Island Bay United AFC

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

On the Queens Birthday, while she was sipping high tea and giggling at a re-run of Coronation Street, we were freezing our bits off chasing a few bits of stitched together leather around a paddock.

Wakefield Number 1 looked like it had been used by the NZ Army for Tank Wars, so the match was transfered all the way over to Brooklyn's home ground, Wakefield Number 2. Ahhhhhh, much better............;p

We'd sat inside our nice cosy changing room, and convinced each other that today we weren't going to let ourselves down, do the simple things well, play decent football and then turn the confidence we'd regained from keeping hold of the ball into decent goal scoring opportunities. We had also committed to doing this as soon as the first whistle went.

I've decided upon reflection that it must have been too windy to hear the first whistle, as we actually started in panic mode, giving away far too much ball, and then inside of 20 minutes, one bad ball at the back led to another, and the nippy striker dispossessed our centre back, tootled around Plowright in goal, and toed it into an empty net. Did I say he was fast? He was so fast, the rest of their team had to run twice as fast just to keep up with him!

True to form, after conceding, we settled down nicely, and at some moments looked dangerous with ball at feet and some nice crisp passing movements. Unfortunately our shots were not on target and yours truely blazed a golden op over the bar, so the half ended with us still down 1-0.

A bit of a re-iteration in what was wanted and needed at halftime, and we were back out into the balmy weather to try and turn things around.

The first 20 minutes weren't much to write home about, with few good scoring opportunites from either side, but after Dave Plowright stopped a one on one shot and held it while right out at the edge of his box, we seemed to wake up a little.

Kapiti seemed to be content with the one goal, and let us bring the game to them. I must say I am amazingly proud of the way Island Bay can play when we want to, and in the last 25 minutes, we really turned up the pressure, forcing Kapiti to throw themselves at everything, resulting in the Ref whipping out his little yellow card like he was an Action Man "with authentic wrist action".

We hit the crossbar, sent the ball just wide, and then a handball in the box ended with a penalty (almost just like the one we should have had against Karori, except in the Ref's line of sight) and Steelo tucked it in to bring us level.

We wanted the whole 3 points, and unfortunately as someone once said, "we didn't lose, we just ran out of time." In almost the last kick of the game, Scott Clayton spun his man and curled a shot across the goal. The Keeper disturbed the air flow around the ball with his flapping glove (i.e - the absolute faintest of touches), which sent the ball onto the bar, and richocheting back into the flying David Rutherford (who knew nothing about it) before bobbling inches wide of the net, and 2 more, much needed, points.

The game ended a 1-1 draw, which annoyed the writer no end, because he alone should have "Bulged the 'ol onion bag" 3 times. Maybe next week.

The start of the second round sees us hosting Tawa, and we hope to build on our last 25 minutes of the last round, and begin winning again.

Shark Attack!

Labels: drew, home, kapiti, 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

First played second when Island Bay Premiers hosted Wairarapa United on Saturday, although neither team could lay a definite claim to top spot as Wairarapa had a game in hand, and were only 1 point behind.

It was always going to be a tough match, with Island Bay looking to avenge their only loss of the season so far, and Wairarapa wanting to take over the lead on the table. The match started exactly how it carried on, a hard fought contest between two battling sides, capable of playing some high quality football.

Wairarapa took the lead when one of their long balls to their skillful and fast strikers wasn't dealt with effectively enough, and carried that lead into the break as both teams failed to control the game in the mud that was the midfield.

The second half was no different, except that both teams were tired from carrying around several kilos of Wakefield Park mud. Mistakes and goals were definitely going to happen. Unfortunately for Island Bay, it was Wairarapa who scored first, Rabo playing a ball through to Solomon to run onto and slot in around Dave's outstretched arms giving Wairarapa 3 points, or so they thought!

The Island Bay train kept on chugging, and determined not to let them beat us again, we sent Petero up front, brought on fresh legs, and began attacking Wairarapa's defense, sending wave after wave of attacks into the box.

Island Bay's three man defense was still being constantly threatened by the pace and touch of the two Fijian strikers, but were struggling to find good shooting opportunities without the support from their tiring midfield.

A Wairarapa handball in their box resulted in the referee awarding a penalty, which Rodney put away (after the keeper parried the initial kick), and handed the Bay a lifeline.

A cross into the back of their box was headed back across and Petero's resulting bicycle kick forced a great save from their keeper.

A free kick just outside the box was actually a definite penalty (once we reviewed the video).

Lucci was crudely brought down in the box giving the Ref no option but to award another penalty, which Steve Davey dispatched sweetly into the corner (although the keeper seemed concreted to his spot).

This levelled the game for us, and caused snow to fall on the Rimutaka's, so Wairarapa had to go home without setting foot inside our clubrooms to either make snow angels, or beat the road closure.

A remarkable comeback from our team, and a great insight into the determination we can show when we put our minds to it. Still, with the league table the way it is, Island bay will have to win all of their remaining matches, and hope Wairarapa drop a point, before they can claim this seasons Premier Title.

This week we're at home again, this time hosting Miramar, the only team we have failed to score against so far, and we'll be looking to set the record straight!

Go Sharks!

Labels: drew, home, premier, wairarapa

Island Bay Premiers side faced Marist on Saturday, hoping to continue our winning run and cement our position on the top of table. We knew from our previous encounter with Marist that their current position on the table isn't an accurate reflection of the determination of their squad and we'd be fighting for the whole of the 90 minutes for a result.

The game started as we thought it would, scrappy, with both teams struggling to retain possession on the unforgiving pitch. The Marist midfielders (and Marist in general) were closing us down quickly, and making it hard for us to play our quick and free flowing attacking game. Eventually we managed to force a flowing move, a nice pass into the path of Hicham gave him a half chance, and he tucked it away into the corner, giving us the lead into halftime 1-0.

The talk at halftime called for a reshuffle of the team formation in order to cope with Marist's midfield dominance. Unfortunately the change didn't have the desired effect, and Marist pulled even shortly after halftime, when we were overrun in the midfield and unable to make a decisive clearing tackle.

At 1-1 it was all up in the air. Marist were brimming with confidence, and we were unable to relieve the constant pressure by scoring at the other end. With 5 minutes left to play Marist were awarded a penalty when a cross was misjudged and bounced into a Island Bay hand. It was up to Dave Plowright, stepping up from Reserve Goalie to keep Island Bay's unbeaten home run alive, and he put the Marist Striker off enough for him to drive the ball into the post.

The Game ended 1-1 with Island Bay breathing a sigh of relief, and Marist wondering what they had to do to get their second win for the season. This weekend we play Kapiti Coast out at Weka Park, and will hope to get some form back in a season where every point counts so much!

Go Sharks!

Labels: drew, home, marist, premier

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 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

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