Mitchell Del Turco gave Albion Park White Eagles a winning start to the Illawarra Premier League season with a first half goal that was enough to see off a plucky Port Kembla side at Macedonia Park. This was an excellent team display from a White Eagles side fielding a fair number of new faces, but on the evidence of this performance, coach Jeff Allport already has his players acting as a useful unit, which will give most teams in the IPL a run for their money.

Defences were in control of the early exchanges in this encounter, though, and chances were few and far between at either end.

Takao Teramoto thought he had given Port Kembla the lead in the 12^th minute when he picked up Chris Richardson’s attacking header and fired the ball into the net, only to turn and see the offside flag raised.

At the other end, Jack Balmforth pulled a ball back for Shaun Mcrae on the edge of the area, but the Albion Park winger saw his shot take a bounce before flying over the bar.

Just past the half hour, a Port Kembla free kick almost opened things up for the team in black and white, with Cameron Morgan and then Teramoto again seeing their shots blocked by a resolute White Eagles defence.

The White Eagles were passing the ball around nicely at this stage, but failing to make the set-pieces count, with countless corners and free kicks easily dealt with by the Port Kembla defence. Japanese recruit Shohei Okuno was starting to ask questions, though, and was linking up well with Del Turco up front.

With 35 minutes gone, Okuno won yet another free kick for the White Eagles, but this time they took it quickly rather than letting the Port defence settle, and this almost did the trick. Balmforth laid the ball off to Okuno who found Mcrae, but the winger’s header was cleared by last man William Mobbs, standing on the line.

The White Eagles’ pressure finally paid off just before half time. Balmforth again fed the ball through to Okuno, who took three defenders with him as he twisted and turned on the edge of the area, but he managed to slip the ball through to the unmarked Del Turco, who finished with a clean right foot giving Daniel Farina in the Port Kembla goal no chance.

The visitors came out positively in the second half. Morgan created his own shooting opportunity right from the restart, chesting the ball down and then volleying just wide of the post. Then it was Scott Curran who set up Morgan again only for his shot to catch a deflection and fly off for a corner. For once, the corner cleared the first defender allowing Joseph Lavalle and Richardson headers which forced Bryce Daenell to make fingertip saves.

It was Daenell again who denied Lavalle as the Port striker ran on to Morgan’s back header.

Once the White Eagles had weathered this early second half storm, they looked comfortable for the next half hour. They very nearly doubled their lead with fifteen minutes left to play.

First Okuno flicked the ball on to Mcrae, whose half volley was saved at full stretch by Farina. Then, Okuno saw his own shot crash against the angle of the post and crossbar, before flying out to Balmforth, whose shot also hit the woodwork.

Okuno was in the thick of all the action, and had an outstanding game all over the park. His control on the ball keeps defenders guessing, and his vision is second to none, managing to switch the play when an attack appears to be breaking down. But it’s his work rate and perseverance that made him stand out today, meaning you are as likely to find him charging down the left wing as you are putting in a timely tackle down the right side inside his own half.

White Eagles coach Jeff Allport sang his praises after the game, too: “He fits in nicely, he works really hard and technically he’s one of the best players I’ve ever seen.”

But Allport was pleased with his side’s overall performance, too: “This was a good start against really well-organised opposition. We kept possession well and never stopped playing football. There’s a lot to look forward to this season.”

Port Kembla rallied in the dying minutes, with Teramoto twice unable to get a final touch to give his side an equaliser. Coach Stuart Beedie was philosophical after the game: “They probably deserved to win today. There’s not much between the teams, but we gave the ball away far too easily and I was disappointed with our second half performance.”

He remains optimistic about the season ahead, though: “We have a lot of new players who are all finding their feet in the team, and we are bringing in another new face next week, so we are looking forward to building the side as the season progresses.”

 

 

Albion Park White Eagles – 1 (Del Turco 43’)

Port Kembla FC – 0

Friday 25 March 2016

Macedonia Park

Referee: Andrew Naylor

Assistant Referees: Michael Bell, Aden Crawley

Albion Park White Eagles: Daenell, Fielding, Every, Prandalos, Nathaniel, Patterson, Del Turco (Caric 66’), Dafkovski, Balmforth (Jones 79’), Okuno, Mcrae (sub not used: Ahling, Cario, Rocco, Wilson)

Port Kembla: Farina, Richardson, Mobbs, Volkanovski, Stella, Curran (Woodiwiss 76’), Scazzariello (Nikolovski 75’), Vinton, Morgan (Hardy 67’), Lavalle, Teramoto

 

Report by Simon Duffin

Photo by Pedro Garcia