Tarrawanna played their second match at Memorial Park in five days when they travelled to face Corrimal Rangers in a round seven Illawarra Mercury Premier League clash on Sunday. While Corrimal have made a bright start to the season, it was Tarrawanna who did the damage in the clash, with goals to Liam Unicomb and Rick Goodchild ensuring a 2-0 win for the Blueys.

Neither side could take bragging rights over the other when these two local rivals faced each other last season, with both Premier League matches ending in draws, but from the get-go it appeared that Tarrawanna were aiming to end that run of draws and it was the Blueys who had the first real chance of the match in the 12^th minute when Jared Fish made a blistering run into the box with the ball, even beating an oncoming Daniel Arcaba, but Fish’s cross to a waiting Bradley Acev in front of goal was unable to connect and the ball was pushed out to Rick Goodchild, who fired off a shot from distance which was dutifully dealt with by Arcaba.

The Blueys would control the early stage of the match, with Tarrawanna having another good chance to take the lead in the 20^th minute when a wonderful through ball from Rick Goodchild found the feet of Bradley Acev, allowing the forward to fire a shot off at Corrimal gloveman Daniel Arcaba. Arcaba was able to deny the shot, but in doing so pushed the ball to an open Jared Fish, who scuffed his effort and sent the shot well wide of the Rangers goal.

Despite Tarrawanna having the better of the chances in the opening stages, Corrimal were still in the match and they got close to putting one on the scoreboard in the 29^th minute when Masahiko Morita made a fantastic run down the right side of the field, only for his cross into the box to be cleared by Daniel Goodhew before it could reach the Corrimal strikers.

Finally, Tarrawanna would make one of their chances count in the 35^th minute, when Bradley Acev found himself with the ball just outside the Rangers box. With the forward under pressure, he laid the ball off to Liam Unicomb, who would run a short distance with the ball before firing off a spectacular effort from just outside the box, which burst past the Corrimal defence and keeper Daniel Arcaba to fly just under the crossbar and into the net, giving Tarrawanna a slim 1-0 lead going into the half-time break.

Corrimal were not counting themselves out of the match yet and the Rangers came into the second-half firing, with a shot of intent two minutes in from Takeru Okada which forced a good save from Blueys shot-stopper Adam Rodriguez showing that Corrimal were very much still in the match despite struggling to put their chances together up front.

Corrimal would have another great chance in the 54^th minute when Okada would show some individual brilliance with a curving free-kick that snaked its way past the Tarrawanna wall and forced Rodriguez to produce a stunning diving save to keep his side in the lead.

However, the Blueys weren’t allowing Corrimal back into the match without a fight, and the side came close to netting in the 64^th minute when Bradley Acev made a fantastic run from within his own half to the Corrimal box before letting loose a ball destined for Liam Unicomb, but before the ball could reach his target, the attack was snuffed out by a scrambling Rangers defence which wanted to keep their side fighting.

Corrimal would have one of their best chances just five minutes later when a shot from distance off the boot of Joshua Gersbach would force a fumbling save from Adam Rodriguez, but before Masahiko Morita could follow-up on the loose ball, the ball was cleared by the Tarrawanna defence, stopping Morita from levelling the scores.

But just four minutes later, Tarrawanna would pick up their second goal of the match when a great ball from Kouryo Kubota found the feet of Rick Goodchild, who swiftly moved into the box only to be brought down by a tackle from Karouna Micheal, giving the Blueys a penalty and a chance to put the game beyond any doubt. Goodchild would step up to the spot and fire to the left of a diving Daniel Arcaba, putting Tarrawanna 2-0 up with just over 15 minutes still to play.

The Rangers would push hard for a goal to attempt to push the game back towards a draw, and Corrimal came close twice in the final moments, first in the 81^st minute when a wonderful skill move from Takeru Okada saw him break past the Blueys defence and allow him to fire off a shot that was then deflected by Liam Unicomb and second just three minutes later when a fierce shot from Timothy Wylie forced a good save from Adam Rodriguez, but the Rangers were unable to pull the match back, Tarrawanna ending up with all three points and a 2-0 win over their local opponents.

Tarrawanna’s win sees them fly up the ladder and into 7^th, leaping past Port Kembla and Cringila, but still three points outside the finals positions. The Blueys next match is a home clash against a Picton side who picked up their first win of the season this round, with the Rangers running out 3-1 winners over a South Coast United side yet to pick up a point this season.

For Corrimal, the loss sees them drop to 5^th, being overtaken by a Wollongong United side that downed Bulli 1-0 this round. Corrimal also has a home clash against Picton as their next fixture, taking on the Rangers in a Bert Bampton Cup clash on Wednesday but Corrimal’s next league match will see them take on Woonona, one of only two sides yet to earn a point in this seasons Premier League.

Sunday 6 May 2018 at Memorial Park.

Corrimal Rangers FC – 0

Tarrawanna SC – 2 (Unicomb 35’, Goodchild 73’)

Corrimal Rangers FC: Daniel ARCABA, Jason ZUFIC, Angelo HAJITTOFI, Calum FLEMING, Matthew GALANTI, Joshua GERSBACH, Takeru OKADA, Karouna MICHEAL, Timothy WYLIE, Jamie WAKELING, Masahiko MORITA

Subs: Raeed ABRAHIM (GALANTI 68’), Khushaba KHUSHABA (WAKELING 58’), Mohammad ELLAHI (FLEMING 73’), Christian SAFFIOTI, David ZUFIC

Tarrawanna SC: Adam RODRIGUEZ, Matthew NAYLOR, Bradley DURRANT, Daniel CHAPMAN, Jacob FRYDAY, Samuel CHAPPLE, Daniel GOODHEW, Bradley ACEV, Jared FISH, Rick GOODCHILD, Liam UNICOMB

Subs: Jake MORLANDO (ACEV 68’), Kouryo KUBOTA (FISH 68’), Takumi MACHIDA, Reece MCALPINE, Bradley JONES

Referee – Blake HERBERT

Assistant Referees – Jackson COCKS and Damien DENNELLY

Report by Cal Behrendt, on Twitter @CalBehrendt

Photo by Noel Wynn