The second round of fixtures in the 2018 Fraternity Club Preseason Cup District League Conference begun with a clash between Shell Cove and Unanderra Hearts at Macedonia Park on Thursday night.
Neither side found themselves able to break open the match in a tight opening half, but it was Shell Cove who finally managed to open the scoring in the 46th minute with a goal from the boot of Tyrone Gatt.

Shell Cove would add a second goal ten minutes later, with Daniel Vellonio netting to give the former Community League side a 2-0 lead. The Barbarians could have had another late on in the match, with the side winning a penalty late in the second half, but their attempt was saved by Hearts keeper Kieran Georgievski. The win sees Shell Cove take two wins from their opening two matches, and it puts themselves in a prime position to qualify from Group C. 



Friday night saw a key clash in Group A, with University facing Oak Flats Falcons at Terry Reserve with the intent to overturn their poor start to the competition. It was the Students who opened the scoring, with Alex Sharegold capitalizing on an error by Falcons keeper Jake Webster to slot home the opener.

However, Oak Flats would equalize just five minutes after half-time through Michael "Eddie" Wilson. Both sides found themselves unable to break the deadlock by the final whistle and took home a point each as a result of the 1-1 draw.

Sunday saw the remaining four District League matches played and beginning with the early game at JJ Kelly Park, Warilla Wanderers took on Berkeley Sports seeking to kickstart their competition after losing out 1-0 to Shell Cove in the opening round. The Wanderers got off to a strong start, with Ben Ellul netting after 24 minutes to give the side a 1-0 lead going into the half-time break.

A second Warilla goal, this time to Daniel Atkins, gave the Wanderers a comfortable lead going into the final ten minutes of the match, but Berkeley fought back and managed to level the match thanks to late goals from Jakson Giraldi and Jeremy Flanagan.

However, neither side was able to push for a late winner and the 2-2 draw means Shell Cove move up to first in Group C, with the Barbarians on six points, followed by Berkeley on four points and Warilla on one point. Unanderra bring up the foot of the group with zero points from their opening two fixtures.

The other match played at JJ Kelly on Sunday saw Coniston take on Kiama Quarriers, with both sides looking to make a huge step towards making the next stage of the competition. It was the Quarriers who opened the scoring, with Chris Christodoulou putting Kiama 1-0 up after 17 minutes, but Coniston were quick to equalize, with Chris Stefanovski levelling the scores just eight minutes later. Coniston then pulled ahead thanks to a brace from Dinko Terzic.

The Quarriers found themselves struggling to get back into the match and a red card to Kiama player Keegan Beringer did nothing but to rub salt in the wounds for the visitors, Coniston holding on to run out 3-1 winners.

Coniston’s win sees them move up to first place in Group A, sitting on four points, one point ahead of Kiama after two matches. Oak Flats and University fill out the group, with the Falcons and Students sitting on two and one points respectively.

Moving to Tarrawanna Oval, the early Sunday match saw Balgownie Rangers take on Bellambi with the Rangers looking to make it two wins from two matches played in this seasons competition. It was the Rangers who made the stronger start to the match, with James Seymour putting Balgownie on the board after ten minutes, chipping Bellambi keeper Jack Duggan from distance to give his side the lead.

Seymour would add his second in the 23rd minute, sliding the ball into the net to double the Ranger’s advantage. However, Bellambi fought their way back into the match in the 31st minute, with Aleksa Radic capping off a fantastic team move to pull one back for the Rosellas. Despite a strong attacking performance in the second half from Bellambi, the Rangers managed to keep out the Rosellas long enough to secure all three points and continue their 100% winning record alive.

The late game at Tarrawanna Oval rounded out Group B, with Thirroul Thunder taking on Helensburgh Thistle. After both sides showcased some early attacking prowess, it was the Thistle who took the lead in the 20th minute, with a Brad Watts cross meeting the boot of Thirroul defender Todd Davidson and deflecting into the net. Thirroul drew level on the stroke of half-time, with a Nathan Mucci goal.

Helensburgh netted a flurry of goals in the second-half to secure the win. Brad Watts would scored in the 51st minute to give the side a 2-1 lead, before a Helensburgh penalty allowed Luke van Zyl the chance to get on the board eight minutes later. A goal six minutes from time from the boot of Ryan Grima ended all hopes of a Thirroul fightback, with Helensburgh running out convincing 4-1 winners.
The result sees Helensburgh move to three points and leap up to second in Group B, ahead of the Thunder on goal difference. Balgownie sit atop the group with a maximum six points from their two matches, leaving Bellambi bottom of the group with zero points.
 
Click here for confirmed results, group standings and upcoming fixtures.
 
Fraternity Club Preseason Cup matches feature 35 minute halves.
 
Report by Cal Behrendt, on Twitter @CalBehrendt

Photo by Kiah Hufton (Soccer Shots Illawarra)