Corrimal Rangers hosted Woonona Sharks at Memorial Park in the Semi Final of the Bert Bampton Cup. Corrimal had defeated Picton Rangers and Helensburgh Thistle to progress to the Semi Final, while Woonona had beaten Oak Flats and Warilla Wanderers. Their clash in the IPL had Woonona come out on top with a 2-0 victory earlier this year but this match would turn out to be very different.

The game began with the Sharks carrying most of the possession, earning a couple of early set pieces. One in which resulted in the first big chance of the game after the dead ball was whipped in and found a Woonona head which forced a great save by Daniel Arcaba. But Woonona failed to capitalise on their early dominance and it was Corrimal who held the ball for an extended stint of possession.

Klime Sekutkoski would have Corrimal’s first opportunity of the match. He cut inside the Woonona defence, but the shot was well below par, hitting it straight at Jacob Madden. Corrimal then earnt a golden chance to put themselves into the lead. A tussle in the 20th minute saw the Corrimal forward go down and the penalty was awarded to the protest of the Woonona defence. Masaniko Mokita stepped up to the spot and had no issue smashing the ball into the top net putting the home side up 1-0.

The match continued to go back and forth but no team had any real genuine attacking chances due to the solid defensive structure of both sides. A rapid counter-attack was broken down when Woonona captain, Christopher Gibson, made a crucial tackle to deny Takeru Okada open pasture.

Woonona’s best chance of the half came from the young Lachlan O’Gorman who won a free kick right on the edge of the area after a fantastic run from the right wing saw him brought down. Brendan Pattman stepped over the set-piece and hit the ball to the left of the wall, striking the outside of the upright in what could have been the crucial equalising goal.

Despite the Woonona chance, Corrimal switched on and a dangerous counter-attack gave Mokita the broken play he craves. Picking up the ball just over half-way, he carved in and out, skinning a couple of the Woonona defenders. He continued goal bound and skinned one more before slotting the ball home in the bottom left-hand corner giving Madden no chance at denying a truly spectacular solo goal. His and Corrimal’s second of the evening gave them a 2-0 lead in which they took into the sheds.

Half Time - Corrimal Rangers 2-0 Woonona Sharks

The halftime break didn’t stop the back and forth nature of the match. But Corrimal looked the sharper of the two sides in going forward. They continued to use fast counterattacks to catch the Woonona defence out with Okada leading the counter-attack almost every time. His speed burnt through the Sharks as he was agonisingly close to sealing the match for the Rangers, hitting the outside of the post early in the second half.

Madden was once again called on, only 5 minutes later when Sekutkoski ran through, his shot forced a good save out of Madden who pushed it past the post.

But that was Corrimal’s last genuine chance for over 15 minutes. This was because Corrimal’s Matthew Galanti was shown a second yellow, being sent off in the 71st minute, forcing the Rangers to sit back and absorb the Woonona attack. The red card saw the Woonona side pick their game up, pushing forward with real intent after they switched their formation playing only 3 at the back. Despite the mounting possession and pressure, Woonona could only manage a couple of shots from outside the 18, which were put well over the bar.

The 15-minute spell showed the resilience of the Rangers’ defence and when they were able to break they struck the post once more. Two minutes later another counter-attack would result in Corrimal’s Timothy Wylie have what seemed to be a cross deflect and find its way over the Woonona keeper and sealing the victory in the 90th minute for the home side.

Corrimal Rangers will now face Wollongong Olympic in the final of the Bert Bampton Cup on Sunday 29 July.

Click the link below to listen to an interview with Woonona coach, Daniel McGoldrick.

https://soundcloud.com/liam-emerton/fsc-interview-woonona-fc-coach-daniel-mcgoldrick

 

Corrimal Rangers

Daniel Arcaba, David Zufic, Matthew Galanti, Dean Pender, Karouna Micheal, Joshua Gersbach, Takeru Okada, Kyle Kirkland, Klime Sekutkoski, Carter Madden, Masaniko Mokita.

Replacements

Timothy Wylie, Angelo Hajittofi, Calum Fleming, David Zufic.

 

Woonona Sharks

Jacob Madden, Dylan Nikolovski, Thomas Mindzas, Christopher Gibson, Khalid Alali, Dejan Djukic, Brendan Pattman, Lachlan O'Gorman, Joel Thomas, Trent Worthington, Valentino Merxhushi.

Replacements

Joshua Cornford, Thomas Grew, Sean Overton, Blake Sykes, Yanni Mavrikis.

 

Referee

Andrew Naylor

Assistant referees

Brody Murrell & Demi Goddard

 

Report by Liam Emerton

Twitter - @LiamEmerton

File Photo: Pedro Garcia