It was a crucial clash on Sunday at Memorial Park for both sides for very different reasons. Being 11 points off fifth-placed Port Kembla with six matches remaining, Corrimal simply had to win to have any hope of playing finals football this season. Picton fell to the bottom of the Illawarra Premier League ladder last weekend after South Coast United picked up an important win against Corrimal. A win for Picton would put them ahead of South Coast United just in time for their crunch fixture next weekend.

It was Corrimal who started the brighter, looking threatening on every attempt. Picton keeper Lauchlan O’Bree was called into action in the 8th minute. Following a corner situation, midfielder Samuel Matthews tested the keeper with a volley that sat up nicely for him.

Picton grew into the match and became more confident playing out from the back. They were rewarded with a goal on the 19th minute. The ball was put in between Corrimal’s left side of defence where a mix-up and a lack of communication allowed Lachlan Newman to pounce where he put the ball into the bottom left corner.

Corrimal upped their intensity and nearly hit straight back. Following a long ball, Corrimal pushed for a counter with the Picton defence keeping a high line. Takeru Okada sped past on the left-hand touchline and drilled a left-footed shot across goals. O’Bree saved the ball but it took a clearance from Dayne Morley and another punch from O’Bree to ensure the ball did not cross the line.

On the 30th minute, another defensive mishap proved costly for the home side. Attempting to play out in the defensive third, Corrimal keeper Daniel Arcaba misplaced his pass and the ball was put away again by Newman. Picton could not believe their luck and were well on their way to a priceless victory. Arcaba picked up an injury in a play just proceeding the goal and had to be substituted. He was replaced by veteran goalkeeper David Zufic.

Just on the stroke of half-time Corrimal were given a free kick, and a massive opportunity to halve the deficit. O’Bree got two strong hands to a driven strike from Corrimal forward Masahiko Morita.

The second half went by and the chances were few and far between for both sides. In the 66th minute the action started again. Substitute Timothy Wylie almost got one back for the home side as he controlled the ball with his back to goal and attempted a very audacious overhead kick. The ball fell safely into O’Bree’s arms.

Corrimal’s first goal came in the 73rd minute. Okada once again was proving dangerous down the left flank and drew his team a penalty after his shot struck the arm of one of the onrushing Picton defenders. Okada converted his own penalty, slotting the ball into the bottom left corner and the match was well alive once more.
The scores were even on the 82nd-minute mark as Corrimal were once again awarded a penalty. This time Matthews proved to elusive in the box and drew a foul. Morita stepped up to take the spot-kick and managed to convert in the exact same fashion as his fellow countryman.

Corrimal should have scored their third when Wylie drove down the right flank and drilled in a low, hard cross to Okada who could only manage to drill his shot over the bar with little pressure on him from the Picton defence.

On the 86th minute disaster struck for the home side, whilst pure jubilation surrounded Picton. A Karouna Micheal free kick found the arms of O’Bree, where the keeper punted the ball long to put Newman in a good position to cause damage. With the ball still bouncing, Newman managed to chip Zufic from about 25 yards in what was the goal of the match and a finish worthy of winning any contest.

There was one final chance for Corrimal deep into injury time. Okada once again was in the thick of the action as he created just enough space between himself and the defender to get a shot away. His strike was cleared off the line by Picton substitute Jesse Howard. This was the final action of the match as Howard saved his side two points with his efforts.

The win for Picton will spark hope into a side that looked to be on the wrong side of a two-way relegation fight before the match. Their next fixture is on Sunday against South Coast United. United had a tough day at the office against Bulli, going down 6-0 to the competition front-runners. The fixture next week will well and truly have a massive bearing on who stays in the IPL next season.

As for Corrimal, their finals hunt is all but over. They will face Tarrawanna next Saturday away from home. Both sides will be hungry for the three points with both teams losing this weekend.

 

Sunday 15 July @ Memorial Park

Corrimal Rangers – (OKADA 73’, MORITA 82’)

Picton Rangers – (NEWMAN 19’, 30’, 85’)

Corrimal Rangers – Daniel ARCABA, Joshua GERSBACH, Dean PENDER, Calum FLEMING, Karouna MICHEAL, Samuel MATTHEWS, Takeru OKADA, Kyle KIRKLAND, Klime SEKUTKOSKI, Billy TSOUOLOS, Masahiko MORITA

Subs – Jason ZUFIC (on for KIRKLAND), Carter MADDEN, Timothy WYLIE (on for SEKUTKOSKI), David ZUFIC (on for ARCABA)

Coach – Rob JONOVSKI, Jason DAVKOVSKI

Picton Rangers – Lauchlan O’BREE, Key MITCHELL, Daniel NELSON, Tyler SNELGROVE, Brendan BERKELEY, Michael HEYHORN, Lauchlan WITTON, Alex MOJSOSKI, Dayne MORLEY, Liam STORKEY, Lachlan NEWMAN

Subs – Connor O’NEIL (on for WHITTON), William MCLEOD (on for NELSON), Jesse HOWARD (on for STORKEY), Matthew TESORIERO

Coach – Dale CLAYTON

Report by Jordan Warren, on Twitter @jwarren0817

 

Photo by Noel Wynn