Wolves record tough win over Spirit
Wollongong Wolves have defeated NWS Spirit 2-1 in a hotly contested National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s match at Albert Butler Memorial Park.
A good ball through to Peter Kekeris in the 4th minute saw the winger latch onto the ball and cut inside, before finding Mitchell Davidson centrally.
The striker turned and fired a shot from inside the box, but his left footed effort dragged well wide of the far post.
The match was even throughout the first fifteen minutes, with Spirit having more shots on goal, but Wollongong having more of the ball and getting into dangerous positions around the area despite struggling to produce end product.
It was the away side who opened the scoring in the 18th minute, with Jordan Gomez finding the target.
A long throw into the box was flicked on by Davidson to Ollie Wiggin, who smartly laid it off to Gomez.
The midfielder made no mistake in finding the back of the net, with a precise, bouncing shot finding the far corner and giving NWS Spirit the lead.
However, in the 23rd minute, Wollongong levelled with a clinical, sweeping attack.
A pass in behind from Samuel Riak found captain Lachlan Scott on the left, who showed good strength to beat his man before squaring the ball tantilisingly across goal.
The low cross found the foot of Alex Masciovecchio, who astonishingly hit the crossbar from just off the goalline, but Takumi Ofuka made no mistake off the rebound to equalise for the home side.
A swift move from Spirit in the 30th minute forced a good save from Tomas Butkovic; a clever underlapping run and cutback from Wiggin found Kota Odakura, whose low shot was goalbound but blocked by the Wollongong goalkeeper.
Five minutes later, a good, sustained build-up from the away side saw Kekeris free on the left, and the winger’s shot was threatening, swerving just wide of the far corner.
On the stroke of halftime, a good piece of skill from Jake Trew saw him able to advance in on goal and force a good save from Christopher Marques.
Moments later, another good build-up from Spirit was completed with a dangerous shot from Corey Kavanagh, which rocketed just wide of the left-hand post.
Five minutes into the second half, Spirit captain Kokubo found the woodwork off a header, connecting with a dangerous set piece and threatening the Wollongong goal.
In the 59th minute, Wollongong looked to have found the lead, with multiple defensive mistakes from Spirit allowing Trew to power through and convert emphatically into the roof of the net.
However, the assistant’s flag was up, and the goal was disallowed for offside.
Ofuka had a great chance to make it a brace for himself in the 74th minute.
The left-winger played an intelligent one-two with Lachlan Scott, before dummying the Spirit defence and drawing the goalkeeper out.
With time to shoot, and three opponents on the goalline, Ofuka blazed the ball disappointedly over the crossbar as the scores remained level at Albert Butler Memorial Park.
But two minutes later, Ofuka made no mistake in converting to give Wollongong the lead.
McDonald found the overlapping run of Christopher McStay, who angled a pinpoint low cross into the box.
Ofuka latched onto the pass and converted into an empty net to earn his second goal of the game and seeing the home side moving into prime position to take home the three points.
In the final minute before added time, Richard Darko forced a good stop from Butkovic, with his headered effort being parried away and out for a corner.
Match Stats
Wollongong Wolves FC 2 (Ofuka 23’, 76’)
NWS Spirit FC 1 (Gomez 18’)
Sunday 16 July, 2023
Albert Butler Memorial Park
Referee: Ivica Covic
Assistant Referees: Matthew Mcorist and Mayson Griffth
Fourth Official: Charbel Geha
Wollongong Wolves FC: 5. Banri Kanaizumi, 7. Marcus Beattie, 8. Samuel Riak, 9. Takumi Ofuka, 13. Tomas Butkovic, 14. Jake Trew (6. Senna Stevenson 90’), 21. Ethan Beaven, 23. Walter Scott, 24. Lachlan Scott (C), 25. Alex Masciovecchio (99. Sebastian Hernandez 66’), 88. Christopher McStay
Substitutes Not Used: 1. Nenad Vekic, 4. Dax Kelly, 10. Damon Gray, 17. Jake Lavalle
Yellow Cards: L. Scott 80’
Red Cards:
NWS Spirit FC: 1. Christopher Marques, 3. Musashi Kokubo (C) (2. Anthony Younis 80’), 4. Kota Odakura, 5. Jordan Gomez (20. Jared Lum 80’), 6. Corey Kavanagh, 7. Richard Darko, 9. Mitchell Davidson, 10. Peter Kekeris (17. Matthew Cahill 77’), 11. Ollie Wiggin, 13. Simon Nicholas, 16. Kyle Shaw
Substitutes Not Used: 12. Jacob Madden, 19. Daniel Mitwali, 21. Luiz Lobo
Yellow Cards: Kokubo 12’, Kavanagh 67’
Red Cards:
Player ratings:
3 – Takumi Ofuka (WW)
2 – Musashi Kokubo (NWS)
1 – Christopher McStay (WW)
By Jack George (@JackGeorge0004)
