie, Caleb. Subs: Cam, Matt Hickey, Hamish, Sandy)

Labels: away, capital 1, loss, marist

I'm struggling to come up with any new ways of describing our games. Every week it seems to be Deja Vu.

Good fighting spirit, clear opportunities created, good commitment, mostly solid defence - all resulting in another gut wrenching loss.

We lined up against top of the table Olympic with a very strong team considering all the injuries, suspensions and holidays decimating our first and second team squads.

And after a week off, after being cancelled last week, you could sense the keen-ness in the squad. Our core was maintained, with Josh and MJ lining up in the centre of midfield and Dave Wiggins part of the furniture at the back. Relative newbie Darren slotted in next to Dave with Nick sliding out to the right and Matty W assuming his possy at Left Fullback.
Up front we must've had an average age of about 12, with our 'front 4' consisting of the Hickeys, Freddie Double and Andy K. Adam, as usual, rounded out the team in goal.

Right from the first whistle, we played with intent and our young guns were causing plenty of trouble for the confident Greek defense. They were putting great pressure on the ball and stole a lot of it from careless first touches or plain arrogance on the ball. And our counter attack was working well.

One lightning attack down the left from Matt H resulted in a pinpoint cross to his brother Cam, who despite a Michael Jordan like jump (who said white boys can't jump!) couldn't quite get enough over the ball and his header shaved off a coat of paint from the top of the crossbar.

It was agonisingly close, but also very encouraging.

Most of Olympic's attacks were well snuffed out, either in midfield or from a nice nudge in the back courtesy of Darren or Dave. And when they did get in behind us, either the cross was well cleared or the cover was sufficient to make the tackle.

You could sense Olympic's frustration as we dominated play, and we knew the longer we kept them scoreless the better it would get for us.

Unfortunately, a tinny flick from their winger to their offside striker resulted in a simple one-on-one opportunity which was clinically taken, giving the Greeks a somewhat undeserved lead. (And I don't usually moan about refs decisions after the fact!).

We continued to push in the first half, but just couldn't find the goal. It was good to see everyone muscling up though and one thing we certainly weren't was soft. We went hard into challenges (maybe a little hard sometimes) and were sure to not be bullied out there which was important.

It's just the clinical edge we seem to lack. Final crosses, passes or shots just aren't hitting the mark.

So, after coming out of the break knowing we were still in it, we continued to create chances. Perhaps even more than the first half. Andy was getting plenty of ball, running from the space in behind Cam up front and the other three young'uns continued to run their bollocks off harassing the defence and creating for each other.

We had goal mouth scrambles, precise set pieces, a one-on-one and a (now expected) acrobatic bicycle from Andy, but every time the ball evaded the goal.

Frustrations were also starting to reach boiling point, with challenges becoming reckless and plenty of banter flying around the pitch.

And it all came to a head when Cam received a ball 10 metres into the attacking side of the field. He sharply turned inside, knocking the ball forward, but was well collected as he tried to scoot past. The defender had saved a one-on-one with their rather rotund keeper, but copped a red card for his troubles. The gutting thing for us was time was running out and Olympic had already started to work the 'defend the lead' tactic, only producing attacks on the counter and then they didn't have many numbers forward. The loss of a man only enhanced this tactic, and try as we might we couldn't find the elusive goal.

Another game gone. Another 3 points missed.

There's no doubt we're into the desperation end of the season and being last by 2 points, every week we don't pick up points is going to hurt deeply.

And it's fair to say we have a very tough run in. We have 4 of the top 5 teams left, and the only saving grace from that is that we seem to play our best against the good teams - as long as we can slot a goal!

This week we're against a very stingy Marist, who've conceded only 9 goals this season so if ever there was a test, this week is it.

Labels: away, capital 1, loss, olympic

Another solid fighting display on Saturday resulted in a nil-nil draw with BNU. They beat us 4-2 in the first round, so it was a good turn around, however it's these sort of games, where we perhaps lack the killer instinct, that might come back to haunt us nearer the end of the season when we are fighting to stay in the grade.

With only 6 matches left in the season we need to convert these one pointers into three, and get well out of the danger zone as the table is still very compact.

In the game against BNU we started well again, which was a little surprising after a bit of a disjointed build up. We didn't know who was playing let alone in what positions and in the end we had a slight change in formation, but were pretty well settled.

We welcomed back Milney to the midfield and Stu Dunn on the wing (after a relatively long injury layoff), while Matt Whitburn slotted back in at left back.

We controlled the first half well, keeping up the intensity we have discovered in the last few weeks and although there was a typically difficult southerly blowing across the park, we perhaps didn't play to the conditions quite well enough.

