Corrimal Rangers powered through to the Fraternity Cup final beating Port Kembla on penalties, having survived the sending off of star forward Save Treneski early in the second half.

In a lively semi final, played out in difficult conditions with driving rain and a squally wind, Port Kembla looked to be on the way to victory with a first half goal from Doug Woodiwiss. But the Rangers upped their game after being reduced to ten men, and Oliver Carrasco’s goal could have been followed by a few more if it had not been for some goalkeeping heroics from Port’s Brad Jardine.

In the penalty shoot out at the end of the 90 minutes, Port missed two of their first two spot kicks, and although Corrimal also missed one, it was Mark Picciolini who stepped up to take the winning kick to give the Rangers victory 4-3 on penalties and send them through to Sunday’s final against Wollongong United.

This was a physical encounter from the outset, played at high tempo, making it entertaining to watch, though neither side created any real chances in the opening 20 minutes or so.

Port had the better of the opening exchanges, limiting the Corrimal players’ time on the ball and stifling any chance to feed the ball forward to their dangerous front pair.

It was a set-piece in the 25^th minute which almost broke the deadlock. Treneski won a free kick right on the D and Luke Picciolini stepped up to take it. He had in front of him a colossal wall of some ten players from both sides, but still managed to curl his kick round the wall and force Jardine into the first real save of the match.

Port Kembla responded with Sandy Lowcock bearing down on goal at the other end. It was Robert Brown who got his body in the way of Lowcock’s shot to keep tie goalless. But seconds later, Port broke through, when Blake McGinn found Woodiwiss on the edge of the area. The striker took one touch before firing a bullet into the back of the net, giving Alex Baird in the Corrimal goal no chance.

Just before the break, there were loud shouts for penalties at both ends, but referee Nick Ryan would have nothing of it, though Matt Werakso played on after Lowcock went down and saw his shot curl just wide of the upright.

Port Kembla went in for the break just about good for their slim 1-0 lead.

The heavens opened during the interval and although the rain eased as played resumed, conditions were not easy, with a lot of players sliding in the wet. Mistimed tackles led to a series of yellow cards, and tempers began to fray as frustration mounted on both sides.

One of those tackles led to a free kick for Corrimal out on the left. Luke Picciolini sent in a perfectly weighted cross which came to Carrasco on the edge of the area. He fired a shot through a crowded penalty area and into the bottom corner to equalise and set up a lively finish to this cup tie.

For Treneski, things got a little bit too lively, though, and the Corrimal striker saw red just moments after his side had drawn level. Port looked to capitalise quickly as Lowcock drilled a shot goalwards only to watch as it deflected off a defender and flew away for a corner.

But from then on in it was Corrimal that defied the numerical disadvantage and looked the more likely winners. Just past the hour mark, Luke Picciolini unleashed a fierce strike from the left, which Jardine managed to tip onto the crossbar. Then it was brother Mark who forced another save from Jardine from the edge of the area, the keeper this time diving at full stretch to keep the game level. And Jardine did it again with ten minutes to go, producing another fingertip save to keep Mark Picciolini out.

With no extra time being played in this tournament, it was straight to penalties when the scores remained at 1-1 after 90 minutes.

Port missed two of their first three spot kicks and although Corrimal also missed the target with one, it fell to Mark Picciolini to wrap things up with the Rangers’ fifth penalty, and see his side through to Sunday’s final.

Speaking after the game, Corrimal coach John Fleming said: “This was a very good performance. We had to work hard to keep them at bay, but once we’d scored we had five more chances and their keeper made some great saves.”

“The mood at the club is sensational,” he said. “Even better than last season. We’ve got a great group of young men who take every challenge in their step and want to compete and to win. As a coach, you can’t get better than that.”

Corrimal Rangers FC – 1 (Carrasco 56’)

Port Kembla FC – 1 (Woodiwiss 31’)

Assists: Corrimal: Luke Picciolini, Port Kembla: McGinn

Penalties

Corrimal Rangers – 4 (Brown, Carrasco, Rusic, Mark Picciolini)

Port Kembla – 3 (Maude, Cario, Zucco)                                              

Tuesday 14 March 2017

JJ Kelly Park

Referee: Nick Ryan

Assistant Referees: Aden Crawley, Emajen Crawley

Corrimal Rangers: Alex Baird, Tyren Maclou, Gavin O’Brien, Nathan Belsito, Robbie Brown, Paul Guido, Oliver Carrasco, Aden Wade, Mark Picciolini, Luke Picciolini, Save Treneski (subs: Christian Plakias, Chris Stevanovski, Nikola Rusic, Tim Wylie, Jason Bleakley)

Port Kembla: Brad Jardine, Matt Werakso, William Mobbs, Kyle Hazebroek-Southgate, Carlo Stella, Justin Ivonovic, Blake McGinn, Kody Maude, Doug Woodiwiss, Ben Zucco, Sandy Lowcock (subs: Mitch Scazzariello, Brooklan Frkovic, Adam Bussunni, Justin Cario, Daniel Farina)

Report by Simon Duffin