Bulli have claimed their second Bert Bampton Cup in three years with a slim 1-0 victory over Wollongong Olympic at JJ Kelly Park on Saturday afternoon. The only goal of the encounter came through Mitchell Delturco, who drove a well-placed finish into the far corner at the half-hour mark.

The possibility of adding a second trophy to their 2019 campaign inspired a fast start from Wollongong Olympic. This resulted in an opportunity in the 3rd minute when Kojiro Hori showed great skill to beat his man on the right-hand side, allowing him to stand up a ball directed at the back post. However, Hori’s intended target, Julian Minutillo, was unable to make a meaningful connection with the ball, sending it behind for a goal kick.

Two minutes later, Olympic threatened from the other side with Ikumi Saito driving a ball towards the penalty spot, prompting Bulli keeper Yuya Kuwada to punch the ball away from the danger area.

The pinnacle of Olympic’s early pressure came in the tenth minute. Yusuke Ueda found Kojiro Hori on the right-hand side who was then able to drill a ball towards the foot of Brendan Fordham in the box. However, the Olympic captain was unable to find the net, with the ball striking his stationary foot, giving the Bulli defence enough time to clear their lines.

After the ten minute mark, Bulli started to hold the ball in better areas, allowing them to make their way up the field. In the 13th minute, some positive build-up from Bulli allowed Blake Hewson to slip in behind the right-hand side of the Olympic backline. However, his shot flew well over the bar due to the tight angle of the chance.

Bulli’s continued pressure created another chance seven minutes later as Luke Foster whipped a dangerous ball from the left-hand side of the park, worrying Olympic keeper Hayden Durose but the ball narrowly missed the goal, with the effort landing on the roof of the net.

Olympic responded to this pressure in the 23rd minute through Brendan Fordham who was able to make space for a shot 25 metres from goal. However, his strike rolled into the arms of Kuwada.

Five minutes later, the League Championship winners showed attacking potential once again. This time, a switch of play from Fordham found Minutillo on the left-hand side. Minutillo acknowledged an overlapping run from Saito, setting the fullback through into a one-on-one with the keeper, but his tight-angled attempt ended up wide of goal.

Olympic would be left to rue missed opportunities after Bulli found the first goal of the encounter in the 30th minute. Mitchell Delturco made his way into the box on the right-hand side and created a shooting opportunity, placing a finish just out of the reach of Hayden Durose and into the far corner.

Olympic went in search of an equaliser before the break, creating an opening in the 37th minute. Kojiro Hori again found space on the right-hand side and whipped a ball into the path of Julian Minutillo inside the box, but Minutillo could only head the ball off target.

A minute later, Bulli’s Delturco had a chance to double his side’s lead when Blake Hewson played a ball into his feet at the top of the box, but the goal scorer curled his shot just over the top of the goal.

Bulli went into the break with a narrow one-goal lead. Both sides had created plenty of opportunities in the opening half, contributing to an intriguing spectacle at JJ Kelly Park. Olympic would need to put more pressure on the Bulli defence in the second period if they were to find a route back into the game.

It was Bulli who had the better start to the second period, creating an opening just a minute in. Brendan Pattman was able to dig out a cross on the right-hand side which met Blake Hewson at the back post. However, his goalward touch was saved by Durose, who confidently blocked the effort at his near post. Bulli quickly regained possession, however, with the ball finding its way to Sam Davies at the edge of the box, but his effort dribbled into the gloves of Durose.

A minute later, a loose Olympic ball allowed Bulli to storm forward again. This time, Blake Hewson ran at the Olympic defence, taking the ball inside and curling a shot just wide of the far post.

From the resulting goal kick, Olympic promptly moved the ball up the field, ending with substitute Jamie Wakeling scooping a strike from inside the box over the bar. This was the start of a good spell for the side, with a corner a minute later finding its way to the left-hand edge of the box, where Mark Every headed the ball to Joey Lavalle. However, Lavalle’s shot failed to trouble Yuya Kuwada, with the Bulli custodian holding onto the strike.

In the 61st minute, Olympic’s attempt to pull back into the match suffered a significant blow after captain Brendan Fordham received his marching orders for picking up two yellow cards.

The dismissal allowed Bulli to take the initiative, streaming several players forward. This prompted a chance in the 73rd minute when a corner on the right-hand side found Kyle Jackson, but Jackson was unable to double Bulli’s lead, flicking his header onto the crossbar.

Heading into the final 15 minutes, Olympic had to push men forward to find an equaliser, leaving the side with large gaps in their backline. Bulli capitalised on this in the 74th minute when Delturco was played through into a face-to-face with Durose. However, Delturco was brought down by a Mark Every challenge, with the Olympic defender receiving a red card for the challenge.

Despite Olympic’s two-man disadvantage, the side were still managing to create chances. Ikumi Saito had a strong chance in the 80th minute after he leathered a freekick from near the halfway line towards goal, forcing Kuwada to acrobatically tip the ball over the bar.

With just a minute of regular time to play, Olympic were still in search of an equaliser, with the side awarded a late freekick in front of goal on the edge of the box. Saito stepped up and curled a strike narrowly wide of goal, with the ball bouncing off the supporting pole behind the goal.

Olympic thought they had found a dramatic leveller in the 90th minute when a Saito long ball found Vaughan Patterson who was able to head the ball towards Yusuke Ueda on the left-hand side of the box. Ueda turned well and lashed a strike at goal, with his effort scraping just wide of the far post.

In the dying embers of the match, Bulli had one final chance to extend their lead after substitute Sam Miranda showed great skill to get around Olympic’s Ikumi Saito on the right-hand side of the park. However, Miranda was unable to grab a late goal, curling his effort into the post and out of play, ensuring the final result was a 1-0 victory for Bulli.

It is a return to league fixtures for both these sides next week with Wollongong Olympic playing host to Port Kembla while Bulli face a trip to Coniston.

 

Saturday 10th August 2019 @ JJ Kelly Park Coniston

Wollongong Olympic - 0

Bulli - 1 (Delturco 30’)

 

Wollongong Olympic: Hayden DUROSE, Kojiro HORI, Jack KEATING, Mark EVERY, Ikumi SAITO, Vaughan PATTERSON, Peter PRANDALOS, Brendan FORDHAM, Joey LAVALLE, Julian MINUTILLO, Yusuke UEDA

Substitutes: James KERR, Jack BALMFORTH, Jamie WAKELING, Ekoue D’ALMEDIA, Christian PRETTO

 

Bulli FC: Yuya KUWADA, Kyle JACKSON, Rui KAMADA, Luke FOSTER, Kenji TAKAHASHI, Ryan EMERTON, Sam DAVIES, Blake HEWSON, Brendan PATTMAN, Ben MCDONALD, Mitchell DELTURCO

Substitutes: Trent SIERRA, Sam MIRANDA, Kye FOSTER, Max ASHTON, Ben MCGINNES

 

Referee: Steven BOZIC

Assistant Referees: Caleb BLANCH and Blake HERBERT

Fourth Official: Bobby MAZEVSKI

 

Report by Timothy Gibson, on Twitter @Timg123_

Photos courtesy of Pedro Garcia