A second-half goal from Matthew Floro secured Coniston FC a 2-0 win over Wollongong United at a crowded JJ Kelly Park on Friday night.
It was a fiery clash between the two sides, however, goals from Adam Voloder and substitute Matthew Floro were enough for Coniston to secure their second win for the 2022 IPL season.
Coniston looked to be the most dominant side in the first 10 minutes of the match with attacking chances from both Samual Matthews and Tobias Norval.
Norval took the midfield with a high ball over the top into Voloder’s feet whose effort would soon be saved by United’s defence line.
Just minutes later, Sean Thomas received a rebound ball just outside the 18-yard box before taking a long-range shot at goal, sent just wide off the post.
A cluster in Wollongong United’s box gave Mason Versi a chance to lead before centre-back Takayuki Kayano would clear the ball off the goal line.
In the 21st minute, the home side scored their first when a through ball from Van Elia sent Voloder in behind the defensive line, before precisely tapping the ball past goalkeeper Jacob Madden, for a 1-0 lead.
Coniston looked to be dangerous once more with a striking header towards the goalmouth from Kayano, before Elia attempted a bicycle from a rebound ball that would be later scraped off the line by the United defence.
Wollongong United continued to put the pressure on their opposition with a freekick from James Stojanovski, into the head of Versi who was just short off the post.
Five minutes later, Voloder came close to his second with a one-on-one chance at goal before striking his shot just wide off the far post.
35 minutes in, a well-structured play saw Seiji Kawakami send Jeremy Flanagan down the left-hand side who would soon square the ball into Sekutkoski before attempting to strike it past goalkeeper Kaydin Harrison but was unsuccessful.
Once again, Wollongong United looked to equalize with a spectacular ball from Ben Brooks into Flanagan out wide, before beating his defenders but would soon be given a disallowed goal by the referee.
With what was an intense performance from both sides on the pitch, Coniston went into the break with a 1-0 lead.
Coniston’s first chance came just minutes after the second half got underway with a one-two combination between Matthews and Norval, before Norval’s shot was denied.
Wollongong United continued to contest, with long-range chances from both Versi and Sekutkoski.
However, it wasn’t long until Coniston snatched their second goal for the match in the 67th minute with an incredible cross from Norval into super substitute Floro who would neatly place an effort past Madden from the centre of the six-yard box.
With just 15 minutes to play, a powerful shot from Sekutkoski rebounded into the feet of substitute Dinko Terzic whose shot was batted away by Harrison.
The two sides continued their fiery attacking ways, but it was Coniston who held a dominant defensive line until the final whistle, defeating Wollongong United 2-0.
Coniston FC will make the trip to Balls Paddock next Saturday afternoon as they come up against a strong Bulli side, whilst Wollongong United will again play away from home against the Tarrawanna Blueys at Tarrawanna Oval.
Coniston FC 2 (Adam Voloder 21’, Matthew Floro 65’)
Wollongong United 0
Coniston FC: 1. HARRISON Kaydin, 2. MATTHEWS Samuel, 3. KAYANO Takayuki, 4. BLACK Tyson, 5. LOE Daniel, 7. VOLODER Adam, 10. ELIA Van, 11. MORLANDO Jake, 17. ZUFIC Jason, 19. NORVAL Tobias, 34. D’ALMEIDA Ekoue
Substitutes: 6. STERGIOU Lukas (ZUFIC), 9. TSCHENTSCHER Matthew, 77. FLORO Matthew (BLACK), 53. SKURTEVSKI Payton (NORVAL), 20. MATIAS Harrison
Wollongong United: 60. MADDEN Jacob, 2. THOMAS Sean, 5. LAZAREVSKI Danny, 11. VERSI Mason, 14. FLANAGAN Jeremy, 19. BROOKS Ben, 23. YAMADA Mitsuo, 26. KAWAKAMI Seiji, 27. BARBAROVSKI Bailey, 29. SEKUTKOSKI Klime, 32. STOJANOVSKI James
Substitutes: 7. CORREIA Josh (SEKUTKOSKI), 10. TERZIC Dinko (FLANAGAN), 4. VESCIO Rene, 8. JOVANOVSKI Kyah (VERSI), 9. DARJANI Thomas
Date: 20 May 2022
Venue: JJ Kelly Park
Referee: Nicholas Ryan
Assistant Referees: Bobby Mazevski and Greg Reid
Report by Alison Dinh, on Twitter @alisondinh_
Photo courtesy of Richie Wagner
