Wollongong United have claimed some revenge for last season’s Illawarra Mercury Premier League Grand Final defeat after downing Bulli 1-0 at Balls Paddock on Saturday afternoon. A 6^th minute strike from United’s Billy Tsovolos was the only thing separating the two sides, with the victory seeing the side move back into the top five at the expense of Bulli.

Wollongong United handed Bulli their only defeat of their 2018 league campaign back in May with a 1-0 defeat but it was Bulli who claimed the last laugh in September, downing Wollongong United 3-2 to secure their first Illawarra Premier League Grand Final victory in 32 years. However, it appeared that Bulli fans might be in for a tough fixture from the start of the match, with the visitors finding the back of the net just six minutes in after a Shane Murray free-kick from the left hand side of the field skimmed through the box and found Billy Tsovolos, who was able to make the most of the loose ball and tap the ball past Bulli keeper Yuya Kuwada, giving Wollongong United an early lead.

Taken aback by the early goal, Bulli quickly attempted to push themselves back into the match and came close to levelling the scores in the 21^st minute after a Mitchell Del Turco free-kick found the head of Kyle Jackson in the United box. However, Jackson was unable to direct his effort goalward, nodding the ball just over the top of the visitors’ crossbar.

Wollongong United continued to put pressure on Bulli and the side almost doubled their lead six minutes later when a Shane Murray corner found the head of Hikaru Kawasakiya, but the Wollongong United forward was unable to find the back of the net, just sending his nodded effort left of the Bulli upright.

Bulli saw another chance go begging in the 42^nd minute after a quick ball from Ben McDonald found Mitchell Del Turco in the box. However, Del Turco mis-hit his effort, sending the ball wide of goal and ensuring that the visitors held the advantage going into the second period of play.

With the hosts needing a goal to pull themselves back into the match, Bulli came out for the second half firing and the side had a golden chance to level the scores in the 64^th minute when a cross from Aaron Baker found the head of Rui Kamada in the Wollongong United box. Kamada was able to direct his header past United custodian Sam Nastic but not past Wollongong United’s Hikaru Kawasakiya, who made a great goal-line clearance to keep the visitors in front and deny Bulli an equalizer.

Despite being under pressure from a game-chasing Bulli, Wollongong United still managed to heap the pressure on the defending league champions, with Matthew McNab coming close to doubling United’s lead in the 70^th minute after opting to shoot the ball from distance at the Bulli goal. McNab’s effort was a speculative one but not good enough to find the back of the net, with his shot flying wide of the right-hand post.

The visitors had another chance to extend their lead in the 74^th minute with a curling Shane Murray shot from the edge of the box, but the shot was unable to prove decisive, curling just over the top of the crossbar.

With the clock ticking down and the side still behind, Bulli had one final chance to wrestle a point from the grasp of Wollongong United in the second minute of stoppage time when Mitchell Del Turco had a shot at goal from the edge of the box. However, Del Turco’s strike blazed just over the top of the crossbar, handing Wollongong United all three points in a 1-0 win for the visitors.

The result means Wollongong United rise above Bulli on the table and into third place as of writing, but the side could slip to fourth if Port Kembla beat Cringila on Sunday. The side will have no time to rest however, with the side travelling to Elizabeth Park to take on Peoplecare District League leaders Bellambi in the 3^rd round of the Bert Bampton Cup on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Bulli drop to 8^th place as a result of the defeat, with Corrimal and Coniston overtaking Bulli as a result of victories on Saturday. Matt Bailey’s side will hope to immediately return to winning ways when the side travels to Ian McLennan Park on Tuesday evening to take on South Coast United in the 3^rd Round of the Bert Bampton Cup.

Saturday 11 May 2019 at Balls Paddock, Woonona

Bulli FC – 0

Wollongong United – 1 (Tsovolos 6’)

Bulli FC: Yuya KUWADA, Kyle JACKSON, Kenji TAKAHASHI, Aaron BAKER, Trent SIERRA, Sam DAVIES, Blake HEWSON, Ben MCDONALD, Mitchell DEL TURCO, Brendan PATTMAN, Rui KAMADA

Subs: Ryan EMERTON (PATTMAN 45’), Ben MCGINNES, Kyle HAZEBROEK-SOUTHGATE (DAVIES 71’), Luke TOOHEY, Sam LENDRUM (SIERRA 81’)

Wollongong United: Sam NASTIC, Matt GORDON, Hikaru KAWASAKIYA, Jake LEIGHTON, Zac MCLAREN, Matthew MCNAB, Shane MURRAY, James O’ROURKE, Billy TSOVOLOS, Kane WRIGHT, Naoki OGAWA

Subs: David ILIC (MURRAY 93’), Steven ILIC (MCNAB 89’), Andre DIAS (WRIGHT 66’), Jason NAUMOVSKI, Zak BEDELOVSKI

Referee – Bobby MAZEVSKI

Assistant Referees – Ben KEMP and Andrew MUIREHEAD

Report by Cal Behrendt, on Twitter @CalBehrendt

Photo courtesy of Dana Guthrie