Woonona made it five Illawarra Mercury Premier League wins in a row with a 3-0 victory against local rivals Bulli at Balls Paddock on Saturday afternoon. The visitors opened their account midway through the first half when Corey Haines-Grose fired home following a set piece situation. This was doubled just before the half-time break when a Haines-Grose freekick dropped to Luke McCosker who was able to bundle it home. The Sharks claimed their third just before the hour mark, with Haines-Grose again causing problems from a set piece, firing a freekick from a tight angle into the top corner.

Woonona came into the match searching for their first league win over Bulli in five years and Corey Haines-Grose got the Sharks started in the fifth minute when he drove down the left-hand side before powering a strike out of play and into the side netting. Haines-Grose was involved again down the left-hand side in the 14th minute when his left-footed cross just evaded Jarred Morley at the back post.

However, the Sharks did not have to wait much longer to take the lead, opening the scoring in the 24th minute after a corner from the right-hand side dropped to Haines-Grose, with the ex-Thirroul forward lashing a strike into the back of the net. Bulli responded to the visitors’ early pressure three minutes later as Brendan Pattman showed some great skill, flicking the ball over the head of his opponent. Pattman let the ball drop before volleying it, unfortunately for him, flying well clear of the crossbar. He followed this up in the 30th minute with another shot but again it only found the trees behind the goal.

After this early flourish of chances, the game experienced a dry spell with neither side creating many openings. However, this spell ended just before the break when the Sharks doubled their lead. Haines-Grose delivered a freekick towards the back post prompting Bulli custodian Yuya Kawada to come and attempt to punch the ball away. However, Kawada’s punch only went as far as Woonona’s Luke McCosker, who managed to knock the ball over the line.

Woonona would’ve been happy with their performance in the first half - going into the sheds at half-time with a two-goal advantage, while Bulli would need to have a much better showing in the second half if they were to get back into the fixture.

There were no signs of complacency from the Sharks in the early exchanges of the second period with Haines-Grose continuing to be a menace down the left-hand side of the field. In the 58th minute, he delivered another deadly freekick as the Sharks added their third goal of the afternoon. Shooting from a tight angle on the right-hand side of the park, Haines-Grose powered his strike across goal and into the left-hand corner of the net, leaving Kawada helpless in the Bulli goal.

Bulli began to retain control of the ball after the hour mark - holding it in areas closer to the Woonona goal. In the 61st minute, Blake Hewson was slipped in behind the Sharks’ defence but he was unable to lob the ball over the onrushing Ben Wunsch, seeing his effort drift wide of the far post. Nine minutes later, the hosts created another opening when Mitchell Del Turco took aim from long range, but his curled effort dipped just over the crossbar.

Bulli created their best chance of the match in the 76th minute when a short corner caught Woonona napping. Aaron Baker received a shooting opportunity, but he dragged his right-footed strike wide of the bottom left corner. 

In the dying embers of the game, Bulli’s Ryan Emerton was dismissed for two cautionable offences, but the Sharks were unable to take advantage of the extra man, seeing the game out and securing a 3-0 victory.

Bulli were unable to create a consistent flow of chances in the game, but when those opportunities did arise, they were unable to make the most of them. The hosts now sit five points behind their opponents in fourth position and three points adrift of a finals place. Next up for Matt Bailey’s side is a trip to bottom-placed South Coast United before returning to Balls Paddock to face Tarrawanna who currently occupy fifth position.

Woonona, meanwhile, will be delighted with yet another victory seeing them generate a four-point buffer between themselves and Wollongong United in sixth. Coach Dan McGoldrick singled out praise for Corey Haines-Grose saying; ‘He’s a danger - a threat every time he gets the ball’.

The Sharks have a difficult fixture list coming up, facing three of last season’s top five starting with Port Kembla at Ocean Park next week. McGoldrick spoke of the challenge that Port will provide, noting; ‘They’re a tough side, we got beaten by them in the (Bert) Bampton Cup and a very tight win in the first round so I’m not taking anything for granted. I think Steve (Dimitrevski) has got them drilled well, they’re a solid side, we need to perform like we did today’. McGoldrick also spoke about his side’s recent purple patch with the Sharks earning five wins in a row stating: ‘We’ve stopped turning the ball over as much and we’re holding better possession’.  

 

Full interview with Dan McGouldrick | http://bit.ly/2XOKSrT

 

Saturday 15 June 2019 at Balls Paddock, Woonona

Bulli - 0

Woonona 3 - (Haines-Grose 24’, 58’, McCosker 45’)

 

Bulli FC: Yuya KAWADA, Rui KAMADA, Kenji TAKAHASHI, Aaron BAKER, Blake HEWSON, Ryan EMERTON, Sam DAVIES, Trent SIERRA, Brendan PATTMAN, Mitchell DEL TURCO, Luke FOSTER

Substitutes: Kyle HAZEBROEK-SOUTHGATE (SIERRA), Sam MIRANDA (HEWSON), Samuel LENDRUM, Joshua DAY (KAMADA), Ben MCGINNES

 

Woonona Sharks: Ben WUNSCH, Tyren MACLOU, Jeremy LOPEZ, Christopher GIBSON, Khalid ALALI, Kota ODAKURA, Jesse FRENCH, Tyler BROMHAM-FULLER, Luke MCCOSKER, Corey HAINES-GROSE, Jarred MORLEY

Substitutes: Jai MELLOR (FRENCH), Toya HIDAKA (MORLEY), Tyler SNELGROVE, Damien GREW (HAINES-GROSE), Chris WEARING

 

Referee: Jarrod THOMPSON

Assistant Referees: Reece EDWARDS and Caleb BLANCH

Report by Timothy Gibson, on Twitter @Timg123_

Photo by Pedro Garcia