Coniston made a bold statement to the league after defeating Wollongong Olympic 3-0 on Saturday at PCYC. Temma Nomura opened the scoring before Adam Voloder scored a brace to set up an emphatic win.
Both teams showed intent on going forward early however it was an audacious effort from Adam Voloder on five minutes that nearly opened the scoring. He received the ball 35 yards out with back to goal, turned the defender chipping it goal bound forcing Ben McGinness into a desperate flying save.
On 12 minutes, the ball was played forward to Voloder who was looking for support. He decided to go in it alone and his snapshot from just outside the box was heading into the bottom corner however McGinness got a hand to it deflecting it out for a corner.
From the resulting corner, Harry Anagnostopoulos was afforded a free header from six yards out however his effort rebounded away off the post.
Coniston were clearly on top in the opening stanza and on 18 minutes, Daniel Loe’s header off another corner crashed against the post. Wollongong Olympic eventually cleared their lines however the intensity from Coniston pegged them back.
Wollongong Olympic’s first real opportunity came midway through the first half. A short corner seemed to find Coniston napping and the ball was swung to the far post to a free Kade Kinsella however the ball was just a fraction long and he couldn’t quite get the purchase required to turn it in.
Temma Nomura was a constant threat for Coniston and just minutes later, his speed got him by the defender. He managed to whip in a dangerous ball however Volder’s volley from inside the box was not accurate.
It was end to end and moments later, Brendon Low played a ball over the top of the Coniston defence that saw Kinsella nip in between the goalkeeper and defender however his touch took him away from goal. His left foot strike from a narrow angle to an unguarded net went across the face of goal before it was cleared to safety.
Wollongong Olympic went close again on 33 minutes when a free kick out wide was missed by everyone as it went through bouncing off the far post. Not sure how this match was still scoreless to this stage.
The breakthrough finally coming just before the break. Tyson Black found a yard of space on the left flank and floated a long ball to the far post that saw Nomura volley the ball past McGinness from close range. Coniston one up.
In the last bit of action just before half time, an uncharacteristic slip from Chris Price saw Voloder through on goal but he seemed to lose his balance at the wrong time as he tried to deceive McGinness.
Coniston going into the break 1-0 up and perhaps on the balance of chances deservedly so.
Olympic started the brighter of the two sides and inside two minutes from the restart, some Rick Goodchild magic and a neat wall pass saw him get in behind the defence however he was clipped from behind and a penalty was awarded. He took the penalty kick himself however it was well saved by new signing Jair Fernandez who came in for the injured Blake Horton this week.
On 56 minutes, an Olympic corner seemed to take a touch of Jason Madonis who missed from close range.
Shortly after, a quick counter from Olympic saw Jarvis Patterson let rip a left foot drive from distance. It was a little too hot for Fernandez however fortunately for him, it was deflected over the bar.
Midway through the second half, a strong forward run and shot by Harry Anagnostopoulos forced McGinness into an acrobatic save.
On 70 minutes, a delightful cross on the right from Nomura found Voloder just six yards out and he made no mistake heading past McGinness. Coniston absorbing the Olympic second half push and punching with a second to take firm control of the game.
Just 10 minutes later, the game was sewn up when the Anagnostopoulos brothers combined to set up Voloder who neatly tucked his left foot shot across McGinness and into the far corner to all but seal the win.
There was one last chance in the game just before full time with Daniel Loe firing a free kick that stung the palms of McGinness.
Credit to Wollongong Olympic who pushed hard right to the end, but they finished short after not being able to find the net for the first time this season.
The win puts Coniston on top of the ladder after 5 rounds with Olympic just a point behind in third. Coniston face a resurgent Helensburgh next week whilst Olympic will have a tricky assignment away to South Coast United.
Report by Bobby Mazevski
Photos courtesy of Graham Brown
