Picton began their afternoon as well as they could've hoped, scoring within 60 seconds of kickoff before Cringila had even touched the ball.

Nicholas Mugridge was sent down the right wing and crossed into the perfect area for the run of Jarred Morley who headed in at the far post for the opener. Dale Nicol was unlucky not to double their lead after 10 minutes, with the slightest of nudges making his contested header off a corner drift inches wide of the far upright.

It proved to be the example of how the first half would pan out - Picton on the offensive looking dangerous and Cringila struggling to keep pace. The Lions could only muster long balls forward seeking out Daniel Vasilevski and Hironari Kobayashi alone up front, with Picton continuing to boss the midfield area.

Again it was J. Morley leading the line who posed the most threat to Cringila, being set free with a lovely through ball down the middle channel, only for his shot to be blocked by an onrushing Alexander Boullosa in goal.

Had it not been for Boullosa, scores would have blown out early in the half. He was called into action for the fourth time to spectacularly deny Daniel Goodhew's cross from sneaking in at the far post. He was down low to save a corner from the near post shortly after, with Todd Sparks clearing the scraps off the post.

It was also the defence who were getting in on the last-ditch action, with both Sparks and Daniel Wagus forced into vital challenges as the last defender, both on J. Morley, as well as Mic Stojanoski clearing congestion inside the box on a number of occasions.

On the contrary, Brad Jones had a casual afternoon between the sticks for the Rangers, rarely being threatened and seeing nearly every shot come directly at him. Cringila were unable to pierce the defensive line once, resorting to long balls and crosses to generate what few chances they could muster, with tame shots from Christian Cevenini, Esala Ali and Kliment Gorseski all handled easily.
The first half's action was finished off with key saves from both keepers, first Jones backpedalling to claim a deep James Eldred cross that was heading into the goal, and then Boullosa punching clear inches in front of the approaching Picton line from a free kick.

The second half was much the same, with Cringila struggling to construct a dangerous push on the Picton area, whilst all the threat was down the other end.

There was another near miss from Jones, who had to ferociously backpedal to tip out a mishit Stojanoski free kick from sneaking in the far post, before Kobayashi sprayed an open header wide from 10 yards out in Cringila's best opportunity of the game.

Picton were back to their offensive efforts after that, with a quick break leading to Mitchell Hall shooting tamely wide, and shortly afterwards, breaking down the left only to hit the trailing leg of Boullosa for a miraculous save.

They did double their lead just after the hour mark, and deservedly so. J. Morley appeared to be safely boxed into the corner after a neat through ball sent him down the wing, however through great use of his body, he snuck a cross along the by-line, evading all defenders and Boullosa, only for Dayne Morley to slot home easily at the far post for 2-0.

Cringila's attack only grew more frantic from there, resorting to the long ball and often found wanting at the back as Picton countered. They were creating half-chances for themselves, mainly when they got Ali and Sparks dribbling at the defence, but they in due time ran out of space and were dispossessed.

In almost a replica of the second goal, Picton were unlucky to not have a third with 15 minutes to play. This time it was Matthew Tesoriero down the right wing, his cross beating everyone, however Jarryd King was on hand to clear before Joshua Maiolo could bundle it home.

 The elusive third goal was almost handed to Picton with only 5 minutes remaining, as a scuffed goal kick fell on the chest of Andrew Borg with nobody between him and goal, however he opted to pass and Maiolo's shot rippled the side netting.

Cringila pushed very hard for a consolation goal in the dying stages, with Kobayashi heading weakly at on target and Gorseski curling a free kick into Jones' arms. In what was perhaps a summary of their afternoon, Eldred put in a great cross but not a single Lions head rose to meet it. Picton just wanted the ball more throughout the afternoon, always rushing to possession and winning every 50/50, and the three points was well deserved.

Sunday 17th July - WIN Stadium

Referee - N. Wotton
Assistant Referees - S. Bell, T. Butkovic

Picton Rangers 2 - J. Morley 1', D. Morley 63'
Cringila Lions 0

Picton Rangers - Jones, Nicol, Goodhew, Durrant, Mugridge (Realph 85'), Hall (Maiolo 71'), Matthews, J. Morley, Tesoriero (Borg 79'), D. Morley, Miranda
Subs - Takacs, Realph, Borg, Howard, Maiolo

Cringila Lions - Boullosa, Taddeo (Brbevski 61'), Wagus, King, Eldred, Kobayashi, Sparks, Gorseski, Ali (Martin 78'), Vasilevski, Cevenini (Stojanoski 24')
Subs - Richards, Stojanoski, Martin, Brbevski, Harvey

Report by David Atherton (@daveatho5)
Photo: Pedro Garcia (Library archive)