Port Kembla have opened up a five-point gap between themselves and the rest of the playoff chasing pack with a slim 1-0 win over fellow playoff hunters Tarrawanna at Tarrawanna Oval on Saturday. In a tight match with not many chances going either way, it was the visitors who would leave the happier side, with a 74^th minute Cameron Morgan goal sealing all three points for Port Kembla and their third successive win in a row.

While the reverse result back in round five saw Tarrawanna take all three points at Weatherall Park thanks to goals to Bradley Acev and Jared Fish, it appeared that Port Kembla were desperate to turn the result around from the get-go, with the side having the first chance of the match just three minutes in when a smart ball was played out from the Port Kembla midfield to a well-placed Fabian Iacovelli.

The Port Kembla forward then found himself going up against an oncoming Adam Rodriguez, with the Tarrawanna shot-stopper managing to win the battle and clean up the attacking movement to ensure Port Kembla did not get off to an early lead.

Tarrawanna had their first real chance of the match in the 15^th minute when the Blueys were given a free-kick in a promising position just in front of the visitor’s goal. But Rick Goodchild’s effort rocketed off the wall and out for a Blueys corner, which failed to trouble Port Kembla gloveman Brad Jardine.

With neither side willing to give up ground in the opening half, chances were few and far between, with the best chance of the opening half coming in the 17^th minute, when a great cross from the left-hand side of the field from Ben Zucco found Makoto Ishihara in the box. Ishihara managed to control the ball expertly before firing off a shot at the Blueys goal, which sailed just left of the Tarrawanna post.

But as both sides came out for the second half seeking goals, it was Port Kembla who began to slowly push their way on top of the match, with the visitors coming close to pulling ahead in the 53^rd minute after a Ben Zucco free-kick from just over the half-way line managed to bounce through the Tarrawanna box and force a great save from Blueys gloveman Adam Rodriguez to keep the hosts in the match.

However, Tarrawanna came back with a strong chance of their own just three minutes later when a Rick Goodchild free-kick almost managed to find a rushing Jared Fish, but Fish was just unable to get the ball under control before firing off an effort, his shot just skimming right of the Port Kembla posts.

Port Kembla however continued to create attacking chances, and the side came close to opening the scoring once more in the 62^nd minute when a fantastic throw in from Nobuaki Mochizuki found Makoto Ishihara in the box. The Port Kembla forward then managed to beat one Blueys defender before firing off an effort at goal that was deflected out by Brad Durrant, a crucial stop by the Tarrawanna defender that kept the game locked at 0-0.

However, the visitors’ attacking persistence finally paid off in the 74^th minute, when a wonderfully placed cross from Makoto Ishihara managed to find Cameron Morgan in the box, with the Port Kembla player showing great athleticism to get a head to the ball before Tarrawanna keeper Adam Rodriguez could deal with the issue, the ball lobbing over the shot-stopper and into the net to give Port Kembla the lead.

With the Blueys needing a goal to pull themselves back into the match, the side attempted to speed up play and create more attacking chances and they almost managed to pull level in the 82^nd minute when Daniel Goodhew picked up the ball off the Port Kembla defence, but his effort from distance flew over the bar. Despite this late charge from Tarrwanna, the visitors were able to hold on and secure a slim 1-0 win and a vital three points for their march towards the finals.

The slim result sees Port Kembla open up a five-point lead over Tarrawanna in the race for fifth place, with the side now sitting on 28 points to the Blueys’ 23. Port Kembla will seek to continue their claim for a spot in the finals when they host Woonona at Weatherall Park next round, with the Sharks being on the end of a 1-0 loss to Cringila in round 16.

The Blueys meanwhile will attempt to move back into the winners’ circle and start cutting down the point gap when they travel to Terry Reserve to face Albion Park White Eagles, who managed to grab all three points in a 2-0 win over Picton Rangers at Hume Oval on Saturday.

Saturday 7 July 2018 at Tarrawanna Oval.

Tarrawanna SC – 0

Port Kembla FC – 1 (Morgan 74’)

Tarrawanna SC: Adam RODRIGUEZ, Matthew NAYLOR, Bradley DURRANT, Samuel CHAPPLE, Jake MORLANDO, Daniel GOODHEW, Jacob FRYDAY, Takumi MACHIDA, Jared FISH, Rick GOODCHILD, Liam UNICOMB

Subs: Bradley ACEV (MACHIDA 64’), Joshua BROWN, Nicolas TOMASIELLO (FISH 86’), Benjamin LEARMONTH

Port Kembla FC: Brad JARDINE, Nobuaki MOCHIZUKI, William MOBBS, Nathan BELSITO, Carlo STELLA, Ben ZUCCO, Cameron MORGAN, Jason PEREZ, Makoto ISHIHARA, Joey LAVALLE, Fabian IACOVELLI

Subs: Justin CARIO (ZUCCO 74’), Kyle SENIOR (BELSITO 74’), Naruyuki KATO, Alexei ROSSER, Daniel FARINA

Referee – Nicholas RYAN

Assistant Referees – Lottie CABASSI-POWER and Stuart DERBRIDGE

Report by Cal Behrendt, on Twitter @CalBehrendt

Photo courtesy of Noel Wynn