Manickum eager to make impact

Words: ACFC Media

Sunday 6 June 2021

AUCKLAND, New Zealand - Auckland City FC's Dylan Manickum has had to wait patiently for a chance to shine this season and tomorrow's catch-up game with Bay Olympic could be perfect timing.

The Navy Blues are without Somali international Mohammed Awad and all-time top scorer Emiliano Tade who could be ruled out for the rest of the winter season with a knee injury.

That has opened up two positions in attacking areas of the pitch that fits the type of attacking profile Manickum fits.

The Navy Blues front man has scored 22 goals in 60 games for Auckland City FC but has found opportunities limited this season with competition for places perhaps more intense than ever.

"I've been a bit frustrated not being selected but I was happy with my performance and happy to get a goal in yesterday's Chatham Cup win over Ellerslie.

"If you're not playing, you have to keep working hard so the coach does see you're making an impact and its important that you can do enough on and off the pitch to get yourself picked.

"Hopefully, I can keep maintaining those levels, scoring goals and making a contribution," he said.

Auckland City FC cruised to a 7-0 win yesterday and Manickum scored when Masillian Veejian parried an Adam Thurston shot into his path which the Futsal international greedily tucked away.

"It's always nice to advance in the Chatham Cup and you always have these games with teams from outside your league and it's important that you win them.

"We figured out very early their goalkeeper might not hold a lot, but to be fair to him, with the players we've got striking from distance that makes it hard for most goalkeepers.

"I took a gamble he wouldn't hold Adam's shot and I decided to follow up and thankfully it fell kindly for me and I scored," he said.

Manickum and Thurston were both substituted out of the game before an hour was up and coach José Figueira admitted his thinking was all about the game with Bay Olympic.

With Thurston helping himself to two goals yesterday and turning in a selfless performance for the U-23s the week before, it seems inevitable the pair will feature again tomorrow.

"The substitutions we made were very much with Bay Olympic in mind.

"Mohammed Awad and Emiliano Tade are away and we wanted to keep Dylan Manickum and Adam Thurston both fresh for tomorrow," Figueira told www.aucklandcityfc.com.

Giving Figueira more cause for cheer was the performance of his young players.

Matt Ellis scored a spectacular first ever goal for the club, Brooklyn Heath and Kristoff Muller both made first team debuts while Addison Stewart continued his growth with a cameo appearance off the bench.

"It's always good when the young players shine and we got that rhythmn and connection going on very early on although to be fair to Ellerslie they had an excellent chance early on to go 1-0 up at the start.

"It was a very good performance, we scored some very good goals and it was an excellent performance. Some of the youngsters showed they're more than capable of stepping up," he said.

Figueira has made several changes to the squad that dispatched Ellerslie with Cam Howieson, Jordan Vale, Aidan Carey, Ilham Hameedi and Alfie Rogers all picked.

Bay Olympic's form leading into tomorrow's game has been more than solid with Paul Marshall's team beating Western Springs 4-3 in a Chatham Cup thriller.

It was Olympic's second win over Springs this year with Marshall's side winning their league encounter 3-2.

In U-23 action, the Auckland City FC U-23s face Bay Olympic U-23s at 12.30pm NZDT in the curtain raiser for the first team game.

Tomorrow's game is at Olympic Park and is scheduled for a 3pm NZDT kick-off.

Ends

Match Details
Northern League
Monday 7 June 2021
Bay Olympic v Auckland City FC
Olympic Park, Auckland
Kick-off: 3.00pm NZDT

AC: 24. Cam BROWN (GK), 2. Mario ILICH, 3. Adam MITCHELL, 6. Brian KALTAK, 7. Cam HOWIESON, 8. Adam THURSTON, 9. Angus KILKOLLY, 10. Dylan MANICKUM, 11. Reid DRAKE, 12. Sam BROTHERTON, 14. Jordan VALE, 15. Aidan CAREY, 18. Conor TRACEY (GK), 19. Ilham HAMEEDI, 20. Addison STEWART, 23. Alfie ROGERS.

COACH: José FIGUEIRA
ASSISTANT COACH: Ivan VICELICH
GK COACH: Enaut ZUBIKARAI
PHYSIO: Matt PAYNE
TEAM MANAGER: Keith COTON
S&C COACH: Adria CASALS
ANALYST: Jarrod WALLACE/Dan GORDON

MILESTONES
Auckland City FC and Bay Olympic meet for the first time in competitive football when they face each other first on Monday 7 June at Olympic Park, then again just five days later at Kiwitea Street in the return match. This is due to the postponed fixture of Saturday 27 March, 2021, scheduled for Olympic Park.

NORTHERN LEAGUE: THE SITUATION
Auckland City FC can extend their lead at the top of the table to seven points if they pick up a win in this catch-up fixture. A win for Bay Olympic would lift them into third place with a three point buffer between themselves and Hamilton Wanderers. A draw would suit the Navy Blues who can still extend their lead with a point while that would also be a welcome outcome for Bay Olympic.

HONOURS
Northern Premier League winners 2005, 2006, 2011, 2012
Chatham Cup runners-up 2010

CURRENT FORM
v. Auckland United (A) won 2-1
v. Eastern Suburbs AFC (H) lost 1-2
v. Manukau United (H) won 4-3
v. Northern Rovers (A) drew 0-0
v. Hamilton Wanderers (H) lost 2-7
v. West Coast Rangers (A) drew 3-3
v. Western Springs (H) won 3-2
v. North Shore United (A) won 2-1
v. Birkenhead United (H) lost 0-3
v. Melville United (A) won 1-0
v. Western Springs (H) won 4-3 - Chatham Cup

BIGGEST WIN
Bay Olympic 9-0 Manukau City, 2002

BIGGEST DEFEAT
Bay Olympic 1-11 Western Springs, 2015

BIGGEST WIN - CHATHAM CUP
Bay Olympic 9-1 Onehunga-Mangere United, 2004

BIGGEST DEFEAT - CHATHAM CUP
Bay Olympic 0-9 Waitakere City, 2009

PLAYER TO WATCH
Hong Gyu Han and Jono Quinn lead the way for Northern League goals for Bay Olympic with four each. Nicolas Bobadilla is close behind with three.

OTHER MATCHES:

CHATHAM CUP:

Monday 7 June 2021
Waikato Unicol AFC v Manurewa AFC - 2pm NZDT
Claudelands Rovers v Manukau United FC - 2pm NZDT

Central Region

Monday 7 June 2021 - All 2pm NZDT unless otherwise stated
Wellington United AFC v Wellington Olympic AFC
Stop Out v Kapiti Coast United
North Wellington FC v Wainuiomata - 1.30pm NZDT
Tawa AFC v Waterside Karori
Wairarapa United v Napier City Rovers
Western Suburbs v Upper Hutt City
Ferrymead Bays FC v Christchurch United
Cashmere Technical v Selwyn United
Wanaka AFC v Gore Wanderers AFC
Queenstown AFC v Otago University AFC
Miramar Rangers v Havelock North Wanderers

Southern Region

Monday 7 June 2021 - All 2pm NZDT
Northern AFC v Green Island AFC
South City Royals FC v Mosgiel AFC
Lower Hutt City AFC v Island Bay United AFC
Rangers AFC v Nelson Suburbs FC
Coastal Spirit v Burwood FC