Coniston FC hosted the Fernhill Foxes in Round 11 of the WGC Cranes District League on Saturday afternoon at JJ Kelly Park. With Fernhill coming into the match on the back of their first loss of the season, they were sure to step up their games making for an intense clash. Coniston fought hard and the game could have gone either way, but it was Fernhill who came out on top and maintained their position at the top of the table, with Coniston falling from 4th to 5th in the process.

It was an up-tempo start to the match but neither team had any opportunities early on but it was Fernhill that maintained the possession early on as Coniston managed to lose the ball easily to Fernhill’s strong defence.

Fernhill had the first golden opportunity in the 22nd minute as Andy Keep crossed the ball to Mitch Turner who had made a run centrally. He beat Coniston's defence and managed to place the ball past Alex Makin who had come too far out of his box - the Foxes up a goal to nil.

Coniston began to assert themselves as the game progressed with some half chances that seemed promising but they were not good enough be beat Fernhill keeper Jame McClelland.

Not long after, Fernhill's Ryan Hunter made a surging run down the right wing, and he attempted a strong strike that landed in Makin's arms.

Just minutes later Coniston found some space in an attempt to level the score as Lorri Mandredi sent the ball towards the net but unfortunately sent it too far left.

The game was 1-0 to the visitors at half-time, with Fernhill looking pleased with how the game was progressing.

Coniston came back fighting after the break, with Fernhill’s defenders having to work much harder to clear the ball from their goal.

In the 63rd minute, Fernhill doubled their lead. Turner managed to get the ball down the left wing and cross into a flying Hunter to head into the back of the net.

Only a minute later, Coniston had pulled the goal back. Miscommunication in the Fernhill box led to Adrian Nikolovski swiftly landing the ball in the back of the net to put the score at 2-1.

Tensions began to simmer as both sides wasted opportunities, but the match finished 2-1 to Fernhill, a triumphant victory for the Foxes who retain their lead at the top of the table.

Coniston FC - 1 (Nikolovski 65’)

Fernhill Foxes - 2 (Turner 22’, Hunter 63’)

Saturday 3rd June, 2017 at JJ Kelly Park, Coniston

Coniston FC: A Makin, P Susnja, M Stojanovski, R Vandenberg, M Cuda, B Moreira, F Pierro, L Mandredi, A Nikolovski, J Stewart, F Ledesma, D Terzic, T Dulevski, F Gaudiosi, M Tschenscher, A Simonovski

Fernhill Foxes: J McClelland, S Poulton, J Cesta-Incani, T Preece, A Oliver, R Hunter, A Keep, M Sergi, D Morosin, M Turner, K Hmda, A Breslin, L McDonald, M Richardson, Y Hadaya.

Referee: Andrew Naylor

Assistant Referees: Grayam Chancer and Maya Francis

Report by Lauren Ferri, on Twitter @lauren_ferri