Bay Olympic spurned the chance to close to within four points of Northern Premier League leaders Central United on Easter Monday, bottling a 2-0 half-time lead to draw 2-2 with a young Metro side which fully merited the point they secured.
They did so because Bay produced one of their more insipid displays, performing as if their day’s work was done and dusted once they scored their second goal ten minutes before half-time. The midfield effectively stopped working, so when one of the front-runners - Reg Davani or Joe Edwards - got the ball, they were isolated, with no runners coming through to provide support.
Bay’s defence developed a similarly lazy attitude, which can be ill afforded against a young team like that fielded by Metro. Roger Woolmer’s charges harried, chased and generally forced the issue, and in the end, they certainly didn’t deserve to be beaten, thereby retaining the Ken Wheeler Memorial Trophy till the next fixture between these Central Auckland rivals.
Yet it all looked so different just 130 seconds into the match - that’s how long it took for Bay to open the scoring. Duncan Clark cleared the ball to Nathan Christie, who picked out Elliott Dye with a delightful angled through ball. The wide midfielder didn’t strike the cleanest of volleys, but it bobbled and bounced past Craig Wilkins and found the bottom left-hand corner of the net, much to Bay’s delight.
But the home team never really kicked on - it was Metro who engineered the other noteworthy scoring chances in a rather disjointed first half, the first of which came in the tenth minute. Scott Bishop, Christie and Gerard Smith collided as they contested a hanging cross from Bradley Newall, with Bay’s ‘keeper punching clear. Ben Dundas headed the rebound goal wards, but Bishop recovered quickly to save the attempt.
Six minutes later, Bishop grabbed another headed effort, this time by Shane Campbell, after Michael Horne’s free-kick to the far post had been headed inside by Clark, who, in the 24th minute, sent a towering header narrowly over the bar from a Campbell corner.
Ten minutes from half-time, what was only their second attack of note, produced Bay’s second goal. It was cleverly contrived, too, starting with Davani on the right-hand touchline. There was little movement around him - Bay’s lethargy had already begun to set in - until Dye made himself available for a pass inside.
The scorer of the first goal then split the defence with a measured cross field pass to pick out Edwards, who hooked the ball back across goal. There, arriving on cue, was Davani, whose unchallenged diving header left Wilkins beaten all ends up - 2-0.
Two minutes after half-time, Bay should have made the game safe. Edwards robbed half-time substitute Arek Kubicki and played a one-two with Jason Willis before outpacing Clark. Getting into the penalty area, the striker let fly, Wilkins parrying his effort. All Willis had to do was stick out a leg to turn the ball home, but there was no reaction whatsoever from the striker, and the chance went begging.
How Bay were to pay for it! Just two minutes later, Kubicki and Peter Wild combined to prise open the Bay defence, only for Gerard Smith to be unable to slide the ball home by the far post.
Clark and Newall then warmed the gloves of Bishop with efforts, the latter’s attempt being a half-hearted flick as an unerring Campbell drive flew towards him. Bishop should have been made to work harder on this occasion.
The home team looked to resuscitate their interest in the match through Willis and Dye, but the latter hit the side-netting two minutes after the former had seen Wilkins smother his shot, just after the hour mark.
Two goals in three minutes earned Metro a deserved share of the spoils. In the 68th minute, a lobbed ball forward by Newall found Wild in the penalty area, but unable to jump for the ball due to a defender climbing all over him. Referee Neil Fox had no hesitation in pointing to the spot, and Wild picked himself up, dusted himself down and duly converted the opportunity.
He repeated the dose three minutes later, this time from open play. Smith picked out substitute Dylan Beckham’s charging run into the penalty area, the replacement proving far too alert compared to any of the opposition. A low cross from the half-time substitute was swept home on the far post by Wild, and from being 2-0 down four minutes earlier, Metro had their tails up and fancied their chances of clinching a winner with nineteen minutes remaining.
The equaliser seemed to stir Bay into some semblance of life, as they suddenly realised that they had a game on their hands. Metro’s eagerness to claim a come-from-behind victory nearly cost them, however, as their defence took on a rather misshapen appearance with too many players pushing forward in search of glory.
Consequently, Davani and Edwards, the two players who, with Andrew Dixson and Bishop, were the only ones to do justice to the shirt for Bay over the entire ninety minutes, found themselves able to create a few openings in the final ten minutes.
One, a free-kick, saw Liam Mulrooney pick out Willis with the set-piece, but the striker headed over. Three minutes from time, an even better opportunity fell the way of the former Te Atatu front-runner, but he spurned a glorious chance to clinch the points for the home team, Wilkins racing off his line to save with his feet as the striker bore down on goal.
In many ways, a point from this 2-2 draw was all Bay deserved from this match - the air of complacency which crept into their play did them no favours. Metro, meanwhile, were fully deserving of their share of the spoils - to their credit, they never let up, and while a lot of their first half possession was wasted by inaccurate long balls forward, they made better use of the ball in the second half, and will probably feel a little disappointed that they ended up with only a point to show for their efforts. Overall, though, the result was about right.

Bay: Bishop; Dixson, Judd (booked, 82), Christie (Woodhams, 46), Thompson, Edwards, Mulrooney, Butler, Dye (Farac, 78); Davani, Willis

Metro: Wilkins; R. Beeston, Gray, Clark, Horne (Kubicki, 46); Dundas (Beckham, 46), Smith, J. Beeston, Newall; Wild, Campbell

Referee: Neil Fox

Print this page