Coniston put themselves within one win of the 2018 WCG Cranes Illawarra District League title with a convincing 6-0 win over mid-table Shell Cove at JJ Kelly Park on Saturday afternoon. A hat-trick to Mark Picciolini was the major headline for the league leaders, with league top scorer Dinko Terzic also picking up a brace. A goal to Hiroaki Kohinoki wrapped up a strong performance from the hosts, who will claim the title with a win over Bellambi next weekend.

Coniston faced little opposition when these two sides last met in round nine, with the league leaders picking up all three points in a resounding 5-0 victory and after just nine minutes it appeared that Shell Cove fans could be facing a repeat result as the hosts opened the scoring through Mark Picciolini. Picciolini opened the scoring in what turned out to be an all-Picciolini goal, with a Luke Picciolini cross on the far-right side of the field finding Mark, who was cutting across the goal. Picciolini made no mistake with the headed effort, firing past Shell Cove gloveman Vasko Petkucevski and giving Coniston an early lead.

The hosts doubled their advantage two minutes later through the District League’s leading scorer Dinko Terzic, who managed to tap home a simple effort after receiving a great ball from Hiroaki Kohinoki just outside the Shell Cove box. Terzic made no mistake of the effort, burying the ball deep into the left corner of the goal, putting Coniston two goals ahead and giving Terzic his 30^th league strike of the season.

However, a bright start from the hosts only got brighter and the side had their third goal of the opening half in the 16^th minute, with Hiroaki Kohinoki netting to give Coniston an impressive lead. Once again it was Luke Picciolini who provided the assist, with a smart free-kick from the Coniston player allowing Kohinoki to receive the ball in an unmarked position on the left-hand side of the Shell Cove box. Kohinoki then cut towards the center of the box before firing a chip that beat a leaping Vasko Petkucevski and flew into the top-right corner, a stunning effort that few keepers could deal with.

Despite Coniston dominating early play, Shell Cove managed to grab the occasional chance and the side came close to picking up a goal in the 18^th minute when John Barzel fired off a chip shot at Ben McGinnes. McGinnes was unable to properly deal with the effort and fumbled the ball out of play, but the visitors were unable to do anything of note with the resulting corner.

Coniston picked up their fourth goal of the match in the 34^th minute and once again it was Dinko Terzic who got on the scoresheet. Coniston was awarded a spot-kick after a handball in the box from Michael Nikolovski and Terzic needed no other opportunity to add to his tally for the afternoon, burying the penalty in the bottom right corner, sending Shell Cove shot-stopper Vasko Petkucevski the wrong way and giving Coniston a resounding 4-0 lead at the half-time break.

Despite going into the break with a four-goal lead, the hosts quickly added to their tally once the second half got underway, with Mark Picciolini picking up his second of the afternoon in the 46^th minute. This time Dinko Terzic was the supplier, firing a deep cross from the left-hand side of the field that found Picciolini in the box, the Coniston forward able to nod his effort past Petkucevski at close range to put Coniston five goals up.

But six minutes later the visitors had their best chance of the match to draw level after Shell Cove were awarded a penalty due to Coniston shot-stopper Ben McGinnes connecting with the head of Shell Cove player Matthew Cesta in the box. Former Coniston player Marko Bubanja stepped up to take the spot-kick for the visitors, but he was unable to open the scoring for Shell Cove, his effort flying high over the crossbar.

Coniston completed their afternoon with their six goal of the match three minutes later, with Mark Picciolini completing his hat-trick after another Luke Picciolini cross found the Coniston forward in the box. Picciolini decided to use his feet to complete his hat-trick, firing into the top right corner to make it 6-0 and give Picciolini his third hat-trick of the season.

Despite several more chances from Coniston to add to their lead, the hosts were unable to convert their chances in the final half-hour of play, and despite some late chances from Shell Cove’s Andrej Gacesa, the visitors were unable to walk away with a consolation goal, the final score a strong 6-0 win for the title-hunting Coniston.

The victory means Coniston retain their one-point lead over Bellambi heading into the final two rounds of the 2018 season, with the Rosellas also picking up all three points on Saturday with a 3-0 win over Balgownie Rangers at Judy Masters Oval. As a result, next weekend will likely become the title deciding weekend, with Coniston travelling to Elizabeth Park to take on Bellambi in a winner take-all match. If Coniston pick up all three points, the side will claim the title with one match to spare, but a defeat to the Rosellas will see them trailing by two points heading into the final round of the regular season.

For Shell Cove, the defeat sees the side drop to eight spot on the ladder, with the side overtaken by the Oak Flats Falcons, who picked up a point in a 2-2 draw with University on Saturday. Shell Cove will next take on fifth-placed Thirroul Thunder at Barrack Heights Sports field, with the Thunder out to claim some positive momentum heading into the finals, with the side losing late to Warilla Wanderers in a 2-1 loss on Saturday.

Saturday 11 August 2018 at JJ Kelly Park.

Coniston FC – 6 (M. Picciolini 9’, 46’, 56’, Terzic 11’, 34’, Kohinoki 16’)

Shell Cove FC – 0

Coniston FC: Ben MCGINNES, Kohei ENOKIDO, Takayuki KAYANO, Christian PLAKIAS, Hiroaki KOHINOKI, Franc PIERRO, Christopher STEVANOVSKI, Dinko TERZIC, Mark PICCIOLINI, Luke PICCIOLINI, Bradley MOREIRA

Subs: Ryan VANDENBERG (KOHINOKI 61’), Julian CESTA-INCANI, Matthew CUDA, Connor O’NEILL (STEVANOVSKI 56’), James STEWART (L. PICCIOLINI 75’)

Shell Cove FC: Vasko PETKUCEVSKI, Craig RICHARDSON, Filip ANGELESKI, Michael NIKOLOVSKI, Matthew CESTA, Daniel DAFKOVSKI, John BARZEL, Daniel TOSKOVSKI, Andrej GACESA, Ceysun ESEN, Marko BUBANJA

Subs: Alex ANGELKOSKI, Adam AKKOC (BUBAJA 81’), Aden BLANCH, Atanas SIMONOVSKI (ESEN 45’)

Referee – Jarrod THOMPSON

Assistant Referees – John RUSCICA and Louis DONOVAN

Report by Cal Behrendt, on Twitter @CalBehrendt

Photo courtesy of Noel Wynn