The final round of group fixtures in the 2018 Fraternity Club Preseason Cup District League Conference kicked off with Shell Cove FC and Berkeley Sports fighting for the first ticket to the semi-finals as they faced on Thursday night at King Mickey Park.

It was Berkeley who found themselves taking the lead, with Greg Moon netting for the side just a minute before the half time break. However, Shell Cove could not be counted out and their effort was finally rewarded ten minutes from full-time, as Craig Richardson netted to level the scores. With neither side able to find a winning goal, the draw sees Shell Cove claim top spot and a place in the semis, two points ahead of second placed Berkeley.

Following on at King Mickey Park, Warilla Wanderers took on Unanderra Hearts in a dead-rubber match as neither side was able to crack the top two in the group after their slow start to the competition. It was the Wanderers who broke the deadlock, Daniel Atkins netting after 27 minutes to give Warilla a 1-0 lead leading into the break. While Unanderra would have been happy to hold the Wanderers, Warilla continued to push and eventually overran the Hearts side, with Atkins picking up his second goal of the match in the 46th minute, before Jeremy Lopez would add the side’s third four minutes later.

Jessie French would complete the rout with a goal of his own in the 56th minute to ensure that Warilla would end the competition with a morale-boosting win. While for Unanderra, the side has some questions to ask of itself before starting their District League campaign, bowing out after losing all their matches, while conceding ten goals and scoring only once.

Sunday saw the final day of group fixtures played and beginning with the early match at Weatherall Park, Coniston took on a University side still looking to find their feet after a hit and miss start to the season. However, Coniston quickly took a firm grip on the match and never let go. The side ran out 5-0 winners and booked their place in the semifinals with ease, with Matt Cuda, Dinko Terzic, Lachlan Martin, Matt Tschentscher and Bowen Simpson all netting in the rout. The win saw Coniston secure top spot in Group A, finishing with seven points, while University would finish bottom of the group with just one point to their name.

The other early match on Sunday saw Balgownie Rangers face off against Thirroul Thunder at Memorial Park, with the Rangers just needing a point to secure qualification to the semis. However, Thirroul were willing to fight for the match and the Thunder were the first to score, Corey Haines-Grose putting the side ahead after six minutes with a wonderfully placed free-kick that rooted Balgownie keeper Hugh Bahnert to the spot.

After going down early, the Rangers begun to throw everything at the Thunder’s defence in an attempt to salvage a point from the match, and just as hopes were beginning to fade that there would be a late goal to save Balgownie, Jim Youssef found himself with the ball in Thirroul’s box five minutes from full-time and quickly drove it home to save the match for Balgownie. The final 1-1 draw would ensure Balgownie do just enough to top Group B and book their semi-final spot, while ensuring that Thirroul would not have any chance at a potential semi-final spot as the best group runner-up.

The later match played at Memorial Park on Sunday saw Oak Flats take on Kiama, with the match being nothing more than a chance to step into second place and potentially sneak through to the semi-finals as the best placed second team. Oak Flats found themselves in front quickly, with Jack Madgwick putting the Falcons on the board after rounding Kiama keeper Dean Land and putting the ball into an empty net after 11 minutes.

The Falcons would then follow it up with two more goals in the first half, with Brenton Burke and Jarryd Vinton netting, the latter with a fantastic chip from distance to ensure that Oak Flats would be comfortably in front come half-time. Ryan Franks would put the result beyond all doubt for Oak Flats, netting in the 65th minute to put the Falcons 4-0 up. Kiama would net a consolation goal sixty seconds later, with Karl Graffe taking advantage of a mishap in the Falcons defence to net for the Quarriers, but despite the goal, Oak Flats still found themselves handy 4-1 winners, a result that sees them rise to second place in Group A.

As a result, Helensburgh Thistle went into their final match against Bellambi at Weatherall Park on Sunday afternoon needing a win to book a spot in the semi-finals. The Thistle were sitting on three points going into the match and a win would ensure they took the spot in the semis as the best-placed group runner-up.

Things got going for the Thistle early, with Luke van Zyl netting after just 12 minutes to put the Thistle a goal up. Bradley Watts would add another goal for Helensburgh in the 26th minute and the side looked favourites to book the last spot in the semis at the half-time break. Despite a spirited Bellambi performance, Helensburgh would net two more times through Luke Miller and Cody Cuthbertson, to ensure that the Thistle would win the match and book a trip to the final four, the resulting pushing Helensburgh to six points and leaving Bellambi with no points to show for their pre-season campaign.

 

Semi Final Draw

Coniston vs Balgownie at JJ Kelly Park 6.15pm

Shell Cove vs Helensburgh at Macedonia Park 6.15pm

 

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