A last-gasp goal from substitute Sang Ho Lee gave Kemblawarra Fury the three points at Albert Butler Memorial Park on Sunday, though Cringila Lions will take pride in a spirited performance against one of the favourites to take this season’s Illawarra Premier League title.

When Robbie Shields gave the Fury the lead after five minutes, many in the crowd may have been expecting a goal rush, but the Lions gave the home side a fright, equalising through captain Daniel Atkins and then very nearly snatching victory themselves in the second half.

Lions coach Jason Higgs said after the match: “I’m very proud of the boys. I thought we played well and deserved a point. We played an attacking brand of football, putting pressure on them in the centre of the park and the system worked. It’s disappointing to have lost at the end.”

The Fury were flowing at first in almost perfect playing conditions, with no sun, little wind and temperatures more conducive to good football than most matches this season had been so far.

Having seen their Youth and Under-18 teams lose heavily earlier in the afternoon, the Lions faithful may have feared the worst when Shields went virtually unchallenged and could pick his spot with a fine header in the sixth minute to give his side the lead.

David Hartas came close to doubling the Fury lead minutes later. He charged forward into the area, but saw his shot saved well by the excellent Joel Tinker in the Lions’ goal.

The game was ten minutes old when the Lions had their first effort on goal, Joel Craig seizing on a poor clearance and forcing a diving save out of David Poeira in the Fury goal.

But in these early stages, it was the home side that dominated. Alvin Ceccoli threaded a neat ball through into the path of Sam Munro who had only the keeper to beat, but Tinker somehow got a touch on the ball and steered it wide for a corner.

Munro and Shields then linked up well to set up a chance for Fury centre forward Matthew NcNab, but Jarryd King got back in time to prevent the shot. Then Ceccoli again sent in one of his swinging crosses, looking for Shields at the far post, but this time the ball was just beyond the Fury striker’s reach.

With just three at the back, and forwards of the calibre of McNab and Shields to contend with, Cringila defended extraordinarily well in this opening period. Aside from the opening goal, Daniel Wagus, Daniel Ramirez and King took it in turns to suppress the Fury flow, using their height and strength to outmanoeuvre the Kemblawarra front line.

And in the middle of the park Esali Ali and new boy Mikal Awad were beginning to work some magic of their own. It was Awad and Ali’s one-two that set up the Cringila equaliser in the 26^th minute. Their work created a chance for Todd Sparks whose shot was only parried into the path of Atkins, who made no mistake with his right foot.

The equaliser was a trigger for the home side to up their own game, with the last fifteen minutes of the first half seeing the Fury at their stylish best.

It was an attacking throw in from Ceccoli that set up one chance on the half hour. Shields headed the ball across the face of the goal and Fabian Iacovelli tried a scissors kick shot that Tinker only took at the second attempt.

Then Shields proved too fast for King down the right and laid the ball off for McNab in front of goal, but the striker scuffed his shot and the ball bobbled harmlessly into Tinker’s hands. Iacovelli fired the ball in from the right, looking for McNab again, but this time Wagus got a foot in the way.

As the first half drew to a close it seemed inevitable that the Fury would score. Munro and Shields outwitted the Cringila defence and sent the ball across the face of the goal with McNab sliding in for that final touch but he was an inch or two short and the ball fizzed behind for a goal-kick.

But it was Tinker who kept his side in it before the break. First he punched clear a Ceccoli cross with Shields ready to pounce again with his head, then he made a double save as McNab ran onto another Ceccoli throw in and fired the ball goalwards. That save went straight to Munro who looked certain to score but Tinker got down once again to keep the ball out.

Having weathered the Fury first half storm, the Lions came out fiercer in the second.

Alexander Veljanovski’s long range effort shortly after the break clipped the cross bar. And the lively Awad almost set up Atkins for his second of the afternoon, but the Cringila captain waited too long to shoot and Poeira had time to save.

At the other end, Ramirez, Wagus and King continued to work hard, stifling almost everything the Fury could throw at them. And when for once they were beaten, there was always Tinker there to keep the Fury out, as when Munro picked the ball up on the edge of the area and almost walked the ball in to the net, but even then he could not get past Tinker.

The Lions’ belief in themselves grew as the clock ticked over. And with four minutes to go the visitors almost took the lead.

Substitute Hirohari Kobayashi linked up well with Awad to find Craig by the far post, but Brenton Rhodes somehow kept the ball out after Craig’s final touch. And then Awad himself had a go in the 87^th minute. His right foot shot took a strong deflection and everyone watched in slow motion with Poeira stranded as the ball went just wide of the post.

A minute later the Fury thought they had nicked a winner, when Shields appeared to bundle the ball into the net from close range, but the referee signalled that the forward had handled the ball and Shields received a yellow card instead.

But the final drama was still to come in one of the best moves of the match. Hartas threaded the ball through to Shields, who flicked on to Ceccoli on the edge of the area. The Fury captain saw Ho Lee at the far post and the substitute took one touch before firing the ball into the back of the net for the winner.

Fury captain Alvin Ceccoli said after the match: “Cringila gave us a good game today but as they say, it’s not over until the final whistle. We had a lot of chances today but didn’t capitalise on them; some of our guys have been carrying a few injuries and are not fully fit yet, but as the season goes on I’m sure we’ll get better.”

And final words from Cringila coach Higgs: “Unfortunately we’re on zero points after two games, but if we keep putting in that sort of performance, we’ll win a few games. We’ve got a great bunch of lads here, and let’s face it, you got your $6 worth today if you came to watch a good game of football.”

Kemblawarra Fury – 2 (Shields 6’, Sang Ho Lee 90 + 4’)

Cringila Lions – 1 (Atkins 26’)

Sunday 3 April 2016

Albert Butler Memorial Park

Referee: Bobby Mazevski

Assistant referees: Alex Rogers, Ryan O’Sullivan

Kemblawarra Fury: David Poeira, Shane Murray, Tyson Rhodes, Shane Lyons, Brenton Rhodes, David Hartas, Fabian Iacovelli (Ryan Suttle 69’), Alvin Ceccoli, Matthew McNab (Sang Ho Lee 78’), Robbie Shields, Sam Munro (subs not used: Josh Mears, Jordan Simpson, Jason Zufic)

Cringila Lions: Joel Tinker, Daniel Wagus, Daniel Ramirez, Jarryd King, Todd Sparks, Joel Craig, Joel Taddeo (James Eldred 61’), Esali Ali, Mikel Awad, Alexander Veljanovski, Daniel Atkins (Hirohari Kobayashi 84’) (subs not used: Daichi Murashita, Cameron Camilleri)

Report by Simon Duffin
Photo Archive: Pedro Garcia