Wollongong United have snapped a six-match winless streak to remain within one point of returning to the Illawarra Mercury Premier League top five, with the side prevailing 2-1 over Tarrawanna Blueys at Macedonia Park on Saturday. In a match preceded by a special Welcome to Country ceremony as part of NAIDOC Week, United nabbed the three points in extremely windy conditions after goals from Hikaru Kawasakiya and Maty Brennan sent the hosts two goals up in the space of three minutes. While Tarrawanna pulled a goal back via Sam Munro, the side was unable to find an all-important equalizer, with Wollongong United holding on for their first win since Round 9.

Tarrawanna entered the fixture hoping to beat Wollongong United for the second time this campaign – having beaten the side 2-0 back in Round 6 – but the hosts made the brighter start to the fixture, with the side missing an early chance to take the lead in the 9^th minute after a Shane Murray through ball found Naoki Ogawa down the right-hand side of the Blueys box, but the Japanese forward was unable to open the scoring, slicing his strike across the face of goal.

The visitors had good chances of their own in the opening exchanges, with the side coming close to taking the lead in the 23^rd minute after a cross from Keisuke Hayashi out on the left-hand flank found Benjamin Learmonth near the far post. Learmonth was able to craft a volleyed effort out of Hayashi’s cross, but Learmonth was unable to direct his effort goalward – instead powering the ball over the crossbar.

Neither side had many meaningful chances in the opening half, with Wollongong United coming the closest to scoring in the 32^nd minute after a cross into the box from Kane Wright found Maty Brennan. However, Brennan was unable to work his effort past Tarrawanna shot-stopper Adam Rodriguez, who pushed away the attempt and ensured both sides headed into the half-time break on level terms.

Despite a relatively quiet first half, the match exploded into life in the 53^rd minute after Wollongong United’s Naoki Ogawa spun a ball out wide to Jake Leighton down the right-hand flank, allowing Leighton to curl in a cross directed at Hikaru Kawasakiya. Kawasakiya rose and met the ball with ease, but his header was denied by a fantastic reflex save from Tarrawanna gloveman Adam Rodriguez. However, Rodriguez was only able to push the ball back into the path of United forward, with Kawasakiya managing to nod his second attempt past Rodriguez and into the back of the net.

The hosts doubled their advantage three minutes later after a quick break out right found Maty Brennan in the Tarrawanna box. Brennan made no mistake of the opportunity, sliding his shot past a diving Rodriguez and into the bottom-left corner to extend Wollongong United’s lead.

Having to quickly recover from the shock of going two goals down in a matter of minutes, Tarrawanna responded in style, pulling a goal back in the 58^th minute after Rick Goodchild managed to hold off a Wollongong United defender and send a low centered ball into the box. Goodchild’s cross failed to find Keisuke Hayashi – who just missed the ball as it skimmed past him – but instead found an unmarked Sam Munro who was charging into the box. Munro made no hesitation with his shot, smacking the ball past United keeper Blake Coad and into the back of the net to cut the hosts’ lead to one goal.

As Tarrawanna searched for an equalizer, the side almost made things harder for themselves in the 63^rd minute after Matthew Naylor failed to properly play at a ball in the Tarrawanna backline, instead mis-hitting the ball into open space. Wollongong United’s Matthew McNab was able to quickly pounce on the loose ball and fire an effort goal-ward, but McNab was denied thanks to a great stop from Tarrawanna’s Adam Rodriguez, who quickly cut out the play and kept the hosts’ lead at only one goal.

With the Blueys stepping up their attacking attempts in search of an equalizer, Wollongong United opted to send probing balls forward in an attempt to catch out the defence and this tactic almost paid off in the 77^th minute after a quick through ball found Naoki Ogawa in the middle of the park. Ogawa cut out right, beating the chasing Tarrawanna defenders before sliding a shot past Adam Rodriguez. However, Ogawa was unable to restore the hosts’ two goal advantage, with his shot denied by the left-hand post.

Despite consistent attacking pressure in the finals moments of the match from Tarrawanna, it was Wollongong United who had the last major chance of the game in the 87^th minute, with a bursting Naoki Ogawa run down the left-hand side of the field leading to a cross that found the head of Hikaru Kawasakiya. However, Kawasakiya was unable to double his afternoon’s tally – nodding his effort wide of goal and ensuring that United only picked up a 2-1 victory.

The win means Wollongong United maintains their place on the ladder, with the three points keeping them within one point of fifth-placed Woonona but also moving the side within a point of Tarrawanna. Oli Vrtkovski’s side will attempt to move into the top five on Tuesday evening when they host Woonona in their rescheduled Round 15 clash at Macedonia Park.

Meanwhile, the loss means the Blueys miss the chance to advance on the top three, with the side now at risk of dropping out of the top five after other chasing sides like Woonona, Port Kembla and Bulli all picked up wins on Saturday. Tarrawanna’s attention will now turn to the Bert Bampton Cup, where the side takes on league-leaders Wollongong Olympic on Tuesday night at Ray Robinson Field in the Semi-Final as they attempt to reach their first Bert Bampton Cup final since 2013.

Saturday 13 July 2019 at Macedonia Park, Berkeley

Wollongong United – 2 (Kawasakiya 53’, Brennan 56’)

Tarrawanna SC – 1 (Munro 58’)

Wollongong United: Blake COAD, Maty BRENNAN, Hikaru KAWASAKIYA, Zac MCLAREN, Matthew MCNAB, James O’ROURKE, Billy TSOVOLOS, Kane WRIGHT, Jake LEIGHTON, Shane MURRAY, Naoki OGAWA

Subs: Ben BROOKS (OGAWA 90+3’), Deegan HUNTER (KAWASAKIYA 90+5’), Nick HIGH, Elisseo CHIODI (MCNAB 90+2’), Zak BEDELOVSKI

Tarrawanna SC: Adam RODRIGUEZ, Matthew NAYLOR, Haydyn LLOYD, Michael ROBINSON, Daniel CHAPMAN, Mitchell FERRARO, Benjamin LEARMONTH, Sam MUNRO, Nicolas TOMASIELLO, Rick GOODCHILD, Keisuke HAYASHI

Subs: Caleb GRACE (LEARMONTH 69’), Christian CABO (HAYASHI 83’), Liam THOMAS, Jackson DENT (NAYLOR 89’), Kaydin HARRISON

Referee – Peter ILCEVSKI

Assistant Referees – Steven BOZIC and Jackson COCKS

Report by Cal Behrendt, on Twitter @CalBehrendt

Photo courtesy of Dana Guthrie