In a match with major ramifications for the Illawarra Premier League, South Coast United went one point closer to retaining their Illawarra Premier League status for season 2020, while Corrimal crashed out of the premiership race. The two dropped points by the Rangers, leaves them seven points behind leaders Wollongong Olympic, who have now secured their first title since 1994.

With three points crucial for both sides, there was no sign of early defensive conservatism as both sides went searching for an opener.

In only the second minute, Corrimal had their first good chance of the night as Van Elia chipped the ball over the South Coast defence into the path of Daniel Carreno, who forced goalkeeper, Jason Bleakley into making a good save.

In the fifth minute, South Coast would come close to scoring themselves when Chris Smith laid the ball off to youngster, Josh Hawker. Running onto the ball and hitting the ball first time, Hawker skewed his shot wide of the right-hand post.

With their first opportunity of the match going begging, South Coast's determination to score increased, as they became the aggressor over the next 20 minutes of the match.

Only two minutes later South Coast were in behind Corrimal again when Byungkuk Cho showed his class, playing a fifty-metre long ball straight to the feet of Chris Smith. Running at the Ranger defence, Smith waited for the perfect moment to slit a ball right into the path of his strike partner, Rickey Berkatis, whose venomous shot across to goal was parried away by Nic Loe.

Loe would prove why he is one of the best goalkeepers in the competition once again in the 15th minute, following a Hawker cross which was headed down by Bertakis towards Smith. Pivoting on his right foot, Smith hit the ball on the half volley with his left, only to be denied by Loe who expertly tipped it over the bar.

The resulting corner, though, would only result in more work for Loe when Bertakis played the ball along the ground to Yuya Kotaki, hovering on the edge of the area. Kotaki caught the ball well, as it travelled quickly towards the goalkeeper who pushed the ball away only to find the feet of Tomi Skara. Skara would force the ball to the busy Loe to parry the ball to South Coast feet again. However, this time he would not be troubled, as Dion Sterjovski hit the ball not just over the crossbar of the goal, but the crossbar of the giant fence looming over Ian McLennan Park.

However, in the 24th minute, United's seeming grip on the first half loosened when Van Elia chested the ball down to Carreno on the edge of the six-yard box. However, the number 9 failed to make adequate contact with the ball, giving Chris Valic time to get to the ball and heave it clear.

Two minutes later, Corrimal would let South Coast off the hook again when Van Elia coughed up a simple chance to take the lead having. Having saved a Ben Zucco effort from outside the box, Jason Bleakley palmed the ball straight down to Elia. Yet, very uncharacteristic of the league's leading goal scorer, he only managed to get the slightest of touches on the ball to avoid completing missing the ball allowing Bleakley to regather it easily.

Elia's howler went onto haunt Corrimal, when United took the lead in the 40th minute following a good passage of attacking play, beginning with a pin-point Rickey Bertakis free-kick. Finding the head of one of his teammates, Loe was forced to tip the ball over the bar once again. However, this would only lead to a United corner which was cannoned into the back of the net by the head of Byungkuk Cho.

South Coast faced a challenging eight minutes, to take their lead into the break as Corrimal pressed for a quick equaliser. In the 41st minute, Corrimal nearly scored straight from the kickoff when Matthew Galanti was played into the box. However, in an attempt to find the far bottom corner, he flashed his shot straight across the goal. While in the third minute of stoppage time, Bleakley pulled off another fantastic saved deny a Galanti header from close range seconds before the half time whistle blew.

While the first half was an entertaining and free-flowing affair, the second was a much more physical contest as tempers flared on both sides.

During the opening minutes of the second half, it was clear that Corrimal had now taken the ascendency and they were rewarded for their dominance in the 67th minute when Van Elia made up for his earlier miss. It was certainly not his most spectacular goal of the campaign but one of his most important, when he poked the ball over the line following a few fortunate rebounds off South Coast defenders and the goalpost to keep Corrimal in the premiership race.

Three minutes later, Corrimal's star-import Tomoki Wada ran onto a ball whipped into the box. However, he failed to capitalise on the opportunity to put his side into the lead as he hit the ball well over the crossbar.

It wouldn't take too much longer though for Corrimal to have the ball in the back of the net once again when Bleakley fumbled an Alvin Ceccoli cross in the 77th minute. However, it was clear that Bleakley had been pushed in the back and the goal was disallowed.

The final genuine chance of the match would come in the 80th minute when the ball was cut back to Van Elia on the penalty spot. With time on the ball, Elia took a few touches to line up his shot. However, he arguably held onto it for too long as he could only manage to hit the ball wide when the South Coast defence charged towards him.

Just as the game seemed to peter out into a stalemate, a freak moment nearly gifted Corrimal victory. Having won a corner, Corrimal whipped in a cross that was claimed by Bleakley. However, Bleakley, appearing to have been nudged by a Ranger's attacker, was flipped mid-air and consequently lost control of the ball. No foul was called as the ball flew goalward. The crossbar, though, would come to United's aid to secure the draw, marking South Coast's ninth match undefeated.

It's been a quite remarkable turnaround for Greg Valic's side, who, having not won a game in the first eleven rounds, have potentially secured safety with two rounds to go. They'll know whether they will still be playing for survival next round against Woonona, following the Fernhill vs Coniston fixture.

Meanwhile, for Corrimal, they will be disappointed to have relinquished the opportunity to win the league. However, their season is far from over yet. They will now their attention to the impending finals series, where they will have a genuine belief that they can take out the Championship.

3^rd August 2019 @ Ian McLennan Park

South Coast United – 1 (Cho 40’)

Corrimal Rangers – 1 (Elia 67’)

South Coast United – Jason BLEAKLEY, Chris VALIC, Greg VALIC, Tomi SKARA, Ricky BERTAKIS, Josh HAWKER, Kolan HMDA, Yuya KOTAKI, Byungkuk CHO, Dion STERJOVSKI.

Substitutes – Anton BATUR (on for Bertakis), Mark VIDAIC (on for Hawker), Dylan MENA, Kieren BRODNIK (on for Vidaic), Declan WARD.

Corrimal – Nic LOE, Jason ZUFIC, Alvin CECCOLI, Paul GUIDO, Banri KANAIZUMI, Matthew GALANTI, Ben ZUCCO, Tomoki WADA, Daniel CARRENO, Van ELIA, Tim WYLIE.

Substitutes – Dean PENDER (on for Carreno), Christian SAFFIOTI (on for Wylie), Jeremy FLANAGAN, Yanni MAVRIKIS.

Referee – Blake HERBERT

Assistants – Reagan STRONG, Patrick HUFTON

Report by Nic Wilson, on twitter @_nicwilson

Photo by Pedro Garcia