Warilla Wanderers have signed off on an impressive 2016 season hoisting up the WGC Cranes District League Grand Final trophy courtesy of a Luke Greathead penalty at WIN Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

In a Grand Final where it seemed for extended periods that Fernhill Foxes had Warilla at their mercy, the first half penalty was more than enough for Warilla to deservedly claim the title.

The Grand Final magician, Warilla Wanderer’s coach Barney King was beaming in his suit post-game, especially the worries he held during the opening half.

“First half I thought they shaded us for sure. They came out more urgent than us and we took a bit of time to settle into our game,” he said.

“In the sheds at half time I had some serious discussions with the players about picking our game up.

“It is a credit to our lads, we deserved something this season. We finished semi-finalists in the Bert Bampton Cup, Corrimal pipped us or the promotional position so a Grand Final was probably fitting for us.

“Take nothing away from Fernhill, it was a hard game today. We got the rub of the green I think, and that was the difference.”

The Grand Final began with the traditional testing period as the ball swam around the midfield as both teams felt out the opposition defence and felt their way into the game.

In the 9th minute Fernhill created the first goal-scoring opportunity of the fixture, with a Kazuma Naigaishi cross from the left sideline finding midfielder Andy Keep at the far post who could not control the chance as it crashed into the side-netting.

The Foxes continued to press for an early goal with a captain Ben Moerman latching onto a ball behind the defensive line courtesy of Naigashi, but too much defensive heat saw that the shot was pushed wide to the left in the 12th minute.

Fernhill's hulking Chris Hobbs created space from his customary left sideline, darting past a number of would-be defenders on the 15th minute, before getting over-confident and blazing a strike that was well off-target.

The dynamic Marc Sergi took his chance at breaking past the challenging Warilla goalkeeper Bradley Hunter, with a lovely dart to the top of the penalty box before unleashing a powerful strike that was padded over goals for a corner on the 27th minute.

Sergi continued to press, unleashing a dangerous strike that had potential until teammate and captain Ben Moerman got in the way, with Sergi’s second effort a feeble left boot for a comfortable save.

After a mountain of attacking football, a Marc Sergi diving foul appeared to be the catalyst to allow Warilla out of their own half on the 38th minute, as they began to create offensive pressure.

It yielded results rapidly, with a loose push-in-the-back challenge in the penalty area by Fernhill saw the referee point to the penalty spot without hesitation on the 42nd minute.

Warilla’s Luke Greathead stepped up to the mark and had no issue thudding the ball hard and low to crash into the netting for the opening goal of the WGC Cranes District League Grand Final.

The Fernhill confidence was shaken post-goal, with a Chad Keating ball into the penalty area poorly cleared by the formidable Dale White that it nearly sailed into the goals.

Fernhill had a number of chances before the close of the half, courtesy of a Matt Richardson low cross for Naigaishi and a corner targeting Dale White but both chances were muffed.

Half time saw Warilla Wanderers into the dressing room courtesy of the penalty, a lead which according to statistics, they were lucky to hold.

The second half commenced slowly until a double substitute by Barney King brought life into the game as he introduced Martin Castelli and Paul Gaffney into the Grand Final on the 53rd minute.

In less than a minute, Gaffney created space and blazed a powerful strike that thundered off the right woodwork for no result.

Fernhill slowly began to feel their way in the second half, with an 67th minute attack courtesy of a Scott Muilwyk header found its way to Andy Keep who struck the ball into the goals, only to be cruelly denied by a raised offside flag.

The desperation was beginning to become more and more apparent for Fernhill, as they lost patience with the ball as they struggled to create opportunities while Wanderers held more men back.

Warilla could sniff blood and pushed for a second goal whenever an opportunity presented itself, with Martin Castelli leading the charge.

A critical opportunity for Fernhill on the 87th minute, with a Matt Richardson ball into the penalty area reaching Chris Hobbs, who was unable to work the ball for his advantage as it meekly rolled out for a goal kick.

As the full-time whistle blew, the chanting Warilla Wanderers fans reached full voice in proud scenes for the Warilla Wanderers Football Club.

Fernhill coach Dan McGoldrick was disappointed with the Grand Final result, but was proud of the clubs 2016’s achievements.

“It has been a fantastic year, winning the club championship and getting three teams to the Grand Final,” he said.

“It is just something for us to build on in 2017, and have a real solid crack at promotion and getting back into the Premier League with the bunch of players that we have and a few quality additions.

“We should have had the game to bed before the penalty ever happened. We had 18 shots in the first half, there first shot was a penalty. And we didn't hit the target, even right on the death we could have score and probably should have scored but we missed.

“We defended well, I went into just before half time thinking we probably had as good a half as we could have had. Really Warilla created very little in the first half but the penalty really was the sucker punch.

“Its a common theme in football, you can have all the possession, you can create all the opportunities but if you don't take them, the opportunity goes to the other side.”

 

Saturday 24th of September, 2016

WIN Stadium

 

Referee:Andrew Naylor

Assistant Referees: Adam Naylor & Greg Reid

Fourth Official: Stuart Bell

 

Warilla Wanderers 1 (Greathead 44’)

Fernhill Foxes 0

Man of the Match: John Hagenaar

 

Warilla Wanderers: Bradley Hunter, Ryan Hunter, Adam Martin, John Hagenaar, Jason Goldsmith, Luke Everingham Adam White (Nicholas Del Turco 79’), Chad Keating (Martin Castelli 53’), Bojan Caric (Paul Gaffney 53’), Xavier Ovando, Luke Greathead,

Yellow Cards: Ryan Hunter, Adam White

Red Cards:Nil

 

Fernhill F.C: Akira Tatsubayashi, Matt Richardson, Luke McDonald (Keiran Morris 66’), Anthony Oliver, Scott Muiluyk, Dale White, Andy Keep, Marc Sergi (Michael Stephenson 89’), Ben Moerman (Dean Morosin 74’), Kazuma Nagaishi, Chris Hobbs

Yellow Cards: Matt Richardson

Red Cards: Nil

 

 

Report by Daniel McGookin

Twitter: @Daniel_McGookin

Photo by Pedro Garcia