Port Kembla and Wollongong Olympic took to a crowded stage on Sunday afternoon for the Bert Bampton Cup Final at JJ Kelly Park. After a goalless first half, Olympic’s Harry Callahan snatched up a lead just two minutes into the second half, securing a 1-0 victory over Port Kembla.
It was a slow start in the opening half, with Olympic coming the closest of either side at goal, showcasing their first real chance just 12 minutes in.
A ball slid down the line into Rick Goodchild, giving himself room out wide for an angled shot, only to be saved by the hands of Mathew Nikolovski.
Three minutes later, Olympic continued to threaten with a brace from Joshua Alcorn, but would soon be denied once more at close range.
Port Kembla’s Shotaro Iwamoto showed some neat footwork before firing a wide shot toward the net in the 22nd minute, but his effort would fly way over the cross bar.
With just a handful of attacking chances from either side, the two team’s headed into the break with a 0-0 draw.
The second half was filled with a continuous flow of chances, beginning with Olympic who found the opening goal just two minutes into the second half, when Harry Callahan fired two attempts from a wide angle, before neatly placing his second shot into the bottom far corner for a quick 1-0 lead over Port Kembla.
Eight minutes later, Brenden Low wound up a shot from outside the box, but would end up heading straight over the cross bar.
A quick turn around saw striker Jordan Nikolovski burst down the right hand side of the field, before sending his effort just inces off the far post.
A much more positive attacking display from the two sides saw a clean shot from a rebound ball from Olympic’s Andre Takami and a well-executed half volley shot from Port Kembla’s Jordon Kizi that both looked convincing just minutes after one another, but were both denied.
Wollongong Olympic began to pile on the pressure when a precise corner ball from Low was sent straight onto the head of Christopher Price but couldn’t bring down his back post header in the 72nd minute.
Port Kembla had two chances in the remaining ten minutes of the final, with Adrian Avello rolling a powerful effort into the hands of Fuentes, and another strike from Sebastian Tomasiello that was sent wide; denying any chance of a comeback before the full-time whistle.
With an overflow of chances and an intense second half, the two side’s fought hard in what was an excellent battle, but it was Wollongong Olympic who secured their 1-0 victory at the final blow, becoming champions of the Bert Bampton Cup for 2023.
Port Kembla 0
Wollongong United 1 (Callahan 47’)
Port Kembla: 1. NIKOLOVSKI Mathew, 2. DI PIETRO Mitchell, 3. NAKAYAMA Taiga, 4. TOMASIELLO Sebastian, 5. MENA NEYDOVSKI Dylan, 6. KIZI Jordan, 7. IWAMOTO Shotaro, 8. AVELLO Adrian, 9. MAZEVSKI Zachary, 10. NIKOLOVSKI Jordan, 11. PENNISI Marco
Substitutes: 12. CARRASCO Oliver (MAZEVSKI 74’), 13. FLOOD Lachlan, 14. CRAPIS Joshua, 15. CARELLA Daniel (AVELLO 86’), 16. COROLLA Dane, 21. GENUA Luke
Wollongong Olympic: 1. FUENTES Cristofer, 3. CHILTON Liam, 4. PRICE Christopher, 6. HARTAS David, 8. CALLAHAN Harry, 10. GOODCHILD Rick, 11. LOW Brendan, 15. LITTLER Nick, 17. TAKAMI Andre, 26. EVERY Mark, 54. ALCORN Joshua
Substitutes: 14. SINCLAIR Bailey (PRICE 90’), 16. KNIGHT Guy (CHILTON 46’), 18. PAPPAS Jason, 20. PASFIELD Justin, 23. ZAPATA Gabriel (GOODCHILD 80’), 30. WATTS Brad
Date: Sunday 30 July, 2023
Venue: JJ Kelly Park, Coniston
Referee: Caleb Blanch
Assistant Referees: Gregory Reid and Ethan Zvargulis
Fourth Official: Andrew Naylor
Report by Alison Dinh, on Twitter @alisondinh_
Photos courtesy of gragrapix.
