Shoalhaven FC and Berkeley Sports produced a pulsating match that went all the way, with Shoalhaven eventually taking the match on penalties.
It was a nervy start to the match for both sides, although it was Shoalhaven who appeared to be doing most of the early running. Tim Hopkins thought he had put Shoalhaven ahead on seven minutes; however, he was adjudged to have handled the ball in the lead-up, with his effort disallowed.
Moments later, Jackson Hill forced Tyrone White into a fine save as he saw his effort from eight yards out pushed away.
Midway through the first half, Thomas Van Oploo found a yard of space in the box before he slotted the ball inside the right post from just inside the box to put Shoalhaven ahead.
Berkeley Sports were level just 90 seconds later, Blake Mulcahy’s shot from ten yards out flicked off the head of a defender before hitting the back of the net. Just like that, we were all square again.
Despite both sides’ best efforts, there was no further scoring in the half.
On 55 minutes, Berkeley found themselves through on goal with Jaydn Corrie seeing his shot saved on the near post by Josh Janszen.
Ten minutes later, Hopkins went on a weaving run, alluding several defenders before letting loose a shot that saw White make an acrobatic save.
With the clock ticking away, Corrie shrugged off a defender to fire a half volley that shaved the post. It would almost certainly have proved to be a match-winning goal.
Regulation time concluded at 1-1.
Just seconds into extra time, Noah Carter saw his effort turned away by Janszen as Berkeley fired first early.
Just a couple of minutes later, Van Oploo looked destined to score after he broke the defensive line; however, he simply took too long to line up his effort with the Goats scrambling the ball clear with some desperate defence.
It proved pivotal as Berkeley worked the ball forward. Noah Carter drove through on goal before sliding the ball past Janszen to give the Goats a 2-1 lead in extra time.
Shoalhaven had ten minutes to rescue the game and they came close on 103 minutes with Jack Hopkins’ free kick not far away.
Just as the game moved into the final few minutes, a defensive error saw Shoalhaven capitalise with captain Matthew Higham nipping in and slamming the ball into goal from close range to once again level the scores in this amazing see-sawing battle.
With time expired, we moved to penalties to determine the winner. It was a dramatic finish with most fans on the edge of their seats; however, it was Berkeley Sports who broke with Shoalhaven, taking out the shootout to do the double.
Photos courtesy of Gragrapix
