Match of the Round
Berkeley Sports def Port Kembla 6-0 @ Berkeley Sportsground
Berkeley Sports got off to a blistering start. Chris Hollingshead turned his opponent on the left after just 90 seconds. He headed for the goal before curling a shot inside the top corner of the far post. It was a sublime finish, gifting the home side the perfect start.
Just five minutes later, Hollingshead used his pace to get into the penalty area; however, he was brought down, resulting in a spot kick. Luke Boersma stepped up and sent Blake Coad the wrong way to double the lead inside seven minutes.
Port Kembla were clearly rocked by the start, and further chances fell to Hollingshead, who miscued and William Provino, who had his shot saved as Berkeley rampaged forward in numbers.
Port Kembla’s best chance fell to Kota Kakinuma, who weaved his way through the Berkeley defence midway through the half. He got himself in a strong position; however, he sliced his shot wide.
On the half-hour mark, the teams traded chances with Daniel Merola unable to lift the ball over Coad before Valentino Merxhushi stunned the fingers of Eli Manning at the other end.
Hollingshead was proving a nuisance, and he once again found himself in a strong scoring position on 41 minutes. A desperate lunging tackle saw the ball come loose. It fell to Provino, who tucked it away to the delight of the home fans.
Port Kembla started the second half brightly. Sandy Lowcock brought the ball down in the box before firing a shot that narrowly missed the target.
On the hour, Koray Gokturk saw his cross brush against the crossbar. Moments later, Lowcock saw his one-on-one saved.
On 70 minutes, Boersma curled a free kick from 25 yards over the wall and under the bar to make it four for Berkeley as the game was all but over.
They weren’t done yet, though. On 83 minutes, Gokturk was brought down, and Berkeley won another penalty. Boersma completed his hat trick as he buried the spot kick.
There was one final twist when the lively Gokturk nipped his way in the box. His curling effort struck the post. It fell to Provino, who cleaned it up as Berkeley Sports completed the rout, hitting Port for six.
Port Kembla will need to regroup quickly as they face league leaders Wollongong United this week. Berkeley Sports will go into their clash away to Albion Park White Eagles next week with confidence.
Photo Credit: JK Media
Shellharbour FC drew with Bulli FC 1-1 @ Barrack Heights Oval
We saw a tight contest at Barck Heights Oval that wasn’t short of drama.
Ben McDonald had a golden chance inside the first minute when he blasted over the bar from a good position.
Just moments later, Blake Mottram burst down the right side. He cut inside and squared to William Slater who saw his effort saved by Ben McGinnes.
On six minutes, a Bulli corner kick was only partially cleared. Joel Starr’s half volley from the edge of the box forced Jude Azar into a flying save.
Midway through the half, a neat combination involving Deakin Peterson and McDonald saw Lewis Grimshaw presented with a golden chance; however, Azar made a fine one-handed save to deny Bulli, who were well on top at this stage.
Just before half-time, Cody Wehmeyer’s curling effort from 25 yards had McGinnes at full stretch as he just managed to flick it over the bar.
Mottram got himself in the box just after half-time but blasted wide from a tight angle with the goal at his mercy.
With the game in the balance, Shellharbour were reduced to ten players when talisman Danil Romanov was dismissed for lashing out at Peterson on the hour.
Just ten minutes later, Bulli capitalised. A long ball by Samuel Sisounon was not dealt with by Daniel Mihajlovic. Peterson nipped in and slid the ball under Azar. Bulli 1-0.
With time running down, Aleksandar Duckinoski delivered a cross that saw substitute Kallie Bangura dispatch an effort from ten yards out to level the score in what was an unlikely point.
The game was unfortunately abandoned a short time later in stoppage time due to a serious injury. FSC ruled the match complete.
Bulli now face Coniston at home whilst Shellharbour take on Wollongong Olympic.
Photo Credit: Kylie Patterson
Albion Park White Eagles def Tarrawanna Blueys 3-0 @ Tarrawanna Oval
Tarrawanna have had a tough week, losing coach Harvey Rodriguez and goalkeeper Adam Rodriguez. The club is languishing at the bottom of the table with just one point.
Any chance of upsetting the Eagles was dashed in the opening minutes of their match.
On three minutes, Advin Trebincevic unfortunately turned the ball into his own goal before Damon Gray buried an opportunity just five minutes later as the Eagles raced out to a two-goal lead inside 10 minutes.
