The Bert Bampton Cup Round of 16 saw a number of exciting games and shock upsets as the field was whittled down to a final eight sides left contesting for the trophy.

The round of 16 got underway on May 9 when Corrimal Rangers hosted Picton Rangers at Memorial Park and it was the hosts who grabbed the lead early, with Matthew Galanti netting the only goal of the first half in the 13^th minute to give Corrimal a 1-0 lead. Two second half goals from Masahiko Morita and Takeru Okada put Corrimal in a great position to make the next stage of the cup and not even a goal from Picton’s Michael Heyhorn ten minutes from time could pull the visitors back into the match, Corrimal advancing with a 3-1 win.

Albion Park White Eagles would join Corrimal in the hat for the next round after they ran out resounding 3-0 winners against Berkeley Sports on May 13 in their clash at Berkeley Sports and Social Club, with goals to Sean Kennedy, Kody Maude and Farres Aoun securing the win for the visitors, with Albion Park now making their fourth consecutive quarter final appearance, having last missed the cut in 2014.

Two entertaining clashes took place on May 15 as Bulli took on Wollongong United in a bumper clash at Balls Paddock and Oak Flats Falcons hosted Woonona at Keith Bond Oval. In the match at Balls Paddock, Wollongong United found themselves ahead after 22 minutes when Stephen Domenici fired home, but Bulli would level the scores in the 34^th minute thanks to a goal from Marcus Beattie to ensure both sides would enter the half-time break level.

Beattie would pick up his second goal of the match four minutes into the second half to give the hosts the lead for the first time, but that lead would only last ten minutes before Sam Munro put the game into a deadlock once more with his goal. With pressure building and extra time looking likely, Daisuke Yuzawa netted a dramatic winner two minutes into stoppage time to send Wollongong United fans into rapture and Bulli out of the Bert Bampton Cup, the reigning champions bundled out at the first hurdle.

In the match at Keith Bond Oval, both Oak Flats Falcons and Woonona were determined to grab a result and it was the District League side that grabbed the lead in the 23^rd minute, with Chad Keating firing home an effort inside the box to give Oak Flats a 1-0 lead going into the break and spark hopes of an upset.

But this hope would be snuffed out in the 69^th minute when Kyle Del would smack home an equalizer to lock the match up at 1-1, a result neither side could break in regular time, forcing extra time. Woonona’s Joel Thomas would come agonizingly close to netting a winner when his shot fired into the crossbar in the 106^th minute, but neither side could find a winner, resulting in the game going to penalties.

In the shootout, it was Sharks keeper Jacob Madden who would prove the hero, saving the Falcons third kick to send the Premier League side into the quarters with a 5-3 penalty shootout win and giving the Sharks their first quarter final appearance since 2015.

Three more clashes would take place the day after on May 16 as the round of 16 began to wrap up. In the first match at Crehan Park, a first half brace from Kojiro Hori gave Wollongong Olympic a 2-0 lead at the break over Cringila, but a 51^st minute goal from Mitch Di Pietro would spark hopes of a Cringila comeback, but a pair of goals from Ekoue D’Almeida in the final 15 minutes would seal Wollongong Olympic’s passage to the final eight, the side running out 4-1 winners.

Elsewhere on May 16, the Premier League’s Fernhill hosted the District League’s Warilla Wanderers at Ray Robinson Field in a rematch of the two top District League sides last season and it was the Wanderers who were leading comfortably at the break, Ben Ellul and Jeremy Lopez netting to give Warilla a 2-0 lead, a score that was not changed in a tense second half, sending Warilla through to the quarters.

The final game on May 16 saw Port Kembla travel up to Rex Jackson Park to take on the District League’s Helensburgh Thistle and it was the Thistle who immediately kicked things off, with Luke van Zyl netting a fantastic free-kick in the opening minute to give the hosts a 1-0 lead. But Port Kembla’s Makoto Ishihara would pull things back in the 35^th minute with a great solo goal but again Helensburgh would instantly retake the lead, with a goal from Brad Boardman giving the hosts a 2-1 lead going into the half-time break.

As the second half kicked off, it was Port Kembla who would instantly net, with Cameron Morgan scoring just two minutes after kickoff to level the scores. But Helensburgh would pull ahead yet again in the 61^st minute when Brad Watts fired home his effort to give the District League side a 3-2 lead, one which they were able to hold on to in a tense final half hour, handing Helensburgh their first quarter final appearance since 2001.

The final match of the round of 16 took place on May 23 between South Coast United and Tarrawanna Blueys at Ian McLennan Park and saw the two sides face off for the second time in a week, after Tarrawanna downed SCU 6-3 on May 19. Once again, the fixture would prove a high scoring affair, despite Rick Goodchild netting the only goal of the opening half, the goals would flow in the second period, with another Goodchild goal, a goal to Corey Horner and two goals to Kouryo Kubota giving the Blueys a 5-0 lead after 61 minutes. But a goal from SCU’s Keiter Smith would pull the score back to 5-1, before Kubota added his third in the 78^th minute. Yuya Kotaki would add another goal for SCU in the 84^th minute, but a final goal from Kubota in the 88^th minute wrapped up the clash for the Blueys, running out 7-2 winners and booking their spot in the final eight.

Quarter Final Draw

All games currently scheduled to be played on Monday 11 June (subject to change).

Wollongong Olympic v Albion Park White Eagles at PCYC

Warilla Wanderers v Woonona at King Mickey Park

Corrimal Rangers v Helensburgh Thistle at Memorial Park

Wollongong United v Tarrawanna Blueys at Macedonia Park

 

Report by Cal Behrendt, on Twitter @CalBehrendt

Photo by Kiah Hufton