Eight goal thriller hits Wollongong
It was raining goals at John Crehan Park as South Coast Wolves and APIA-Leichhardt Tigers played out a highly entertaining 4-4 draw in cold conditions on Saturday night.
Ricky Zucco and Mitch Del Turco appeared to have put the hosts in complete control with two early goals before Jason Oswell and Nikola Taneski soon brought Tigers back on level terms midway through the first-half with a header and spot kick respectively.
John Martinoski quickly restored Wolves’ advantage which was cancelled out by Oswell’s second soon after the restart.
Del Turco looked to have sealed the win for Wolves with a lobbed finish soon after yet Franco Parisi popped up with an equalising volley late on as both sides came away with a point a piece.
With both sides desperately seeking the win the draw leaves both sides locked in a battle to avoid the bottom of the table with the winless Central Coast Mariners Academy still occupying the foot of the ladder.
Despite neither side finding a winner both teams will be encouraged by their performance in their final thirds after struggling to net in recent weeks.
While Tigers unsuccessfully tested Wolves from the set piece in the opening minutes it was the hosts that produced the first shot of the match when Zucco cut out a wayward defensive pass only to fire his powerful finish straight into Simon Jaeger’s able hands from the edge of the box.
Jaeger stood no chance minutes later when his defence conceded a free-kick from in a dangerous central position 25-yards from goal; Zucco stepped up to curl a marvellous free-kick beyond Jaeger’s reach and into the top corner to open the scoring.
The Wolves’ loyal fans had barely taken their seats when they were on their feet once again to celebrate their side’s second goal of the night when Del Turco rose above a pack of players to head Martinoski’s corner into the back of the net from close range.
With a tough task now on their hands the visitors looked to settle their nerves and string passes together in the attacking third in search of a route back into the match.
They were soon rewarded for their efforts when an incisive breakaway saw Taneski find acres of space on the right flank before crossing for Oswell who had timed his run to perfection to sneak between his markers and gracefully head his side back into contention.
Wolves were almost gifted back their two goal cushion soon after when Jaeger spilled a routine catch in attempted to collect Martinoski’s corner; Jack Keating almost capitalised on the error however Jaeger recovered to punch the defender’s finish clear to spare his blushes.
The visitors then went on to find their equaliser midway through the half when the ball struck Jacob Timpano’s arm in the box; Taneski who had missed one and then scored one last Sunday made no mistake as he sent Daniel Collison the wrong way to level the scores.
A shell-shocked Wolves soon saw disbelief turn into ecstasy when they regained the lead on their next attack; Zucco found Martinoski in a yard of space 25-yards from goal and the enigmatic attacker took full advantage of his space as he lifted the ball off the ground with his first touch before unleashing a missile that flashed inside the near post and drew wild celebrations in the stands.
Jin Sung Lee carved out a chance to equalise as he snuck his way into the box on the half hour mark; only intense pressure from Keating and a fine block from Collison denied the Korean import who looked dangerous on the left flank throughout the match.
The hosts were then forced to shuffle their deck when Timpano succumbed to injury late in the half; Richard Lloyd opted to drop the sizable frame of Zachary Mackenzie into the centre of defence while Chris Nathaniel came off the bench and into the anchor man role.
Mackenzie adapted to the shift seamlessly while Sam Matthews stepped up his workload in midfield to counter the loss of Mackenzie’s physical presence.
Both sides pressed for another goal before the interval and it was Tigers who came closest with the last action of the half as Taneski clipped the far post with a glancing header from Parisi’s cross.
The goals may have dried up after a frantic opening period yet one couldn’t help but feel there were more to come in the second half as the free flowing match of attacking football continued after the restart.
While initial scoring attempts came from long range the Tigers soon found yet another equaliser from point blank when Bradley Bartels burst forward into the box from the right side of defence before smartly centring for Oswell who knocked the ball into the open net from a couple of yards.
Just as they had after equalising midway through the first half the visiting backline switched off momentarily and were again punished immediately as Wolves quickly regathered the lead.
A well-weighted long ball over a flat defensive line allowed Del Turco to sneak through on goal before lobbing the onrushing Jaeger to score while getting flattened by the custodian in the process.
Del Turco was helped off the field for treatment and while he returned briefly he was soon replaced by Joseph Lavalle and given a warm round of applause for his brace by the Wolves’ faithful fan base.
The Wolves’ backline soon had their backs to the wall as Tigers pushed forward in numbers in search of yet another equaliser.
Michael Robinson put his body on the line for the cause, throwing himself in front of Adel El Jamal’s powerful shot to deflect the ball over for a corner.
Lee skilfully crept into the box once again soon after before centring for Oswell who couldn’t get his strike past the sheer quantity of bodies positioned between his left boot and the goal.
Oswell’s strike then deflected to Taneski who struck the frame of the goal yet again with an unconvincing finish that let Wolves off the hook and left the attacker punching the turf in frustration.
