Round 18 Preview

This year’s Illawarra Premier League title race looks like going to the wire, as we had yet another change of leadership after Round 17 last week. Bulli let a two goal lead slip against South Coast United, and in doing so let Kemblawarra Fury regain top spot. The Fury bounced back from their Round 16 drubbing to end Wollongong Olympic’s ten-match unbeaten run.

At the bottom, Woonona’s win at Shell Cove made the battle to avoid the basement look like a two horse race, with a big showdown between Cringila Lions and Shell Cove now rearranged for August 3^rd. With no IPL matches scheduled for the weekend of 30-31 July, Round 18 is the last chance for those bottom two to get points on the board ahead of what may be the relegation decider.

Match of the round

Bulli FC v Wollongong United @ Balls Paddock – kick-off 2.30pm, Sunday 24 July

Second takes on fourth in this weekend’s Match of the Round at Balls Paddock on Sunday.

Matches between these two usually provide great entertainment for the neutral, with some heart-stopping moments for fans of either side. In last year’s equivalent fixture, Bulli left it very late to snatch an equaliser, but the boys in blue will be looking to go one better this time round as they seek to venge their 3-1 defeat at United’s home in May this year.

Ben McDonald has now gone two clear in the race for the 2016 Golden Boot after scoring again last weekend. Julian Minutillo also scored again in Round 17, but the third member of the Bulli front trio Dylan Lewis hasn’t scored recently, so United need to keep an eye on him.

Two of United’s scorers from the 3-1 win over Bulli earlier this season were out last week, and the third hobbled off early in the first half. United have been digging deep into their squad of late, so it will be interesting to see who makes the starting line up for this crucial tie. Lead scorer for United is still full-back Ben Brooks, who will always be a danger from set-pieces.

This is a hard one to predict, but I fancy Bulli this time, especially if United have a few first choice players out injured still.

Matches on Saturday 23 July

Cringila Lions v South Coast United @ Crehan Park – kick-off 2.30pm

Cringila Lions fell to their eighth defeat in a row last weekend, but will take heart from the fact that their defence held firm enough to keep the scoreline respectable against Picton at the WIN Stadium.

Cringila won the reverse tie in May, but there was a different vibe around Crehan Park at that stage of the season and the Lions went on to beat Wollongong United 4-3 the week after. They’ve managed just three goals in eight matches since then, and have drawn a blank six times. It’s hard to see where the next goal may come from, though Hirohari Kobayashi was the main target man last weekend.

South Coast have performed well in recent weeks, earning draws against three of the top teams in the league, with a fine comeback against then league leaders Bulli last weekend. They will fancy their chances against a Cringila side whose confidence must be rock bottom.

Liam Unicomb will always be a danger, but Cringila should also keep an eye on last week’s scorers Gong Jun Lee and Dinko Terzic.

On form, United should win this one, but I reckon the Lions may just raise their game enough to snatch a draw ahead of the showdown with Shell Cove next month.

Tarrawanna Blueys v Port Kembla FC @ Tarrwanna Oval - kick-off 2.30pm

If momentum has any impact on how football matches turn out, then the money will be on Port Kembla to win this tie at Tarrawanna Oval.

The Blueys have slipped out of the top five on a poor run of three consecutive defeats, while Port Kembla will be buzzing this week after their win over Wollongong United in Round 17.

Those Blueys defeats have been against rivals for Finals slots, and they have fared better against teams that are not pushing for the top five. These two have drawn their last two encounters, with an entertaining 3-3 being the result when the sides met at Wetherall Park in May. So a draw might well be the outcome again this time round.

With Darren Stone missing in recent weeks, the Blueys’ main goal threat comes from Sangyu Park, Sam Isabella and Rick Goodchild. Peter Richardson may lead Port from the back, but he nabbed his third IPL goal of the season last week so he needs to be watched all over the park.

Port have surely put relegation worries behind them for this season so arguably have less to play for now. The Blueys, meanwhile, still have a sniff at a top five slot. That could give them the edge at the end of the day.

Woonona FC v Picton Rangers @ Ocean Park, kick-off 2.30pm

Both these sides won last weekend, keeping Picton’s hopes of a finals berth alive, while Woonona did themselves a massive favour in beating one of their main rivals at the foot of the table.

For Picton, the win over Cringila was an important result to stop their slide in recent weeks. But if the Rangers are to maintain their challenge for a top five berth, they will need a result here because their next three matches look especially tough as we enter the final straight of the IPL season.

Woonona have improved since these two drew in the reverse fixture in May, not only seeing off Shell Cove last weekend, but also of course famously beating Kemblawarra Fury at Ocean Park just a few weeks ago.

Scott Curran’s move to Ocean Park has given the Sharks more stability in the middle of the park and Trent Worthington’s brace last weekend showed where Woonona’s main goal threat may come from.

Woonona haven’t managed it all season so far, but I’m tipping the Sharks to gain back-to-back wins in this one and basically guarantee safety for 2016.

 

Albion Park White Eagles v Wollongong Olympic @ Terry Reserve – kick-off 3.00pm

It’s third against fifth at Terry Reserve in a match that has all the ingredients to be a thriller.

Kemblawarra Fury finally ended Olympic’s ten match unbeaten run last week, so Rob Birkin’s boys will be looking to bounce back from that. But they’ll be without Harrison Brown who got a red card last week.

A visit to Terry Reserve is probably not the fixture you’d want on your schedule if you were trying to recover momentum, though, especially after the White Eagles showed what they are capable of in brushing aside the Fury a few weeks ago.

Any of the White Eagles Japanese trio can be a threat: Shohei Okuno has scored most for Albion Park this season, but Riku Iwauchi followed up his hat-trick against the Fury with another against the Blueys last week.

On their current form the White Eagles might fancy themselves for a top two spot if one of the two leaders drops many more points so they’ll be fired up for this match, especially as they’ll be looking to get revenge for their own 5-1 mauling at the hands of Olympic back in May.

Yusuke Ueda scored a hat-trick himself in that Round 7 match and has kept scoring consistently since then.

What makes this tie all the more intriguing is the fact that it pits one of the best defences in the IPL (Olympic) against the Premier League’s top scorers (Albion Park).

Last season this fixture ended 3-2 to the home side. I’m going for a similar result this year too.

 

 

Other match on Sunday 24 July

Kemblawarra Fury v Shell Cove FC @ Albert Butler Memorial Park – kick-off 2.30pm

It’s top v bottom at Butler Memorial Park on Sunday, and there have been a few surprises this season when the fixture list has dealt us those cards before.

The Fury have surely learnt from previous knock backs this season not to fall into complacency this time. They have the firepower to win this one easily and I think they might put a few past a Shell Cove defence that has struggled in recent weeks.

Robbie Shields and Matthew McNab up front fed by Fabian Iacovelli down the left and Sam Munro in midfield will sorely test Shell Cove’s resolve.

The visitors have shown some stylish touches in the course of 2016 and Kurdvan Abduljabbar scored again last week, as did Gadir Maarbani. These are the two to watch for the Fury defence.

But home win is written all over this one, to keep the Fury on top with four matches left.

By Simon Duffin

Photo courtesy of Pedro Garcia