FERNHILL PROGRESS IN SHOOTOUT

Fernhill Foxes progressed to the next stage of the Fraternity Club Bert Bampton Cup on Tuesday night, finally overcoming rivals Warilla Wanderers 6-5 on penalties after the two sides ended 120 minutes of football tied at 2-2.

Fernhill go into Wednesday morning’s draw with the other District League winners from Round 1: Oak Flats Falcons, Coniston, Wests Illawarra, University and Bellambi (who overcame Kiama on Monday night).

This was always going to be a dress rehearsal for next weekend’s crucial Round 9 league match, when the two face up again back at Ray Robinson Field on Saturday. The difference was that while Warilla changed some faces at the back, the midfield and attack was the same line-up as the one that thrashed Balgownie last weekend. For Fernhill there was a complete change of casting by coach Dan McGoldrick, with none of the starting eleven from last weekend selected. But as he said in his post-match comments, good performances in this match meant that some of this squad will be back for more first team action next weekend.

Ten minutes in, it looked as though Warilla’s approach would be paying off as Adrian Montalbano found Ben Ellul down the right. He squared the ball to the Wanderers’ top marksman Kaine Good and he steered home beyond the reach of James McClelland in the Foxes’ goal.

Fernhill responded quickly, though, and were level in less than five minutes, when Ben Moerman skipped past his marker and slotted the ball into the net past the oncoming Val Rizvani.

Warilla probably had more of the chances through the rest of the first half, but failed to convert them, with Javier Ovando come closest but twice being denied by McClelland. At the other end Nathan Peglar was making his big presence felt at the back for the visitors, though his foul on Moerman just outside the box led to the Foxes’ best chance of going in at half time one up, this time Moerman firing well over from close range.

Warilla coach Barney King began to ring the changes up front after the break to keep his strikers fresh for next weekend. But not before Montalbano set up Ellul whose right foot shot was tipped aside by McClelland.

The fresh legs of Andrew Shiaxiates and Reece McIntosh almost paid dividends straight away as they burst forward towards goal, only to be stopped by a crunching Brett Kear tackle once and a brave block by McClelland another.

It was Montalbano who set up Warilla’s second before he too was replaced. His long ball from half way found Tim White, switched now to the right wing. He turned nicely and slotted home to give his side the lead again with just ten minutes remaining.

But Fernhill dug deep and were back on level terms again just three minutes later. And it was the fresh legs of their substitutes who made the impact: Shinsei Tanaka picked out Mitch Turner in space and he made no mistake from the edge of the area.

From then on in, it was a gruelling match of survival, with several players going down with cramp as the game moved into extra time. Turner came closest for the Foxes, seeing his long range effort tipped over by Rizvani. But Reece McIntosh will end the night the most frustrated of the Wanderers players as he was denied first at point blank by McClelland and then by the woodwork as he and Shiaxiates looked to have created the winning combination.

Warilla took an early advantage in the penalty shoot-out, with two fine saves by Rizvani, but they were matched later on by McClelland, who tipped Warilla captain Luke Everingham’s spot kick onto the bar to win this tie after 120 minutes and 16 penalties.

Speaking after the game, Wanderers coach King said he was hoping for a different result when the two sides meet again at the weekend. He was looking forward to the rematch with a top of the table clash like that being the sort of game his players would be up for.

Fernhill coach McGoldrick said he was very proud of his boys for the performance on the night, but he was aware it wold be a whole new ball game on Saturday and that Warilla will be a tough team to beat in such a match. “Tonight was a testament to the depth of our squad,” he said, “but we’ll need to be at our best again to be in the game next Saturday.”

Kick off for that rematch in Round 9 of the District League is 3pm, back at Ray Robinson Field.

The second round draw of the Cup competition will be released shortly.

 

Fernhill FC – 2 (Moerman 14’, Turner 82’)

Warilla Wanderers FC – 2 (Good 10’, White 79’)

Penalties: Fernhill – 6 (Turner, Napper, Tanaka, Kear, Luke McDonald, White)

Warilla 5 (Ovando, Inskip,Rizvani,Shiaxiates, Tristen McIntosh)

Tuesday 16 May 2017 - Ray Robinson Field

Referee: Ryan O’Sullivan

Assistant Referees: Liam Webb, Dean Moreira

Fernhill FC: James McClelland, Luke McDonald, Brett Kear, Michael Stephenson, Tor Preece, Matt Richardson, Lee White, Kevin McDonald (Mitch Turner 73’), Hiroki Makita (Christian Armour 105’), Toby Napper, Ben Moerman (Shinsei Tanaka 80’) (sub not used: Yacoub Hadaya)

Warilla Wanderers: Val Rizvani, Adam Inskip, Ricky Delgado, Martin Castelli, Nathan Peglar, Luke Everingham, Ben Ellul (Reece McIntosh 67’), Kaine Good (Andrew Shiaxiates 45’), Adrian Montalbano (Tristen McIntosh 82’), Javier Ovando, Tim White (subs not used: Sasa Cugalj, Blake Pusell)

 

Report by Simon Duffin

Photo courtesy of Kiah Hufton (File photo)




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