The second week of the finals series confirmed the first teams to make the grand final across the Illawarra Premier League 1.
There were high-scoring clashes and penalty drama across the grades.
Here is how it played out.
First Grade: Wollongong Olympic 1 (3) Albion Park White Eagles 1 (4)
Albion Park are the first team through to the Illawarra Premier League 1 First Grade Grand Final, edging past league champions Wollongong Olympic in a nail-biting penalty shootout at Terry Reserve.
The match could not have been tighter throughout the course of the regular 90 minutes, with the deadlock still yet to be broken at full time.
Albion Park’s breakthrough came just nine minutes into extra time.
Sam Alston proved the architect again, following his assist against Cringila the week prior. He whipped in another right-wing cross that this time found Damon Gray who steered a header into the top left corner.
Olympic wasted little time to equalise, with Kyle Jackson firing home in the 103rd minute, but no further goal action sent the game to a penalty shootout.
Despite Nathan Millgate’s early shootout miss, Albion Park earned their place in the grand final after Olympic’s Ben Zucco missed and Cristofer Fuentes saved Rick Goodchild’s effort.
Albion Park will face either Wollongong Olympic or Wollongong United in the big dance.
First Grade: Cringila Lions 0 Wollongong United 1
Cringila Lions bowed out of the finals series in straight sets, suffering another 1-0 loss, this time to Wollongong United at JJ Kelly Park on Sunday.
United started fast and snatched the lead just eight minutes in, courtesy of Jordan Nikolovski, who continued his hot streak in finals football.
The attacker brought down Nav Darjani’s right-wing cross at the back post, where he delivered with a smart finish past Cringila goalkeeper Nik Ristevski.
Both teams had their chances in the first half, but it proved to be a series of near misses for Cringila.
Simonoski was a handful for the United backline, curling a shot wide before seeing his close-range free-kick saved by Tom Alston in response to falling behind.
United maintained a threat in the match, and five minutes after Simonoski’s saved free-kick, Jason Zufic picked out Nikolovski in the box, but this time Ristevski was equal to it.
The Lions created two more chances towards the end of the half, with Simonoski striking an effort from the left of the box across goal, before Andre Dias struck the crossbar directly from a corner. United went into the sheds with their narrow lead intact.
Cringila came out flying for the second half in their pursuit of a route back into the game.
In the 49th minute, James Anagnostopoulos latched onto Simonoski’s right-sided cross, but the midfielder didn’t make meaningful contact with the ball.
As the game wore on, Cringila pushed United further back by attacking in greater numbers.
Wollongong United defended with determination, limiting their opponents to few clear-cut chances.
The side still had their opportunities down the other end, but they couldn’t find a second goal to relieve pressure.
Deep into stoppage time, the Lions almost pulled back level when Alston denied Simonoski from a tight angle in the left of the area.
United held on in the remaining moments to continue their run in the finals series, and will tackle Wollongong Olympic for a spot in the grand final next weekend.
Second Grade: Port Kembla 2 Coniston 0
Second Grade League Champions Port Kembla advanced through to the grand final courtesy of two second-half goals in a 2-0 win against Coniston on Sunday at JJ Kelly Park.
Daniel Cunzolo opened the scoring 11 minutes after the restart, before Jordan Hondroudakis doubled Port’s lead from the penalty spot in the 75th minute.
Port Kembla have lost just once all season, coming against Coniston in a 5-2 scoreline back in March.
Coniston will take on Wollongong United this weekend in the preliminary final.
Second Grade: Bulli 1 Wollongong United 4
Wollongong United stormed to a 4-1 win against Bulli in an exhilarating clash at Terry Reserve on Saturday afternoon.
Luke Darjani opened the scoring for United with less than 60 seconds on the clock – a lead the side took into the break.
Bryson Rush’s red card only moments after the restart for United put the pressure back on, but Kaito Mukuno scored in the 56th minute to double the team’s advantage.
Christian Buhagiar gave Bulli a lifeline in the 72nd minute with a goal to provide some late momentum.
Ultimately, United proved too strong, with Antonio Sansone re-establishing his team’s two-goal buffer five minutes later.
Mitchell Lewis saw red for Bulli with four regular minutes to play, before Christian Sansone added a fourth goal for Wollongong United in the dying embers.
United play Coniston this weekend for a shot at grand final glory.
Youth Grade: Bulli 4 Albion Park White Eagles 3
Bulli fought back from two goals down in a dramatic 4-3 win against Albion Park on Saturday morning at Terry Reserve.
Mateja Miovic and Noah Hidasi had the White Eagles 2-0 up heading into the sheds, but William Davis halved the deficit soon after the hour mark.
Odhinn Taylor-Garrett saw red for the White Eagles only a couple of minutes later, and Bulli took full advantage, with Davis grabbing his second to square things up in the 70th minute.
The teams could not be separated at the end of the regulation time, meaning the game would need extra time to decide a winner.
Davis secured his hat-trick just four minutes after the restart, and Kai Macpherson doubled Bulli’s advantage in the 105th minute.
Luka Radisavljevic pulled a goal back for Albion Park three minutes later to make it a nervy finish, but Bulli got over the line.
Bulli face Cringila in the preliminary final to make the big dance next week.
Youth Grade: Wollongong United 1 Cringila Lions 3
Cringila came from a goal down to earn their place in the grand final, registering a 3-1 win against Wollongong United on Sunday at JJ Kelly Park.
Cohen Martins put United in front in the 12th minute, but two minutes after halftime, Axl Hornby restored parity.
Dean Dimoski scored just after the hour mark, before Hornby grabbed his second goal in the 75th minute to secure the result.
United will need to beat Bulli next week to make the big dance – a side that denied them grand final glory in miraculous fashion in 2025.
