A last minute winner saw a determined Wollongong Wolves come from behind to defeat Sutherland Sharks 2-1 on a chilly Sunday afternoon at JJ Kelly Park.
After a goalless first half, Adrian Vranic popped up to open the scoring for the Sharks with a poacher’s effort moments after the restart.
Young 20s striker Jordan Nikolovski, making his first start for the Wolves, levelled the scores on the hour mark with a magical lob from 30 yards before the experienced Nick Montgomery completed the turnaround with a powerful winner in added time to seal a hard earned three points for the hosts.
The match was played in cold and windy conditions on the South Coast, with a win on the agenda for both sides as they sought to keep themselves in contention for finals football.
Dead ball situations dominated the early stages with Jacob Tratt firing a free kick and subsequent follow-up into the wall before the home side’s routines found Peter Simonoski and Darcy Madden who headed wide and fired into the keeper’s hands respectively.
With momentum soon leaning increasingly in the host’s favour, Ryan Norval came to the Sharks rescue midway through the first half.
Brendan Griffin’s brilliant cross from the right wing swirled over the Sharks’ defence to find Simonoski, however the striker’s loose first touch provided Norval with the impetus to smother the ball at the onrushing striker’s feet.
Wolves continued to find joy on the right side with Nikolovski sending a diving header wide from Madden’s quality cross before Simonoski buried a powerful effort into the side netting from the edge of the box.
Despite the increasing pressure, the Sharks did well to keep their opponents at bay with the tall central defensive pairing of Tratt and Nick Littler holding their own.
The latter curled a free kick wide of goal against his former club from 30 yards before Vranic and Simonoski missed the target at either end to round off a scoreless opening half.
It wouldn’t remain goalless for much longer as Sharks found the opener soon after the restart.
Ryoga Suyama and Josh Da Silva combined well to slip the ball into the box for Vranic who saw his first effort blocked by Justin Pasfield before burying the second to break the deadlock.
The goal certainly spurred the Wolves on, yet the Sharks continued to frustrate the hosts with their disciplined defending until a moment of magic from Nikolovski restored parity.
The youngster caught Norval off his line after a breakdown in his opponent’s attack gave him the space to lob the stranded keeper to level the scores in style.
Defenders continued to shine all over the park as Madden tested Norval with a powerful header from a corner before Tratt produced a brilliant piece of defending to deny Simonoski’s dangerous charge into the box.
Grant Lee looked to his bench for inspiration, and his substitutions went close as Hristjan Tanoski fired over from edge of box before Juan Felipe Zapata’s shot found the keeper from a similar range.
With the prospect of shared points looming, Montgomery stepped up to take the match into his own hands, firstly setting Griffin up with a top class cross-field ball and then creating a golden chance for Simonosk; neither could find a way past Norval who produced a pair of crucial saves.
It was Montgomery himself who finally broke the Sharks’ hearts late on, arriving late in the box in the final minute to bury the ball into the back of the net after a goalmouth scramble to send the home fans into raptures and seal the win for his side.
The result was pleasing for Jacob Timpano, who felt it was no less than his side deserved after the effort they put in today.
“It was tough conditions today for both teams,” said Timpano.
“On the balance of the game we deserved the result today.
“We had the clearer of the chances and probably dominated the first half before a sloppy goal after half time.
“The boys hung in there and we had the wind in the second half.
“We should have won it earlier than we did, but credit to both teams in the tough conditions we had today.”
The win may well prove important come the season’s end as the Wolves ensured they keep within reaching distance of a spot in the top five.
“It’s a tight comp,” said Timpano.
“Every week is important, and nothing but three points today was going to be good enough for us.
“We got that in the end, and it was thoroughly deserved.”
Losing a match in the final minute is always disheartening, so naturally Grant Lee was unhappy after the final whistle.
“I’m incredibly disappointed,” said Lee.
“It’s our own fault, we’re in there with control of the game and we concede two terrible goals just through naivety.
“It’s just dumb, just stupid mistakes in critical areas and it just keeps happening over and over again, and we’re not learning from it.
“To say that they’re schoolboy errors is actually detrimental to school kids.
“Not recognising danger, when to play – trying to be too cute – and it’s just not a day for being cute.
“We did things well and get caught ball watching, just unaware of what’s going on around you at critical times.
“It’s just so naive, the outcome of the game was completely in our hands.”
Match Stats
Wollongong Wolves 2 (Jordan Nikolovski 60’, Nick Montgomery 92’)
Sutherland Sharks 1 (Adrian Vranic 46’)
Sunday 17th June, 2018
JJ Kelly Park, Wollongong
Referee: C Fisher
Assistant Referees: N. Backo & J. Bell
4th Official: A. Mansour
Wollongong Wolves: 1. Justin Pasfield; 3. Darcy Madden, 4. Michael Robinson, 5. James Baldacchino, 6. Nick Montgomery, 7. Chris Price, 8. Brendan Griffin, 9. Peter Simonoski, 10.Joshua Macdonald, 21. Jordan Nikolovski (17. Ryan Ensor 87’), 26. Luke Wilkshire
Substitutes not used: 2. Taylor McDonald, 16. Luke Kairies, 23. Steve Hayes, 40. Takuya Nozawa
Yellow Cards: Josh Macdonald 34’, Michael Robinson 63’, Brendan Griffin 69’
Red Cards: nil
Sutherland Sharks: 1. Ryan Norval; 2. Jacob Tratt, 6. Lachlan Everett, 9. Adrian Vranic, 10. Joshua Da Silva (18. Juan Felipe Zapata 72’), 12. Blair Brown, 13. Robert Watson, 15. Nick Littler, 16. Ryoga Suyama (11. Hristjan Tanoski 80’), 17. Leroy Jennings, 20. Keisuke Hayashi
Substitutes not used: 4. Hayden Morton, 21. Nick Loe, 28. Noah Chia
Yellow Cards: nil
Red Cards: nil
-By National Premier Leagues NSW reporter Michael Shoolman
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