Kemblawarra Fury held onto top spot in the Illawarra Mercury Premier League thanks to a 4-1 win over basement side Shell Cove. The league leaders did it the hard way, though, coming from behind to take the three points after a dogged defensive display from the visitors.

Jonathan Barzel gave Shell Cove an unlikely lead after 20 minutes. Fabian Iacovelli equalised before half time, but the Fury only went ahead for the first time in the 65^th minute when a Nathan Jagelman header hit the back of the net. From that moment on, there was only one winner of this match, with Cameron Morgan and Robbie Shields adding further goals late on.

Speaking after the match Fury coach Luke Maguire said Shell Cove had defended solidly for long periods, “They got a good free kick for their goal but after that, they didn’t really look like scoring again, so it was just a case of us staying patient. Teams often come trying to make it difficult for us to play our game, so we are trying to be patient for longer periods and today it paid off for us.”

Shell Cove coach Paul Carter was proud of his players: “I thought we put in a fantastic performance in the circumstances. Any team in this competition which can play like that in spite of nine first team players missing at the start and two or three more out to injury during the game deserves a pat on the back. Credit to the Fury though: they’re a great team and they played well.”

The game began at a leisurely pace, Fury probing patiently, but the visitors’ back line holding steady.

The first attempt on goal actually came from Shell Cove, when Gadir Maarbani’s shot gave Fury’s keeper David Zufic a first touch of the ball.

It was Maarbani who won a free kick 30 yards out in the 20^th minute to set up the opening goal. Barzel stepped up and curled a superb shot round the wall and into the back of the net, squeezing it in through the narrowest of gaps as Zufic failed to get across to cover.

Many spectators had come expecting a goal rush for the IPL ladder leaders, but suddenly the league’s bottom side had the lead and it wouldn’t have been the first time this season that bottom has beaten top.

Moments later Shell Cove might have scored a second when Barzel sent a through ball to Maarbani, and with the flag staying down, Zufic had to rush out to clear before the striker could pull the trigger.

At this point, the Fury stepped up a gear. Alvin Ceccoli sent a pinpoint long ball to the feet of Sam Munro who beat Adam Rodriguez in the visitors’ goal and prodded the ball towards the empty net. The ball didn’t quite have enough pace on it, though, and Lucas Rossi was able to dash back and clear just as it neared the line.

Moments later came the first of the Shell Cove injuries, with mainstay in midfield Ljupco Naumovski limping off with less than half an hour played.

As if conscious of one less barrier to goal, Shields began to look more dangerous, using his pace where he could to beat the backline, but often crowded out by two or three defenders as soon as he got a sniff. Matthew McNab almost set him up in the 33^rd minute but Rodriguez beat him to the ball as the Fury striker slid in on goal.

The equaliser was not long in coming, though. David Hartas sent in a perfectly-placed cross from the right. It flew in at waist level towards the far post, where Iacovelli got down well to send a powerful header flying into the net.

Some might have expected the floodgates to open once the Fury had found a way through the Shell Cove defence. But still the visitors held firm with Rossi, Nathan Macgraw and Shohei Arakawa working tirelessly alongside new boy Tode Dimovski.

The sides went into the break all square at 1-1 and there was little action to trouble the keepers at either end as the second half began.

The same pattern of play picked up again, with the Fury holding possession and probing. But it was once again Shell Cove who almost caused another upset when Barzel yet again sent a long ball through for Maarbani to run onto, this time Zufic having to leave his area to prevent Maarbani having a one on one in front of the target.

But that was the last gasp for the visitors. By the 60^th minute, they had used all their substitutes and there were signs of tiring legs at the back.

The siege on their goal began. Even Brenton Rhodes came forward from the back and had a useful effort himself which Rodriguez took at the second attempt.

In the 65^th minute, the Fury finally took the lead. It was a well-constructed goal from a set-piece, a classic bit of Fury football. Shane Murray sent a free kick into the box from the left side, Ceccoli headed down towards the near post giving Jagelman an easy job of finishing off with a header from three yards out.

By the 73^rd minute it was 3-1. Jagelman again started the move, picking up the ball inside the 16 yard box. There was desperate defending as first McNab and then Shields drilled shots goalwards until the ball came clear to Morgan, who fired home from six yards out.

Three minutes later it was 4-1 and game over. Shields was brought down in a dangerous position just outside the D. He took the free kick himself, firing the ball against the outer edge of the defensive wall, taking a deflection before it flew into the bottom of the net out of Rodriguez’s reach.

For the last ten minutes the visitors had to play on with ten men, as another player limped off injured, with all substitutions used.

Fury had further chances to add to their tally: Another Hartas ball in saw Munro go for a diving header which might have been the goal of the game, but it flew just wide of the upright. And Murray himself had a go late on but was denied by Rodriguez.

With next weekend’s action focused on the Bert Bampton and Youth Cup finals, the next IPL fixture is the relegation crunch match between the ladder’s bottom two, Cringila Lions and Shell Cove. Asked for his thoughts on that key match, Carter said: “Oh we’re confident. We should have a few players back from suspension and injury by then (3 August), so our numbers should be better for that one.”

At the other end of the ladder, Kemblawarra Fury are still on top by a single point after Bulli’s win in Round 18. For Maguire, “It’s still up to us. We just need to keep winning.”

Kemblawarra Fury – 4 (Iacovelli 34’, Jagelman 65’, Morgan 73’, Shields 76’)

Shell Cove FC – 1 (Barzel 20’)

Sunday 24 July 2016 - Albert Butler Memorial Park

Referee: Bobby Mazevski

Assistant referees: Max Vercoe, Angelo Vangelovski

Kemblawarra Fury: David Zufic, Nathan Jagelman, Josh Mears, Shane Murray, Brenton Rhodes, David Hartas, Fabian Iacovelli (Cameron Morgan 59’), Alvin Ceccoli, Matthew McNab (Kyle Senior 80’), Robbie Shields (Kyle Kirkland 77’), Sam Munro

Shell Cove FC: Adam Rodriguez, Tobe Dimovski (Nikola Nastoski 60’), Kazuhiro Obata, Nathan Macgraw, Ljupco Naumovski (Tristan Agostini 25’), Jake Waterman, Gadir Maarbani, Shohei Arakawa, Lucas Rossi, Jonathan Barzel, Saverio Pirrottina (Kai Mulvihill 56’) (sub not used: Yutaro Oda)

Report by Simon Duffin

Photo: Pedro Garcia (library archive)