Crosses into the wind weren't working and we struggled to work the ball to the windy side where the danger balls would really come from.

And in the end, the game must've been as uneventful as the score line suggests as I'm struggling to think of any highlights.

It's not that we didn't create chances, as a number of players, including even Dave Wiggins who made a sprightly surge from the back, had good opportunities, but either desperate defence or that unlucky final touch meant we stayed scoreless.

We had a few hairy moments on defence too, with a couple of tidy crosses and play through the middle stretching us, but desperation managed to keep them scoreless also.

We definitely tired towards the end, which is probably a by product of the intensity at which we start and play most of the game at, but encouragingly we make up for that loss in energy with determination and pride.

All in all it probably wasn't a good day for the spectators though, with both the weather and football a little bit lacking!

The climb to safety all starts this week against Wainui, who humbled us 3 nil in the first round. We're at home again (12:30 kick off) where we've had a much better record than away with only one loss in 6, so let's bank that point and hopefully nab all three.

Nick

Labels: bnu, capital 1, clean sheet, draw, home

Well, we did it again - were our own worst enemies in literally GIVING three goals up against previously bottom placed Stokes Valley.

Yes, the ground was crap.
Yes, the referee was, ummm, being heavily assessed (enough said).
But we still should've got past that to post the win. And we didn't.
So back to the bottom of the table for us.

After a good team lunch at La Bella Italia, we arrived at Delaney Park with good time to spare, and in good spirits after a well deserved win the week before.

The team wasn't too disrupted with changes, as the core was kept the same. Matt Hickey had an exam, Paul was out injured, and Milney away after the passing of his father. Our condolences go out to you and your family mate.
Black arm bands on though and time to get focused on the game.

Hamish came in for Matt, Freddie at Left Back for Paul and Luciano, still on his come back, started up front with Jimmy.

Talk was of getting into the same mind space as the week before, understanding the importance of getting a result and the desperation that Stokes Valley would be feeling to stay close to the pack.

And to be fair, we started off well again. We were never really troubled at the back, were dominating the ball in midfield and creating chances up front. It's just a pity we couldn't finish off, as a goal could've worked wonders in getting our tails up and SV heads down.

But the SV 'keeper kept them in the game, and when they got a dodgy and fortuitous own goal we knew we were still in it, to get a result.
SV got a ball in behind our left hand side and Freddie did well to get in between the ball and the man, but a pretty blatant shove in the back pushed him off the ball and as he came back to block the shot, it was cruelly deflected into our net. Very lucky and undeserved so we needed to keep our composure to build our comeback.

We threatened plenty, forcing a lot of corners which resulted in a couple of good saves.
Josh rose nicely for one header, and got well over the ball but unfortunately straight to the 'keeper, then I finally got one goal bound, only for the 'keeper to get a couple of fingers to it and send it out for another corner.
Other shots and crosses towards the danger area were blocked by the desperate SV defence, and we went in to the break down by that one goal.

I'm not sure what happened in that second half, whether we were feeling the effects of the heavy pitch or if SV just got right into it, but for the majority of it, we seemed to be too loose and too slow to second phase ball.

The first 15 wasn't too bad and this is when we equalised, but for the last half an hour SV dominated possession and play as they kept us camped in our defensive half (where the state of the ground was much better than the other half).

Off another attacking corner, a half clearance was squared back in along the ground by Jody. It found Hamish with his back to goal and as he gave it a nice flick back through his legs (or a perfect dummy miss?), it came right to me inside the 6 yard box...a wild prod, with eyes closed, and the ball makes it over the line. You beauty, my first goal for Island Bay and it's brought the scores back level!

As mentioned though, we couldn't seem to push on from the momentum gained and when two mistakes in quick succession were punished by goals we just had too far to climb.

A runaway SV player had his first shot brilliantly parried by Adam in goal, but when the rebound fell to the other striker there was nothing he could do to stop the resulting shot.

And poor old Adam, who had run out of petrol on the motorway on his way out to the game, was left high and dry again, as a mix up on half way left the SV striker bearing down on him as he came out to claim the ball near the edge of his area. As he collected the ball, he slid out of the area and tried to keep the ball in the box, but his momentum carried him too far. He let go, the striker pinched it and squared it for his unmarked mate to finish. Tough luck but maybe we need to tease out the mongrel and dishonesty in you Adam - you're just too honest! ;)

Our final goal came from a nice piece of counterattacking, in what really was the only well worked goal of the game. 15 year old Caleb, who had come on for Jimmy, was released down the left hand side, in acres of space. Once he got down to the box he calmly checked and squared for an unmarked Luciano, who cooly slammed the ball past the 'keeper.

