Corrimal Rangers booked a date with Wollongong Olympic in the Major Semi-final after an impressive 2-0 victory over Albion Park White Eagles in the Qualifying Final at Balls Paddock on Sunday afternoon.

It took until just before the half-hour mark for the Rangers to open the scoring, with Tim Wylie leathering a strike into the top right-hand corner. Five minutes later, Corrimal had their second when a cross in from the right-hand side of the field met the head of Van Elia, who flicked the ball into the back of the net and secured the victory for the Rangers.

Corrimal set the tone for the affair early on, holding the lion's share of possession. This manifested in a chance in the seventh minute when Corrimal were awarded a freekick on the right-hand side of the park. Tomoki Wada stood over the ball and delivered a cross towards the back post, where Banri Kanaizumi narrowly missed his header - seeing the ball go behind for a goal kick. After this opportunity, there was a dry spell in the match, with neither side able to create anything of substance.

It took until the 21st minute before the Rangers created another opening. Again it was Wada causing trouble from a set-piece situation - this time on the left-hand side of the field. Wada took aim and cannoned a strike onto the near post with White Eagles custodian Bradley Jardine rooted to the spot.

Six minutes later, Albion Park came forward through their leading scorer Cameron Morgan. A ball lobbed forward over the Corrimal defence found Morgan who outmuscled Rangers defender Kanaizumi, however, he dragged his shot wide of the near post.

The Rangers’ attacking persistence saw them open the scoring just before the half-hour mark. A ball in from the right-hand side required Jardine to punch it away. His clearance, however, failed to clear the box, with the ball falling to Tim Wylie who lashed his strike into the vacant net.

Five minutes later, the Rangers’ doubled their lead. Again, a cross from the right-hand side caused problems for the White Eagles in the box. On this occasion, it was Sam Matthews who delivered a ball into the box, finding Van Elia - who made no mistake with the chance, flicking his effort into the far corner of the goal.

The concession of the second goal for the White Eagles woke the side up, resulting in the best their spell of possession so far and creating a chance in the 39th minute after Joel Beattie managed to make the most of several deflections and bring the ball into the box. Despite this, Beattie saw his shot parried away, but only into the path of Valentino Merxhushi, whose strike was cleared off the line.

Albion Park were unable to breach the Rangers’ defence in the final five minutes of the first half, with Corrimal heading into the sheds at the break with a two-goal lead.

Albion Park had the better start to the second period out of the two sides, resulting in an opening in the 48th minute. Cody Wehmeyer played a smart reverse ball into the path of Cody Waller down the left-hand channel. Waller shifted the ball inside onto his right foot and took aim at goal, but the strike was of no threat to Corrimal gloveman Nic Loe, with the ball sailing well over the crossbar.

Albion Park’s pressure continued and in the 61st minute, the side was awarded a freekick on the left-hand side of the field. Cameron Morgan stepped up and whipped the ball just over the crossbar, much to the relief of Loe.

Corrimal quickly got things moving from the resulting goal kick, with Van Elia flicking the ball into the right-hand channel towards Jason Zufic. Zufic ran towards goal, moving the ball onto his right-hand side and prompting an important save from Jardine, who had to palm it away for a corner.

The next 25 minutes saw neither side take the initiative, with the game descending into a scrappy affair. It took until the 85th minute for either side to create anything further of substance. Corrimal’s Ben Zucco won a freekick on the edge of the right-hand side of the box, presenting the Rangers with an opportunity to put the game beyond all doubt. Wada directed his effort towards the near post, but White Eagles keeper Brad Jardine was equal to it, putting the ball behind for a corner.

Two minutes later, Corrimal were awarded another freekick on the right-hand side but from a much tighter angle. Zucco took responsibility for the kick and powered a strike into the crossbar.

The final few minutes saw an aerial barrage from the White Eagles with crosses being put in from both flanks, but the Rangers stood strong and held on to secure a clash with Wollongong Olympic for a place in the grand final.

This was the first time Corrimal had beaten the White Eagles this season, highlighting a significant improvement from Rob Jonoski’s side. The Rangers will have confidence heading into the Major Semi-Final against Wollongong Olympic next week, having got over the League Championship winners in the Fraternity Club Preseason Cup semi-final earlier this season with a convincing 3-0 victory as well as a 1-0 victory in Round Four.

Albion Park will be disappointed with the way they performed in the match, failing to create a consistent flow of chances. The White Eagles will now face a meeting with Tarrawanna next week in the Minor Semi-Final. The Blueys have a mixed record against Paul Carter’s side picking up a 5-0 win in Round Nine before falling to a 4-1 defeat in Round 20. 

 

Sunday 1 September @ Balls Paddock, Woonona

Albion Park White Eagles - 0

Corrimal Rangers - 2 (Wylie 29’, Elia 34’)

 

Albion Park White Eagles: Bradley JARDINE, Eiki FUKUSHIGE, Valentino MERXHUSHI, Kyle SENIOR, Christopher NATHANIEL, Cody WALLER, Robert DELBANCO, Cody WEHMEYER, Araki MAOMICHI, Joel BEATTIE, Cameron MORGAN

Substitutes: Yuki UNO (MERXHUSHI), Oliver CARRASCO (WALLER), Rene VESCIO, Luke DEBROT, Jacob HUFTON

 

Corrimal Rangers: Nikolas LOE, Dean PENDER, Jason ZUFIC, Alvin CECCOLI, Ben ZUCCO, Banri KANAIZUMI, Lukas STERGIOU, Tomoki WADA, Sam MATTHEWS, Van ELIA, Tim WYLIE

Substitutes: Matthew GALANTI (MATTHEWS), Paul GUIDO (WYLIE), Jeremy FLANAGAN (STERGIOU), James WALKER, David ZUFIC

 

Referee: Steven BOZIC

Assistant Referees: Greg REID and Patrick HUTTON

Fourth Official: Peter ILCEVSKI

 

Report by Timothy Gibson, on Twitter @Timg123_

Photo courtesy opf Kiah Hufton