THIRROUL v WARILLA | IDL ROUND 6 | MATCH REPORT
Warilla Wanderers snapped a two-game losing streak with a 3-2 victory against Thirroul Thunder at Thomas Gibson Park on Saturday afternoon.
The visitors took the lead early on in the match when Thirroul defender Aaron Dark looped a header into the back of his own net.
The Thunder restored parity just after the break with Joshua Bond tapping home from close range.
There was a quickfire double just after the hour mark from the Wanderers with goals to Adrian Montalbano and Jack Donnelly sending the side into a two-goal lead.
Jordan Cox pulled one back for the home side in the final 10 minutes, but it wasn’t enough.
It was a flying start for Warilla as a ball over the top forced Thunder defender Aaron Dark to send a looping header from the edge of the box over his own goalkeeper and into the back of the net.
Problems were nearly compounded for the hosts three minutes later when Ryan Sutcliffe took aim from the right-hand side of the box seeing his left-footed effort batted away by Jayden Lewis in the Thunder goal.
Thirroul looked to respond not long after that as Nathan Mucci displayed great skill to wriggle his way through several challenges and find space on the left-hand side.
From there, he sent a ball towards the back post where Alan Maddock was waiting, but he was unable to make a connection with the ball.
Just before the break, Warilla had another opportunity when Javier Ovando fired a powerful shot from a significant distance on the right-hand side of the park which ended up wide of the near post.
The away side took a 1-0 advantage into the sheds courtesy of that early own goal.
Thirroul made the perfect start to the second half when five minutes in, a marauding run down the left-hand side from Daniel Arthur resulted in a shot from the captain which was parried into the path of Joshua Bond centrally, who made no mistake from close range.
Despite the impressive start to the second period from the Thunder, it would be Warilla who would score the next two goals.
In the 61st minute, a phenomenal strike from Adrian Montalbano from a freekick on the left-hand side put the side back into the lead.
A minute later, substitute Jack Donnelly doubled the lead finding space in behind on the right-hand side tapping the ball beyond an onrushing Lewis.
As the game wore on, the hosts began to push numbers forwards in search of a goal.
With seven minutes to play, substitute Jordan Cox, sent a curling strike from the left-hand side of the box into the far corner giving Thirroul some hope heading into the final moments of the match.
It wasn’t to be for the Thunder, however, with Warilla running out 3-2 winners.
This victory snapped a two-game losing streak for the Wanderers after defeats to Unanderra and Balgownie respectively in the past two weeks.
The side will continue on the road next week facing up to a high-scoring Fernhill side at Ray Robinson Field next Saturday.
As for Thirroul, this defeat makes it just one win from their opening six matches seeing the side sitting towards the bottom of the table at this early stage.
The Thunder will be hoping for better fortunes heading into next Saturday’s game against a struggling Picton Rangers side at Hume Oval.
Thirroul Thunder 2 (Joshua Bond 51’, Jordan Cox 83’)
Warilla Wanderers 3 (Aaron Dark OWN GOAL 10’, Adrian Montalbano 61’, Jack Donnelly 62’)
Thirroul Thunder: 1. LEWIS Jayden, 2. HARRISON Jeremy, 3. ARTHUR Daniel, 4. DARK Aaron, 5. DUNN Lachlan, 6. OVERTON Grant, 7. MADDOCK Alan, 8. DAVIDSON Todd, 9. BOND Joshua, 10. MUCCI Nathan, 11. OTO Sohei
Substitutes: 13. COX Jordan (BOND), 14. INZIGER Jarred, 15. BIDDULPH Zachary, 16. ADAMS Tyler (OVERTON), 12. KYRIAKOU Christian (MADDOCK)
Warilla Wanderers: 1. JARDINE Bradley, 2. GERIBO Benton, 3. BAULCH Alexander, 4. NOLAN Jordan, 5. PERRY Joel, 6. KEATING Chad, 7. SUTCLIFFE Ryan, 8. LUCAS Benjamin, 9. ROBERTSON Stewart, 10. OVANDO Javier, 11. MONTALBANO Adrian
Substitutes: 12. CAVILL Tomas (GERIBO), 13. FOWLER Jack, 14. DEGIDIO Ricky (MONTALBANO), 15. DONNELLY Jack (SUTCLIFFE), 16. PUSELL Blake
Date: 1 May 2021
Venue: Thomas Gibson Park
Referee: Mick Agim
Assistant Referees: Timothy Gibson and Christiana Watson
Report by Lachlan Hollis
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