After the opening round saw a washout, the Fraternity Club Cup kicked off with the second round of fixtures which were all played at Ian McLennan Park.

Woonona Sharks 1 (Luke McCosker 24’) Tarrawanna Blueys 2 (Caleb Grace 54’, Tyson Black 58’)

Round 2 saw four fixtures played on Sunday in the Premier League Conference, with the first match-up taking place between Woonona and Tarrawanna in Group D.

Last season the Blueys secured 5th place by the skin of their teeth over the Sharks, having locked up a finals berth by a sole point after the sides played out a 1-1 draw in the final round of the season.

The Sharks started the game strong, taking the lead in the 24th minute through Luke McCosker.

However, Tarrawanna showed great character and scored two goals midway through the second half - with youngsters Caleb Grace and Tyson Black finding the net to give the Blueys a narrow victory.

Tarrawanna sit in second place in Group D, only behind Wollongong Olympic on goal difference. The Blueys will take on new boys Bellambi next round at Wetherall Park on Sunday afternoon, while the Sharks play Olympic at Memorial Park. 

 

Bellambi Rosellas 0 Wollongong Olympic 4 (James Baldacchino 3’, Corey Haines-Grose 41’, Julian Minutillo 45’, Josh Hawker 68’)

Bellambi got their first taste of action since returning to the topflight of Illawarra football being dispatched 4-0 by last season’s league champions Wollongong Olympic in the other game in Group D.

Olympic came flying out of the blocks - taking the lead just three minutes in through new signing James Baldacchino. George Antoniou’s men added three more goals to their tally in the second period, including two goals in the space of four minutes thanks to their other new signing in Corey Haines-Grose and the reliable Julian Minutillo. With a couple of minutes left on the clock, the side added a fourth through Josh Hawker to secure the win.

The result sends Olympic top of the group, ahead of Tarrawanna on goal difference. The side will face Woonona at Memorial Park on Sunday hoping to secure their position at the top of the group. Meanwhile at Wetherall Park next Sunday afternoon, the Rosellas will look to bounce back when they face the Blueys who will likely need three points to give themselves at a crack at getting through to the Quarter Finals.

Cringila Lions 2 (Toby Norval 60’, Todd Sparks 69’) South Coast United (Andrew Bova 3’, Byungkuk Cho 6’, Ivan Bratjanscak 34’)

The penultimate match on Sunday saw a five-goal thriller between Cringila and South Coast United in Group E with SCU prevailing 3-2. Two quick-fire goals from Anthony Pedavoli and former South Korean international Cho Byung-Kuk in the opening six minutes saw United storm to a two-goal advantage. Their lead was extended two minutes into the second half when Ivan Bratjanscak also found the net.

The Lions provided a late charge scoring twice in the final ten minutes through Toby Norval and Todd Sparks, but it wasn’t enough with South Coast able to hold on and secure victory.

United will begin Round 3 in second position in the group, behind Coniston on goal difference. The side will look to make two wins in a row when they play against Port Kembla at Wetherall Park on Sunday. As for Cringila, they will hope for better fortunes when they clash with Coniston on Thursday night at Crehan Park. 

 

Port Kembla 0 Coniston 4 (Brane Radmanovic 45’, Reo Hirose 61’, Tomohito Fujieda 63’, 66’)

The other match in Group E featured Port Kembla and Coniston, with the latter storming to a resounding 4-0 win. The scores were locked at 0-0 until ten minutes into the second half when Brane Radmanovic scored the opener for Coniston with a well-placed chip. Just after the hour mark, Coniston put the result beyond any doubt with an extraordinary three goals in only five minutes, with Reo Hirose doubling the side’s advantage before a brace from Tomohito Fujieda wrapped up the victory.

Port Kembla’s late collapse coincided with Cristofer Fuentes’ brain snap late in game which led to his dismissal subsequently forcing his side to play Bailey Flemming in goal.

Whilst the result flattered Coniston a bit, it does put them in a commanding position at the top of their group and they will hope to extend this winning run when they go up against Cringila on Thursday night. Port Kembla on the other hand will be determined to get something out of their match against South Coast United on Sunday. 

 

Corrimal Rangers 0 Wollongong United 1 (Jeremy Flanagan 70’)

In one of the Premier League feature matches on Monday night, Wollongong United scored at the death to edge past last season’s premiers Corrimal in Group F. This was a considerable improvement for United, who last year were unable to find the net against the Rangers across either meeting in the league. The decisive goal came ironically came from former Ranger Jeremy Flanagan in what was essentially the last kick of the game, sending United to joint top of the group - level on both points and goal difference with Bulli.

United will look to back this victory up with another when they face Albion Park White Eagles on Thursday night at Macedonia Park, whilst the Rangers will need a big win against Bulli on Sunday if they are to have any chance of defending their Cup title. 

 

Albion Park White Eagles 1 (Jordan Nikolovski 41’) Bulli 2 (Ben McDonald 45’, Sam Davies 51’)

In the final match on Monday night and Round 2, Bulli came from behind to beat the White Eagles 2-1 in Group F. It took until the second half for either side to find the net with Jordan Nikolovski opening the scoring for the White Eagles in the 41st minute after he neatly tucked away his opportunity.

However, four minutes later, Bulli were back on level terms through a Ben McDonald penalty before Sam Davies completed the comeback just six minutes later to earn his side all three points.

Following this result, the White Eagles have left themselves a mountain to climb and they will need a big win over Wollongong United on Thursday night plus some other results to go their way if they are going to get out of the group stages. As for Bulli, they will go into their match against Corrimal on Sunday full of confidence and with both sides desperate for a win, this shapes as a mouth-watering contest.  

 

* Note the Fraternity Club Cup is 35-minute halves with unlimited interchange

Review by Timothy Gibson, on Twitter @Timg123_

Photo courtesy of Richie Wagner