Memorial Park played host to the bottom half clash between Corrimal Rangers and Cringila Lions. Coming into the match, Corrimal had yet to experience a win in their return to the top flight while Cringila had lost back to back matches for the first time this season.

 

It was the best possible start for the home side when they took the lead in the 2nd minute. The Ranger’s new recruit, Kazuya Yamamoto flew up the left flank and crossed the ball in for Tim Wylie who bundled it into the net on his second attempt from inside the 6-yard box.

 

In the 10th minute, the Rangers doubled their lead. Once again, Yamamoto provided from the left flank, cutting back to Mark Picciolini on the penalty mark who squeezed the ball into the goal off the right post.

 

The stunning opening ten minutes was replaced by a lull which saw most of the play being in the middle third of the pitch, with Corrimal perhaps edging control of the ball. The half time score remained 2-0.

 

In the opening ten minutes of the second half, Corrimal had a couple of chances to extend their lead. First, Picciolini was nearly one vs one with Alexander Boullosa but scuffed his shot wide due to a Lion defender’s pressure. This was followed by Save Treneski holding off two players in the box before a low drive from a tight angle which forced Boullosa to make a stop.

 

In the 65th minute, Corrimal came within inches of their third. A cross into the box was met by a poor Boullosa punch which fell to Nathan Belsito who fired a shot for the bottom right corner but Alexander Todoroski was on the line to save his keeper’s blushes.

 

With five minutes remaining, Cringila fashioned their closest opportunity of the match. A ball was lofted into the box for Shinchi Takeuchi who nudged it down for his compatriot Takao Teramoto who scissor-kicked for goal but missed to the left.

 

In the first minute of stoppage time, the Rangers broke away with two attackers on one defender and the goalkeeper. Picciolini dribbled towards the edge of the 18-yard box, he cut in and cut out before striking for the bottom right but Boullosa made a smart stop - a crucial missed opportunity had Corrimal not held a two-goal advantage.

 

The blistering opening few stanzas left the crowd anticipating a goal fest but this never eventuated with the match finishing 2-0 to Corrimal.  

 

The win is the first for the Rangers this season, as is the clean sheet and it puts them three points clear of the bottom two. After the match, Corrimal coach, Gavin O’Brien spoke about his side’s strong display, “I would really like to bottle that first ten-fifteen [minutes] and carry that for the rest of the season. The boys just played with confidence and things came our way.”

 

The result was also a personal milestone for O’Brien with it being his first win as a coach, “It is definitely strange because I started this season playing… and all of a sudden I’m a coach so it has been a big adjustment for me… towards the end of the season, I think I’ll take it all in a bit better then.”

 

Corrimal will look to back up this result when they travel to Port Kembla next Saturday. As for Cringila, a rough three weeks leaves them four points adrift of finals football and things will not get any easier when they go to the PCYC next Sunday to play Wollongong Olympic.

 

Click this link to listen to the post match interview with Corrimal coach, Gavin O’Brien - https://soundcloud.com/dylanarvela/corrimal-coach-gavin-obrien-after-2-0-win-against-cringila 

 

Corrimal Rangers - 2 (Wylie 2’, Picciolini 10’)

Cringila Lions - 0

 

Sunday the 4th of June 2017 at Memorial Park, Corrimal

 

Corrimal Rangers - Alex Baird, Tyren Maclou, Tim Wylie, Dominic Magill, Paul Guido, Kazuya Yamamoto, Nathan Belsito, Mark Picciolini, Christian Plakias and Save Trenseki

 

Subs - Chris Stevanovski, Branislav Radmanovic, James Walker, Christian Saffioti, James Carli and Jason Bleakley

 

Coach - Gavin O’Brien

 

Cringila Lions - Alexander Boullosa, Nathan Macgraw, Alexander Todoroski, Josian Sherwen, Joel Taddeo, Darren Jones, Takao Teramoto, Rodney Lewin, Alexander Brbevski, Milan Atlagic and Sho Katayama

 

Subs - Mark Jones, Shinchi Takeuchi, Michael Stojanoski, Ibrahim Cesay and Jacob Martin

 

Coach - Wally Savor

 

Referee - Steve Bozic

 

Assistant Referees - Brad Moreira and Dean Moreira

 

Report and photo by Dylan Arvela, on Twitter @dylanarvela