A return to Crehan Park could not turn around South Coast Flame's fortunes with the side losing 5-2 against Nepean. South Coast came into the match on the back of back-to-back defeats while Nepean had been undefeated in their previous four. Clement Waoci was the star man for the visitors with the forward scoring a brace and causing a number of concerns in the wet and windy weather.

Flame had the first opportunity of the match through a Matt Mazevski freekick. He cannoned the ball into the wall before he knocked the rebound on target only for the strike to be deflected for a corner.

Waoci had the first two big chances for the visitors. In the 6th minute he dribbled into the right of the box before his shot rolled across the goal for a goal kick and in the 10th minute he had a header from close range but he couldn’t trouble Matt White. Waoci would play a major role in Nepean hitting the lead in the 13th minute when his shot hit the crossbar and bounced back to Mubarak Saeed to head into the empty net.

South Coast were able to hit back in the 25th minute after White’s trademark quick release put Dion Sterjovski through one on one with Thomas Hamilton. Sterjovski managed to toe the ball past the goalkeeper and watch the ball trickle into the net. The joy was short lived with Nepean retaking the lead within two minutes through Roberto Polistina who got in behind his marker and finished into the bottom left corner.

In the 41st minute, Waoci continued to torment the Flame’s defence, however, his finish once again let him down with the ball trailing across the goal. Waoci made up for this miss four minutes later by scoring just before the halftime whistle, he weaved around a number of Flame defenders before slotting the ball past White which meant Nepean would lead 3-1 at the break.

The visitors extended their advantage seven minutes into the second half after they were awarded a penalty for a Mazevski handball. Waoci was the man for the set piece, he slotted the ball into the bottom right corner after sending White the wrong way.

Doug Woodiwiss came close to pulling a goal back for Flame when his dipping free-kick was somehow kept out by Hamilton in the 55th minute but within three minutes of that the points were all but sealed when Nepean scored their fifth of the evening. Shomari Sabatho capitalised on a cheap turnover by getting a shot on goal which found the bottom right corner despite the hand of White. It could have been six just two minutes later when Daryl Watson had a snap shot from close range but White was able to produce a strong save.

In the 85th minute, Saeed was played through on goal but White managed a solid one-on-one block. The ball was played up the other end and substitute Julio Mushaba was brought down in the box to earn the Flame a penalty. Mazevski took the penalty and he made no mistake in whacking it into the right of the net. Mushaba had a decent opportunity in the 90th minute when he got on the end of a cross into the box but he was unable to steer his header on target meaning the score remained 5-2 in favour of the visitors.

The defeat leaves South Coast in 10th pending Sunday’s results. Next up is a trip to Chopin Park to face Western Condors who sit in 7th after an inconsistent opening two months of the season.

In the under 20s, the match was abandoned due to a suspected neck injury to Flame player Nathan Vaughan. He was rushed to hospital and we are glad to report initial scans are positive, however, it was discovered he also sustained a broken wrist in the incident earlier in the match. The score was still 0-0 when the match was stopped in the 40th minute and details regarding when the match will be replayed are yet to be finalised.

In the under 18s, Nepean secured a 2-0 win with goals from Kwadwo Boamah Addai and Dean Tromans. It was a vastly improved performance from last weekend’s heavy defeat to Central Coast United, however, momentary lapses cost the side. Flame remain in 9th pending results on Sunday.

Saturday 12 May 2018 @ Crehan Park

South Coast Flames FC - 2 (STERJOVSKI 25’, MAZEVSKI 88’ pen)

Nepean FC - SAEED 13’, POLISTINA 27’, WOACI 45’ 53’, SABATHO 58’)

 

South Coast Flame FC lineup - Matt WHITE, Martin THOMPSON, Wade WILTON, Andrew CHRISTIE, Doug WOODIWISS, Andrew BOVA, Matt MAZEVSKI, Caleb GRACE, Djordje UZELAC, Bojan CARIC, Dion STERJOVSKI

Subs - Colin HEAPY, Darren JONES (on for BOVA), Julio MUSHABA (on for GRACE), Cameron HANSON (on for CARIC)

Coach - Paul ROBAARD

 

Report by Dylan Arvela, on Twitter @dylanarvela

Photo by Pedro Garcia