With Kiama and Warilla both out of finals contention heading into the last week of the season, pride was on the line on a Saturday afternoon blessed with perfect conditions for football.

The hosts, Kiama, didn’t look like adding to the five wins so far this season when they conceded in the fourth minute. Having received the ball in the box from out wide, Warilla’s Daniel Atkins created space for himself with some tidy footwork before tucking the ball into the back of the net past Kiama’s goalkeeper, Callum Crapp.

Kiama looked to hit back on the scoreboard quickly though when a deft past from midfield played Kyle Jelliffe through on goal in the 12^th minute. However, Jelliffe hit his shot straight at the keeper spurning a good opportunity for the Quarriers.

Three minutes later, Kiama came agonisingly close to scoring when Brad Hunter in the Warilla goals spilled a shot from Chris Christodoulou into the path of Kanata Kojo. Kojo, though, was denied the opportunity to poke the ball into the back of the net as Drew Shaw reached the ball first and cleared it away from danger.

The rest of the half ran its natural course until it burst back into life with two minutes remaining, with both teams having good chances to score before the break. In the 43^rd minute, Warilla appeared to have scored a second when Drew Shaw ran onto a free-kick floated into the area and sent a punishing header into the back of the net only to be adjudicated offside. A minute later, Kiama found themselves in the box when Jye Marks played Kojo through on goal. Aiming for the far post, Kojo's well-hit effort was saved by the outstretched arm of Hunter which triggered a counterattack where Adrian Montalbano was played in down the right-wing. Upon reaching the by-line, Montalbano cut the ball back to Martin Castelli whose shot towards the bottom left corner forced a diving save from Crapp as the half-time whistle blew.

The thrilling action would continue as soon as the second half began. Two minutes in, a Warilla free-kick caused chaos in the Kiama box as Callum Crapp was drawn out towards the ball but failed to get a glove on it leaving his goal exposed. His defenders though had him covered, miraculously clearing the ball off the line after multiple shots were fired on goal.

However, in the 58^th minute, the Kiama defence would not be able to prevent Jason Sauro from scoring when Jed French hit a ball across the face of goal. Receiving the ball at knee height, Sauro cushioned the ball with the inside of his left foot into the back of the net.

In the 73^rd minute, after setting up the last goal, French got himself on the scoresheet in act of bravery rather than skill. Running onto a long ball headed straight towards the goalkeeper, French got the slightest of touches with his head to tip the ball past Hunter before being cleaned up as the ball dribbled over the line.

Four minutes later though, a Warilla lapse of concentration in defence presented Kiama an opportunity to score. As a free-kick was floated into the area, Jye Marks was left unmarked and flicked a header past Hunter to reduce Kiama's deficit to two goals.

In the 83^rd minute, Kiama looked as though they had a chance to pull off an unlikely comeback when Tom Snow scored from a corner, however, poor communication when playing out from back three minutes later bought Kiama's dreams back to earth. A stray pass straight to Adrian Montalbano was duly accounted for by the Warilla forward. With Crapp caught stranded on the edge of his area, Montalbano had no problem blasting the ball past the hapless goalkeeper to wrap up all three points.

For Warilla they finish their season on a high but will still be disappointed with missing out on the finals having played in the grand final last season.

For Kiama, they finish the season with five wins, the same amount as last season. However, they will be disappointed that their defence let them down this season, as they finished with six fewer points than last.

24^th August @ Kiama Sporting Complex

Kiama – 2 (Marks 78’, Snow 83’)

Warilla – 4 (Atkins 4’, Sauro 58’, French 73’, Montalbano 85’)       

Kiama – Callum CRAPP, Matt HIRIART, Aaron BUZINKI, Dan GILLESPIE, Mitch GOWLAND, Jye MARKS, Tom SNOW, Shinya YAMANAKA, Kanata KOJO, Chris CHRISTOULOU, Kyle JELLIFFE.

Substitutes – Kane ROWE, Col STUDMAN, Jason PERINICH

Warilla – Brad HUNTER, Drew SHAW, Kallin JAMES, Brenton GERIBO, Chris WALKER, Marc LEE, Jack FOWLER, Daniel ATKINS, Jason SAURO, Adrian MONTALBANO, Martin CASTELLI.

Substitutes – Jed FRENCH, Eric CASTELLI, Damon GAVDIOSI

Report by Nic Wilson, on twitter @_nicwilson