On Tuesday night the finalists of the Fraternity Club Bert Bampton Cup and Youth Cup was decided. On Sunday the 30th of July, Bulli will play Albion Park White Eagles in the Bert Bampton Cup and Woonona will play Wollongong United in the Youth Cup.

Bulli secured their passage to Bert Bampton Cup final for the first time since 2004 with a ruthless 11-0 win over District League side Oak Flats. The complete performance saw Bulli lead 6-0 at half time before scoring a further five goals in the second half. Dylan Lewis scored four goals on the night including two stunning strikes while Harry Callahan came off the bench to score a second half hat trick.

While the scoreline may take some shine of their successes, Oak Flats have managed an outstanding Cup run which included wins over Thirroul, Bellambi, Coniston and Premier League outfit Picton. Unfortunately for them, they came up against a Bulli side at their brilliant best. The Falcons now turn their attention to the league where they are two points outside the top five.

Click this link to listen to the post match interview with Bulli coach, Matt Bailey - https://soundcloud.com/dylanarvela/bulli-coach-matt-bailey-after-side-move-into-bert-bampton-cup-final

Albion Park White Eagles had to defeat Wollongong United at Macedonia Park - something they had not done since 2012. The White Eagles opened the scoring in the first half through Mitch Del Turco. The absence of key striker Ricky Zucco proved costly for United who squandered the few chances they had. The game was put to bed when Yosuke Tashiro scored the White Eagles second goal with only a handful of minutes remaining. The last time Albion Park made it to a Cup decider was in 2012 when they went down to Wollongong United on penalties.

The defeat sees Wollongong United fall short of the decider for the first time since 2013. The highlight of United’s Cup run was their 5-2 win over Kemblawarra Fury which saw them lead 5-0 at halftime.

In the Youth Cup, Woonona edged out District League side Coniston at Balls Paddock. In a seesawing affair, Woonona took the lead before Coniston moved 2-1 up and then conceded two goals to trail 3-2 at the interval. Kyle Del scored the Sharks fourth goal but Coniston rallied to score with just under ten minutes remaining. Ultimately Coniston was unable to pull level and Woonona moves into their third Youth Cup final in a row.

Coniston now has to focus on their league campaign where they are three points behind league leaders, University. Their Cup wins over Helensburgh, University, Thirroul and Premier League side Cringila on route to the semi final is sure to give them tremendous confidence going forward.

In the other semi final, the reigning Youth Cup Champions, Wollongong United hosted Wollongong Olympic who had won their past three league matches. United ran out to a 4-1 halftime lead and Olympic couldn’t overturn the deficit, going down 7-2 with Steven Ugrinovski and Zac Mazevski bagging two goals apiece. Wollongong United have been dominant in this season’s Youth Cup with commanding wins over Kemblawarra Fury and Port Kembla.

Woonona will play Wollongong United for the third final in a row. United edged the Sharks in last season’s Cup decider while Woonona got up in the Grand Final back in September. It is fair to say there is quite a rivalry between these two sides which only big game encounters can produce.

The Cup Finals will be held on Sunday the 30th of July at Crehan Park in Cringila.

12.15 pm - Fraternity Club Youth Cup - Woonona Sharks vs Wollongong United

2.30 pm - Fraternity Club Bert Bampton Cup - Bulli vs Albion Park White Eagles

 

Next week’s Football South Coast Preview will be a Cup Final Special featuring a number of guests so be sure not to miss it.

Report by Dylan Arvela, on Twitter @dylanarvela

Photo courtesy of Pedro Garcia