Thirroul Thunder and Warilla Wanderers played out an enthralling 3-3 draw on Tuesday night at Thomas Gibson Park.
Tyler Ball and Jack Murray each notched first-half braces before Nikita Peros gave the Wanderers a lead early in the second half. The Thunder quickly snuffed out this advantage through Ryan Sutcliffe as the points were shared.
Warilla made a promising start to the match, with some sharp passing getting them up the field and putting the hosts under pressure.
Three minutes in, Peros found space down the right and took on a volley that Thirroul goalkeeper Joshua Williams caught comfortably.
Three minutes later, Murray broke into the right of the box and cut the ball back for Nicolas Rouco, whose low shot was held onto by Williams.
Despite the Wanderers’ good spell, they fell behind in the ninth minute. Jake Bailey wiped out Ball in the box, resulting in a penalty. Ball took responsibility and sent an accurate effort into the bottom left corner, with Jhye Withers diving the other way.
The Thunder carried this momentum for the next five minutes until Ball was denied by Withers from a tight angle.
Warilla reasserted themselves in the match soon after, with Rouco spurning a good chance one-on-one with Williams before the equaliser arrived 21 minutes in.
Peros showed some quick feet down the right to clip in a cross that came through to Murray, the striker pouncing with a close-range finish.
However, Thirroul undid the Wanderers’ hard work on the half-hour mark. A scramble in the box saw Ball crash a shot off the crossbar, but the ball bounced back for the winger to head home.
Just moments later, though – Warilla pegged the Thunder back. A mistake on halfway allowed Murray to bear down on goal, where he stayed composed and slotted the ball past Williams.
The exhilarating first half continued in the 33rd minute as the ball arrived at Crowley’s feet in the right of the box. The forward drove a shot across the face of goal that narrowly missed the far post.
Six minutes later, Warilla went close to taking the lead as the lively Peros burst down the right again. He picked out Murray with his cutback, but the striker steered it wide of the left post.
The Wanderers could not capitalise on a strong finish to the half and went into the break level with Thirroul after a four-goal first half at Thomas Gibson Park.
Warilla came out of the sheds with their first-half intensity still intact, and they grabbed the lead for the first time four minutes into the second period. Peros clubbed a shot into the bottom right corner past Williams.
As the theme had been though, two minutes later, the Thunder restored parity in the match. Sutcliffe with an audacious left-footed strike from far outside the box that dipped over Withers and into the goal.
The chances kept coming. In the 54th minute, Warilla’s Martin Castelli sent a looping header over the bar from the right of the area.
The match became a physical battle between the teams. Neither could consistently control the ball, but they were willing to battle for every possession.
Warilla conjured up another opportunity 78 minutes in when Peros cleverly lifted the ball over for Murray to volley, but Williams saved with his feet.
Five minutes later, the visitors were nearly left to rue these missed shots. Thirroul’s Crowley had the ball pop out to him on the right; however, Withers pulled off a top save with his feet.
Thirroul could have snatched the victory again in the 86th minute as Jake Matiuscenko lashed a strike from the left of the box that Withers batted away before smothering.
The teams remained locked level at fulltime after an exciting Tuesday night encounter. Both sides are in action on Saturday, with Thirroul travelling to Unanderra while Warilla host Balgownie.
Report and photo by Tim Gibson
