Tarrawanna hosted Corrimal in Round 16 of the Illawarra Mercury Premier League at Tarrawanna Oval on Saturday afternoon. Tarrawanna had crushed Cringila 5-0 in the previous round and they were eager to show the competition they are a real threat heading into finals football. Corrimal, on the other hand had just pulled off a crucial come from behind win against Woonona last week, which jumped the Rangers up to 10^th spot. Tarrawanna were strong favourites heading into the encounter but the character of Corrimal should never be counted out.

The matchup started in typical Tarrawanna fashion, they dominated the ball, pushed numbers forward and attempted to break the deadlock early in the contest. An early save by Jason Bleakley saw the visitors under pressure quickly. But Corrimal started to settle and play some gorgeous football of their own, which in turn allowed them to loft a ball over, forcing a corner out of the Bluey’s defence. The back and forth nature of the match was a sign of how last week’s win really boosted the confidence in the Corrimal side.

The confidence wouldn’t last long however, and when Matt Mazevski created a yard of space for himself, he took the goalkeeper on from distance. Mazevski’s shot rocketed into the top left corner from well outside the 18 yard box, stunning the Rangers and exciting the home crowd.

Just 2 minutes later, Tarrawanna used their passing skills to full effect with a wonderful display of teamwork which cut the Corrimal defence in half, releasing Rick Goodchild who ran down the right, cut into the centre, drew Bleakley out and played it across to Liam Unicomb who tapped in Tarrawanna’s second.

With Tarrawanna playing the Rangers out of the game with their sharp, short passing, the Corrimal attack struggled to hold the ball in long stints. When they had the ball in promising areas they wasted the chances by trying wayward longshots from deep outside the box. Mazevski had shut out Corrimal’s midfield and dominated the middle of the park for the first half entirely.

As the half wore on, the chances seemed to dry up. Just before half time though, Corrimal conceded a sloppy free kick which gave Tarrawanna the chance to further their advantage. Goodchild stood over the ball which was on the left-hand edge of the 18 yard box. He whipped the cross in with some venom, finding the head of Joshua Chapple, who feathered the ball into the net after Bleakley was deceived by the curl.

Corrimal restarted play from the kick off and the half time whistle would shortly follow. A rampant first 45 minutes by the hosts who dictated play from the outset.

Half Time saw Tarrawanna lead Corrimal 3-0.

Coach Gavin O’Brien seemed to fire up his troops at half time as Corrimal came out of the blocks firing in the second half, pressuring the Blueys’ backline, cutting passing lanes and trying to claw back into the contest. Mark Picciolini was energetic, pressing the fullbacks and running at them with pace and purpose when he had the ball.

On 62 minutes, Tarrawanna had a chance to kill off the match however Bleakley pulled off the save of the match when Jared Fish went through one on one. Fish shot low and hard but Corrimal’s number 1 would not let Tarrawanna break him again. Diving low to his left he pushed the ball around the upright, keeping the Rangers somewhat in the contest.

The save sparked the visitors into life, giving them the confidence in which they had at the start of the match, they began to play feet, moving Tarrawanna around the park. Soon they would have their reward.

A lucky deflection seemed to catch Adam Rodrigues off his line. Nathan Belsito was on hand to tap it home from close range. A strange and lucky goal for Corrimal, but they all count.

A couple of minutes later, Belsito turned provider when he curled in a magnificent cross from open play, finding the head of Picciolini, who thumped the header home. The Rangers were right back in the contest in a matter of minutes.

In an amazing five minute spell, the comeback kings had broken the 3-0 deficit in a spectacular way. On 73 minutes, Corrimal earnt a corner, whipped it in, Tarrawanna cleared but only as far as Karouna Michael. The new signing lined up the ball as it bounced and fired home a side volley straight into the top left corner from outside the penalty area. An amazing finish to sum up a crazy comeback for the Corrimal side.

With 17 minutes remaining, one felt that there perhaps was still a goal left in the match. The two teams traded possession for the rest of the game but neither team could break the deadlock.

This was a game where Tarrawanna would rue their inability to finish off the game but full credit to Corrimal for not giving up. They would be buoyed by results over the last 2 weeks as they head into their crucial clash with Albion Park this weekend. For the Blueys, they will need to regroup as they face title aspirants Wollongong Olympic.

Full Time

Tarrawanna Blueys 3 (M.Mazevski 8’, L.Unicomb 11’, J.Chapple 45’)

Corrimal Rangers 3 (N.Belisto 68’, M.Picciolini 71’, M.Karouna 73’)

Tarrawanna Blueys

A.Rodriguez, D.Stone, M.Naylor, S.Chapple, J.Morlando, W. Oh, M. Mazevski, L.Unicomb, R.Goodchild, J.Fish

Replacements

D.Chapman, C.Grace, A.Carrigan, K.Nagaishi, C.Pretto

Corrimal Rangers

J.Bleakley, J.Walker, F.Cappetta, N.Belsito, T.Maclou, R.Brown, K.Michael, D.Magil, M.Picciolini, T.Wylie, K. Yamamoto.

Replacements.

Y.Onishi, B.Radmanovic, D.Niklolovski, G.O’Brien.

 

Match Report by Liam Emerton

Photo: Noel Wynn