Cringila Lions edged out a determined Bulli side 3-2 in the Youth Cup Final on Sunday.
It was the ideal start for Cringila as Roman Danilov put them ahead courtesy of a loose ball header from just a few yards out.
Bulli looked to respond just ten minutes later with Lennox Roodenrys crossing to Kynan Hawke who just couldn’t quite get the purchase required to trouble the goalkeeper.
On 18 minutes, Romanov battled well to win a challenge before laying off to Axl Hornby, who saw his shot tipped onto the crossbar.
It was an end-to-end battle with William Davis going close for Bulli as he fired a shot from the edge of the box.
Midway through the half, Dean Dimoski put in the perfect ball for Isaac Kostovski who nailed his finish to put the Lions in cruise control and two up.
Bulli weren’t about to give up, and just a few minutes later, Kai Macpherson rattled the side netting with a rasping shot.
On the half hour, Kostovski and Romanov both had half chances that could well have ended the contest.
Just before the break, the ball fell neatly for Davis; however, Kenji Sawada rushed his line and extinguished the effort.
Right on the stroke of half time, Gabriel Corvalan had a chance after a mix-up in the Cringila defence. The ball was only partially cleared before the referee spotted a push, earning Bulli a spot kick.
Roodenrys stepped up and firmly dispatched it to give Bulli some hope going into half-time.
Just ten minutes after the break, Bulli got themselves right back in the contest as Kynan Wallis bundled the ball over the line in a goalmouth scramble. And just like that, we were all square.
As the game wore on, both teams looked to firm up their defence.
It was game on again on 67 minutes as Alex Bosevski was taken out, earning the Lions a penalty kick. Kostovski stepped up and calmly converted to put the Lions back in front.
Bulli pushed hard as the clock ticked down and nearly found an equaliser after Davis looked through on goal. A timely and important challenge, Jake Petrovski saved the day for the Lions on this occasion.
Right at the death, Luca Mastroianni was sent off for a second cautionable offence as Bulli were forced to see out the game with just 10 players.
In stoppage time, Lachlan McLeish had a header well saved by Sawada.
That was the last piece of action in a thrilling and exciting Youth Cup final.
Player of the Final – Isaac Kostovski
Photos courtesy of Gragrapix.
