Match of the Round
Helensburgh Thistle def Bulli 2-1 @ Balls Paddock
Helensburgh have continued their unbeaten start to the season after a hard-fought 2-1 win over Bulli at Balls Paddock on Monday afternoon.
The game started at a fast pace with Bulli’s Rui Ishizuka crashing a shot against the cross bar in the early minutes. Helensburgh responded well when, after just seven minutes, a strong overlapping move on the right-hand side saw the ball played across to Louis Connell, who still had work to do. From the edge of the penalty area, he let loose with a powerful drive across goal to the left-hand corner. It was a delightful finish.
Not long after, Ben McDonald scuffed a good chance from the edge of the box, which forced an awkward save from Luke Morgan.
Midway through the first half, both McDonald and Lewis Grinshaw stung the fingers of Morgan with strong shots from an angle.
Bulli managed to get themselves back in the game when they hit back on 56 minutes. Helensburgh failed to deal with a goalmouth scramble. McDonald forced a fine save from Luke Morgan; however he put away the rebound.
Helensburgh are a quick, mobile side and just ten minutes later, they showed just how dangerous they are on the counter when a swift break down the right side saw Charlie Jones clear through on goal. He tucked the ball under Daniel Collison to put Burgh back in front and score his eighth goal for the season.
Bulli pushed hard in the dying embers of the match with several chances created; however, Helensburgh showed great resilience and desperation as they managed to scramble, block and close everything down. Morgan pulled off two strong saves late in the game, ultimately closing out the result.
The win keeps Helensburgh in second place, just four points behind league leaders Wollongong United. They will fancy their chances this week as they host Cringila Lions.
Bulli will hope they can bounce back as they travel to Shellharbour on Saturday.
Photo: Kylie Patterson
Video highlights: https://youtu.be/nvXrXHfINDI – Peter Harkin (Bulli FC)
Cringila Lions def Berkeley Sports 2-0 @ Crehan Park
On Friday night, Cringila bounced back after three straight losses to defeat Berkeley Sports in a shortened match.
The experienced Peter Simonoski was the difference in a match that was even for the best part.
After a good spell of possession, Cringila hit the lead just before the break when Simonoski created a yard of space before curling an effort from the edge of the box into the bottom corner.
On the hour, he got his and Cringila’s second. Having received the ball on the edge of the box, he showed his finishing prowess as he dispatched his effort beyond Mitchell O’Neill.
With 20 minutes to go, we saw an unfortunate and nasty injury to Keegan Matias, which ultimately forced the abandonment of the match. Given 75% of the match was played, FSC determined that the result stands with Cringila declared 2-0 winners.
Cringila will now travel to the high-flying Helensburgh next week, with Berkeley hosting Port Kembla.
Photo: JK Media
Wollongong United def Shellharbour FC 3-1 @ Macedonia Park
Wollongong United continued their perfect start to the season with a solid derby win over Shellharbour FC.
Midway through the first half, James Stojanovski picked up a loose ball through the midfield before laying off to Nav Darjani, who needed a second effort after the first one was blocked to finish the chance and put United ahead.
United were in again on 37 minutes when Sam Matthews again capitalised on some loose possession in Shellharbour’s back third. He slipped in Kyah Jovanovski, who neatly chipped the advancing keeper to double their lead.
It was all but over after 40 minutes when a long ball was launched into the Shellharbour penalty area from halfway. Daniel Mihajlovic heading into his own goal in what was perhaps a first-half Shellharbour would like back again.
To Shellharbour’s credit, they fought back in the second half and were rewarded mid-way through when some good work on the left from substitute William Slater saw him put in a delightful cross that was headed in from close range from Danil Romanov, who now has eight league goals from six starts.
Neither side troubled the scorer as United saw out the win as they maintained their league lead of four points. They now face Coniston next week as they look to start the season with seven straight wins.
Shellharbour will take some heart from their second-half performance as they return home to host Bulli in their next league game. Before this, they face SD Raiders midweek in Round 5 of the Australia Cup at home.
Photo: Richie Wagner
South Coast United def Tarrawanna Blueys 4-2 @ Ian McLennan Park
A Joshua Keremelevski hat trick was the featured in the win for South Coast United.
Keremelevski opened the scoring on 17 minutes after United won a penalty. He confidently converted putting United ahead.
In an open game of football, the chances flowed at both ends throughout the game. William Cross levelled the scores just before the break for the Blueys.
The game was turned on its head in the space of just ten minutes after the break. Vicent Fedele put South Coast back in front on 50 minutes.
Keremelevski then scored two goals in the space of 90 seconds, just ten minutes later, to all but seal the game for the hosts. Keremelevski took his goal tally to six with an important hat trick for his club.
Jayden Grumley pulled a goal back for Tarrawanna on 85 minutes, but the damage was already done.
Coach Harvey Rodriguez was obviously left frustrated with the result as he saw red after the match.
Albion Park White Eagles drew with Coniston FC 0-0 @ Terry Reserve
A strong contingent of supporters was on hand to see what has historically been a fixture that many people look forward to. Unfortunately, on this occasion, the match produced no goals.
Coming off last start draws, both sides were out to get maximum points. Both sides had strong stretches of play; however, things broke down in the final third.
The best chances came late in the game when the Eagles failed to capitalise on a loose ball in the box, with the shot going wide.
Coniston had a great chance to win it when Cameron Morgan pounced on a parried save from Cristofer Fuentes; he blasted over from close range, which essentially summed up the day for both sides.
The draw saw both sides even at this stage of the season significantly dent their league title hopes.
Albion Park White Eagles now face a desperate Tarrawanna Blueys away, whilst Coniston will need to be a lot more clinical if they are going to get anything out of their match against Wollongong United.
Wollongong Olympic def Port Kembla 2-0 @ Wetherall Park
Olympic made it back-to-back wins after they dispatched Port Kembla at Wetherall Park on Monday.
Port Kembla have been in a bit of a purple patch of late, and they put up a strong fight early as they looked to choke the midfield, giving Olympic very little time to settle on the ball. The home would have been pleased with their effort in the first half as they kept Olympic scoreless, whilst they weren’t without some half-chances of their own.
With Rick Goodchild making way for Yasukawa Masato at the break, he made an instant impact seconds into the second half when he was on the end of a sweeping move, smashing home from close range to break the deadlock.
On the hour, Hayden Durose pulled off an incredible save to deny Port Kembla an equaliser. The shot destined for the top corner saw him diving at full stretch to his left to pluck the ball from the air.
Olympic, perhaps inspired by that, just ten minutes later, got a second. Olympic have been dangerous from set pieces this season as they scored from a corner kick. The ball floated in with Nick Litter attracting plenty of attention, and it fell to Guy Knight, who finished from six yards out.
Despite some late half-chances for Port Kembla, Olympic held firm as they came away with the points. The win sees Olympic maintain third spot and keep within touching distance. They play a resurgent South Coast United in their next match.
Port Kembla, on the other hand, faces Berkeley Sports and their former coach Darren Jones next Sunday.
Photo: Jack Baldassari
