Coniston have booked themselves a date with Warilla in the WCG Cranes District League Grand Final after dispatching Bellambi 3-1 in the Preliminary Final on Saturday afternoon at Wetherall Park. It was the Rosellas who took the lead through Chris Cevinini in the 28^th minute but a Mark Picciolini penalty in the 67^th minute revived the league winners’ campaign and Coniston found themselves in front two minutes later thanks to a Takayuki Kayano header. Picciolini added a second goal seven minutes from full time to secure the result for Coniston and book them a spot at WIN Stadium next weekend.

Despite both sides finishing in the top two – Coniston first with 58 points and Bellambi second with 54 points respectively – neither side was able to lock down the first spot in the Grand Final, with third-placed Warilla pipping them both to secure a grand final berth. Warilla won the spot at the expense of Coniston last weekend, who went down 2-1 to the Wanderers at Macedonia Park, but due to the finals system, the league winners were allowed another bite at the cherry in the form of a Preliminary Final against Bellambi.

The Rosellas booked their spot in the match with a 2-1 win over Helensburgh Thistle in the Minor Semi-Final to remain fighting for another week, however Andrew Paine’s side now needed to get past a Coniston team they had not beaten in the league all season – losing 2-1 in round 10 and drawing 1-1 in the penultimate round of the season.

It was Coniston who made the better start of the match, with the side coming close to taking the lead in the 21^st minute after Dinko Terzic beat a Bellambi defender on the left-hand side of the field before spinning a pass towards Hiroaki Kohinoki in the box. Kohinoki was open and needed no hesitation to fire off a shot at the Bellambi goal, but his effort left much to be desired and flew harmlessly over the crossbar.

Despite dealing with a decent amount of attacking pressure, it was the Rosellas who opened the scoring in the 28^th minute after a quick break down the left-hand side of the park led the ball to Ilija Prenzoski, who burst into the box. Prenzoski was met by a rushing Ben McGinnes, but the Bellambi forward was able to layoff the ball to a waiting Chris Cevinini in the middle of the box before McGinnes could shut down play. Cevinini did not need any instruction to fire the ball home, tapping the effort into the goal and putting Bellambi ahead.

With the league winners now behind, Coniston began to push forward and seek an equalizer and came close to using the windy conditions to their advantage in the 40^th minute when the side was awarded a free-kick from distance. Coniston defender Ryan Vandenberg stepped up to take the kick, which curled around in the windy conditions and caused Bellambi custodian Nathan Campbell to misjudge the ball’s trajectory and move out of position. Thankfully for Campbell, the wind also worked against Vandenberg’s effort, pushing the ball just out wide past the post, ensuring that the Rosellas held onto their slim lead heading into the half-time break.

With the score sitting at 1-0 at the half-time break, the Rosellas came out seeking a second goal that could give the side some much needed breathing room and Bellambi came close to doubling their advantage in the 50^th minute after a powerful ball from Chris Cevinini deflected into Coniston defender Takayuki Kayano and diverted the effort towards the Coniston goal at a high angle. Thankfully for the Coniston support, keeper Ben McGinnes was able to avoid an embarrassing own goal and tap the effort over the crossbar, keeping Coniston in the match.

After withstanding a heavy amount of Bellambi pressure in the opening moments of the second-half, Coniston were finally able to pull level in the 67^th minute after the side was awarded a penalty for a handball in the box. Mark Picciolini stepped up to take the spot-kick and managed to easily fire his side level, sending his effort into the left-hand side of the net, the opposite direction of a diving Nathan Campbell.

Having just levelled the score, Coniston were not content with being level with Bellambi and the side quickly pulled ahead two minutes later after the side were awarded a free-kick in a dangerous position on the right-hand side of the Bellambi box. Substitute Chris Stevanovski stepped up to take the free-kick and whipped a short ball to a diverting Takayuki Kayano. Kayano was easily able to get his head to the effort and nodded his shot past the Bellambi defender on the goal-post to sucker-punch the Rosellas fans in attendance and push Coniston into the lead.

