Big wins for Bay's senior sides

JO RICHARDS

Mountain Goats bounce back Golden Bay’s Mountain Goats climbed to the peak of Men’s Division 2 last Saturday with a convincing home win over Nelson Suburbs academy squad.

The match was one for the purists, with both sides playing free-flowing football in true Corinthian Spirit. But it was the imperious Goats who took control in all areas of the park and showed some top-class finishing to come out 7-0 winners.

The home side opened the scoring after three minutes with Max Devaux’s penalty and never stopped. At the end of a breathtaking 90 minutes, Lee McKenna had bagged a classy hat-trick, Max had scored a brace, and Elliot Gibbs and Guillaume Thomas had netted one each.

It wasn’t just up-front that the Goats impressed; the back four were highly organised, pushing up quickly when the home side had possession, while the energetic and creative mid-field controlled the middle, breaking up play and launching attacks.

As the score ticked up, the visitors, to their credit, kept playing neat football and were somewhat unlucky not to break their duck. At the other end, however, it was only the opposition’s woodwork that prevented the Goats from approaching double figures.

In a match of symmetry and precision, it was only fitting that the final goal of the game also came from a penalty – this time tidily put away by Thomas.

Final score: GB Mountain Goats 7 vs 0.

Speaking from the sideline, Goats’ injured striker Fred Cucksey said it was “fantastic to bounce back” from last week’s disappointing cup exit, and he was particularly pleased with “beautiful finishing” and the team’s clean sheet. He acknowledged the quality of the young Suburbs side. “They put us through our paces, they made us play better.”.

Stingrays’ tails up

In the Masters competition, Golden Bay Stingrays, took on Nelson Suburbs and, playing on the same pitch as the Goats had earlier, almost repeated the scoreline.

It took a little longer for the Stingrays to get going but, after a false start when a goal was ruled out for offside, striker Chris von Roy latched onto a defence-splitting pass and slotted the ball coolly past the keeper and into the net.

The goal, on the 25-minute mark, signalled the beginning of a purple patch for von Roy who went close a few minutes later, before finding the net again in second phase play after a corner.

In the second half Sam Hopley showed his composure in front of goal when he cheekily chipped the keeper to take the score to 3-0.

Luke Concannon added a fourth just five minutes later and, shortly after that, Pete van der Meer was “Jonny on the spot” and netted another with a simple tap-in. An own goal by Suburbs completed a miserable afternoon for the visitors.

Final Score: GB Stingrays 6 vs Nelson Suburbs 0.