Corrimal came into their Round 16 match with Woonona at Memorial Park on the back of four straight losses, while conceding 20 goals and scoring none in the process. This turgid run of fixtures meant only goal difference was keeping them off the foot of the table. In stark contrast, the away side had won their past two matches which had seen them move out of the bottom two for the first time since the end of April.

 

The Sharks' upturn in form had many people backing them for a third win on the spin and Corrimal losing young gun James Carli to the Wollongong Wolves midweek only strengthened that vibe.

 

The first half was an honest reflection of two struggling sides who had endured treacherous seasons. Corrimal slightly edged proceedings with Mark Picciolini getting the first shot on goal in the 25th minute. Five minutes later a Kazuya Yamamoto's cross trickled past three Woonona defenders and goalkeeper Jacob Madden but Save Treneski was on his heels meaning he was unable to tap in a simple chance.

 

Woonona appeared bereft of confidence in the first half with their only noteworthy chance coming through centre back Chris Gibson who had a subdued header cleared a metre off the line in the 36th minute. The teams went into the sheds with the score still locked at nil all.

 

The Sharks seemed to have a bit more purpose about their play in the opening passages of the second half and in the 55th minute, Joel Beattie got on the end of an ambitious long ball only to be dragged back by Robert Brown a metre outside the box. The Woonona players were screaming for a red card to be given to the defender but with two more Rangers in close proximity, the referee opted for a yellow.

 

Woonona remained undeterred and just after the hour mark, they grabbed the lead. Beattie burst down the right wing and his ball in caused chaos for the Corrimal defence with Trent Worthington crossing the ball back in from the other side for Valentino Merxhushi to chest into the net from close range.

 

The goal rattled the Rangers who were now being bombarded by their opposition. Gibson had another header off a corner, this time it collided with the crossbar and in the 75th minute, Woonona came agonisingly close to their second. Brendan Pattman acted as the pivot in a one-two with Beattie to put him through on goal but Jason Bleakley managed to block the shot with the ball popping back to Beattie for a header which was cleared off the line by Yamamoto.

 

In the 82nd minute, Woonona pulled two goals clear. Merxhushi worked the ball into the left of the box before being held up by a jockeying defender. The wide man fainted three times before going to the byline and cutting the ball back for Beattie to hit into the back of the net. The travelling fans roaring with joy with the game seemingly put to bed with ten minutes remaining.

 

There seemed no way back for Corrimal who seemed destined to fight it out with Picton to keep off the bottom of the ladder. However, the tide changed when Picciolini pulled a goal back within a minute of the restart with a tidy finish across Madden and into the bottom right corner.

 

Corrimal was now surging forward and four minutes later Yamamoto chipped the ball into the box for Paul Guido who had made an untracked run into the middle of the box before blasting the ball past the goalkeeper.

 

Woonona was stunned, within five minutes they had all but assured they would finish off the bottom only to be pulled back into the quagmire. The home side was now pressing for a remarkable winner and two minutes into added on time they had it. Tim Wylie connected with Picciolini who made no mistake in finding the back of the net and. The Ranger’s faithful went ballistic with their star striker soaking up the atmosphere as he and his teammates celebrated the most unlikely of comebacks.

 

The Sharks had no chance to mount anything from the kickoff and Corrimal had won a Memorial Park miracle. The win lifts Corrimal above Woonona into 10th and their rookie coach, Gavin O’Brien couldn’t believe his side’s luck, “I’m speechless really because to come from two nil behind against any club is this league is magic.”

 

It can not be understated how crucial this win was for the Rangers with a tough run of fixtures coming up which starts with a trip to Tarrawanna Oval to face the Blueys next weekend.

 

As for Woonona, their players were left in a heap on the ground when full time whistle was blown with any momentum picked up over their previous two matches all but extinguished. They have a horrible run of fixtures coming up with their next four matches being against current top five opposition starting with Wollongong Olympic next weekend.

  

Click this link to listen to the interview with Corrimal coach, Gavin O’Brien - https://soundcloud.com/dylanarvela/corrimal-coach-gavin-obrien-after-miraculous-3-2-win-over-woonona

 

Corrimal Rangers - 3 (Picciolini 83’. 90+2’, Guido 87’)

Woonona Sharks - 2 (Merxhushi 62’, Beattie 82’)

 

Sunday the 2nd of July, 2017 at Memorial Park, Corrimal

 

Corrimal Rangers - Jason Bleakley, Fabian Cappetta, Nathan Belsito, Robert Brown, Tyren Maclou, Aden Wade, Dominic Magill, Michael Karouna, Mark Picciolini, Save Treneski and Kazuya Yamamoto

 

Subs - Tim Wylie (on for Treneski), Paul Guido (on for Tyren Maclou), Yusuto Onishi and James Walker (on for Cappetta)

 

Woonona Sharks - Jacob Madden, Cameron Besgrove, Kallin James, Chris Gibson, Ryuji Takeuchi, Jai Mellor, Brendan Pattman, Luke McCosker, Trent Worthington, Valentino Merxhushi and Joel Beattie

 

Subs - Daisuke Sahashi (on for McCosker), Dion Avouris (on for Worthington), Kyle Del, Josh Day (on for James) and Braeden Kludass

 

Referee - Steve Bozic

 

Assistant Referees - Gareth Jenkins and Emajen Crawley

 

Report by Dylan Arvela, on Twitter @dylanarvela

 

Photo courtesy of Woonona Sharks