Picton Rangers pushed further towards finals football with a 3-2 win over Thirroul Thunder on Saturday afternoon at Thomas Gibson Park.
Jayden Russell gave the visitors a halftime advantage before Jack Cotterill equalised for Thirroul soon after the break.
Matthew Tesoriero re-established Picton’s lead only a few minutes later, and Russell’s second put the side in a commanding position heading into the final minutes.
Lucas Allen’s goal with five regular minutes to play made it an interesting finish, but the Rangers got over the line.
Picton started purposefully as Russell fired wide of the left of the box within eight minutes.
In the 15th minute, Tesoriero prodded the ball goalwards, putting Matthew Wardle into action for the time, in what would be a busy afternoon for the goalkeeper.
Five minutes later, against the run of play, the Thunder were handed a chance to take the lead when they were awarded a penalty. Ryan Sutcliffe stepped up and aimed towards the left of the goal, but Picton goalkeeper Lauchlan O’Bree repelled the effort.
Russell continued to cause Thirroul’s defence problems, forcing Wardle into two sharp saves midway through the half.
In the 35th minute, Picton’s Spencer Barnes lined up a close-range free-kick that Wardle had to parry over the bar.
Despite Wardle’s first-half goalkeeping, the away side snatched the lead six minutes later. Russell picked out the bottom right corner from the left of the box with an accurate effort across goal.
The late goal gave Picton a narrow advantage as the teams went into the sheds.
Just three minutes into the second half, Thirroul drew level. Bradley Strudwick’s neat pass found Cotterill in the right of the area, sending the ball under O’Bree for the equaliser.
It took Picton less than five minutes to retake the lead. Tesoriero finished off a nice move on the right for the side, providing a simple finish from a cross.
On the hour mark, Thirroul nearly equalised again. Sutcliffe’s free-kick tested O’Bree’s glovework, who had to palm the ball over.
The Rangers stepped up their pursuit of a third goal, creating ample opportunities to score, but some imprecise finishing left the game open.
Picton’s third goal came in the 74th minute through Russell. The winger twisted and turned in the left of the area before driving a low finish inside the near post.
However, the game wasn’t settled yet. A short-taken free-kick from the hosts found Lucas Allen, who steered the ball past O’Bree from close in to set up a tense final few minutes.
The Rangers managed to see out the remainder of the game, securing a significant victory that gets them closer to the finals.
Report by Tim Gibson
