It was a mid-table clash at Wetherall Park that had a lot riding on the result in the fight for finals football. Port Kembla were desperate to claim the three points after back-to-back losses to Wollongong United and Bulli respectively. Cringila equally had their reasons to feel the pressure with just two points from their previous five fixtures, with their last win coming against Woonona in round 5.

There was little between the sides in the opening section of the first half, with Port Kembla just shading possession.

The match had its first chance on the 12^th minute. Port Kembla centre-forward Sandy Lowcock found himself in a golden position on the penalty spot with the ball falling down from a free kick situation into his path. Lowcock blasted his volley over the bar. A golden chance that should have opened the scoring.

In the 17^th minute Port Kembla holding midfielder Ben Zucco created a chance for himself. With options dwindling quickly Zucco provided a trademark left-footed strike from outside the area, only for the shot to fall just wide.

Cringila’s only chance of the half fell on the 43^rd minute. Ibrahim Sesay had his shot deflected off Port Kembla’s central defender Carlo Stella, only for the sting to be taken out of the ball and to fall safely into the arms of Port Kembla keeper Bradley Jardine.

On the 58^th minute the breakthrough came. After an array of dangerous free kick situations around the Cringila penalty area, the pressure valve was broken. Zucco delivered an in-swinging corner into the area with the Cringila defence failing to clear. Lowcock netted the ball home with a thunderous right-footed strike into the roof of the net. It was a well-deserved goal from Lowcock, who had missed a couple of good chances throughout the match.

Things almost got freaky when Port Kembla midfielder Makoto Ishihara attempted an audacious bicycle kick from six yards out. The ball however falling safely down the middle of the goal into the relieved arms of Cringila goalkeeper Nikola Ristevski.

With time not on their side, Cringila pushed the ascendency. On the 68^th minute they had perhaps their best chance of the game. Takao Teramoto almost broke the Port Kembla defence with a crafty run on the right flank. Teramoto curled a left-footed shot to the top left of the goal, only for the ball to be prevented from crossing the line by Port Kembla defender Stella in a goal saving interception.

With Cringila pushing forward in the hope of an equalizer, Port Kembla found it easier to exploit gaps in behind the backline. A free kick delivered in from Port Kembla’s Jason Perez in the 80^th minute found the feet of Lowcock once more, where he put the ball metres over the bar.

Cringila gave it all they had in the final moments of the match. Their captain Todd Sparks had his shot cleared off the line in a mass scramble in the penalty area. From the proceeding corner, the ball found its way to the skipper once more, only for him to put his shot over the bar.

The final action of the fixture came from two Port Kembla substitutes. A neat one-two from Joshua Crapis and Jack Lombo resulted in Lombo having a one-on-one opportunity, only for the striker to place the ball too far wide to the left.

The result sees Port Kembla jump to sixth spot, only one point behind the 5^th placed Tarrawanna. They are currently level with Bruce Tilt’s Fernhill. In their next fixture, they will play last placed South Coast United, who will be desperate to get their first victory of the season and to gain some very important club championship points.

As for Cringila, the defeat sees them lingering in ninth position and most critically are now six points off fifth position. Their next fixture now becomes very much a season defining one as they take on the fourth placed Albion Park White Eagles this Friday at Crehan Park.

 

Sunday 3 June 2018 @ Wetherall Park

 

Port Kembla – 1 (Lowcock 58’)

Cringila Lions – 0

 

Port Kembla – Bradley JARDINE, Brooklan FRKOVIC, William MOBBS, Kyle SENIOR, Carlo STELLA, Justin CARIO, Jason PEREZ, Makoto ISHIHARA, Sandy LOWCOCK, Joseph LAVALLE, Ben ZUCCO

Subs – Fabian IACOVELLI, Jack LOMBO (on for LOWCOCK), Naruyuki KATO (on for FRKOVIC), Joshua CRAPIS (on for LAVALLE), Daniel FARINA

Coach – Noel SPENCER

 

Cringila Lions – Nikola RISTEVSKI, Aleksandar PRENTOSKI, James RALSTON, Steven HRISTOVSKI, Anthony ROMEO, Josiah SHERWEN, Ibrahim SESAY, Todd SPARKS, Mitchell DI PIETRO, Takao TERAMOTO, Nuno PIRES

Subs – Alexander BOULLOSA, Tyren MACLOU (on for TERAMOTO), Elisseo CHIODI, Jake BAILEY, Joshua YOUNG (on for ROMEO)

Coach – Zivko JOVANOVSKI

 

Referee – Bobby MAZEVSKI

Assistant Referees – Graeme CHARKER, Deakan SOUTHERN

 

Report by Jordan Warren, on Twitter @jwarren0817

Photo courtesy of Port Kembla FC.