Corrimal Rangers secured a historic comeback victory against Wollongong Olympic in the Illawarra Premier League Grand Final with a 2-1 at WIN Stadium on Sunday afternoon.  The League Champions had the lead within the opening minute when a Nic Loe slip meant Jason Minutillo was able to tap a loose ball home. The Rangers equalised midway through the first half when Paul Guido lashed one into the roof of the net before Van Elia converted from the spot later in the half to seal the victory for the side in their first Grand Final victory in 46 years.

It was a perfect start for Olympic, taking the lead after just 45 seconds. A ball lofted forwards looked a simple task for Corrimal keeper Nic Loe to clear, but a slip at the vital moment presented Julian Minutillo with an opportunity to pass the ball into the vacant net. After this early goal action, the game settled down with both sides feeling their way into the match.

The League Championship winners created a chance in the 21st minute when Kojiro Hori delivered a cross in from the right-hand side to the back post where Yusuke Ueda was unable to direct his header on target - with the ball going behind for a goal kick. Two minutes later, the Rangers created an opening of their own after Tomoki Wada picked the ball up inside the box on the left-hand side. Wada was able to lift a ball into the area for Van Elia, who moved the ball onto Tim Wylie who cannoned a shot off the crossbar.

However, a freekick was awarded to Olympic due to a foul being committed in the buildup. From the freekick, Olympic pushed the ball upfield with a direct long pass from Brendan Fordham falling to the feet of John Martinoski. However, Martinoski was unable to get past Banri Kanaizumi, with the defender putting the ball behind for a corner kick.

Two minutes later, Corrimal found the equaliser thanks to a powerful throw-in from the left-hand side of the field which dropped to Paul Guido in the box. Guido made no mistake with the chance, rifling a shot into the roof of the near side of the net and pulling the scores level.

Corrimal - now with their tails up after finding the equaliser - continued pushing forwards and in the 29th minute, the side came close to taking the lead after Lukas Stergiou was given space 30 meters out from goal. Stergiou managed to hammer an effort goalwards but his attempt just missed the far post.

Olympic responded to this spell of pressure from the Rangers by carving an opening of their own in the 35th minute. A hopeful ball forward found its way to Julian Minutillo in the right-hand channel, with Minutillo powering towards the Corrimal defence before eventually shooting goalwards; however, his shot was deflected out for a corner.

From the corner, the Rangers cleared their lines, with the ball ending up at the feet of Van Elia on the left-hand side near the touchline. Elia drove towards goal, leaving Mark Every in his dust before being tripped over inside the box - giving Corrimal a penalty. Elia stepped up and calmly passed the ball into the bottom right-hand side of the net, with Olympic gloveman Hayden Durose diving the wrong way.

The Rangers couldn’t have had a worse start to the game going down a goal within the first minute. However, the side fought their way back into the game and found themselves going into the sheds with a one-goal advantage.

The beginning of the second half saw a chance-shy period in the match, with both sides unable to create any real threatening opportunities. The 57th minute saw Olympic muster up one of their first menacing attacks of the second half. A corner on the right-hand side from Ikumi Saito returned right back to the fullback, with his second cross into the box dropping to Martinoski on the edge of the box. Martinoski was quickly able to shift it on to Kojiro Hori, who moved the ball onto his right foot and powered a strike just wide of the near post.

From the resulting goal kick, the Rangers moved the ball up the field, with Tim Wylie picking it up on the edge of the box. His first-touch lay-off presented Sam Matthews with an opening to volley towards goal, but the shot was straight at Durose, who held onto the shot.

The end-to-end football continued with Olympic being awarded a freekick on the left-hand side of the field just inside the Rangers’ half a minute later. Saito delivered an out-swinging ball into the box, which met the head of Minutillo but the goal-scorer was unable to direct his header on target.

With Olympic pushing numbers forward in search of an equaliser, spaces were left in behind for the Corrimal front line to exploit. In the 61st minute, this tactic gave way to a golden chance for the side. A direct ball upfield wasn’t dealt with by the Olympic defence, presenting Tomoki Wada with a chance to latch onto the ball. Unfortunately for the Rangers, pressure from Jack Keating reduced the power Wada was able to generate on the ball, resulting in an easy save from Durose.

Four minutes later, Wada had another to chance to double his side’s lead. A quick break from the side evolved into a two-on-two situation with Elia running towards goal. Making his way to the edge of the box, Elia laid the ball off to Wada on the left-hand side of the box, with Wada attempting to loft the ball into the far corner. But the Japanese midfielder got it all wrong, with the ball clearing the crossbar.

Corrimal’s attacking wasn’t done yet as Elia had the best chance of the half so far in the 69th minute. The New Zealander striker found himself face-to-face with Durose in a central position. Elia attempted to round the keeper, but Durose read the intentions of the striker and smothered the ball.

With the game heading into the final ten minutes, Olympic were still trailing in the match. The side created a chance in the 81st minute when Minutillo made a lung-bursting run down the right-hand side. Getting to the by-line, he found Martinoski in the box but he was unable to make a meaningful connection with the ball, slicing it off his foot and away from the danger area.

Six minutes later, Corrimal moved into attacking areas once more as Wada shifted the ball onto his left-hand side and provoked an important save from Durose, who diverted the ball for a corner. However, Wada’s missed chance would have no consequence as the full-time whistle was blown moments later, securing the victory for the Rangers and their first Illawarra Premier League title since 1973.

Olympic coach George Antoniou was disappointed by the result, noting his side failed to play up to the standards they set throughout the campaign.

“We didn’t play our best game,” he said.

“Credit to Corrimal, they were the better team on the day.

“Unfortunately, we weren’t good enough today.”

Corrimal boss Rob Jonoski praised his side’s performance overall but was also critical of the way his team failed to make their chances count in the second half.

“I thought we were outstanding today,” he said.

“The boys showed real character.

“I thought we deserved those two goals in the first half… we probably should’ve scored three goals in that second half.

“I’m very pleased with that performance against the league champions.”

INTERVIEWS:
George Antoniou - http://bit.ly/2muFblj
Robert Jonovski - http://bit.ly/2mvq4br

Sunday 22 September 2019 @ WIN Stadium, Wollongong

Man of the Match: Dean Pender

 

Wollongong Olympic - 1 (Minutillo 1’)

Corrimal Rangers - 2 (Guido 26’, Elia 37’ (P))

 

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

Substitutes: Jamie WAKELING (HORI), Jack BALMFORTH (SAITO), David HARTAS (LAVALLE), Peter PRANDALOS, Christian PRETTO

Corrimal Rangers: Nic LOE, Dean PENDER, Jason ZUFIC, Paul GUIDO, Banri KANAIZUMI, Alvin CECCOLI, Lukas STERGIOU, Tomoki WADA, Sam MATTHEWS, Van ELIA, Tim WYLIE

Substitutes: Matthew GALANTI (CECCOLI), James WALKER, Daniel CARRENO (ELIA), Jeremy FLANAGAN, David ZUFIC

 

Referee: Bobby MAZEVSKI

Assistant Referees: Steve BOZIC and Greg REID

Fourth Official: Peter ILCEVSKI

 

Report by Timothy Gibson, on Twitter @Timg123_

Photo courtesy of Pedro Garcia