Fernhill secured their first league win of their 2019 Illawarra Mercury Premier League in stunning fashion, downing defending champions Bulli 1-0 at Balls Paddock on Thursday evening. Neither side was able to find the breakthrough until Foxes substitute Yoji Ogawa netted a stunning strike in the 60^th minute to put the visitors ahead. In an end-to-end final half-hour both sides had chances to strike again, but Fernhill held firm to secure their first league win over Bulli since August 2013.

While Fernhill had beaten Bulli 1-0 in the Preseason Cup back in February, the Foxes had a tough time against the defending champions in the league last season – including sliding to a 8-0 thumping at Balls Paddock in April – and Bulli looked like extending that recent form in the early stages of the match, with the hosts having the first real chance of the match in the 24^th minute after a quick layoff from Mitchell Del Turco allowed Mitchell Turner to have a clean strike at goal which was denied by a dutiful save from Fernhill gloveman Bryce Daenell.

However, the Foxes had a strong chance of their own to take the lead in the 30^th minute after Fernhill’s Blake Friedrich managed to overturn the ball and relay a splitting through ball to an open Jordan Hughes bursting down the left wing. Hughes suddenly found himself in a one-on-one challenge against Bulli custodian Yuya Kuwada but the Fernhill forward was unable to work his way around Kuwada, firing an effort that was denied by the diving keeper’s feet.

Bulli had another chance to fire into the lead three minutes later after a Ryan Emerton corner found the head of Ben McDonald deep in the Fernhill box. McDonald’s header managed to beat the defence but not the hand of Fernhill shot-stopper Bryce Daenell, who produced a top-drawer save to tip the shot over the crossbar and ensure that neither side entered the half-time break in front.

With Bulli aiming to protect their top three position in the league, the hosts came out into the second half itching for a goal, and the side came agonizingly close to pushing in front in the 46^th minute after a blistering Ben McDonald run down the right hand side of the park allowed the Bulli forward an open shot at Fernhill’s goal. However, another good stop by Bryce Daenell forced the ball to rebound back to McDonald, who opted to use his second effort to spin the ball across the box to an open Brendan Pattman. But Pattman clearly did not have his shooting boots on, mistiming his tapped effort and sending the ball into the grateful cushion of the Fernhill defence.

Fernhill however were beginning to show their effectiveness on the counter-attack and the visitors came close to taking the lead in the 52^nd minute after a Jordan Hughes through ball found the speeding feet of Alexander Rooke. Rooke managed to burst into the box and draw a Bulli defender before cutting left and firing a quick shot at goal which would have gone in had it not been for a fantastic save from Bulli’s Yuya Kuwada, tipping the ball over the bar and out of play.

Bulli missed another chance to take the lead in the 60^th minute after a scramble in the box saw Mitchell Del Turco with the ball in a dangerous position in front of goal before opting to relay the ball left to an open Ben McDonald. McDonald made a quick attempt but unfortunately for Bulli fans, his effort failed to find the back of the net, instead finding the arms of Fernhill’s Bryce Daenell.

But with Bulli’s miss, Fernhill was able to launch on a swift counter-attack and finally break the deadlock of the match, with a quick ball upfield finding the feet of substitute Yoji Ogawa, who had only been on the field for three minutes after a Ben Riach head-clash forced Bruce Tilt to turn to his bench. Ogawa decided to craft a chipped effort from range, flying over the head of Yuya Kuwada and into the top left corner of the net, sending the travelling Fernhill supporters into raptures and the Foxes into the lead.

Now a goal down, Bulli began to aggressively search for an equalizer, but it was the Foxes who almost doubled their advantage in the 70^th minute in an almost identical style to their opening goal. Again, it was Ogawa who received a quick counter-attack from the Fernhill backline, but this time Ogawa opted to run into the box before cutting towards the edge of the box and firing an effort directed at the top left corner. But this time Bulli keeper Yuya Kuwada was able to reach Ogawa’s strike, producing an athletic save to get a hand to the shot and tip the ball over the bar, keeping Fernhill to a slim lead.

Looking for a goal, Bulli had a golden chance to level the scores three minutes off a deep free-kick from Mitchell Del Turco. However, Del Turco’s kick worked its way past every player in the Fernhill box and into the right-hand post, bouncing off the upright and away from the pressing Bulli side.

Another golden opportunity went begging for the hosts in the 84^th minute after another blazing Ben McDonald run down the right-hand flank caused Fernhill keeper Bryce Daenell to rush out to smother the play, only to be beaten by the technical play of the Bulli forward. However, McDonald was at too tight of an angle to fire goal-ward, opting instead to lay-off the ball into the middle of the box. However, no Bulli player was able to reach the opportunity, with a chance to tap home a strike in front of an empty net rolling into the thankful path of the Fernhill defence.

Bulli had one last chance to level the scores in the 87^th minute after a scramble in the box saw Sam Davies with a chance to write his name into the headlines but the Bulli midfielder scuffed his effort, his shot sliding wide and out of play past the right-hand post, ensuring that Fernhill earned their first victory of the 2019 league campaign and their first league victory over Bulli since a 1-0 win back in August 2013.

The result sees the Foxes overtake Coniston to move into 9^th place, but with Coniston and South Coast United still due to play this round, Fernhill could end up dropping to 11^th depending on results. Meanwhile the defeat sees Bulli drop to fourth place for the moment – with Corrimal overtaking them by virtue of goal difference – but the defending champions could see a further drop with Port Kembla, Wollongong United, Albion Park White Eagles and Woonona FC all still yet to play this round.

Fernhill will not be back in action until April 27, when the side will play host to Port Kembla at Ray Robinson Field while Bulli will also return to action next week, travelling to Crehan Park to take on Cringila Lions as they look to return to winning ways.

Thursday 18 April 2019 at Balls Paddock, Woonona

Bulli FC – 0

Fernhill FC – 1 (Ogawa 60’)

Bulli FC: Yuya KUWADA, Kenji TAKAHASHI, Aaron BAKER, Kyle JACKSON, Rui KAMADA, Ryan EMERTON, Sam DAVIES, Mitchell DEL TURCO, Mitchell TURNER, Brendan PATTMAN, Ben MCDONALD

Subs: Kyle HAZEBROEK-SOUTHGATE (TURNER 45’), Blake HEWSON (KAMADA 78’), Trent SIERRA (EMERTON 65’), Braeden KLUDASS, Sam MIRANDA

Fernhill FC: Bryce DAENELL, Rhys WILSON, Rob WATSON, Kurt FOULGER, Tatsurori NAKAGAWA, James KERR, Elias AYOUB, Ben RIACH, Alexander ROOKE, Blake FRIEDRICH, Jordan HUGHES

Subs: Alexander JOSIPOVIC, Thomas POTTS, Yoji OGAWA (RIACH 57’), Liam CHILTON (ROOKE 85’), Dean MOROSIN (FRIEDRICH 79’)

Referee – Blake HERBERT

Assistant Referees – Joshua SPAIR and Jai RUSSELL

Report by Cal Behrendt, on Twitter @CalBehrendt