Warilla Wanderers played host to Thirroul Thunder in the Qualifying Final of the WGC Cranes District League with the winner booking a game against Fernhill to play-off for the chance at securing the first spot in this season’s Grand Final. The Wanderers had finished second on the table, with 47 points after their 22 matches, as well as one of the strongest attacking records in the league, with 61 goals to their name. The Thunder on the other hand, have one of the strongest defensive records in the league, with only 18 goals conceded in their 22 matches, which helped them to finish third, only two points behind Warilla. However, it was Warilla who held the bragging rights over the course of the season, with the Wanderers running out winners (3-2 and 2-1) both times the sides faced each other during the regular season.

Warilla begun the game with a real statement of intent, pushing forward with an attacking style of play and securing several corners in the opening minutes, but many of these chances were defended well by the Thunder, who ensured that Warilla would not secure an early lead. The Wanderers came close to breaking through the Thirroul defence in the 17^th minute, but a final shot from Kaine Good fell directly into the path of Thirroul keeper Joshua Williams.

After some early Warilla dominance, Thirroul begun to acclimatize themselves to the match and the Thunder begun to push back and create some attacking movements of their own, however their long-ball passes were quickly snuffled out in the early stages of the match thanks to some fantastic rushing by Warilla keeper Valon Rizvani. But it was the Wanderers who would come agonizingly close once again to opening the scoring at the 24-minute mark, with some fantastic physical play from Bojan Caric allowing him to get past Thirroul’s Todd Davidson and fire off a shot at Williams, which the Thunder keeper fumbled and almost knocked into his own net, but he was able to get control of it before the ball crossed the line.

Thirroul finally got their first real chance of the match just five minutes later, with a great volley from Daniel Arthur from outside the box, but his chance went wide of the post. However, as the half begun to draw towards its close, the Thunder found themselves creating more and more attacking chances and they were rewarded on the stroke of half time. After some strong play down the right-hand side, Thirroul’s Nathan Mucci played a fantastic ball to Matthew Kellond, who in turn used a fabulous piece of individual skill to sneak past the Warilla backline, before slotting his shot past Rizvani to give the Thunder a 1-0 lead.

As the second half got underway, it appeared that Thirroul were happy to sit back a little and let Warilla come to them and this strategy saw the Wanderers dominate scoring chances in the early stages of the second half, with Adam White having arguably the best chance of the first fifteen minutes of the second half, with his header just wide of the post after a well-placed cross by Jordan Nolan. However, Warilla were unable to break down Thirroul through these opening blows as the Thunder showcased why they are one of the best defensive teams in the league, with fantastic scrambling and positioning shutting down numerous Warilla movements.

However, the law of averages assumes that Warilla would break through given enough chances and in the 71^st minute they finally leveled the score. The Wanderers had moments earlier just had a great shot off a free kick from Javier Ovando which forced a good save from keeper Joshua Williams, but it was Ovando who would win the battle, with the clearance of a Warilla corner falling to him and a fantastic shot from outside the box beating Williams at the post to tie the match up at 1-1.

With the game tied up and tension beginning to mount, either side was looking to break through again and avoid having to force extra-time. Thirroul came dangerously close to adding a second goal off a corner in the 82^nd minute, with a shot from Adam Ward deflected in the box and the follow-up shot from Matthew Kellond forcing a great reaction save from Valon Rizvani, but the Thunder were unable to capitalize on a third attempt.

In the end, it was Warilla who would break the deadlock just three minutes from full time, with a center ball from Kaine Good forcing a scramble at the goal-mouth. With Thirroul unable to clear the ball out of the box, Wanderers player Luke Everingham managed to sneak a shot home next to the left-post and give Warilla the lead with just moments to play.

Thirroul attempted to push and secure a late equalizer and did have one final chance from Joshua Bond, who fired off a shot at Rizvani after a nice bit of ball control, but it was too little too late for the Thunder, who went down 2-1 at the final whistle.

The defeat means the Thunder now face Helensburgh Thistle – who downed Oak Flats Falcons 3-0 in the Elimination Final - in a sudden-death semi-final next week. Thirroul went undefeated against the Thistle in the regular season, with the Thunder running out 2-0 winners at home in round 7 and picking up a point in a 1-1 draw at Helensburgh in round 18, but the side will be looking to secure a result and book a trip to the Preliminary Final.

For Warilla, the win books them a shot at securing the first spot in the Grand Final when they take on Minor Premiers Fernhill this weekend in the Major Semi. The Wanderers failed to beat Fernhill in Round 9, going down 1-0, but the side picked up a point against the Foxes in Round 20 when they held the side to a 1-1 draw. A defeat for Warilla next week could potentially set up a Preliminary Final against Thirroul for a spot in the Grand Final, meaning we could see a replay of this match in the near future.

Warilla Wanderers FC – 2 (Ovando 71’, Everingham 87’)

Thirroul Thunder FC – 1 (Kellond 45’)

 

Saturday the 2nd of September 2017 at King Mickey Park

Warilla Wanderers FC – Valon Rizvani, Jordan Nolan, Jamie Young, Martin Castelli, Jason Goldsmith, Luke Everingham, Kaine Good, Adam White, Bojan Caric, Javier Ovando, Jeremy Lopez

Subs – Daniel Atkins, Stewart Robertson, Adrian Montalbano, Mark Marinelli (on for Caric), Ken Nguyen

Coach – Barney King

Thirroul Thunder FC – Joshua Williams, Daniel Bond, Adam Ward, Shayne Mulholland, Joel Mucci, Matthew Kellond, Todd Davidson, Corey Haines-Grose, Nathan Mucci, Daniel Arthur

Subs – Tyler Snelgrove, Bradley Strudwick (on for Mulholland), Marcus Rusbourne, Scott Woods, Cooper Brindle

Coach – Garth Bowley

Referee – Bobby Mazevski

Assistant Referees – Atesh Maharaj, Gareth Jenkins

Report by Cal Behrendt, on Twitter @CalBehrendt

Photo courtesy of Pickles Photography