Wollongong Olympic were looking to continue their impressive league run when they took on Corrimal Rangers in Round 19 of the Illawarra Mercury Premier League on Saturday at PCYC. This was the second time within the week that the two sides had met. Both had contested in the Bert Bampton Cup last Sunday, where Olympic took home the chocolates.

There was a distinct pattern which formed from the beginning of the match. Olympic shaded possession in the early stages, with central defensive pairing David Hartas and Haydyn Lloyd, along with goalkeeper Hayden Durose, very confident on the ball early, looking for passes through the lines to their midfield trio. Corrimal made it difficult however, and looked just as threatening when they did get their foot on the ball.

The first chance of the game fell to the visitors in the 16^th minute. Winger Takeru Okada found some space on the edge of the area as the ball was hanging in the air. He struck a low, driven volley. A smart dummy through his legs as the ball was travelling towards goal from Samuel Matthews made it difficult for Durose, but the keeper got down and made a strong save to his right.

Just over 10 minutes later, Corrimal’s keeper was called into the action. Midfielder Lukas Stergiou played in Yuduke Ueda. One-on-one, Daniel Arcaba made himself big and closed down Ueda’s angle. The shot hit Arcaba and went out for a corner.

Both sides looked as though they could potentially open the scoring, but it was the Rangers who took the lead through Masahiko Morita in the 35^th minute. A long, cross-field pass was well read and intercepted by left-back Angelo Hajittofi. He continued with the ball and played it in behind the Olympic defence to Morita, who poked the ball home past an onrushing Durose. Olympic were stunned and Corrimal now had a reward for their tireless defensive work rate.

Seconds before halftime, Corrimal could have quite potentially doubled their advantage. A long ball over the top from central defender Calum Fleming found the feet of Okada. From here, he beat his defender in the box and forced a smart two handed stop from Durose.

Into the second half we went and Olympic found their equalizer quite quickly. 51 minutes in, captain Brendan Fordham connected with the ball following a corner from Shun Tokuno. The ball was cleared off the line in his first attempt, but from here the ball found Fordham once more and he made no mistake, this time thumping the ball into the roof of the net.

One would have expected Corrimal to crumble from here. It was a credit to their positive attitude and they most certainly dominated Olympic for a fair period of time after the home sides’ leveller. After receiving a free-kick right on the edge of the penalty area, Morita forced a top draw save from Durose as he curled his shot around the wall and into the top right corner.

In the 64^th minute, Corrimal’s hard work was undone and Olympic took ascendency in the match. The move started from a goal kick as the ball was thumped forward by Durose. Following a battle to gain possession, the ball was played over the top to Ueda, who troubled his marker in the penalty area and forced a touch from the defender which glanced over Arcaba into the net. A neat finish from the league's top marksman.

Corrimal were then dealt another blow with a bit over 15 minutes left to go in the contest. Skipper Karouna Micheal was given a second yellow card, both for niggling fouls within a short period of time. The latter of the cards was for a foul on midfielder Vaughan Patterson as Olympic were on the attack.

Soon after the result was well and truly put to bed. John Martinoski played a trademark ball towards the right to substitute Matthew Floro. From here, Floro cut his ball across the face of the area to Ueda, where he finished the ball off into the net.

The final chance of the match fell to Fordham. A thunderous left-footed shot clattered against the cross bar as the game crept into injury time. If he has scored here, it most certainly would have been goal of the afternoon.

The result for Olympic sees them remain four points behind leaders Bulli, and five points ahead of Albion Park White Eagles (who have their match against Fernhill on Sunday). In their next fixture, they will play the Eagles away from home on Sunday week, in what may well prove to be a second place decider for the season.

Corrimal will feel fairly disappointed that they could not get more out of the game. Their performance suggests that they will be challenging for finals spots for next season. In patches they were quite entertaining to watch. Their next fixture is also Sunday week against Woonona. The Sharks will be hungry for the points which would confirm that they are playing in the top flight next season.

 

Wollongong Olympic vs Corrimal Rangers @ PCYC

Wollongong Olympic ­– Hayden DUROSE, Kojiro HORI, David HARTAS, Haydyn LLOYD, Shun TOKUNO, Brendan FORDHAM, Lukas STERGIOU, Vaughan PATTERSON, John MARTINOSKI, Jack BALMFORTH, Yusuke UEDA

Subs – Luke FOSTER (on for PATTERSON), Matthew FLORO (on for BALMFORTH), Julian MINUTILLO, Christinan PRETTO

Coach – George ANTONIOU

 

Corrimal Rangers – Daniel ARCABA, Joshua GERSBACH, Karouna MICHEAL, Calum FLEMING, Angelo HAJITTOFI, Jason ZUFIC, Samuel MATTHEWS, Takeru OKADA, Timothy WYLIE, Billy TSOUOLOS, Masahiko MORITA

Subs – Kyle KIRKLAND (on for MATTHEWS), Dean PENDER, Klime SEKUTKOSKI, Ricky ZUCCO (on for MORITA), David ZUFIC

Coach – Rob JONOVSKI, Jason DAVKOVSKI

 

Referee – Nathan WOTTON

Assistant Referees – J WAYPOLE, J BROOKS

 

Report by Jordan Warren, on Twitter @jwarren0817

File Photo: Pedro Garcia