Match of the Round- Bellambi Rosellas FC-2, Coledale Waves FC-7 @Elizabeth Park
Coledale’s set pieces prove crucial as the Waves put seven past Bellambi in the second half to secure a comeback win.
In the ninth minute, the Rosellas caught the opposition defence by surprise as Alhassane Camara wriggled through multiple defenders in the box. He then took it around the keeper and poked it home to make it 1-0 to the home side.
Bellambi went on a counterattack in the dying minutes of the first half to grab another to increase the lead before halftime. Camara received a ball out wide, where he dragged a defender out of position and then sent a ball to Shuhei Nagasawa. The ball got across the defender, where the winger struck it first time on the edge of the box and hit the top left bin to ripple the net.
In the 62nd minute, Bellambi were attacked by a high ball where Rhys Cattle attempted to clear; however, the clearance went over the keeper for an own goal.
Four minutes later, Coledale had a corner taken by Adam Sadler. He swung an inswinging ball which travelled into the far right corner of the goal to put both teams level at 2-2.
Bellambi suffered another goal from a corner, this time in the 68th minute, when Vaughan Lickley got on the end of the corner kick and put it past the keeper. 3-2 to the Waves.
The Rosellas were losing hold of the game as Bellambi’s keeper miskicked his goal kick, and it landed at the feet of the Coledale midfield, where they moved the ball to Eduardo Bateman. The target man had enough space from the defender to rocket it into the top right corner.
Six minutes later, another opportunity arose for the forward. Bellambi attempted to clear a corner away, but the away side gained possession and lobbed it at the keeper. Bateman redirected the kick past the keeper before he could catch it.
Coledale continued their purge as they won the ball high up the pitch from Bellambi’s goal kick; Liam Chilton had an easy through ball sent through for him. He then had all the time to slot it past the keeper to make it 6-2 in the 88th minute.
Coledale were yet again rewarded with a goal from a corner. The corner kick was struck with power at the front post; no player could block it. It bounced kindly to Lickley, who punted the final goal of the game in the 90th minute.
Bellambi have a chance to overturn their string of defeats with a potential win away from home against Corrimal.
For the next fixture on the calendar for Coledale, they will play Albion Park away with high confidence after their recent high-scoring victory.
Woonona Sharks FC-1, Albion Park FC-2 @Ocean Park
Albion Park, with their backs against the wall, pulled away with a triumph in the second half.
Albion Park was forced into an error in the 15th minute, with Jesse Ryman conceding an own goal to put the Sharks in an early lead.
In the 30th minute, more problems occurred for the visitors as they suffered a red card handed to Reece Mcintosh. Albion Park had to play the last hour with ten men.
Woonona had all to look forward to for the second half and were up by a goal and their opposition down by a player.
Albion Park, however, fired back two minutes after the break to catch the home side by surprise with a goal out of nothing scored by Boden Allport.
Both teams were now, all of a sudden, equal.
Even though Albion Park had one less player, they remained composed as they grabbed a second goal of the game, bagged by Conor Edenden in the 58th minute.
A comeback in the second half and all odds against them, Albion Park ran away with a victory as they saw the game out to a close with a 2-1 scoreline.
Woonona take on Warilla in the next match away.
The Sharks will have to be patient for another chance of a win as their next opposition sits in second on the ladder.
The winners, Albion Park, now host a game against an eager Coledale Waves side who managed to put seven past their previous opponent, Bellambi.
Figtree FC-0, Shellharbour City FC-3 @Harry Graham Park
Shellharbour, in the 13th minute, netted a goal to make it 1-0 to the away side. Beau Randle put his side into the lead.
Figtree played a major role in keeping their opponents quiet for the rest of the half and even at the start of the second half.
Aleksa Baljak, however, broke the silence as he finished his opportunity to double the lead in the 53rd minute.
The home team made a valiant effort to keep City at bay and keep the scoreline to a reasonable level.
Figtree, unfortunately, could only hold the league leaders for so long, as Shellharbour pounced on a late chance in the late stages of the game.
James Sekuloski found an opening in the defence to infiltrate and put the ball in the back of the net in the 86th minute to put the game to bed.
Shellharbour will have to put its win streak to a halt for now, as its next round is a bye.
An away game against the Highlands is what’s in store for Figtree.
A low scoreline against league toppers, Shellharbour, should give Figtree the spirit to go the distance against fourth-place Highlands.
Corrimal Rangers FC-0, Highlands FC-2 @Memorial Park
Highlands take the win away from home, but Corrimal make it uneasy as they only conceded two against the top-four side.
Blake Friedrich got back to scoring ways as he put his goal away in the 24th minute to break down the defence. Highlands with a goal up in under half an hour.
Highlands experienced a setback with a red card given in the 39th minute to Jacob Clarke.
The away side had to make do with a player down for the remainder of the match.
The setback didn’t keep the visitors down for long as Friedrich gained his double of the game in the 65th minute.
The goal put the Highlands back in control of the match and saw it through to the end.
Highlands end as victors in their 2-0 victory; however, Corrimal can look back at this game with positivity as they kept a top-four side to a low score-line.
The next match on Corrimal’s schedule is Bellambi at home; if they can replicate their form, they have a chance of getting a result against the Rosellas.
Highlands have Figtree for their next opponent, and they expect to host a victory in this match.
By Thomas Panayiotou
