A sunbathed Tarrawanna Oval played host to a round nine clash which had substantial implications for the top five race. A Tarrawanna win would move them five points clear of 6th while a Port Kembla win by more than one goal would have seen them sneak into the top five.

The Blueys enjoyed an incredible start when Woo Oh put them ahead in the 3rd minute. The home side had Port Kembla pinned in their box when Oh struck the ball from the edge of the area, and with the assistance of a slight Carlo Stella deflection, the ball found the back of the net.

Port Kembla was determined to amend their poor start and in the 13th minute, they drew level. Chris Smith forced his way into the left side of the Tarrawanna area before cutting across to Kody Maude who smashed the ball into an outstretched Alex Rodriguez who was unable to keep it out of the net.

The two teams were playing the match with extreme intensity - fitting of its importance. There were a number of strong challenges with neither side giving their opposition time on the ball. This highlighted the battle between Tarrawanna’s Ricky Goodchild and Port’s Ben Zucco - two players who are confident in possession of the ball.

With a minute to go before the referee, Peter Ilcevski blew for halftime Port pulled ahead. This time the assist came from Cameron Morgan who rode a challenge from Allister Carrigan on the left side of the Blueys’ area. Morgan cut the ball into Maude who blasted it into the top left corner from the edge of the 6-yard box, the strike coming off Matthew Naylor en route.

Port Kembla’s 2-1 halftime lead meant they were a point behind Tarrawanna and their coach, Noel Spencer would have been desperate for his side to hold on.

The physical affair continued into the second half. Port looked to extend their advantage but the Tarrawanna defence, led by the experienced Naylor, were willing to throw their bodies around to keep their side in the match.

In the 59th minute, Tarrawanna had a glorious chance to equalise when Goodchild played Sam Rose through on goal but the attacker sliced his shot to the left. A horrendous miss from the man Blueys’ coach, Peter Willis had just substituted into the match.

In the 83rd minute, the Blueys grabbed an equaliser. From just inside the attacking half, Naylor played a through-ball to Goodchild on the left who ran into the Port box before lacing the ball in between Brad Jardine and the post.

In the next attack, Tarrawanna took the lead. Oh lofted the ball into the box finding 16-year-old Caleb Grace who managed to head past Jardine to leave the Tarrawanna faithful in raptures. A moment to remember for the youngster on debut - who had also scored a brace in youth grade.

Tarrawanna held out for the remaining minutes to secure a monumental victory which moves them seven points ahead of Port Kembla and four clear of Wollongong United (who have two games in hand) in 5th. When asked about Grace’s matchwinner, a delighted Willis said, “It’s a great boost for him, he has done really well in the youth team and he has got his just rewards today.” Tarrawanna travels to Terry Reserve next Saturday. A win against the 2016 Premiers could see the Blueys move into the top three.

The defeat leaves Port Kembla stranded in 7th and after the match, a dispirited Spencer lamented his side's inability to hold onto their 2-1 lead, “We just played some dumb football in that second half… Our ball retention wasn’t good and it just invited pressure.” He went on to acknowledge the significance of the defeat, “Today was a grand final, it was a seven-point game today… but we will battle on for next week.” Port Kembla host Cringila Lions next Sunday with their realistic finals aspirations on the line.

 

Click this link to listen to the post match interviews with Peter Willis and Noel Spencer - https://soundcloud.com/dylanarvela/post-match-interviews-after-tarrawannas-thrilling-win-over-port-kembla

 

Click this link to see the Twitter Moments recap of the match - https://twitter.com/FSC_Official/status/865854524119961600

 

Tarrawanna Blueys - 3 (Oh 3’, Goodchild 83’, Grace 85’)

Port Kembla - 2 (Maude 13’, 44’)

 

Saturday the 20th of May at Tarrawanna Oval, Tarrawanna

 

Tarrawanna Blueys - Adam Rodriguez, Allister Carrigan, Matthew Naylor, Sam Chapple, Jacob Fryday, Josh Chapple, Sangyu Park, Woo Oh, Kazuma Nagaishi, Ricky Goodchild and Darren Stone

Subs - Sam Rose, Josh Brown, Ben Learmonth, Caleb Grace and Brynley Richards

Coach - Peter Willis

 

Port Kembla - Brad Jardine, Brooklyn Frkovic, William Mobbs, Matt Werakso, Carlo Stella, Kyle Hazebroek, Kody Maude, Cameron Morgan, Chris Smith, Ben Zucco and Sandy Lowcock

Subs - Joey Lavalle, Justin Cario, Jack Miranda and Kayne Kotevski

Coach - Noel Spencer

 

Referee - Peter Ilcevski

Assistant Referees - Patrick Hutton and Dante Chiodo

 

Report by Dylan Arvela on Twitter @dylanarvela

Photo couretsy of Noel Wynn