South Coast Flame’s flickering finals hopes were extinguished on Saturday night after a 5-1 defeat to Nepean FC at Cook Park. Louis Connell put South Coast ahead after two minutes but the hosts responded within a minute and by halftime, they led 3-1 with a man advantage after Grant Wilson was sent from the field. Flame looked to limit the damage in the second half but Mario Ghobrial was able to come off the bench to notch a brace. Overall, it was a tough outing for the club with both of the younger age groups going down with the under 20s losing 2-0 and the under 18s losing 1-0.

The match began in a frantic manner with both sides scoring in the opening three minutes. Flame would score first when Dion Sterjovski played Connell into the left of the area before he blasted the ball between Nepean goalkeeper Thomas Hamilton and the near post. The dust didn’t settle before Nepean hit back with a lobbed free-kick into the box nodded home by Michael Fakiye.

Inside the next 20 minutes, both sides came close to scoring their second. In the 13th minute, Rory Mcgeown’s strike from 25 metres out hit the top left apex of Matt White’s goal while five minutes later Connell was played through but he stumbled as he approached the goalkeeper and knocked his effort to the left.

In the 26th minute, Nepean hit the lead after a defensive lapse allowed Paul Chester through on goal, the number 98 chipped the ball over White and Hayden Pronin bundled it in from close range to avoid any doubt. The hosts came close to doubling their advantage four minutes later when they were awarded a penalty, however, Pronin’s shot hit the left post before the ball was cleared.

In the 32nd minute, Sterjovski once again played Connell through on goal, he touched it past Hamilton but he created a difficult angle for himself and his shot under pressure went across the face of the goal. The miss was highlighted due to the home side finding their third two minutes later. Pronin managed to jink past a couple of defenders before squaring the ball to Mubarak Saeed to tap into an empty net.

In the final minute of the first half, things went from bad to worse with Flame being reduced to 10 men. Wilson dribbled the ball forward before a heavy touch saw him lose control of the ball and his lunge in an attempt to regain possession collected the Nepean player. Matt Mazevski shifted into centre back and the side held out to keep the score at 3-1 heading into the sheds.

Flame returned to the pitch in a narrow formation and looked to restrict Nepean’s opportunities which they did for the first 19 minutes of the half before Jamie Dib had a chance inside the left of the area but White was able to make a strong save to force a corner. Undeterred, Nepean had another chance a minute later when Pronin’s cross was met by a gliding Ghobrial header which saw the ball fly into the back of the net.

Nepean put the game beyond all doubt in the 81st minute with Ghobrial netting his second and his side’s fifth of the evening. The ball was cut in from the left for the unmarked substitute to slot home.

In the 91st minute, Connell - who persisted admirably throughout the night - stormed past his defender 20 metres from goal before a tame and perhaps tired strike was gobbled up by Hamilton. The ball was played upfield and Ghobrial had a chance to complete his hat-trick but his header from a cross in from the left trailed wide but regardless it wouldn’t have affected the result with Nepean winning 5-1.

The defeat mathematically rules Flame out of contention for the finals. The side take on Western Condors at Crehan Park next Saturday night before facing the two Hurstville sides in the final two rounds of the season - positive results in these matches could push the side as high as sixth.

The under 20s faced a Nepean side who were a win away from claiming the League title. South Coast went behind early on via an Alex Moore goal before Jack Hoban scored in the 54th minute to give Nepean a 2-0 lead. Flame showed a few positive signs in the final half an hour but they were unable to claw a goal back. The result is a set back to the side’s finals hopes as they are now five points behind fifth-placed Hurstville City Minotaurs who they play on the final day of the season. Next up for the side is a must-win clash with Western Condors who are also vying for the final spot in the top five.

The under 18s took on a second-placed Nepean outfit who were unbeaten in five matches. The sides went into the break at nil-all before Nepean’s Rhys Mclaughlin netted the only goal of the match in the second half. The result ends any mathematical chance of Flame contesting for the top five, however, a successful final three matches would shore up the side’s current position of seventh. The under 18s take on ninth-placed Condors next Saturday afternoon.

 

Sunday 28 July 2018 @ Cook Park

 

Nepean FC - 5 (FAKIYE 3’, PRONIN 26’, SAEED 34’, GHOBRIAL 66’ 81’)

 

South Coast Flame FC - 1 (CONNELL 2’)

 

South Coast Flame FC lineup - Matt WHITE, Julio MUSHABA, Wade WILTON, Grant WILSON, Martin THOMSON, Dion STERJOVSKI, Andrew BOVA, Matt MAZEVSKI, Caleb GRACE, Louis CONNELL, Bojan CARIC

 

Subs - Brandon GROOM, Daniel LUCAS, Cameron HANSON (on for STERJOVSKI), Kenny JAMES (on for THOMSON), Johnny VICOROSKI

 

Coach - Paul ROBAARD

 

Report and photo by Dylan Arvela, on Twitter @dylanarvela