It was an action-packed match at Thomas Gibson park on Saturday although the results however proved to be very one sided. Thirroul managed to score three in the last 30 minutes of the match courtesy of Jonathon De Lyall and a Robert Gyngell double. Shell Cove created as many chances as Thirroul throughout the first half of the match however they were error riddled and that perhaps in the end was the difference.

 

The first real highlight occurred in the 7^th minute when a Shell Cove corner was headed agonisingly wide. Moments later, Thirroul’s Nathan Mucci whipped in a great low cross into Ryan Latini who was crowded by three defenders, yet he managed to be first to the ball only to see it slip by the wrong side of the post.

 

The game then went into a lull but is came to life in the 40^th minute when Gyngell was taken out in the box for a penalty. Nathan Mucci stepped up however the shot was well read by Shell cove keeper Brandon Groom who pulled off a stunning save to keep the game level and scoreless going into the break.

 

Thirroul looked like they would get an early second half break through when Joel Mucci was on the receiving end of a poor clearance from Shell Cove however with the goal at his mercy, Mucci’s shot looked destined to sneak inside the post however Groom once again came to Shell Cove’s rescue with a fine stop.

 

Neither side looked to be settling for a draw as the game opened up more and more as the half worse on.

 

Thirroul thought they had scored when after 69 minutes, a wonderfully floated corner looked to be bundled over the line however the referee found an earlier infringement that negated the goal cutting short the Thirroul celebrations.

 

Heading into the last quarter of the match, it was clear that Thirroul looked to be the hungrier of the two sides.

 

Groom was having a strong game for Shell Cove however his loose clearance led to the opening game. Joshua Hutton incepting Grooms mishit before cutting across to Nathan Mucci who in turn squared it to Gyngell to place a well composed shot into the back of the net on 70 minutes.

 

Shell Cove looked to strike back straight away and when Daniel Toskoski broke through, some good scrambling defence from Thirroul was on hand to clear the danger.

 

The game started to heat up towards the end and some over exuberance led to Shell Cove’s Shayne Ardle being sent off. Shell Cove were now down to 10 men and a goal down.

 

Gyngell scored his second in the 81^st minute and looked to have sealed the match after Groom fumbled a shot on target. Gyngell stole the ball inside the 6-yard box blasting it into the back of the net making it 2-0 with 10 to go.

 

Shell Cove were now at six’s and seven’s as further loose possession looked to have gifted Thirroul a third but Nathan Mucci’s chip narrowly missed with Groom stranded.

 

Thirroul’s persistence was not to be denied as Oscar Pruk’s shot from outside the box beat Groom but not the post. The rebound off the post fell nicely to the feet of substitute De Lyall who comfortably finished from close range.

 

 

 

Saturday 22^nd June @Thomas Gibson park, Thirroul

 

Thirroul Thunder FC- 3 (GYNGELL 70’ 81’, DELYALL 88’)

 

Shell Cove FC- 0

 

Thirroul Thunder FC- Liam HARRIS, Joel MUCCI, Hayden SWEENEY, James HUTTON, Alan MADDOCK, Angus NICOL, Ryan LATINI, Todd DAVIDSON, Robert GYNGELL, Nathan MUCCI, Daniel ARTHUR – Subs- Joshua HUTTON, Cooper BRINDLE, Oscar PRUKS, Jonathon DE’LYALL, Tyler ADAMS.

 

Shell Cove FC - Brandon GROOM, Hayden BERKELEY, Elliot GURNER, Shayne ARDLE, Filip ANGELESKI, Goran NIKOLOVSKI, Nikola RUSIC, Marko BUBANJA, Atanas SIMONOVSKI, Daniel TOSKOSKI, Alexander ANGELKOSKI – Subs – Ben EAGLETIN, Dusan KOLONJA, Vasko PETKUCEVSKI, Andrew SOUSA, Tristan AGOSTINI.

 

 

 

Referee- Mick Agim

 

Assistant Referee- Italo Roncato

 

Report by Tim Dixon, on Twitter @Tim_Dixon_

 

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