Ray Robinson Field played host to the clash between first and sixth, with Fernhill looking to extend their lead at the top of the District League. As for Oak Flats, they came into the encounter on the back of a five game unbeaten run which had them on the brink of the top five.

The first big opportunity of the match came in the 8th minute for Ilija Prenzoski. Mitch Turner won an aerial duel in the middle of the park with the ball coming to Prenzoski who was through on goal but the experienced forward dragged his shot wide of Ben Wunsch’s goal.

The deadlock was broken a minute later when Oak Flats pulled ahead. The ball was crossed into the area and the home side failed to clear the ball on two occasions allowing for Michael Wilson to hit a half-volley into the right side of the net. A well-taken goal after some uncharacteristically poor defending.

Oak Flats harried Fernhill and combined with the bumpy surface, the Foxes struggled to build pressure. Penzoski had three half chances in the remainder of the half, two headers off crosses from Andy Keep and a side half volley from a tight angle - none truly testing Wunsch.

Falcon’s coach Mark Vinton would have been delighted with his side’s halftime advantage against a Fernhill side that had failed to play anywhere near their best.

In the 55th minute, Keep once again set up Prenzoski who was one on one with Wunsch. The wily striker tried to blast it between the keeper in the near post but Wunsch pushed the shot away for a corner. Two minutes later Marc Sergi flung in a corner which bounced to Tor Preece who poked his shot to the left of the goal.

In the 65th minute, Fernhill had their equaliser. Some intricate passing led to Prenzoski playing Turner into the right side of the box, the young forward then whizzed his shot across the keeper and into the far left corner. A lovely bit of play, matched by the finish.

Things went from bad to worse for the Falcons when two minutes later Jay Mason received his second yellow for a stray challenge on Turner. This left Oak Flats with ten men against the best attack in the league.

Keep and Turner were stretching the Oak Flats defence but to the away side’s credit, Fernhill was unable able to create many noteworthy chances. A tentative header from Ryan Hunter and an awkward cross from Turner was the closest they managed to get.

With ten minutes to go the weight of possession finally took its toll with the Foxes snatching a lucky lead. Keep turned his defender on the edge of the Oak Flats box before cutting to Prenzoski whose shot deflected off a defender looping into the air and spinning over a backtracking Wunsch who could not manage to swipe the ball away.

The ten man Falcons admirably pushed for an equaliser with Vinton urging his troops to push forward but they were unable to fashion a chance against the league’s second best defence. The match finishing 2-1 to Fernhill.

The win moves the Foxes six points clear of second place after Warilla beat Thirroul. After the match, Fernhill coach Dan McGoldrick suggested the result was all that mattered, “It wasn’t a vintage performance… the important thing is the result… and the points are the important thing and it keeps us at the top of the table.” Fernhill's next opponents are Thirroul, if the Foxes were to win that match it would all but end the Thunders title hopes.

As for Oak Flats, Vinton was happy with his side’s defensive efforts but acknowledged how difficult the task was for his side once Mason had been sent from the field. The defeat leaves the Falcons a win outside top five with a crunch clash away to Coniston the next weekend.

 

Click this link to listen to the post match interviews with the two coaches - https://soundcloud.com/dylanarvela/post-match-interviews-after-fernhill-overcome-oak-flats

 

Fernhill Foxes - 2 (Turner 65’, Prenzoski 80’)

Oak Flats Falcons - 1 (Wilson 9’)

 

Saturday the 24th of June, 2017 at Ray Robinson Field

 

Fernhill Foxes - Brad Hunter, Sean Poulton, Ryan Hunter, Tor Preece, Anthony Oliver, Andrew Paine, Andy Keep, Marc Sergi, Ilija Prenzoski, Mitch Turner and Kolan Hmda

 

Subs - Scott Muilwyk (on for Turner), Branden Waeger, James Mcclelland, Dean Morosin (on for Sergi) and Hiroki Makita

 

Coach - Dan McGoldrick

 

Oak Flats Falcons - Ben Wunsch, Jay Mason, Alan Warburton, Ryan Pitt, Jamie Stevenson, Brenton Lloyd, Ryan Franks, Christian Cappetta, Michael Wilson, Chad Keating and Daniel Munilla

 

Subs - Jarryd Vinton (on for Franks), Chris Jarman, Ross Graham (on for Keating), Chris Murdzevski

 

Coach - Mark Vinton

 

Referee - Stuart Bell

 

Assistant referees - Andrew Muirhead and Daniel Zuzic

 

Report and photo by Dylan Arvela, on Twitter @dylanarvela