Bay United’s Xmas looking dandy
Vital three points against Southern keeps bubbles flowing
To keep the effervescent bubbles fizzing in the champagne before Christmas it was imperative for Hawke’s Bay United to win in Napier yesterday.
The Thirsty Whale-sponsored side did, chalking up their third consecutive victory when they pipped Southern United 3-2 at Bluewater Stadium in the ISPS Handa Premiership match on a sweltering 27C day.
It was an entertaining encounter as the two sides went to the changing rooms locked 2-2 in the earlier 1pm kick off to accommodate the flight schedules of the Otago franchise at Park Island.
The game was, for the most part, a crisp passing-moving one in the first half and certainly the most attractive Southern United have looked in a few seasons.
However, the second spell deteriorated to a stop-start, whistlepunctuated affair when push came to shove for both sides.
Bay United coach Brett Angell and his men were aware three points were crucial to their campaign before hosting Eastern Suburbs, who had thrashed them 5-0 in the opening round in Auckland, this Sunday in a 2pm kick off.
“We’ve got to learn but we got three points without putting the game completely to bed,” said Angell, revealing they wanted to remain unbeaten going into Christmas.
“We’ve won three out of three and 10 out of 12 [points from four games] so, hopefully, with Eastern Suburbs next week we can pick up more.”
He said Bay United didn’t have a point to prove against the Lily Whites but more a desire to show they had evolved and had found more fluency since round one.
He said Otago coach Paul O’Reilly’s approach had issued Bay United captain Birhanu Taye and his men more challenges today.
A frustrated Angell didn’t think a 2-2 statement was fair but Bay United got punished for losing focus.
“I don’t like conceding goals but we have scored three,” he said, individually and collectively Bay United could do better in transition play.
Benjamin Wade inflicted the first blow for a 1-0 lead when he curled the ball from the sideline to the right flank of the hockey turf end of the park to catch Bay United goalkeeper Mackenzie Waite out of position in the seventh minute.
Sho Goto equalised, 1-1, in the 28th minute when he drilled the ball past Southern goalkeeper Liam Little from inside the box as the Southern defence showed little urgency to react.
Bay United went ahead 2-1 when striker Sam Mason-Smith latched on to Frenchman Maxime Oliveri’s cross at the far post in the 36th minute. The Englishman, falling backwards, just got his toes into the ball which trickled almost in slow-motion fashion as Little stood rooted, watching it roll past him into the net.
Last summer’s hattrick scorer against Bay United, Garbhan Coughlan, casually equalised 2-2 when he slipped the ball past an advancing Little in goal after defender Cameron Lindsay made the grave mistake of trying to dribble the ball past the Irishman only to lose possession in the 42nd minute.
“The first goal, I thought, was kind of soft from a transition and the second goal, of course, was a little bit of a mistake from Cam,” Angell lamented.
He felt Bay United tended to be their own worst enemies in gifting opposition possession at vital passages.
The second half resumed with Bay United upping the tempo with waves of attacks and the opposition contend to counter.
It took an off-the-ball yellow-card foul on Oliveri during an attacking manoeuvre for Bay United to nudge ahead, 3-2, in the 64th minute. The Frenchman curled a clinical ball around the wall to beat a diving Little to the bottom left corner for a group hug.
Two minutes later, Angell collected a yellow card on the sidelines after hollering at referee Nicholas Waldron as Coughlan went down writhing and clutching his ankle from a yellow-card tackle from Allan that the coach disputed.
“You look and you say nine [No 9 Coughlan] knows what he’s doing and, realistically, he got up like a spring chicken the minute the card is issued so that’s what disappoints me,” he said, mindful O’Reilly would lament lost free kicks.
“That’s the game and now Allan’s suspended for the next game,” he said, agreeing the defender’s fifth yellow card had added to his frustration.
The game became scrappy with Angell exchanging volleys with O’Reilly between the coaching boxes.
“Come on, what’s going on here? Let’s play the game, Paul,” Angell had yelled after another free kick went against his men.
The Blues mounted pressure in the dying minutes but it was Bay United, as happens, who counterattacked with Oliveri surging up the field from almost the halfway mark but Little thwarted the drive from MasonSmith.
It was Waite parrying Erik Panzer’s close-up pile driver near the upright but time had run out for the Southerners after the ensuing corner kick.
“Goals change games and If we’d got that fourth goal it would have been game over.”
The catch-up footy from Southern was often a given with teams trailing adopting a nothing-to-lose attitude.
It pleased Angell different players in the mix were scoring goals rather than relying on one or two.
Bay United have lost the services of centreback Joseph Zupo for their campaign after he jetted back home to Canada due to family commitments on Wednesday.
O’Reilly said felt his men had enough chances in the second half to share the points but it wasn’t to be today.
“I thought our energy, passion and resolve was great today with some good passages of play,” said the Irishman, noting Bay United had “some quality” moving forward. I don’t think there was a lot in the game so we’re a little disappointed not to draw.”
He said Southern were trying to build on previous seasons and were incrementally improving.
“The physicality is something we bring every week,” he said. “It’s a game of football and men’s senior football.”
O’Reilly felt the game was played in good spirit, albeit aggressive at times, with Bay United showing they had some “good technicians on the park”.
We’ve got to learn but we got three points without putting the game completely to bed. Brett Angell Bay United