The hosts continued to absorb immense pressure while looking to attack only on the break with Martinoski looking lively in each counterattack.
Desperation set in late in the half as Tigers peppered their opponents with high balls in an attempt to either force an error or find a lucky bounce yet the Wolves’ backline appeared to be holding strong as they held off wave after wave of attack.
Tigers’ player-coach Nicola Rizzo soon threw himself into attack in an attempt to salvage a point and while he was not directly involved they found their late equaliser on the next attack as Parisi found himself in the right place at the right time to volley a Collison punch into an open goal.
The equaliser set the stage for a dramatic end to the match as both sides went all out in search of the win.
Substitute Matthew Floro came closest as he looked to have rounded Jaeger deep in added time yet the keeper recovered to snatch the ball from the striker’s feet as both sides contended with sharing the spoils.
South Coast Wolves coach Richard Lloyd was left to lament the late equaliser but drew several positives from the result:
“I wish we held on in the end,” smiled Lloyd.
“I just had a chat to Daniel (Collison) our goalkeeper who said to hang that last one on him as he shouldn’t have come out for it.
“He was a fair way off his line and if we didn’t concede that we would have come away with the three points.
“It must have been entertaining for the crowd but it was a coach killer.
“Apart from that we got a few positive things out of it.
“We got a bit more grit and determination in our play tonight and it was far better than last weekend against Sydney Olympic.
“We’ve still got a long way to go.”
With traditionally one of the youngest squads of the competition Lloyd will look to strengthen his ranks with experience as they look to the transfer market next week:
“It’s a battle between us, APIA, and Central Coast Mariners Academy,” said Lloyd.
“Tonight we were hoping to get the three points and move away slightly from the other two but that’s the way it goes.
“We’ll look next week to try and recruit a couple of senior players and add that to our squad.
“I think senior players will guide the younger ones and we need that guidance for them.”
APIA Leichhardt Tigers player-coach Nicola Rizzo was pleased with the spirit his side showed in clawing their way back onto level terms yet was left to wonder what may have been had they not struck the post on multiple occasions:
“I thought we could have had even more after hitting the post a few times,” remarked Rizzo.
“Overall the performance was good and we probably deserved to win the match.
“It’s a point gained I suppose after copping two goal in the opening ten minutes.
“The overall performance and the hunger of the players was great, they were motivated.
“It’s got to turn; this can’t keep on going so we now look to Olympic next week.
“To come back and get a draw in the end was obviously pleasing but it was more the character that the boys showed – there’s some really good fight in this team – we’ve just got to improve on a few things in the last third and I think we’ll be okay.”
Rizzo also took time out to praise Jason Oswell who looked dangerous and netted a confident brace after a quiet debut in the competition last weekend against Rockdale City Suns:
“He was very good,” said Rizzo.
“He held up the ball well and scored two good goals.
“I think he always looked a threat for the South Coast Wolves and overall I was very happy with him tonight.”
Match Stats
South Coast Wolves 4 (Ricky Zucco 8’, Mitch Del Turco 11’, 54’, John Martinoski 25’)
APIA-Leichhardt Tigers 4 (Jason Oswell 18’, 52’, Nikola Taneski 23’ (pen), Franco Parisi 87’)
Saturday May 18th, 2013
John Crehan Park, Cringila
Referee: Ryan Shepheard
Assistant Referees: Lance Greenshields and Allyson Flynn
Fourth Official: Tim Turner
South Coast Wolves: 1.Daniel Collison; 2.Jack Keating, 3.Samuel Chapple, 4.Michael Robinson, 9.Peter Simonoski, 10.Ricky Zucco (15.Matthew Floro 88’), 11.John Martinoski, 14.Mitch Del Turco (12.Joseph Lavalle 66’), 17.Zachary Mackenzie, 21.Sam Matthews, 26.Jacob Timpano (6.Chris Nathaniel 39’)
Substitutes Not Used: 16.Jack Madgwick, 20.Thomas Hamilton
Yellow Cards: Ricky Zucco 57’, Chris Nathaniel 60’, Michael Robinson 62’
Red Cards: Nil
APIA-Leichhardt Tigers: 1.Simon Jaeger; 3.Adel El Jamal, 4.Brendan Reilly, 5.Michael West, 6.Jin Sung Lee, 7.Stephen Kayes (11.Nicola Rizzo 87’), 8.David D’Apuzzo, 9.Jason Oswell, 10.Franco Parisi, 15.Bradley Bartels, 18.Nikola Taneski
Substitutes Not Used: 14.George Khoury, 16.Sean Symons, 21.Andrew Bazi, 40.Lucas North
Yellow Cards: Adel El Jamal 17’, Bradley Bartels 58’, Brendan Reilly 76’
Red Cards: Nil
Player Ratings:
3 – John Martinoski (SCW)
2 – Jason Oswell (ALT)
1 – Sam Matthews (SCW)
-By Michael Shoolman
