After three years in District League, Fernhill marked their return to the top flight with a memorable 1-0 win over Tarrawanna. The result went against all the form guides with the upset coming exactly a month to the day since Tarrawanna battered Fernhill 5-0 in the Preseason Cup.

Tarrawanna controlled the possession for most of the first period, however, their attack seemed to lack the intent that saw them score 17 goals across the Preseason and FFA Cup. Tarrawanna were able to get around Fernhill, however, the plays were pulled back for being offside. The closest the away side came to finding the back of the net was when Fernhill’s new goalkeeper Bryce Daenell tipped an effort onto the post but apart from that, the ex Albion Park White Eagle had little to do in terms of shot stopping.

In fact, Fernhill perhaps came the closest when a shot from distance whizzed just over the top of the Tarrawanna goal. As it was, the sides went into the break with the score still at nil all.

Tarrawanna were unable to rectify their cumbersome first half which enabled the unfancied Foxes to work themselves into the match. On the 70th minute mark, Shinsei Tanaka had a glorious chance to put this home side in front. The young forward was played through the before riding the challenge of a Tarrawanna defender. As he closed in on goal he dragged a weak effort to the left - a huge chance gone begging.

This chance spurred on the Foxes who were poking their heads through the Tarrawanna backline with regular frequency and with 76 minutes on the clock they got their goal. Tanaka worked himself into another one on one situation and this time he forced an excellent save from Adam Rodriguez but it would be in vain as Tanaka was able to cross in the rebound for Mitch Turner at the far post to side-foot into the goal.

The final quarter of an hour was a case of all hands on deck for the home side, with little hesitation for lumping the ball clear. In truth, however, despite Tarrawanna coach Peter Willis making a couple of attacking changes the Blueys barely mustered a chance.

After the match, Tilt was buoyant about his side’s ability to cause such a massive upset, pointing to the fact Fernhill remain an unknown quantity, “People don’t know what to expect from us and you see that effort today and it could have been 3 or 4 [goals]."

“People wrote us off from that start and we’re happy with that," Tilt added.

Next weekend Fernhill travel up Memorial Drive to take on local rivals Woonona. Despite it only being a Round 2 fixture, a win against the Sharks would be a momentous step towards avoiding the wooden spoon.

As for Tarrawanna, this result will lead to some soul-searching, however, Willis denied his side were complacent citing that the opposition simply wanted it more. The Blueys now have to regroup or face going the first three rounds without a point on the board as they now play Bulli and Wollongong United with an FFA Cup match potentially in between.

 

The post-match interviews will be on this week’s Football South Coast Weekly

 

Sunday 25 March 2018 @ Ray Robinson Field

 

Fernhill Foxes - Bryce DAENELL, Andrew DRAPANIOTIS, Dean MOROSIN, Michael MACGRAW, Ben SCHMID, Ryan HUNTER, Kyle DEL, Jordan HUGHES, Shinsei TANAKA, Mitch TURNER, Alex ROOKE

 

Subs - Daniel SAAD, Rodney LEWIN, Ryan LAPPIN, Yusuke MARUYAMA, Brad HUNTER

 

Coach - Bruce TILT

 

Tarrawanna Blueys - Adam RODRIGUEZ, Matt NAYLOR, Brad DURRANT, Corey HORNER, Jake MORLANDO, Sam CHAPPLE, Liam UNICOMB, Daniel GOODHEW, Ricky GOODCHILD, Darren STONE

 

Subs - Jared FISH (on for UNICOMB), Daniel CHAPMAN, Jacob FRYDAY (on for STONE), Takumi MACHIDA, Brad JONES

 

Coach - Peter WILLIS

 

Referee - Adam NAYLOR

 

Assistant Referees - Jarrod THOMPSON and Gareth JENKINS

 

Report by Dylan Arvela, on Twitter @dylanarvela

 

Photo by Noel Wynn