Article by - Mitch Cohen

Picture by - Adam McLean

Bulli showed why they are capable of going one better this season with a 4-0 rout of Tarrawanna on Saturday.

Runners-up in each of the past two seasons, Ben Smith's men went on a four goal blitz either side of half time to catapult themselves to a memorable victory at Balls Paddock.

After a fairly even first half, Ben McDonald got the first in the shadows of the break, after going close on several occasions.

The talismanic striker looked to have missed his chance to fire a shot as Blueys' centre-back Tor Preece closed in, but he was able to make enough space to place a left strike past Aaron Tambakis.

The home side then put the foot down to start the second half, scoring three goals in eight minutes to put the match to sleep.

Seven minutes after the break, Sam Davies found himself on the end of Guy Knight's cross which rattled the crossbar but then scrambled a deflected shot into the net from close-range.

Before long it was three as Hayden Mowbray finished off a smooth passing movement with a delightful chip.

Rattled by the how rapidly the match had slipped away, the Blueys then gave away a clumsy penalty which Matt Naylor cooly put away to keep Bulli on top of the competition.

"It is a fantastic result for us. We got beaten 4-0 by them here last year so it is good to turn that result around and get one back," Bulli coach Ben Smith.

"It was good to take our chances. Even in the first half we had a few nice chances and their keeper was equal to the task but we were hitting the target.

"In the second half we were able to put them away."

It could very well have been worse for the Blueys after Bulli were denied what seemed to be a legitimate penalty shout and had a goal disallowed from a corner.

But Blueys coach Luke McGuire said the blame for his side's performance wasn't on the players.

"Full credit to my players they worked hard and did what I asked them to do but tactically I got it wrong," McGuire said.

"I think I underestimated their game plan and sort of played people out of position today which was unfair to my players.

In other games, Wollongong United had a 4-1 win over Albion Park White Eagles, Woonona beat Fernhill 3-1 while Cringila Lions beat Bellambi 3-2.