South Coast Flame ended a three-match losing run with a stirring come from behind 2-1 victory against Western Condors at Chopin Park. Flame found themselves a goal down with just ten minutes remaining but goals from Bojan Caric and debutant Louis Connell secured a much-needed win for the side. The result in First Grade capped off a brilliant day for the club with the under 20s and under 18s also picking up three points each.

Both sides were able to get a shot away inside the opening ten minutes with Gustavo Maya Valiente finding the arms of Matt White five minutes in before Matt Mazevski forced Francesco Egea Cantero into a save two minutes later.

In the 18th minute, the home side took the lead through Joakim Moussinga. The midfielder was allowed time and space on the edge of the box before curling the ball into the top right corner, White was able to get a hand to the effort but he couldn’t push it wide.

Condors had a couple of half chances in the remainder of the half including a skied effort from Tak Ho Wong and a long-range drive from Moussinga which was spilt by White before being regathered. The sides went into halftime with Condors maintaining their one-goal advantage.

In the opening five minutes of the second half, Condors had two massive chances to double their lead. First through Joshua Obeng in the 47th minute and then in the 50th minute, Valiente was able to round the goalkeeper but his shot for the open goal was desperately intercepted by a retreating Martin Thomson.

Flame went close to finding a leveller on two occasions in the middle period of the second half. In the 68th minute, substitute Julio Mushaba gathered the ball in the box before cutting it back to Mazevski whose shot was deflected out for a corner. In the 71st minute, another substitute in Cameron Hanson played in a corner which was cleared to Darren Jones outside the box and his effort whizzed just outside the left post.

With ten minutes remaining, South Coast managed to find an equaliser. Mushaba swung in a free kick from the left touchline for a towering Caric to head home. The goal kicked Flame into gear with the side exploiting the gaps in the Condors’ defence. In the 87th minute, South Coast took the lead through 18-year-old Louis Connell who was played through on goal before calmly slotting the ball into the bottom left corner.

As the match ticked over into added on time, there were a couple of unsavoury incidents which went unpunished including a strike on White. Despite this, Flame were able to run out the clock and win the match by two goals to one.

The result was the side’s first win since Round 2 and coach Paul Robaard is confident the match will prove to be a turning point for his side, “It has been a while since we have had a win and hopefully tonight’s result is a building block for a more over the next few weeks.” Robaard pointed to the tireless effort of Caric, however, it will be a night to remember for match-winner Connell who admits he’s just happy to be given an opportunity, “I am just happy and excited to be at the new club. I am really enjoying being around the boys and it feels good to score on my debut.” The win moves the side up a place into 9th ahead of a crucial clash at home to 7th placed Hurstville FC next weekend.

In the under 20s, Flame were able to move back into the top five thanks to a 4-2 victory. Jacob Pauline, Terrance Jah and Daniel Lucas netted the opening three goals while Connell scored the fourth in his club debut. Pending results on Sunday, the win could see the side go as high as 4th with the game against Nepean still in hand.

As for the under 18s, they managed their second win of the season getting up 4-3. Darren Jones’ side raced out to a 3-0 lead before Condors were able to peg a couple back. Flame scored their fourth in the second half before a nervy finish with the home side getting their third. Jackson Luke was the best on ground thanks to his two goals and continuous workload up and down the right flank. Joel Dowling and Petar Jurisic scored the other two goals. The three points lifts the side into 9th, a point ahead of next week’s opponents Hurstville pending their result on Sunday.

Saturday 19 May 2018 @ Chopin Park

 

Western Condors - 1 (MOUSSINGA 18’)

 

South Coast Flame FC - 2 (CARIC 80’ CONNELL 87’)

 

South Coast Flame FC lineup - Matt WHITE, Martin THOMPSON, Wade WILTON, Andrew CHRISTIE, Doug WOODIWISS, Andrew BOVA, Matt MAZEVSKI, Caleb GRACE,Darren JONES, Bojan CARIC, Dion STERJOVSKI

 

Subs - Colin HEAPY, Kenny JAMES, Cameron HANSON (on for STERJOVSKI), Julio MUSHABA (on for GRACE), Louis CONNELL (on for BOVA)

 

Coach - Paul ROBAARD

 

Report and photo by Dylan Arvela, on Twitter @dylanarvela