IPL R20 MATCH REPORT

Port Kembla 2-2 South Coast United

South Coast United came from two goals down to snatch a point at Wetherall Park on Saturday. After effectively ending Bulli’s bid for the Premier League title three weeks ago, United have now put a dent in Port Kembla’s push for the play-offs.

Port Kembla dominated for much of the match and looked comfortable after goals from Peter Richardson and Nuno Pires gave them a 2-0 lead. But United came back with goals from top scorer Liam Unicomb and an own goal to level the match. Port piled the pressure on towards the end, but keeper Jason Bleakley kept the visitors in it with a series of finger-tip saves.

Less than a minute had been played when Doug Woodiwiss had Port’s first effort on goal as the home side came out looking confident and searching for an early goal.

They didn’t have to wait for long. When Bleakley could only parry Takao Teramoto’s shot in the 11th minute, the ball flew clear to Richardson, who made no mistake with an open goal in front of him. This was the Port Kembla captain’s fourth goal of the season.

The five minutes following that early goal saw South Coast’s only period of pressure and possession in the first half. Tatsuki Sakamoto set up Unicomb, whose flicked header was well saved by David Poeira in the Port goal. And it was Poeira again who forced Unicomb wide when the United target man finally slipped his defender in the 20th minute. From a tight angle, Unicomb’s shot hit the side-netting.

The home side soon settled again, though, and looked likely to score a second, with Richardson pushing forward and Pires starting to get an eye on the goal. It was Richardson who played provider just after the half hour mark, with a ball across the face of goal to find William Mobbs, whose shot was deflected over the bar for a corner. And Pires saw three efforts narrowly miss the target before the half time whistle gave South Coast some respite.

It didn’t take long for Port Kembla to double their lead after the break. In the 48th minute, Pires appeared to injure himself in winning a corner and was hobbling away from play when the ball flew clear to his feet. He may have gone off with the injury shortly afterwards, but it didn’t stop him firing a cracking left foot shot through a crowded area into the back of the net.

At this stage in the game, Port were looking comfortable. But the game changed in the 56th minute, when Unicomb latched on to a long punt into the area, beat his marker and caught Poeira out of position to pull one back for the visitors.

Suddenly there was a sense of urgency in both sides, Port Kembla trying to hold on to their advantage, and United finding some belief in themselves. And it didn’t take long for the equaliser to come, though it came courtesy of a Jarryd Vinton own goal as he misdirected his clearance after Tommy Skara had floated the ball into the area.

Port Kembla raised their game again in an effort to claw back the lead. Carlo Stella launched a free-kick into the area and Teramoto flicked a superb header goalwards, but Bleakley got a hand there to turn it away for a corner. From the corner, Richardson’s header was heading for the back of the net until Bleakley again got a finger on it to push the ball onto the crossbar.

When substitute Zac Mazevski set up Teramoto the Port striker would have been disappointed to see his shot fly well over. And then Mazevski himself had a long, curling shot from 25 metres tipped over the bar again by Bleakley.

South Coast were really only pressing on the break. But with Unicomb always a handful, they could have nicked a winner if it weren’t for timely tackles first from Stella and then from Robbie Brown.

It was the home side that came closest to finding the net again right at the death. Mazevski had a goal bound shot blocked by the leg of Yuki Kiyohara and then yet another header from Richardson was cleared off the line by Skara. The winning goal just would not come, and Port had to settle for a draw, which leaves them in fifth spot in the ladder with two weeks to go.

After the game Port Kembla coach Stuart Beedie expressed his disappointment: “At 2-0 up we were comfortable and we’ve given away two ridiculous goals. It was a game we totally dominated and if it had ended 4 or 5-0, it would have been a fair result. But we’ve got a big game tomorrow (against Dapto Dandaloo Fury) and we have to pick ourselves up. We’ve got a tough run-in and our goal difference isn’t too good so we need the points.”

South Coast United coach Alan Paine was upbeat: “That was a good comeback. That’s the first time this season we’ve come from behind, so I’m pleased with that. It’s been a hard year for us, with lots of injuries, and we won’t make the play-offs this time, but we’ve had a hand in things with today and the win over Bulli a few weeks ago. We’ll come back stronger next season.”

In other results and news, with Bulli drawing 2-2 at Woonona, Dapto Dandaloo had the chance to wrap up the League Championship. They smashed Shell Cove 9-0 on Saturday and then backed it up with a fine 2-0 win over Port Kembla to seal the League title. In other games, Wollongong United moved to second place after taking apart Bellambi 4-0 and then backed it up with a gritty 3-1 win over Bulli on Sunday. Albion Park added to Tarrawanna's recent form slump and secured their place in the playoffs with a 4-0 win at Terry Reserve whilst Cringila dented Olympic's playoff hopes with a 2-2 draw in Sunday.

Story by Simon Duffin

Photo courtesy of Kiah Hufton (Soccer Shots Illawarra)




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