The newly created Men’s Premier League 3 kicked off this week. There was no shortage of action and goals.
Match of the Round
Shellharbour City 1-1 Highlands FC @ Myimbar Park
It was a physical start to the opening match of the PL3 season, with both sides coming out of the blocks looking to assert themselves.
The first chance came the way of Highlands’ Joshua Nickl, who showed good footwork to create a scoring opportunity; however, his effort cleared the crossbar on just 12 minutes.
Shellharbour City’s first genuine chance fell to Cassander Grujevski, who was slipped through in a one-on-one with Jacob Sullivan. The keeper did well to smother his effort.
Moments later, Keegan Rae burst down the left before squaring to Fred Ash, who was unable to turn it in with the goal as his mercy.
Beau Randle and Blake Friedrich traded chances, with both players blasting over from a good position.
As rain began to fall, Cassander Grujevski narrowly slid his shot wide as it skidded just the wrong side of the post on 40 minutes.
Just minutes before half-time, Jackson Nolan found himself wide open from a corner, but he headed wide.
At the other end, Friedrich latched onto a loose ball, forcing a strong save from Kayne Strong.
Just three minutes after the break, Grujevski nearly capitalised on a poor clearance from the Highlands keeper, but he recovered well to get back and stop the effort.
Highlands dominated the next ten minutes, and they capitalised when a blocked shot fell to Friedrich, who tucked it away through a crowd of players to give the visitors the lead.
Midway through the half, Friedrich had the chance to extend his team’s lead as he was through on goal. His effort was partially saved by Strong before reinforcements arrived to clear the ball.
Seconds later, some good footwork from Josh Petrovski saw him deliver a ball that deceived everyone as it slipped just outside the far post.
On 85 minutes, Rea charged down the left, shrugging off two defenders before cutting in and forcing a strong save on the near post.
Just as it looked like Highlands would come away with the win, an inconspicuous cross was dropped by Sullivan, and James Sekuloski was on hand to swiftly clean it up, levelling the scores on 86 minutes.
Friedrich was dismissed for a second cautionable offence on 89 minutes as Shellharbour finished strongly. Time ran out as the opening game of the season ended all square which overall was perhaps a fair result.
Photos courtesy of Richie Wagner
Woonona Sharks 2-1 Bellambi Rosellas @ Ocean Park
The Sharks marked a historic return to Men’s Premier League football with a gritty 2-1 win over the Rosellas.
Ian Hollis scored inside four minutes to kick things off, and he bagged his second on the half hour as the Sharks took control of the match.
The Rosellas have a point to prove and they weren’t about to give in. When Christian Baade-Mortimer buried his opportunity on 82 minutes, it set up a rather nervy final ten minutes.
The Sharks managed to hang on as they started the new season on a high. They take on Coledale Waves next week, who are coming off the Round 1 bye.
Bellambi will head over the mountain as they take on Highlands FC.
Warilla Wanderers 9-0 Corrimal Rangers @ King Mickey Park
The Wanderers put Corrimal to the sword, showing no mercy as they ran riot, featuring a Jack Murray hat trick.
The home wasted no time as they won a penalty inside the opening minute, which Murray converted. It was not the start the Rangers would have hoped, but they steadied the ship as they defended desperately, keeping Warilla at bay for the next 25 minutes.
The last 20 minutes of the first half proved disastrous for Corrimal as they conceded four more goals inside the first half.
Josh De Gouveia made it two on 27 minutes before Farshad Valadkhani easily made it just five minutes later. Not long after that, Joel Perry got in on the action for Wanderers’ fourth before Mason Videla made it five moments before the break. The Rangers were struggling to keep up with the Wanderers, who looked sharp.
It was a matter of just how much Warilla was going to get when Valadkhani converted another penalty on 57 minutes as Warilla got their sixth.
To their credit, Corrimal kept trying and whilst they struggled to create many great meaningful attacks, the defensive line was working overtime.
The constant pressure started to tell as Murray notched up number seven on 75 minutes before completing his hat trick on 87 minutes.
Stewart Robertson completed the rout with a goal inside the last minute as the Wanderers kicked off their campaign with a resounding win.
They now face Figtree FC next week, whilst Corrimal will be looking to put up a more competitive performance against another of the leading teams in Shellharbour City.
Albion Park FC 6-2 Figtree FC @ Terry Reserve
Albion Park continued their dominance over Figtree FC in recent years as they started their Premiership campaign in fine style.
Park won a penalty on 19 minutes, with Boden Allport calmly netting, giving the home side the lead.
Matthew Cignarella made it two on 28 minutes with a neat finish, doubling Albion Park’s lead.
Things appeared to be going well for the home side until the half-hour mark, when, in the blink of an eye, Figtree levelled things up. Elijah Reys slotting the ball past the keeper on 33 minutes before grabbing another just five minutes later.
The lapse in concentration was short-lived as Kian Chesney scored a crucial goal just before the break that was ultimately the turning point of the match.
Just three minutes after the restart, Reece Mcintosh restored Albion Park’s two-goal lead before another penalty saw Toby Learmont convert, and just like that, Park were up 5-2.
Kian Chesney added a sixth on the hour as Albion Park saw out the game.
Albion Park’s Jeff Allport will hope to use the bye this week to work on a few things, whilst things won’t get any easier for Figtree as they host a rampant Warilla Wanderers at Harry Graham.
