A bumper crowd rolled into Albert Butler Memorial Park in perfect conditions for the 2015 Grand Final rematch, with an entertaining and intense encounter guaranteed on arrival.

Kemblawarra Fury led the Premier League table after 9 rounds battling Wollongong United who are facing battles for points not only on but also off the pitch in season 2016.

An early Klime Sekutkotski goal for United was equalled out by a determined Kemblawarra outfit who found the back of the net in the 68th minute to equal out a 1-1 draw.

Wollongong United coach Steven Dimitrievski felt a draw was an appropriate outcome.

“At the end of the day, probably a fair result. First half we were probably the better side, second half Kemblawarra was probably a little bit better.”

Kemblawarra Fury coach Luke McGuire was hoping for more, but execution was lacking.

“I thought we dominated for a very large percentage of the game.”McGuire said.

“They are a very good side. They took their chance and that was it.”

Wollongong United held momentum in the opening exchanges with a dangerous dart by Klime Sekutkotski in the 5th minute and a threatening free kick Karouna Micheal in the 7th that whizzed past both teams heads.

In the 9th minute, a short goal kick by Kemblawarra was met by pressing United defence, ending with the ball cutting across the face of goals to find an unmarked United Klime Sekutkotski who has zero troubles knocking the goal in for a critical opening lead.

Fury looked to reply only minutes later with lovely interchange passing between Matthew McNab and Sang Ho Lee ending in the ball cutting across the penalty box to Fabian Iacovelli with the first touch to heavy to unleash a strong strike.

Kemblawarra Fury began to dictate territory for a period of the match, with United composed in defence with plenty of men behind the ball.

The Fury lost captain Alvin Ceccoli in the 35th minute with a groin injury, Shane Lyons subbed on to fill the void.

As the half closed out tension began to build as the referee has to reach into his pocket for a number of yellow cards, with the half-time whistle blowing at a 1-0 lead for Wollongong United.

After the break in the 47th minute, a United corner found the head Billy Tsovolos at the near post, with the glancing header flying dangerously across the face of goals just wide for a goal kick.

Kemblawarra’s Matthew McNab frequently found the ball behind the defensive line, with one leading run in the 58th minute directing a strike towards goal off the outside of his foot but also drifted wide for no avail.

In the 66th minute, Fury’s Shane Murray dribbled the ball towards the penalty box, sending a ball to a congested Matthew McNab with the ball squirting away to find David Hartas winning the race to the loose ball to nail the tight finish for a crucial equalising goal.

United’s Johnny Martinoski continued to threaten down the right sideline with probing runs, unleashing a dangerous shot at the goalkeeper in the 76th minute for no result.

Kemblawarra continued to show energy on the attack, threatening every time they marched up the pitch but they were well-defended by courageous United captain Brendan Reilly with a number of impressive tackles.

The full-time whistle blew with both teams taking home a well-earn point with 1-1 the final scoreline.

Kemblawarra Fury dropped down to second position on the Premier League ladder behind Bulli FC on for and against, while Wollongong United held onto equal third with Wollongong Olympic.

Fury coach Luke McGuire feels their defence needs to be a little fine-tuned.

“We have to stop giving away cheap goals,”McGuire said.

“The goals we have conceded have been from our errors, probably comes down to a little bit of work on our defensive structures.”

Wollongong United coach Steven Dimitrievski declared the off-field distractions does not impact the team performance.

“I don’t let the administration side of things or off-field distractions affect me or my squad. We focus one game at a time,”Dimitrievski said.

“At the end of the day it was a good team performance, so we will take the point.”

Kemblawarra Fury will travel next Sunday to battle an improving Port Kembla outfit, while Wollongong United will return home next Saturday afternoon to battle a dangerous Albion Park Eagles squad.

 

Sunday 29th May, Albert Butler Memorial Park

Kemblawarra Fury 1 (Hartas 68’)

Wollongong United 1 (Sekutkotski 9’)

 

Referee: N. Wotton

Assistant Referees: J. Rusica & D. Dennelly

 

Kemblawarra Fury: David Poeira, Lachlan O’Connor, Tyson Rhodes, Shane Murray, Brenton Rhodes, David Hartas, Fabian Iacovelli, Alvin Ceccoli (Shane Lyons 35’), Matthew McNab, Robbie Shields, Sang Ho Lee (Cameron Morgan 60’)

Yellow Cards: Tyson Rhodes, Lachlan O’Connor, Brenton Rhodes, David Poeira

Red Cards: Nil

 

 

Wollongong United:Sam Nastic, Daisuke Yuzawa, Jinya An, Brendan Reilly, Karouna Micheal (Jackson Brooks 88’), Klime Sekutkotski (Jordan Hooke 80’), Johnny Martinovski, Zac McLaren ( Zac Mazevski 72’), Angelo Hajitoffi, Billy Tsovolos, Ben Brooks.

Yellow Cards: Klime Sekutkotski, Brendan Reilly

Red Cards: Nil

 

Report by Daniel McGookin

Twitter: @mcgoookin93

Photo by Pedro Garcia