In what was a crucial match for the Championship which pitted the top two sides in the WGC Cranes District League competition at Ray Robinson Oval. Fernhill Foxes edged out their nearest rivals Warilla Wanderers 1-0 to consolidate their grip on the Championship and extend their lead to 6 points.

Warilla did not let down without a fight though and showed that despite the points gap, there is not much between these two sides. With the early possession, Warilla looked to get off to a flying start having pegged Fernhill deep in their own half.

Warilla’s first real chance on goals came in the 15^th minute when Bojan Caric shook off a couple of defenders and took a low strike which was well saved by Fernhill’s Brad Hunter deflected the ball wide.

Caric was causing the Foxes headaches as just minutes later he created some space for himself as he cutback from the left. Brad Hunter was again equal to the task holding on his low drive which looked destined to find the bottom corner.

With Warilla spurning the early chances, Fernhill started to come back into the game. Midway through the first half and the game was starting ebb and flow with both teams guilty of wasting half opportunities with poor options in the final third and good goalkeeping by Rizvani and Hunter.

Just 4 minutes before half time, Fernhill got their break-through as Andy Keep managed to get in behind the defence on the left side of the field before finding rounding Warilla keeper Valon Rizvani to tap it home. Rizvani made some contact with the striker in his attempted save however to his credit, Keep kept his feet and put the Foxes one up.

With their season essentially on the line, Warilla came out firing early in the second half as they looked to It salvage something from the game. The Wanderers almost levelled in the 57^th minute as Ben Ellul managed to get in behind Fernhill’s defence. With options screaming forward, Ellul looked to shoot across the goal with Hunter getting a fingertip to the ball deflecting it wide. Fernhill’s defence was working overtime with Preece and White constantly thwarting the Warilla attack.

Tensions rose as Warilla appeared frustrated throwing bodies forward however the Foxes showed why they have the best defensive unit in the District League absorbing pressure.

Mitchell Turner who came on for Toby Napper late in the game constantly stretched Warilla’s defence as Fernhill countered well with his pace.

At the other end though and with just 7 minutes remaining, Caric did incredibly well to turn White inside the box however his shot from 8 yards flew well over the bar when perhaps placement was the better option.

Warilla had one last chance when a wonderful whipped in ball DelTurco saw both Caric and Robertson simultaneously strike the ball on the far post with Hunter getting across to made a great save. The moments hesitation from both Warilla players seemed to have cost them a golden chance.

In the end, Fernhill getting the win and extend their lead over Warilla to 7 points and they are now 6 points clear of Thirroul and possibly one hand on the Championship trophy already.

For Warilla, they will have been disappointed not to have got something from this match however Championship destiny at this stage is no longer in their own hands.

 

Ray Robinson Oval, 3pm, Saturday 20^th May

 

Fernhill – 1 (Keep 41)

Warilla – 0

 

Fernhill FC: B. Hunter, S. Poulton, T. Preece, D. White, A. Oliver, D. Morosin, A. Keep (41’), M. Sergi, R. Hunter, T. Napper, K. Hmda, M. Turner, L. McDonald, A. Breslin, J. McClelland, B. Kear

 

Warilla FC: V. Rizvani, N. Dez Turco, J. Nolan, T. Anastovski, M. Castelli, L. Everingham, K. Good, B. Ellul, B. Caric, J. Ovando, A. Montalbano, J. Goldsmith, T. White, S. Robertson, N. Pegler, B. Pusell.

 

Referee: Bobby Mazevski

Assistant Referees: Daniel Zuzic, Tristan Jones

 

Report by Lauren Ferri