Cringila Lions have claimed their first piece of Illawarra Premier League silverware since 2002 when they claimed the Illawarra Mercury Premier League Under-23’s title with a 3-1 win against Corrimal Rangers on Sunday afternoon at WIN Stadium. The Lions struck the opening goal of the encounter in the 27^th minute through an Andre Dias penalty before two second-half goals to Daniel Carella and Nicholas High secured the win for Cringila. Corrimal had a tough task get harder after going two goals down with the dismissal of Ricky Zucco leaving the Rangers with ten men, however Corrimal were able to pull one goal back in the 84^th minute through a Klime Sekutkoski penalty, leaving the final score at 3-1.

Cringila were entering the game off the back of a second-place finish in the league – where they trailed winners Bulli by five points, having accrued 52 points during the regular season – and a passage through to the big dance as winners of the Major Semi-Final, downing Bulli 4-2. Meanwhile their opponents in Corrimal – who claimed 4^th spot on the ladder with 44 points to their name – had to go the long way to make the Grand Final, downing Wollongong United 2-0 in the Elimination Final, Port Kembla 1-0 in the Minor Semi-Final and finally beating Bulli 3-1 in the Preliminary Final to book a date with Cringila, a side which had beaten Corrimal twice during the regular season by a single goal.

With the title to play for, it was the Rangers who had the brighter start to the match, coming close to taking the opening goal of the encounter in the 6^th minute through Jamie Wakeling, who fired an effort at Cringila custodian Zak Bedelovski after receiving the ball from a Matthew Galanti cross. However, Wakeling was unable to trouble the scorers, his effort bouncing into the ground and leaving Bedelovski with an easy catch.

With the early exchanges going both ways, Cringila almost found themselves in front in the 24^th minute through interesting means after a cross from Daniel Carella attempted to find its way into the box. However, it was Corrimal keeper Blake Coad who was the first to the ball, and he attempted to catch the effort, only for the ball to slip through his hands. Thankfully for Corrimal, Coad had done enough to ensure the ball was directed away from goal, with the loose ball rolling out just to the right of the goalmouth.

However, Cringila finally managed to find their breakthrough goal in the 27^th minute after the side was awarded a penalty after a handball from Corrimal’s Aaron Trevisi. The spot-kick responsibility fell to Andre Dias but the Lions player was able to break the deadlock, firing a powerful effort into the top right corner to push Cringila in front.

Cringila almost doubled their advantage on the stroke of half-time after a quick break from Emmanuel Kamara down the left-hand side of the field found Cringila in a dangerous position. Kamara then spun off a deep cross into the box, finding Daniel Carella. Carella was then able to fire an effort directed at the Corrimal goal but was denied by a great diving save from Corrimal shot-stopper Blake Coad who was able to tip the ball around the right-hand post and ensure that the Rangers entered the half-time break only a single goal behind.

With a slim one goal lead at the break, Cringila came out for the second-half firing and the side almost made an immediate impact in the 46^th minute after Emmanuel Kamara fired off a deep cross from the left-hand side of the field to find Daniel Carella in the box. Carella managed to control the ball and shoot at the Corrimal goal, but his effort was denied by a great save from the Rangers shot-stopper Blake Coad, who managed to tip the ball around the right-hand post with a brilliant diving save.

However, Carella finally managed to get his name on the scoresheet three minutes later after a quick break found the Cringila player bursting into the box on the right-hand side. Corrimal’s Coad attempted to rush the Lions forward and shut down the attack but before he could reach Carella, the Cringila player was able to fire off a curling effort that skimmed past Coad and into the left-hand post. Despite two Corrimal defenders rushing back to clear the effort, they were unable to get back in time to stop Carella’s effort, the ball bouncing off the post and in, giving Cringila a two-goal lead.

Corrimal’s quest to pull back lead was made even harder when substitute Ricky Zucco – who entered the match in the 51^st minute – was dismissed in the 58^th minute after receiving two yellow cards.

