Two early goals from John Martinoski gave Wollongong Olympic a flying start to this Round 4 Premier League fixture and set his side up for a very useful victory away at Kemblawarra Fury. Yusuke Ueda’s spot kick just before the break made it 3-1 after Anthony Proia had got one back for the home side. The Fury had their chances in the second half, but Olympic’s defence held on for a win that keeps Rob Birkin’s side at the top of the ladder, just goal difference behind Bulli.

Olympic started without Jake Duczynski at the back and were missing Nuno Pires and the suspended Blake Coates up front, but Birkin was pleased with how ‘the guys that came in did a tremendous job’. He acknowledged that his side had the advantage of having played football every week, unlike many other clubs in the league, but said the pre-season preparation and the depth of his squad were what most impressed him at this stage of the season.

Olympic flew out of the blocks and were two goals to the good within six minutes. Martinoski scored both the openers, his first thanks to Harrison Brown’s forward move which drew keeper Mitchell Blowes out of his six yard box, and his second moments later was a gift from a defensive mix-up, where the ball came straight to his feet ten yards out and he simply side-footed it home.

Just a minute later in an electrifying start to this contest, Shun Tokuno handled inside his own area and the Fury were awarded a penalty. But Shane Murray fired it too close to Hayden Durose in the Olympic goal and the opportunity for an immediate response was lost.

It could easily have been 3-0 Olympic after just ten minutes, when Ueda put Jack Balmforth through on goal, but Blowes got down well to block. And with their confidence soaring so early on, Ueda even tried a scissors kick from an unlikely angle, but didn’t find the target.

Fifteen minutes in, the Fury finally settled and began pushing forward with their familiar passing football. But with a two goal advantage, Olympic were able to pack players into their own area and the Fury couldn’t find a way through the sky blue wall.

It was a stroke of brilliance from Proia which got his side back in it.

Just on the half hour mark, he picked the ball up from Murray on the edge of the area, saw four defenders ahead of him, but shimmied right and curled a superb shot round the packed area just inside the far post.

At this point, the Fury looked as if they’d come back into it, with an hour left to conjure up another piece of magic. But they were struck down in the 40^th minute when Lachlan O’Connor left a leg hanging out too long and upended Ueda on the byline but inside the area.

The referee pointed to the spot and Ueda dispatched the penalty low to Blowes’ left to restore Olympic’s two goal advantage at the break.

It was the Fury who flew out of the blocks as the second half got underway, but unlike Olympic they didn’t take their early chances. First Sam Matthews sent a left foot just wide of the upright, and then Matthew McNab threw away a gift of a chance with a free header from ten yards out after being picked out by Proia. He somehow got under the ball and sent it flying a metre over the bar.

Then it was Sam Munro who caused a rare moment of uncertainty in the Olympic defence, chipping the ball into the six yard box where Jack Keating rather hurriedly headed it against his own post before Durose could gather and see off the danger.

With 25 minutes remaining, Fury coach Luke Maguire began to make changes, bringing on Fabian Iacovelli and leaving just three at the back. Liam Unicomb was brought on too, to give fresh legs up front, but fared no better than McNab in finding a way through.

Instead, it was Olympic who threatened on the break, Ueda sending a right foot shot just wide, and Martinoski denied by Kyle Senior as he bore down on goal looking for his hat-trick.

Alvin Ceccoli came forward for a set-piece and came close with an effort at the far post, Iacovelli drilled the ball inches wide across the face of the goal and Keating got his body in the way of another superb Proia shot as the Fury piled forward late on.

With 90 minutes already played, Olympic made two substitutions, and one of them almost scored with his first touch. Senior got enough of a foot onto Jamie Wakeling’s shot from inside the area to make the save easy for Blowes.

But there was no way back for the Fury, and that’s six goals conceded in two IPL matches. None of the Fury back four had a bad game, but the three goals today all came from defensive errors, which must be a concern for Maguire. In his post-match comments, he said: “I said before the game, if you give these guys an opportunity, they’ll take it, and they did. We need to start better and be more aware defensively to give ourselves a chance.”

 

Kemblawarra Fury – 1 (Proia 30’)

Wollongong Olympic – 3 (Martinoski 5’, 6’, Ueda Pen 40’)

Assists: Fury: Murray; Olympic: Brown

Macedonia Park, Sunday 16 April 2017

Referee: Steve Bozic
Assistant referees: Brendon Fotheringham, K Harrison

Kemblawarra Fury: Mitchell Blowes, Kyle Senior, Steven Wright (Fabian Iacovelli 67’), Shane Murray, Lachlan O’Connor, David Hartas, Alvin Ceccoli, Anthony Proia, Matthew McNab (Liam Unicomb 72’), Sam Matthews (Adam Biddle 86’), Sam Munro (subs not used: Andres Gomez, David Zufic)

Wollongong Olympic: Hayden Durose, Haydyn Lloyd, Shun Tokuno, Brendan Belsito, Jack Keating, Harrison Brown, Lukas Stergiou, Yusuke Ueda, John Martinoski (Jamie Wakeling 90+1’), Brendan Fordham, Jack Balmforth (Dylan Perlowski 90’)

 

Report by Simon Duffin
Photo by Noel Wynn