A chilly afternoon at King Mickey Park saw Corrimal Rangers play against Warilla Wanderers, with the Wanderers hoping to close the gap between first and second place. Both teams scored some fine goals in an absorbing encounter where Corrimal Rangers edged out Warilla 3-2.

With the Rangers coming out on top, they have opened up a 10-point advantage. Given the Rangers remain undeafeated in the League and considering the size of the lead, only a major collapse now can prevent them from taking out the League Title and along with it, Promotion to the Premier League.

Seen as a last chance for The Wanderers, the home side seemed energised and up for the game as was to be expected. The game kicked off intensely, with chances at each end of the pitch, with both keepers busy defending the goals.

After sending the ball down both ends of the fields, it wasn’t until the 17^th minute that Warilla had their first chance on goal. Warilla’s Bojan Caric tried to lob Corrimal’s Mitchell Blowes from short range however the Corrimal custodian recovered well to keep it out.

Warilla seemed to be dominating the match, and Blowes was kept busy particularly through the early exchanges.

In the 29^th minute, Corrimal took the lead when Mark Picciolini sent a low shot to the right of Warilla’s Brad Hunter, straight into the bottom corner of the net.

With their tails in the air, Corrimal seemed to up their offense, with more chances being created throughout the first half. Just after the half hour mark, Dominic Magill's snap shot looked to be tipped onto the post by Hunter.

This seemed to spur Warilla as they came back fighting. Javier Ovando teamed up well with Bojan Caric whose cross was neatly put away by Ovando levelling the scores and giving Warilla renewed hope. 

Warilla very nearly hit the front when Chris Smith's shot hit the post in the dying minutes of the first half. The score at half time was 1 all.

Corrimal seemed to start a little better than the hosts in the early passages of the second half with more effecient possession.

However, in the 56^th minute, Warilla hit the front after a wicked corner by Adam White was not cleared by the Corrimal defence. Bojan Caric was on hand to smash the ball home from close range to send the home crowd wild.

Warilla were hanging on for deal life as the minutes ticked by. Corrimal clearly were there to get something out of this game and they looked determined as they mounted severak raids which effectively led to nothing.

In the 85^th minute, some confusion in the Warilla defence saw Corrimal level the scores. After a corner by Luke Picciolini, Warilla’s John Hagenaar looked to have accidentally defelcted the ball into his own goal gifting Corrimal an equaliser. 

Just a couple of minutes later Corrimal incredibly hit the lead.  After a great run down field by Mark Picciolini, he sent the ball into the box and after a mad scramble, Save Treneski somehow manged to get it past Warilla’s Brad Hunter and effectively seal the win and championship.

With very little time left, Warilla could not muster an equaliser and Corrimal saw the game out to record their 14th win on trot.

This success for Corrimal has established a 10 point buffer between both these teams, with Corrimal on top with just seven matches remaining.

Corrimal coach John Fleming was understandably ecstatic with the winning streak after the game, feeling confident in the remaining matches. “We haven’t lost a game all year, we’re very confident. We’ve had four players away in Europe, and to come in with a performance like that, all is well for the future.”

 

King Mickey Park, 2^nd July, 2016.

 

Warilla Wanderers: Brad Hunter, Nicholas Del Turco, Ryan Hunter, John Hagenaar, Jason Goldsmith, Luke Everingham, Adam White, Chad Keating, Bojan Caric, Javier Ovando, Chris Smith.

Replacements: Luke Greathead, Martin Castelli, Toni Anastoski, Blake Pusell.

 

Corrimal Rangers: Mitchell Blowes, Andrew Nanos, David Bescos, Kolan Hmda, Paul Guido, Christopher Stevanovski, Domenic Magill, Mark Picciolini, Luke Picciolini, Save Treneski.

Replacements: James Walker, Matthew Cuda, Melih Yilimaz.

 

Report by Lauren Ferri (@lauren_ferri)

Photos by Pedro Garcia