The Rangers came close to pulling a goal back in the 73^rd minute after some fantastic linkup play between Ryan Sutcliffe and Jamie Wakeling saw the ball pushed into the box before Wakeling fired off a powerful effort that could only be stopped by a well-positioned Jake Bailey, the ball rocketing off the Cringila defender and away from goal.

But the Lions made the score a convincing 3-0 lead three minutes later after a break from league top-scorer Nicholas High down the left side of the pitch. High – who had netted 26 times during the Lions campaign this season – maintained his composure to fire a very well-placed shot past Corrimal gloveman Blake Coad and into the bottom right corner to all but seal the match for Cringila.

However, it was Corrimal who managed to net the final goal of the match, with the Rangers netting in the 84^th minute after the side was awarded a penalty. Klime Sekutkoski stepped up to the spot and raised questions of a life-line for Corrimal by firing his effort into the top-left corner, but the Rangers were unable to find a second goal in the final moments of the match, with Cringila holding on to claim the title with a 3-1 win. After the match, Cringila’s Daniel Carella picked up the player of the match award for his efforts during the match, including his 49^th minute strike.

Cringila coach Jorge De Matos stated after the match that he was thrilled with the result and the trophy, hoping that the victory in the Grand Final is the first of many for the Cringila side.

“I think Corrimal had the better start, 100% they came out of the block way more fiery than us. We worked our way into the game, scored off the penalty and then from there we cruised from strength to strength. The red card didn’t help them but credit to Corrimal they were fighting right till the end,” he said.

“Given 11 v 11 on another day, [there is] possibly another outcome, but credit to my boys as well, they wanted this desperately and you could see it throughout the game. We never gave up, hunted in packs and came out with the 3-1 win.

“We finished runners up in the cup, runners up in the league and we nagged the Grand Final so we’re ecstatic but like I’ve said to everybody, this is only the beginning. We push on from here and hopefully many more trophies to come.”

Meanwhile, defeated Corrimal coach Billy Gjakovski was disappointed with the performance in the Grand Final but pleased with how the side travelled throughout the season.

“We’ve had our ups and downs, at times we were even struggling to get a team out there which, to be here at the end of it, is an achievement,” he said.

“I think the boys should hold their heads up high, we had a good season, but congratulations to Cringila, they played well.

“It is disappointing of course to lose the final, cause we did come in with a bit of momentum, we beat all of the remaining top four teams, but it’s a Grand Final, it’s a one off game.

“I think that’s the first time Corrimal have been in the final or a Premier League final in any grade for a long time. Hopefully a couple of the boys can push for first grade, that’s always the aim for the younger guys, so we just hopefully can keep the core of the guys and go better next year.”

Sunday 23 September 2018 at WIN Stadium.

Cringila Lions FC – 3 (Dias 27’, Carella 49’, High 76’)

Corrimal Rangers FC – 1 (Sekutkoski 84’)

Cringila Lions FC: Zak BEDELOVSKI, Daniel JORGE, Jonah KALMANIDIS, Jake BAILEY, Andre DIAS, Daniel CHICHARO, Ryan AKHURST, Elisseo CHIODI, Emmanuel KAMARA, Nicholas HIGH, Daniel CARELLA

Subs: Jordan PRENTOSKI (HIGH 81’), Aidan GALLO (CHIODI 61’), Robert LIBERANTE (CARELLA 74’), Casey GRAHAM (JORGE 82’), Kyle BOOTH

Corrimal Rangers FC: Blake COAD, Christopher TWIGG, Ryan SUTCLIFFE, Aaron TREVISI, Peter KYRIAKOUDES, Carter MADDEN, James WALKER, Matthew GALANTI, Klime SEKUTKOSKI, Jamie WAKELING, Christian SAFFIOTI

Subs: Ricky ZUCCO (SAFFIOTI 51’), Daniel VILLELLA (SUTCLIFFE 81’), Franco KHOSHABA (TREVISI 30’), Andrew SUAREZ (TWIGG 81’), David ZUFIC

Referee – Jarrod THOMPSON

Assistant Referees – Ethan ZVARGULIS and Damien DENNELLY

Fourth Official – Reece EDWARDS

Report by Cal Behrendt, on Twitter @CalBehrendt

Photo by Pedro Garcia