A late strike from Andrej Gacesa gave Wollongong Olympic the three points and kept last week’s Bampton Cup winners on track for a Premier League Finals berth next month.

The Blueys’ fifth successive IPL defeat makes Finals football look very unlikely for Peter Willis’s outfit this season, though they will count themselves very unlucky not to come away from PCYC with something, after dominating the second half and hitting the woodwork moments before Gacesa’s winner.

The first half was an entertaining and evenly-balanced affair, with both sides giving everything on a pitch which was cutting up quickly after the recent heavy rain.

The Blueys welcomed back Darren Stone after several weeks out and his presence down the left made a difference from the start. It was their front man Bradley Welch who looked most dangerous early on, though, the Trinidad international putting in an aggressive, workmanlike display to set up early chances for Tarrawanna.

Early on, Olympic also had a switch in formation, with captain Brendan Fordham playing centre forward after his goal scoring feats of last weekend, and top scorer Yusuke Ueda roaming more freely, sometimes behind the frontline, sometimes down the left.

It was a more classic Olympic move that almost opened the score after 14 minutes. Kyle Hazebroek swung in the first of many corners through the afternoon, Jake Duczynski rose highest and headed the ball goalwards, with Blueys captain Mitchell Young standing on the goal line to clear with his head.

Moments later, Olympic did take the lead. The ever-industrious Ja Kon Yu found Fordham down the left. He drove in a cross into the middle where Ueda was waiting three yards out, grateful for the chance to notch his eleventh goal of the season with a sweet left foot, giving David Hamilton in the Blueys goal no chance.

Tarrawanna were quick to respond, though, and equalised just five minutes later. Stone won a free kick down the left, which Sam Chapple curled into the box. It took one bounce and was then steered into the net by an unlucky Sam Gordon to make it 1-1.

Both keepers were kept busy as the play flowed from end to end.

Hamilton needed two attempts to collect Ueda’s screamer from 30 yards out and then fumbled Harrison Brown’s shot just past the half hour mark, watching in relief as the ball trickled away for a corner just past the upright.

At the other end, Hayden Durose had to be quick to keep out Welch after Stone sent in yet another cross from the left.

1-1  at half time was a fair reflection of a highly competitive, fast-paced 45 minutes.

The second half was tame in comparison, with chances few and far between until the drama of the last five minutes.

The Blueys looked more confident in possession and gave the ball away less than Olympic as the game wore on.

Sang Yu Park had had a quiet first half but came into his own in the second stanza. First he saw a fierce shot deflect off Gordon again, with Durose forced to save to prevent a double own goal for the unlucky Olympic back. Then Chapple put Park through and looked sure to score before Gordon raced back to flick the ball off his toes before he could strike.

Willis then made substitutions as he looked to find a way through. Sam Isabella and Matthew Mazevski came on and immediately had an impact, with Isabella threading the ball through to Mazevski, whose first touch was an attempt on goal.

And then a third substitute almost scored when Sam Onano saw his left foot shot slide inches wide of the upright.

But it was Park who came closest to giving the Blueys the win they looked like they deserved on their second half performance. Jake Morlando sent the ball across from the left to Park who fired a low shot directly onto the woodwork. The ball bounced straight back to the Blueys forward and there was a moment of pinball as shots flew in and legs cleared but the Blueys could not find a way through a determined Olympic defence.

Suddenly, in the 89^th minute, Park burst clear and was on-on-one with Durose, looking certain to score, but once again the Olympic custodian got down to clear Park’s shot with his legs.

The home side had created little through the second half, with the Blueys defence untroubled for 45 minutes…until two minutes into added time.

Haydyn Lloyd sent a long ball over from the right towards Gacesa on the edge of the area. The Olympic substitute spun and fired a superb shot through a crowded penalty area to send his Olympic team into delirium and knock the stuffing out of Tarrawanna.

Olympic now look a safe bet for the Finals. They take on Shell Cove next week at home again.

Tarrawanna host neighbours Bulli in Round 20 before playing the IPL’s bottom two in their last two matches.

Wollongong Olympic – 2 (Ueda 17’, Gacesa 90+2’)

Tarrawanna Blueys – 1 (Gordon og 23’)

Saturday 6 August 2016

PCYC, Wollongong

Referee: Andrew Naylor

Assistant Referees: John Rusisca, Tray Arnold

Wollongong Olympic: Hayden Durose, Haydyn Lloyd, Jack Keating, Jake Duczynski, Sam Gordon, Harvey Rodriguez (Jamie Wakeling 81’), Harrison Brown, Ja Kon Yu (Andrej Gacesa 67’), Yusuke Ueda, Brendan Fordham, Kyle Hazebroek (subs not used: Jon Mangos, Jordan Nikolovski, Yanni Mavrikis)

Tarrawanna Blueys: David Hamilton, Allister Carrigan, Bryce Dolinscak, Mitchell Young, Jake Morlando, Daniel Chapman, Jacob Fryday (Sam Isabella 74’), Samuel Chapple, Sangyu Park, Bradley Welch (Matthew Mazevski 76’), Darren Stone (Sam Onano 82’) (subs not used: Peter Arnone, Christian Pretto)

 

Report by Simon Duffin

Photo courtesy of Noel Wynn