Wollongong Olympic drew level with Bulli at the top of the Illawarra Mercury Premier League with a 3-0 win over Corrimal Rangers, in spite of spending almost an hour with only ten men after John Martinoski’s first half red card. There were early goals for leading scorer Yusuke Ueda and Olympic captain Brendan Fordham, before Jamie Wakeling wrapped the game up in the dying minutes of the match.

For the home side, Mark Picciolini would count himself unlucky not to score the goal of the match, as the woodwork denied the Rangers’ leading marksman in the second half, but there were too many attempts way off target from his team-mates in a side which has been struggling to score of late.

Wollongong Olympic went into this match needing to win by five goals to take top spot on goal difference. The way they played for the first half hour, it looked as if they might do even better than that.

In five minutes, the visitors were already a goal up, though they had a large dose of luck to give them the opener. Martinoski’s ball into the box took a deflection off the back of a Rangers defender and fell right at Ueda’s feet. From twelve yards out, there was only one place that gift would end up, and Ueda made no mistake for his 12^th goal of the IPL season.

Martinoski created more chances, as Olympic surged forward. First he teed up Harrison Brown, whose long-range shot was not far off, then he set up Blake Coates who looked certain to strike until Tyren Maclou put in a brave challenge. And it was Martinoski who began the move that led to Olympic’s second in only the 13^th minute.

He found Fordham on the edge of the box, who played a neat one-two with Coates before drilling the ball past the luckless Corrimal keeper. And Ueda almost got a third moments later as he sent a lob just over the bar from long range.

Save Treneski and Picciolini were having little joy at the other end. When Treneski threaded the ball through to his fellow striker just before the half hour, the extra touch Picciolini needed before pulling the trigger gave Jake Duczynski time to get back to clear. It was the big central defender who got his body in the way moments later too, when Treneski looked poised to tap in.

By this time Martinoski had seen red, and the momentum in the game shifted. Corrimal were able to come forward with the one-man advantage, but they rarely looked like finding a way through the best defence in the league.

Half time stayed at 0-2.

In spite of losing Brown to injury early in the second half, it was Olympic who created the best chance of the early second stanza exchanges. Stefan Dimoski twisted and turned inside the box before seeing his shot blocked by Maclou and then Alex Baird did well to stop Wakeling’s close-range effort from the rebound.

With no sign of a breakthrough for the home side, in spite of greater possession, coach Gavin O’Brien brought on Tim Wylie in place of Treneski. But there was no change of luck as Wylie saw his first time shot well saved by Hayden Durose but he then skied another effort so high he might have been playing football under a different code.

Yasuto Onishi’s shot soon after he came on produced another save from Durose, and Nathan Belsito’s half volley flew just inches over the bar. But the home side’s best effort came with just seven minutes left on the clock.

Wylie teed the ball up for Picciolini who spun onto his right foot on the edge of the area and sent a bullet out of Durose’s reach, but it thundered against the upright, and the unlucky striker was denied again moments later when Durose got down low to keep out his tap-in.

Having survived everything Corrimal could throw at them, Olympic broke and wrapped the game up with a clinical finish at the other end. Substitute Dylan Perlowski picked out Wakeling inside the box and the youngster drilled the ball home under the body of Baird to complete the 3-0 victory.

Rangers coach Gavin O’Brien paid credit to Olympic who ‘played better than us today.’ “Unfortunately, we started today how we left off last week and although we had good second half possession, the chances are just not dropping for us, even with things like Mark (Picciolini)’s world-class effort. Our season’s on a knife edge.”

Olympic coach Rob Birkin acknowledged that the early red card had affected his team’s progress this afternoon and probably cost them ladder leadership at the end of Round 13. Looking ahead to next week’s tough tie against Port Kembla, the positives for Olympic were a return to fitness for Blake Coates and the likelihood that Lukas Stergiou would also be back next week; on the downside, Birkin has to reckon without the now suspended Martinoski and there will be doubts about Harrison Brown, who left the ground with his arm in a sling.

Corrimal Rangers FC – 0

Wollongong Olympic – 3 (Ueda 5’, Fordham 13’, Wakeling 89’)

Assists: Olympic: Martinoski, Coates, Perlowski                         

Sunday 17 June 2017

Memorial Park, Corrimal

Referee: Greg Reid

Assistant Referees: Bradley Moreira, Dean Moreira

Corrimal Rangers: Alex Baird, Tyren Maclou, Christian Plakias (Fabian Cappetta 31’), Dominic Magill, Robert Brown, Paul Guido, Kazuya Yamamoto (Yasuto Onishi 75’), James Carli, Mark Picciolini, Nathan Belsito, Save Treneski (Tim Wylie 59’) (subs not used: Christian Saffioti, Jason Bleakley)

Wollongong Olympic: Hayden Durose, Haydyn Lloyd, Shun Tokuno, Jack Keating, Jake Duczynski, Harrison Brown (Jamie Wakeling 50’), Brendan Fordham, Yusuke Ueda, John Martinoski, Stefan Dimoski (Dylan Perlowski 85’), Blake Coates, (sub not used: Peter Kyriakoudes, Brendan Belsito)

Report by Simon Duffin