Two late strikes in the dying minutes from Joel Gutierrez and Hinata Yamaguchi rescued a dramatic 2-2 draw for the Wanderers at King Mickey Park as the earlier strikes from Ryan Sutcliffe and Tyler Ball were cancelled out.
The home team made a promising start to the match, with an accurate passing sequence getting them up the field and putting Thirroul under pressure from the opening minutes.
In the seventh minute, Luka Stosic created the first chance of the game by crossing to Martin Castelli, whose shot went straight at Matt Wardle.
Minutes later, Dean Morosin found space on the right side and cut the ball back to Jack Paine, who executed a volley, which Jhye Withers handled well.
Thirroul opened the scoring on 17 minutes with a well-executed free kick from Sutcliffe from the edge of the box.
Thirroul gained momentum from that and attacked with high pressure. Morosin created another chance just a minute later after linking with Joel Mucci whose effort was well blocked by Jack Fowler.
In the 33rd minute, Thirroul continued their positive play. The ball reached Tyler Ball on the right side of the box, who shot across the goal from a tight angle, narrowly missing the far post.
Hinata Yamaguchi had a long-range effort just before the break, however, he was unable to capitalise on that opportunity.
Warilla started the second half well as they looked to get themselves back into the contest.
A Luka Stosic corner early in the second was only partially cleared by Daniel Bond, with the ball falling nicely to Martin Castelli, who blasted over from inside the box.
On the hour, Thirroul countered with Tyler Ball whipping in a dangerous ball for Mucci, who just couldn’t quite turn it in.
Thirroul got their second after some nice lead-up play by Jack Cotterill. He laid off to Ball, who made no mistake from close range to put Thunder two-up and cruising.
With time running down, Warilla created an opportunity in the 78th minute when Gutierrez cleverly flicked the ball to set up a chance; however, Stosic’s shot was expertly saved by Wardle using his feet.
Warilla managed to pull a goal back in the 89th minute with Gutierrez lashing a strike from the left of the box, leaving Wardle without any chance.
With the game into stoppage time, Warilla launched one last raid.
The ball was thrust into the box. Warilla, with several desperate efforts blocked before Yamaguchi snatched at the ball, burying the chance and completing one of the unlikeliest comebacks.
Thirroul Thunder Coach John Cropper was understandably disappointed with the lapse in the dying minutes, as he saw this as two points dropped.
Warilla hero Gutierrez was delighted with the point but felt Warilla created enough chances to win the game. He went to suggest that the point was the least they deserved, and the game could easily have ended with a loss.
Match Stats
Report by Luis Roman
File Photo
