All was on the line for both sides as Wollongong United took on the Albion Park White Eagles at Macedonia Park on Sunday afternoon in the Illawarra Mercury Premier League. A win by two goals would enable United to leapfrog the White Eagles into third on the ladder. Anything less and Albion Park would go into the finals with the right to a second bite of the cherry.

United were very much on the front foot early looking to push the ascendency. Eagles goalkeeper Cristofer Fuentes was called into action inside ten minutes to save his side. A defensive error allowed for a neat combination from United in the box where Daisuke Yuzawa fired from point blank range. Fuentes got down low and saved the ball over the bar to the delight of his team.

As the half wore on Albion Park became much more confident on the ball and seemed to have stemmed the flow of United’s attack slightly. In the 37^th minute, central defender Shannon Fielding played the ball to Christopher Gomez, who laid the ball off to the ever-present Kody Maude. From here, the pacey attacker crossed the ball into a dangerous area to no avail. It was a positive manoeuvre nonetheless.

Both teams went into half time with the deadlock still not broken. United had a slight edge in the possession statistics and looked dangerous on every attack. The White Eagles held a very strong defensive structure and looked threatening when it was their turn to go forward.

In the 54^th minute, United had another great chance to open the scoring. Skipper Sam Munro played the ball across to Kazuto Kashida who then passed to the dangerous Matthew McNab. From here the winger blasted the ball straight into Fuentes, who put the ball out for a corner.

Albion Park had a golden chance straight down the other end directly from a counter. Shayne Ardle took the ball down the left flank where both Gomez and Hikaru Kawasakiya were lurking in the box unmarked. The cross was hit straight to United’s goalkeeper Sam Nastic.

The game was quickly turning into an end-to-end contest. An exciting prospect for neutrals but not for the parties involved.

United managed to take the lead with a little over 20 minutes left in the contest. Right-back Maty Brennan overlapped and headed towards the Eagles penalty area. With time to decide his next move, the fullback then crossed to substitute Zac McLaren, where the ball was passed to an unmarked McNab, who placed the ball pass Fuentes. United had the goal they had craved.

With United needing another goal to topple the Eagles on the table for the 2018 season, gaps were opening up all over the field when the home side lurked forward. Albion Park were looking to take full advantage of this. In the 76^th minute, Shaun McRae found room on the right hand flank. He measured his cross and hit Kawasakiya straight on the head. The ball looped over Nastic and hit the cross bar where the ball was then cleared to safety.

The White Eagles turned their dangerous play into a goal with just over 10 minutes to go in the contest. Gomez was played through with minimal numbers at the back for United. He finished past Nastic into the roof of the net, and Albion Park looked once again in the box seat for a third placed finish.

Despite an exciting final ten minutes of the contest, this was the real final chance of the match. The fulltime whistle was met with jubilation from the away supporters as the Albion Park White Eagles secured a second chance in the finals series.

In the first round of finals matches, the White Eagles will be up against 2^nd placed Wollongong Olympic in a Father’s Day clash. The two sides played each other less than a month ago where Olympic humbled the Eagles 4-0 at Terry Reserve. It should be a closer contest this time around and both sides will be buzzing to take on Bulli the following week.

As for Wollongong United, a slipped opportunity in this match will not deter Jeff Allport’s side. They will take on Port Kembla also on Sunday. These two sides played each other in round 21 of the IPL with United running out 3-0 winners. The side that loses this one will be done for the season.

 

Sunday 26 August 2018 @ Macedonia Park

Wollongong United – Sam NASTIC, Maty BRENNAN, Mark EVERY, Hayden MORTON, Dominic HUDAP, Jake LEIGHTON, Sam MUNRO, Kazuto KUSHIDA, Matthew MCNAB, Nathan ELASI, Daisuke YUZAWA

Subs – Benjamin BROOKS, Kenta AZECHI (on for HUDAP), Zac MCLAREN (on for MUNRO), Cody WALLER (on for ELASI), Benjamin WUNSCH

Coach – Jeff ALLPORT

 

Albion Park White Eagles – Cristofer FUENTES, Blake MCGINN, Luke DEBROT, Shannon FIELDING, Christopher NATHANIEL, Robert DELBANCO, Nathan RALPH, Kody MAUDE, Shayne ARDLE, Christopher GOMEZ, Hikaru KAWASAKIYA

Subs – Shaun MCRAE (on for ARDLE), Sean KENNEDY, Jordan WARREN, Daniel REA (on for KAWASAKIYA), Jacob HUFTON

Coach – Paul CARTER

 

Referee – Bobby MAZEVSKI

Assistant Referees – Brendan FOTHERINGHAM, G. CHARKER

 

Report by Jordan Warren, on Twitter @jwarren0817

Photo courtesy of Kiah Hufton