The Rosellas had a chance to return the match to a level position in the 72^nd minute after a bouncing through ball was played to Ilija Prenzoski putting the Bellambi forward in a one-on-one chance against Coniston shot-stopper Ben McGinnes. However, Prenzoski was unable to direct an effort goalward, his volley firing wide of goal and keeping Coniston in front.

Coniston added their third goal of the afternoon in the 83^rd minute thanks to a quick passage of play from midfielder Hiroaki Kohinoki. The Coniston player received the ball down the right-hand flank and quickly chipped the ball over a Bellambi defender attempting to shut him down, with his effort reaching Mark Picciolini. From there, it was a case of individual brilliance from the Coniston forward, with Picciolini working his way skillfully past a defender before firing an effort past the reach of Bellambi keeper Nathan Campbell and into the net, scoring his second goal of the afternoon and putting Coniston 3-1 up.

With the Rosellas now two goals behind, Bellambi begun to throw everything they had into attack and the side came close to setting up an intense finish in the 85^th minute when a free-kick from Boden Allport found the head of Andy Keep in the Coniston box. Keep nodded the ball down to an open Grant Zanni, who fired off an effort directed at the back of the net. However, Zanni’s volley was denied by a great stop from Coniston shot-stopper Ben McGinnes, keeping the two-goal lead intact.

McGinnes was called into action again just seconds later when a quick break from Matt Richardson saw the ball reach Chris Cevinini in the box. But this time McGinnes was too slow to react, with Cevinini managing to tap home the ball and potentially set up a tense finish. However, before Bellambi fans could celebrate the late goal, the passage of play was pulled up, with Richardson being in an offside position when he received the ball off the break, shutting down hopes of a Bellambi comeback and ensuring Coniston held on to secure the 3-1 win.

Coniston’s victory sees them move into the Grand Final where they will face Warilla for the 2018 District League championship next Saturday at WIN Stadium. Despite finishing third on the regular season ladder some 15 points behind Coniston, the Wanderers booked themselves the first spot in the big dance with a 2-1 win over Coniston in the Major Semi-Final on September 8. Coniston will be hoping that this rematch has a very different ending as they seek to complete the league double and wrap-up what has been a very successful season for the side out of JJ Kelly Park.

For Bellambi on the other hand, the loss sees them wrap-up their season standing on the outside of the Grand Final looking inwards as they look to the 2019 season with hope of going one better both in the league and in the finals. It has been a strong season for Andrew Paine’s side as they reach their highest finish since their return to the District League back in the 2016 season and with Paine due to return to the helm next season, Bellambi fans will be hoping that next season they can go all the way.

Saturday 15 September 2018 at Wetherall Park.

Coniston FC – 3 (Picciolini 67’, 83’, Kayano 69’)

Bellambi – 1 (Cevinini 28’)

Coniston FC: Ben MCGINNES, Takayuki KAYANO, Ryan VANDENBERG, Christian PLAKIAS, Hiroaki KOHINOKI, Franc PIERRO, Dinko TERZIC, Mark PICCIOLINI, Lachlan MARTIN, Bradley MOREIRA, Matthew CUDA

Subs: Christopher STEVANOVSKI (MARTIN 55’), Bowen SIMPSON (TERZIC 60’), Valon RIZVANI, Matthew TSCHENTESCHER, Connor O’NEILL (VANDENBERG 73’)

Bellambi: Nathan CAMPBELL, Sean POULTON, Grant ZANNI, Tor PREECE, Matt RICHARDSON, Mattias PASSLACK, Tim O’BRIEN, Boden ALLPORT, Andy KEEP, Christian CEVENINI, Ilija PRENZOSKI

Subs: Scott MARTIN (PREECE 81’), Michael ROGERSON, Matt WALLACE, Ryu AMINAKA, Jack DUGAN

Referee – Blake HERBERT

Assistant Referees – Greg REID and Liam WEBB

Fourth Official – Andrew NAYLOR

Report by Cal Behrendt, on Twitter @CalBehrendt

Photo courtesy of Dylan Arvela