Tarrawanna managed to stop the bleeding as they competed well throughout the rest of the match; however, they were simply unable to convert their half-chances.
Dylan Griffiths added salt to injury when he converted an opportunity into injury time to hand the Eagles a comfortable 3-0 win.
Tarrawanna have scored the fewest goals and will need to change that if they are to get some much-needed results. They will be hoping to turn their fortunes around on Friday night at Cringila.
The Eagles, now unbeaten in their last four games, have moved within striking distance, and they face a tricky assignment against a rejuvenated Goats side that will be out to maintain their position in the top five.
Wollongong United drew with Coniston FC 2-2 @ Macedonia Park
Coniston shocked United with a goal inside the opening 10 minutes. A neat ball over the top found Keiran Kuzmanovski, who took a touch to compose himself before burying a shot across goal into the far corner.
Midway through the half a nice touch from Cameron Morgan saw Josh Correia break through the middle. With the United defence scrambling, he played Kuzmanovski in behind. He rounded the keeper before passing into an empty goal to give Coniston a two-goal lead.
It was an uncharacteristic first half from United, who now had their work cut out if they were to preserve their perfect start to the season.
They responded well as champion sides do.
United thought they found a way back inside the opening minute when James Stojanovski curled a free kick into the top corner from 27 yards out; however, as it was an indirect free kick, the goal was ruled out.
Midway through the second half, United were awarded a penalty for a handball offence. Nav Darjani’s effort was well saved by Kaydin Harrison, who dived to his right to palm the ball away and preserve the two-goal lead.
Yosuke Akiyama burst through the middle with a darting run. His pace created enough space for him to slide the ball beyond Harrison, reducing the deficit with creating a nervous last ten minutes.
Just three minutes later, Jarrod Lasala dodged a tackle as he burst towards the goal. He cut the back into the box, and after a scramble, Danny Lazarevski poked the ball into the corner to tie the game up.
Fans were on the edge of their seat for the last few minutes as the game opened up with both sides looking for a winner. It didn’t come as both teams were forced to settle for a draw.
Both teams will consider themselves unlucky in a game of two halves. United’s lead at the top reduced to just two points as they face Port Kembla this coming week.
Coniston earned their third straight draw and will be hoping for maximum points when they face Bulli next week.
Photo Credit: Richie Wagner
Helensburgh Thistle def Cringila Lions 1-0 @ Rex Jackson Oval
Helensburgh continue to surprise as they came away with an important win over Cringila Lions to close the gap at the top of the ladder to just two points.
Despite dominating large parts of the game, Cringila somehow walked away empty-handed. New coach, Jason Dafkovski, was left frustrated after the visitors squandered countless opportunities with a combination of poor finishing and decision-making.
Helensburgh have been superb for the best part of this season already. As good teams do, they find a way to overcome adversity. Charlie Jones latched onto a ball on 72 minutes to break the line to slot home and give the his side the lead and eventually a very important three points.
Helensburgh will be buoyed by the result. They travel to South Coast United on Saturday night for their next fixture, whilst Cringila will be hoping to find a bit more fluency in front of goal when they face a desperate Tarrawanna side on Friday night.
Wollongong Olympic def South Coast United 7-1 @ Elizabeth Park
Olympic have moved their home games to Elizabeth Park for the rest of the year due to PCYC being ruled out.
They are determined to make this a new fortress, and after dominating the early stages, they made it count on the scoreboard.
Mitchell Brooker opened the scoring on 11 minutes before doubling his tally and Olympic’s lead just four minutes later.
When Jason Madonis made it 3-0 just before the break, the writing was on the wall for South Coast.
Kyle Jackson chimed in for his first goal of the season after completing a swift move on the hour.
Madonis, buoyed by his earlier effort, went on a scoring spree. He bagged three goals in the space of 12 minutes to make it 7-0 after 75 minutes as he scored four goals in a match for the first time in his senior career.
Franz-Josef Treiblmayr pulled a goal back late in the game for South Coast United, which was nothing but a consolation as the visitors were pounded by a relentless Olympic side that won its third straight game to reduce the deficit to the league leader to just three points.
They will be looking to maintain that form against Shellharbour FC, whilst South Coast United will want to quickly put that behind them as they regroup for their match against Helensburgh Thistle.