We tried valiantly to claw back another equaliser but SV did well to hold on to the ball and keep us out.

Thankfully we're back at home this week and in the never ending important games, we have the return match against Brooklyn Northern, who are coming off a 1-1 draw against top placed Olympic and beat us 4-2 in the first round.

They're only 1 point ahead of us though, so nothing to fear and plenty on the line...

Nick

Labels: away, capital 1, loss, stokes valley

Now that is an amazing turn around! Not only in result but the whole attitude, desire and intensity which led to a remarkable improvement in performance, and we got the due result.

All week at training you could sense that everyone was keen make amends for our disappointing game last week, and although its a typical cliche - it really is the test of a teams character for how they come back from heavy defeats. So it was nice to see everyone respond accordingly and train hard.

It was great to be back at home, and it was a beautiful, if chilly, winters day at Wakefield Park. We were well organised and well amped for our return match against Wellington United, who beat us 4-2 earlier in the season, and sat second in the league, prior to the weekend.

And we started like we really wanted the match. We were aggressive but composed and absolutely dominated in the first half hour. We held onto possession well and fought like men possessed to get the ball back when we did turn it over.
The whole midfield absolutely worked their arses off, with the contrasting combo of Lomu and MJ teaming up well in the middle of the park to both win possession and create opportunities, while young Matt Hickey and a little less young Jody Bullen flew up and down the wings but still trudged back to help out their defence.

Unfortunately we couldnt get the goal(s) we deserved, but with the defence holding staunch we felt it was just a matter of time till we took the lead.
We went off the boil for the last 10 or so minutes of the half, but it was always going to be tough to keep up such high intensity for the whole game, and we went into the break at nil-nil.

We talked about sticking to the game plan and ensuring we kept up the concentration as we couldnt afford the sort of lapses we had displayed the first time we played these guys.

Again, we started solidly but it was the introduction of Luciano after about 60-65 minutes for Milney (who had been an absolute menace up front and tired out the defenders - and then had to start for the firsts!) that really sparked us into action. Luc (said Looch) chased after everything, and one nice through ball to the edge of the left hand side of the box was absolutely spanked by Lucs left foot into the net.

It was well deserved and a great welcome back for Luc after sitting out a fair few weeks because of injury. His partnership with Jimmy had continued on from where Jimmy and Milney started, and more and more chances were coming.
Unfortunately the chances were at both ends and but for an amazing backwards scrambling save from Adam and resulting immediate block off the line by Krip, things wouldve been back to square and our character really tested!

I wouldnt say we had it comfortable for the rest of the game, as Wellington United lifted with desperation, but we ran ourselves into the ground to defend our lead and still did enough to keep them stretched at the back.

Two more changes were made, and both kept up the intensity, but at the pace and commitment we were playing at we couldve done with 3 or 4 more, and we were really tiring. Lomu had to go off to stretch after cramping up, leaving us with 10 for a few minutes then Jody called to Mez for a sub, not knowing wed already used our allocation. Then I, along with others Im sure, started cramping up.

I thought Id throw that in there, to try and explain what apparently was a very clumsy challenge from me as I assisted their nippy midfielder into performing a double-pirouette-with-half-pike-flip, about ten out from our box. Luckily the resulting free kick was pants and we survived another attack.
Worth the yellow card I reckon! And should be covered by the team ;)

Then we got the buffer we needed after Luciano got behind the defence again and was taken late by the scrambling last line of defence in the box. No-one exactly rushed up to the spot for the penalty, perhaps feeling the pressure and having very weary legs, but Jimmy took it upon himself and made no mistake in blasting it past the keeper who had made a few cracker saves throughout the game.

2-zip with maybe 5-10 minutes to go and we were determined to keep our clean sheet so battled right to the end.
Then came the final whistle and some very satisfied lads.

Weve now got to make sure we build on this result, and continue our push up the table. The league is still competitive as hell - we sit ninth but only eight points from first - and with Stokes Valley, who are bottom, away next week, three points is a must to get away from them and among the mid tablers.

Nick

Labels: capital 1, clean sheet, home, wellington united, win

Well, this is not quite what I signed up for when offering to write our match reports. Having to re-live the 90 minutes from Saturday is not exactly fun, but I guess youve got to face up to the bad as well as basking in the good.

The day actually started off alright with Merrick letting me know I was captain for the day in Dave Wiggins absence, but things only got worse as I proceeded to lose the toss and then, within five minutes we were one nil down. A cross from the left wasnt controlled and as the ball fell to the strikers feet, he made no mistake in lashing it home.

