The last fixture for Pool 3 saw Kemblawarra Fury facing off against Wollongong United, with United hoping to retain the form that saw them beat South Coast United with only 10-men, however Kemblawarra's draw with Bulli meant this was the decisive match. Kemblawarra and Bulli were on top of the pool with 4 points apiece, United on 3 - with Bulli up against out-of-form South Coast United. It was up to this game to see if anybody could surmount undefeated Bulli at the head of the pool before its conclusion.

Wollongong had some good early chances, with space opening up for Johnny Martinoski to shoot wide before Matt Floro hit a dipping free-kick clattering into the crossbar with Kemblawarra keeper Poriera beaten. The midfield was frantic at times, however Kemblawarra's Fabian Iacovelli seemed to enjoy luxurious time on the ball in the #10 role without being closed down. It was this kind of possession which saw Kemblawarra gain a meaningful foothold in the game and begin developing their own chances after a lopsided first 10 minutes.

From there, with the sides developing quality attacks at both ends of the pitch, the wind began to reap havoc, holding long balls in the air for an eternity and diverting any aerial route away from the intended recipient, forcing both teams to stick to the ground. This favoured United, with their quick interplay of close passing and bursts of speed down the wing creating a new dimension to their attack which seemed to have the Kemblawarra defence backpedalling. Fury's Ceccoli saw a low driving shot picked up by the wind and sail well high before Wollongong's Jinya An beat his man with sheer pace only to flash over from the right. Ceccoli was continuing to find pockets of space and strode through midfield on a couple of occasions only to be let down by offside teammates finishing the play.

A United free kick from near the corner saw Ben Brooks rise from the pack to nod an uncontested header past outstretched keeper Poriera - 26 minutes in and Wollongong had the opener. Jinya An continued to harass the Kemblawarra defence afterwards, collecting a lovely switch in acres of space down the right wing, only for Martinoski to curl the cut-back well over. The first half drew to a close with the pace of the game growing faster and faster as the challenges started flying in left and right. The aggressive pressing saw both teams forced into quick exchanges of fast passing, lest giving up possession in a dangerous area. The first half finished Wollongong 1 - Kemblawarra 0

 

Martinoski was straight back into the action in the second half, with 2 good chances inside 7 minutes of the interval - struggling to get a shot off from under his feet requiring a good save from wrong footed Kemblawarra keeper Poriera, before having a golden opportunity to cross into the path of 3 unmarked teammates only to put the ball out of play.

Kemblawarra began their fight-back with midfielders finding themselves based further into Wollongong's half. A golden chance for the equaliser went begging after an awkwardly low cross, which left United keeper Ristevski out of position, wasn't cleared and Sam Munro put a snapped shot just wide. Moments later, Ceccoli's header drifted wide off a corner, before Munro finally hit the net. A delicate dinked pass through the defence and a chip over onrushing keeper Ristevski saw Kemblawarra draw level in what was an evenly matched fixture.

Chances continued to come thick and fast for both teams, however the final product saw the scoreboard unchanged. Ceccoli spurned a flashing shot wide from an uncleared corner, before United broke down the wing for substitute Chris Smith to side-foot over the bar, and Martinoski follow suit not long after.

The closing stages saw Kemblawarra in the ascendency, with United struggling to touch the ball other than desperate clearances. Crosses and corners were pouring into the United box, but the defence held strong throughout, surviving a Munro volley, forcing Murray to slice wide and requiring an out-stretched save from Ristevski to deny McNab from the edge of the area.

As both teams pushed for a second goal, the football was end-to-end, but Wollongong passed up two good chances to snatch a late winner. An was adjudged offside before Shane Murray made a miraculous challenge - clearing the ball and taking out both An and Poriera in the process. Smith had the last chance of the game for Wollongong, juggling past two defenders in close-quarters before a heavy touch lost hope of a meaningful shot.

In what was a fast paced game with chances aplenty, a draw seemed fitting. Both sides produced quality football throughout, and whilst the score-line suggests otherwise, the match easily could've seen a handful more goals if not for heroic goalkeeping and wasteful conversions.

 

Wollongong United - 1 (Ben Brooks 26')
Kemblawarra Fury - 1 (Sam Munro 47')

 

Friday 4th March

Macedonia Park

 

Referee: Bobby Mazevski

Assistant Referee: Michael Kusi-Appauh

 

Wollongong United: Ristevski, An, B. Brooks, Hooke, Martinoski, Reilly, Sekutkoski , Tsovolos, Welch, Kinjo, Floro

Sub: Smith, J. Brooks, Wylie, Davies, Chaplin

Kemblawarra Fury: Poriera, Suttle, Rhodes, Lyons, Murray, Hartas, Iaeoveki, Ceccoli, McNab, Friedrich, Munro

Sub: Brown, Powell, Render, Lee

 

Report by David Atherton

Photo: Pedro Garcia (Archive)