Round 1 of the Bampton Cup saw Fernhill playing hosts to Wests Illawarra. In very blustery conditions, it was a case of defend for dear life into the breeze and all out offence with it at your back.

Wests had the favourable wind in the first half and nearly made the early dominance count. Inside the opening two minutes, Fernhill keeper Aaron Tambakis was called upon twice to deny a through ball to Joseph Youssif's feet and save after Nick Tortorella was allowed to turn in space inside the box. Fernhill were admirably trying to play out from the back considering the conditions, and were nearly caught out on a number of occasions, with the long-ball outlet not an option.

However, their passing and possession snagged them the opening goal after 9', with Keiran Morris netting a rebound after a close-range save from Wests keeper Jordan Timpano. Ben Sallabank made a desperate, crunching tackle in the lead up, but injured himself in the process, and it was his spot in the backline which was exploited to get in on goal.

Wests then attempted to bully their way back into the match, with more aggressive pressing of the backline forcing the whistle on many occasions. Wests' pressure however was let down by poor finishing up front, as Youssif wasted a great chance, with the ball popping up after a big tackle on halfway and he had a clear run on goal.

Down the other end only minutes later, Fernhill's Scott Muilwyk has an identical chance but also puts it at the keeper, before Chris Hobbs cut the ball back from the by-line and Muilwyk spurned another shot, rolling it tamely to the feet of a goal-line defender.

The skills and showboating came out to play shortly after, with Cesur Cicekdag beating two players on 26’ before shooting well high with the wind at his back from 30 yards. Two minutes later, Morris also beat two only to see his powerful shot creep just wide of the near post from inside the box.

It was largely a case of good build-up play for both sides, but with neither being able to hit the final pass or get the shot off in time. In a five minute period, Moerman had a volley blocked, Youssif put in a lovely cross which was intercepted, Wests had 2 shots from the resulting corner both blocked, nearly pinched a backpass, had a free-kick hit the wall from 25 yards, and Tortorella rolls a tame shot at Tambakis after a fast break. Had the finishing been more clinical, this passage of play alone could have seen a handful of goals.

Tentative defending and non-opportunistic attacking made for a pulsating first half where both teams had chances to trouble the scoreboard but were left with a single goal to show for it between them, with Fernhill leading 1-0.

The wind again played a key role in the second half, with Tambakis having a heavy touch past defenders continue rolling away from any dangerous areas, and Muilwyk not able to take advantage of a defensive air-swing as the ball went out before he could reach it.

A falling shot from Hobbs nearly doubled the lead, as a fingertip save from Timpano touched it out of the path of Muilwyk in front of an open net. Moments later, Muilwyk had an uncontested header from the corner, but it drifted over the bar. Fernhill began to utilise the stiff breeze and whipped continuous crosses into the area in an attempt to exploit the considerable height advantage Muilwyk had over the Wests defence. Countless minutes and crosses continued, with the Wests defence only able to clear it as far as the Fernhill midfield lurking outside the area.

They nearly grabbed a second as again Muilwyk had a great chance, seeing a sliding shot off a low cross from Morris tipped wide by a diving Timpano. Marc Sergi made a big break moments later, with Muilwyk again on hand to have yet another solid shot saved by Timpano away to his left.

Wests finally got their equaliser after 77 minutes, with Daniel Djukic seemingly left alone on the edge of a congested box, before shooting through traffic and finding the very bottom left corner, with an unsighted Tambakis left to watch it roll in.

Wests took this as a chance to grab the winner, and in doing so, exposed themselves on a number of occasions to length-of-the-field breaks from both Brett Kear and Muilwyk as the defence lost its shape. Muilwyk made his way down the right wing and played in a low, hard cross, however Scott Poulton was unable to keep the half-volley down from inside the 6 yard box.

With the last kick of the game, Moerman slotted home across goal from a Seb Dallas cross, with the wide open Wests midfield allowing a swift counter attack to finish them off. Fernhill secured their deserved winner to finish 2-1 victors.

 

Saturday 19th March, Ray Robinson Oval

 

Fernhill 2 - Morris 9', Moerman 92'

Wests 1 - Djukic 77'

 

Ferhnill: Tambakis, Poulton, McDonald, Moss, Oliver, Morris (Dallas), Richardson (Graham), Sergi, Moerman, Muiluyk, Hobbs (Kear)

Subs: Kear, Graham, Dallas, McClelland

Wests Illawarra: Timpano, Sallabank, Mena, Jorge, Burleigh (Saverino), Bailey, Cockedag, Turtarella, Youssif, Djukic, Kandalis

Subs: Vicoroski, Saverino, Maclou, Vescio

 

Report by David Atherton

Photo archive: Pedro Garcia