Not the start we wanted and on a very boggy Karori no3 pitch, we couldnt get anything going. Karori were muscling up more than us and with not much getting pulled up we seemed to pull out of 50/50 challenges.

It didnt seem long before we were two nil down as one of their strikers got through the defence and slotted a calm finish past the onrushing Adam in goal.

We were at risk of completely dropping our heads but some good fighting lead up work and pressure on their defence led to a well taken goal from Milney. Built up from the right, a mistake led to a Karori defender retrieving the ball from just in front of goal, but as he didnt immediately clear he was dispossessed and the ball fell to Irish Karl who slammed a good shot which could only be parried by the keeper. The ball lobbed back over Karls head and he had great awareness to just lob the return over the keeper which Milney got a deft header on and flicked it into the net.

While there was still plenty to do, you could sense we felt we were back into it.

Karori threatened a few more times, before they nailed a nice set piece goal. Any one of three unmarked Karori players couldve headed home at the far post from a corner and the one that rose the highest made no mistake.

We battled away, but to no avail and went in to half time three one down.

A change to the formation and some stirring words meant we started well, but another lapse proved costly and maybe fifteen minutes in we were down four one after some handy work down their left hand side resulted in a tidy low cross that was turned into the goal.

Maybe it was our resolve, or maybe that they relaxed a bit much, but we dominated the football for the rest of the match. We played with composure and confidence and only lacked a finish on a few occasions.

Karori were only working off the long ball counter attack now and nearing the end we disappointingly conceded a fifth to really put the dagger in. Too much time given outside the box resulted in a well placed shank to the bottom corner.

Not the result I was after in my debut as captain - Dave mate, its all yours!

Nuff said, weve got to move on. Im sure we can all think of plenty excuses, but we just need to work harder as a team to put it all together. An outdoor training this week would be nice so heres hoping the weather holds out for us, and the council play ball.

Return match against Wellington United (sitting second) this week, and while things arent quite desperate yet, we could do with the three points.
See you all at Wakefield for the early kick off (12:30pm), before the firsts take on Tawa.

Nick

Labels: away, capital 1, karori, loss

Now this was a game for the annals. I certainly have never played in the weather we experienced at Wakefield 'Shark' Park on Saturday. At times, you could kick the ball straight down the middle of the park and it would fly over the sideline and right over Wakefield 2 ON THE FULL!

Think it was up to 140km/hr gusts (that closed the airport), and COLD, with driving sleet and hail at some stages!

It made things very difficult, but it was the same for both teams so we set out to play simple, error free football.

We started alright, especially considering we were playing more into the wind, so were heavily camped in our half. Desperate defence, and some wayward shooting the only thing keeping North Wellington to nil.

We managed to string a few nice phases together with Jimmy and Stu H working tirelessly up front for us to work the ball to, and the midfield providing good support. But we never really got close to their box.

Not that we needed to as our goal was scored from afar.

It stemmed from some nice one touch football between Lee, Karl and Matty Whitburn and culminated in a pinpoint cross from Matt to Stu, who put enough pressure on the retreating NW defender to force a brilliant header own goal. 1 zip.

So now, our task was even simpler - keep a clean sheet.

Task accomplished for the rest of the first half, even if we gave NW far too much space on the ball, we showed the desperation required to keep 'em out.

The words at half time were “damned if we're going to spend 90 minutes out in this crap for anything other than 3 points”, and with the wind coming over our right shoulder that result was definitely possible.

We dominated territory, just as NW did in the first half, but just couldn't nail a finish to secure the game.

And as the game wore on, things got more nervous, until about 12 from the end a through ball slipped through and a goal was clinically finished, taking the score to 1-1 and taking away 2 points from our prospective jump up the table.

In the last 10 or so minutes, not much more was created and I dare say most people were looking forward to getting off the park and into the nice, warm Island Bay showers.

A couple of comical highlights from the match included:

*'Fill in' Plowright unleashing the 'shark attack' - complete with shark fin and screaming - as he prepared to launch his goal kick goal bound for his strikers

*'Fill in' Plowright's ground goal kicks, which turned into fly kicks with the ball not staying stationary

*Mills's double air swipe as the wind took the ball away for the first one but brought it back for another crack

*The referee stating that "I haven't recorded any cards or substitutions as I can't feel my hands"

Unfortunately the result means we don't get off the foot of the table, however in what must be one of the tightest leagues in the country, still only 7 points separates first and last after 8 games and a win next week (early at Karori no2) could mean a jump of up to 5 places!!

So bring on the Karori Dreamers, currently sitting 6th.

Labels: capital 1, draw, home, north wellington