Oak Flats Falcons booked their place in the Illawarra District League Grand Final with a 2-0 win over Gerringong Breakers at Memorial Park on Saturday.
There were chances both ways until the 70th minute when Jamie Wakeling put the Falcons in front. Shotaro Iwamoto added a second for the league champions in the finals moments to confirm the result.
Oak Flats were millimetres away from an opening goal within two minutes. Bojan Caric lined up a curling shot from the left edge of the box that bounced onto the top of the crossbar.
Caric came close again midway through the half as he took on a volley from the top of the box that flew over the bar.
While Oak Flats’ chances trickled through, Gerringong were a threat going the other way. The Breakers were working hard to find space in behind the Falcons’ fullbacks with Richard Kessling providing an outlet down the left wing.
The game settled into a pattern with both teams holding the ball comfortably for spells at a time, patiently waiting for chances.
Falcons forward Jamie Wakeling had a great chance in the final moments of regular time. The forward took the ball into the right of the box and dragged a shot narrowly past the left post.
Gerringong came even closer in first-half stoppage time when substitute Lucas Zerafa hit a shot that bounced towards the right of the goal and hit the upright.
A late flurry of chances concluded an otherwise tense and tight first half at Memorial Park.
Joshua Hawker created an opportunity for the Breakers eight minutes into the second half. The forward pushed down the right before arrowing a low striker that Falcons goalkeeper Claude D’Alessio could not hold onto as the ball was eventually cleared.
Hawker came agonisingly close to the opening goal just after the hour mark. He managed to get into a shooting position in the left of the box and rolled a shot onto the right post.
In the 70th minute, the deadlock was finally broken as the league champions opened the scoring. Iwamoto, who had switched from the left wing to the right wing, made it into the box and cut the ball back for Jamie Wakeling, who steered it into the bottom left corner.
The Breakers were not deterred by going behind as they carried on putting their opponents under pressure.
In the 78th minute, Joaquin Riquelme received the ball centrally in the box but scooped it over the top.
Riquelme continued his shooting trend three minutes later with a left-footed bouncing effort from the right edge of the box that D’Alessio needed to parry for a corner.
As Gerringong put more numbers into their attacks, the Falcons looked to pounce on the counter. With two regular minutes to play, Caric set off on a lung-busting run through the middle of the pitch and got into the box. He passed it right for Josh Eagleton, where the winger hit the right post.
However, from the resulting goal kick, the Breakers gave the ball away in a dangerous area, and Iwamoto made no mistake from close range to finish past Joel Lockard.
Despite the Breakers’ best attempts to get back into the game, they were left to rue missed chances as Oak Flats advanced through to the Grand Final.
With the game 0-0 heading into the sheds, Falcons co-coach Chad Bishop said he emphasised to the players that they needed to switch on defensively.
“The message at halftime was more about defence than anything,” Bishop said.
“I thought we were second best to most balls in the middle of the park, which was disappointing.”
Oak Flats will face Fernhill in the Grand Final. Despite pipping the Foxes by a point to the League Championship, they have lost all three encounters with next Saturday’s opponents.
Bishop said that the team’s defensive shape will be the focus as they attempt to thwart Fernhill for the first time in 2024.
“Going forward, they bomb with numbers, and they’re really good at what they do,” he said.
“It’s going to be about us getting bodies behind the ball and stopping those chances when that happens.”
Report by Tim Gibson
Photo courtesy of Graham Brown
