Port Kembla came into the round eight clash on the back of a three-match unbeaten run that saw them round out the bottom of the top five. Bulli had yet to experience a defeat this season and came into the match on the back of a 120 minute FFA Cup win over Nepean midweek.

Neither side dominated the opening stages of the match with a number of niggling fouls breaking up the play. The closest either side came to a goal in the opening 20 minutes was a free kick from Bulli’s Ryan Emerton which struck the left post before being cleared away.

In the 23rd minute, Bulli was awarded a penalty after Kyle Hazebroek made a lazy challenge on Guy Knight. Dylan Lewis grabbed the ball and slotted it into the bottom left corner of the net. The penalty breaking a run of six league games without a goal for the usually formidable attacker.

Port Kembla should have drawn level 10 minutes before the interval. Scott Best failed to clear a lofted ball into the Bulli area, with the ball falling to new recruit, Cameron Morgan who on the spin struck his shot over the bar with his weaker left foot. A critical miss from right in front of the goal.

Bulli would go into the halftime break with their one goal advantage still intact.

In the 49th minute, Knight broke away from his defender on the halfway line before playing a through for Marcus Beattie. The young forward broke down the right wing into the box, he attempted to hit the ball across Brad Jardine but the Port number 1 pulled off an excellent one on one stop.

Port Kembla worked two half chances in the space of four minutes. In the 56th minute, Mitchell Scazzarello tested Yuya Kuwata with a 25 metre half volley. This was followed by a determined run by Morgan into the right side of the box, the former Kemblawarra Fury striker attracted three defenders before his shot was blocked for a corner.

Port Kembla was slowly beginning to seem the side most likely to score the next goal but the away side moved two goals clear in the 78th minute. Knight fired a pass into McDonald who played a deft pass off to Lewis who touched the ball into space before hitting a shot with his weaker left foot across Jardine into the bottom right corner. Smart play from the Bulli trio.

The second goal effectively ended the match with Bulli running out 2-0 winners. The away side’s fifth league win in succession keeps them on top of the table and their coach, Matt Bailey was pleased to pick up another win in what has been a busy period for his club. Bulli’s next match is away to Cringila on Friday night.

With this defeat, Port Kembla drop out of the top five and they could fall as low as 7th depending on Sunday’s match at Ian Mclennan Park. There are still positives for Noel Spencer’s side with a number of players beginning to come back from injury including Blake McGinn and Joey Lavalle. Port’s next match is away to Tarrawanna - a crucial clash between two sides battling it out for fifth.

 

Click this link to listen to the post match interviews with Matt Bailey and Dylan Lewis - https://soundcloud.com/dylanarvela/post-match-interviews-after-bulli-beat-port-kembla-to-stay-top

 

Port Kembla - 0

Bulli - 2 (Dylan Lewis 23’ pen, 78’)

 

Saturday the 13th of May at Wetherall Park, Primbee

 

Port Kembla - Brad Jardine, Blake McGinn, William Mobbs, Matt Werasko, Carlo Stella, Kyle Hazebroek, Kody Maude, Mitchell Scazzarello, Sandy Lowcock, Cameron Morgan and Ben Zucco

Subs - Brooklyn Frkovic (on for McGinn), Douglas Woodiwiss (on for Scazzarello), Jayden Sallucci (on for Lowcock), Jack Miranda and Daniel Farina

Coach - Noel Spencer

 

Bulli - Yuya Kuwata, Lewis Clements, Kenji Takahashi, Corey Horner, Scott Best, Ryan Emerton, Dylan Lewis, Guy Knight, Ben McDonald, Sam Davies and Marcus Beattie

Subs - Kyle Jackson (on for Clements), Nick Miceski, Daniel Careno, Harry Callahan (on for Davies) and Jayden Lewis

Coach - Matt Bailey

 

Referee - Peter Ilcevski

Assistant referee - Lottie Cabassi-Power and Maya Francis

 

Click this link to listen to last week’s Football South Coast In Focus interview with Bulli’s Marcus Beattie - https://soundcloud.com/dylanarvela/football-south-coast-in-focus-marcus-beattie

 

Report by Dylan Arvela on Twitter @dylanarvela