Port Kembla kept their top five fate in their own hands with a come from behind 3-2 win over Tarrawanna at Wetherall Park.

 

The Blueys enjoyed a cracking start with their opener coming within the first minute of play. Woo Oh was the scorer who let loose from thirty metres, the low drive hit a divot before bouncing over Brad Jardine. The goal highlighted the hazards of being a goalkeeper, though Jardine would have expected to save it.

 

There was nothing Jardine could do about Tarrawanna's second goal which came four minutes later. Matt Mazevski touched the ball into space twenty metres from goal before thumping the ball into the top left corner. A sublime start for the away side who also scored two goals in the early stages of their win over Woonona a week earlier.

 

Tarrawanna appeared to be comfortable with their two goals and opted to drop off and allow Port to control the ball. Port was causing little concern for the Blueys until a seeming innocuous throw in in the 25th minute. The ball was thrown into Matt Floro who made a zig-zagging run past Sam Chapple and Matt Naylor before tucking the ball into the bottom left of Adam Rodriguez’s goal. A brilliant individual effort, aided by some shoddy defending.

 

Port Kembla controlled a majority of possession for the remainder of the half but that didn’t translate to goal scoring opportunities. The sides went into the break with Tarrawanna maintaining their 2-1 lead.

 

That lead was rubbed out thirty seconds into the second half. Cameron Morgan played the ball to Justin Cario who hit the ball first time into the top left corner. A stunning strike from the young utility. All the momentum was now with the home side, and Tarrawanna were struggling to push out of their half.

 

With 15 minutes on the clock, Port pulled ahead thanks to another piece of solo skill. This time it was Joey Lavalle who plucked the ball out of the air before touching it around Rodriguez who brought the number 10 down leading to a penalty. Lavalle's penalty was saved by the legs of Rodriguez but Kyoji Mori followed in and buried the ball in the right of the goal.

 

It took the third Port Kembla goal for the Blueys to reemerge from their shells and with five minutes remaining the nearly levelled the score. Jared Fish linked up with Rick Goodchild who played Liam Unicomb through on goal but the forward scuffed his shot to the right with just Jardine to beat.

 

In the third minute of added on time, Justin Potter got on the end of a misplaced Tarrawanna pass, the natural defender was through on goal but his effort rolled to the left of the goal. The full-time whistle was blown soon after, securing a seismic three points for Port Kembla.

 

The victory is a reverse of the Round 9 fixture when Tarrawanna came from behind to win 3-2. The three points are even sweeter for Port as it moves them two points clear of Wollongong United who could only draw with Kemblawarra Fury.

 

Port Kembla face Cringilia next weekend, and while they are in control of their destiny, coach Noel Spencer is keeping his side grounded, “It’s going to come down to the last game [against Albion Park], it’s as simple as that and we just have to worry about next week.”

 

Tarrawanna was one of the tightest defences in the Premier League for the first half of the season but in their last five games, they have failed to keep a clean sheet, conceding 11 goals in the process. They will look to bounce back when they host Albion Park White Eagles, a single point from their last two games will secure finals football.

 

Click this link to listen to the post match interview with Port Kembla coach, Noel Spencer - https://soundcloud.com/dylanarvela/noel-spencer-after-ports-comeback-win-over-tarrawanna

 

Port Kembla - 3 (Floro 25’, Cario 46’, Mori 77’)

 

Tarrawanna Blueys - 2 (Oh 1’, Mazevski 5’)

 

Saturday the 12th of August,2017 at Wetherall Park, Primbee

 

Port Kembla - Brad Jardine, Brooklyn Frkovic, Kyle Hazebroek, Matt Werakso, Carlo Stella, Ben Zucco, Cameron Morgan, Justin Cario, Matt Floro, Joey Lavalle and Sandy Lowcock - Subs - Kyoji Mori (on for Lowcock), Justin Potter (on for Floro), Adam Bussuni (on for Lavalla), Bailey Fleming and Daniel Farina

 

Tarrawanna Blueys - Adam Rodriguez, Sam Chapple, Matt Naylor, Jake Morlando, Daniel Chapman, Darren Stone, Matt Mazevski, Woo Oh, Liam Unicomb, Rick Goodchild and Jared Fish - Subs - Josh Chapple (on for Mazevski), Kazuma Nagaishi (on for Chapman), Allister Carrigan, Jarryd Mortimer and Christian Pretto

 

Referee - Blake Herbert

 

Assistant Referee - Patrick Hutton and Dante Chioto

 

Report by Dylan Arvela, on Twitter @dylanarvela

 

Photo courtesy of Noel Wynn