MAD SCRAMBLE AGAINST KEMBLAWARRA FOR SHARED POINTS
Last Saturday afternoon the Kiama Soccer Club hosted Illawarra Premier League high flyers Kemblawarra Soccer Club at the Leisure Centre. In a titanic struggle which saw both sides going flat out the match ended up in an exciting 3 – 3 draw. This match had everything. Great goals, total commitment, three red cards and end to end football. What more can a supporter ask for on a Saturday afternoon?
Kiama came into the match with Nathan Broad and Dave Jovanov back off the injury list but still missing Mike Merriman and Nick Gallagher from the side. Gallagher succumbed to a thigh injury last week while Merriman is still three weeks away from a comeback after having his cheekbone broken against Lysaghts three weeks ago. Jovanov came into the side in the sweepers role while Brian Brown moved into the forward line. Midfielder Mick Gillespie was surprisingly left out of the starting side.
Kiama have been slow in starting this season so it was a bit of a surprise when they opened up in lightening fashion and forced Kemblawarra onto the defensive. The Quarriers broke through in the 3rd minute when Gareth Gardner was on the far post to receive a low driven cross from Brad Boardman and volleyed it into the back of the net for a 1 – 0 lead. Four minutes later Brian Brown missed with a good chance on the near post with a low drive. Damien Mason also had two great chances go begging as the ball failed to fall properly for him when he was through the visitors defence.
Kemblawarra are a very good side and it didn’t take them long to catch on as to what was happening. In the 11th minute Kiama’s goalkeeper Josh Tidswell pulled off a tremendous save to push the ball away for a corner from a close range snap shot. From the resulting corner Ex-Wollongong Wolf Richard Lloyd powered home a near post header to even the score. At the twenty-minute mark midfielder Gardner went off with a groin injury and Gillespie came into the line up. His impact was immediate and he really stirred things up in the midfield engine room.
The visitors are a very good side and came into the match in second place on the table. The class started to show and they gradually pushed Kiama back into a defensive pattern. Tidswell did extremely well in the 27th and 30th minutes with point blank saves before he was beaten in the 35th minute. A Kemblawarra striker found himself un-marked inside Kiama’s penalty box with only Tidswell to beat. He cleverly lobbed the advancing keeper and Kemblawarra took the lead 2 – 1.
By this stage of the game Kiama were fighting hard all over the park but Kemblawarra were well in control. They extended their lead in the 39th minute when Lloyd toe poked a loose ball over the line after a goal mouth scramble. Kiama were 3 – 1 down but this game was far from finished and the locals had an awful lot of fight still left in them. Madness arrived at the ground in the 42nd minute. Kemblawarra had the ball and were knocking it around while waiting on the half time break. One of their midfielders had a brain snap and lashed out at Damien Mason with a wild kick. Not even the player was surprised to see the red card and he went off for an early shower.
Kiama had the last go in this half and it should have been a warning to Kemblawarra that the game was not over. Brad Tuohy pushed forward in an attacking move and put a header past the post from three meters.
second half
The Quarriers came out fighting in the second half and tore into their more fancied opponents. Kiama’s Wright hit a terrific shot in the 48th minute that beat the ‘keeper before sliding past the outside of the post. Kemblawarra showed that they were still very much in the game when Lloyd headed a long cross back across goals and Tidswell saved a volley at point blank range.
Kiama pulled a goal back in the 54th minute and sent their supporters crazy after Wright hit a sensational screamer from twenty-five metres out. The ball dipped and swerved and the Kemblawarra ‘keeper was left grasping at thin air. But better was to come. In the 60th minute Brian Brown leveled the scores at 3 – 3 after some good build up work from replacement Adam White.
The goal was like an electric shock going around the ground and both sets of supporters felt the surge of energy. This was a remarkable result for Brown who is a fitness fanatic and “admits” to 40 years. He has forgotten a few there somewhere. Madness was still loitering around the ground and in the 61st minute Kemblawarra had a second player sent off for deliberate handball. He was followed in the 63rd minute by Kiama’s Nathan Broad for a second yellow card. Both of these situations could have been handled better by a quiet word from the referee rather than the players facing a few weeks out of the game.
Both sides shuffled players around to make up for the missing players and both sets of supporters were surprised to see that both teams were going for the win. This was a terrific phase of the game and absolutely nerve wracking. The last chance of the match fell to Kiama’s Boardman and he is still trying to work out why he never scored. Gillespie played a long ball out of defence to Brian Brown on the right side of the park. Brown sprinted at the defence and drew them before laying off a terrific pass to Boardman who had snuck into the penalty box on the left and was totally un-marked. Boardman took the ball on his left foot, hesitated, and then drove a shot into a cover defender and away for a corner. Boardman did extremely well to get into the box and was disappointed he didn’t take a first time shot. That was the last chance of the game and both sides were out on their feet when the referee blew full time.
From Kiama’s point of view this was a terrific fight back after being dead and buried at 3 – 1 down. The side showed grit and courage to get back in the game against a very strong opponent who thought they had the game won. But realistically it was two points lost. The Quarriers need to start picking up wins against their opponents. Three points for a win is a great bonus and while Kiama have been scoring draws against top flight sides they must start to get a few wins on the scoreboard to reach the middle of the table. Games like this one are very winnable and the Quarriers had a number of late chances that should have given them the win. It is a steep learning curve and the boys are doing well. They just need to pick up a few more wins.
A highlight of Kiama’s play on the day was that of Dave Jovanov. He was the driving force behind the defensive effort and his involvement in the game was a boost to the other players. On his twenty fourth birthday Dave was the Kiama Leagues Club Man of the Match.
Kiama are away on Friday night to Cringila Lions at Crehan Park Cringila. The Lions have been in average form this year and are sitting midway up the table. They are a club thick with talent and depth and the Quarriers have a stern test in front of them to take winning points. Crehan Park is a first class stadium with fantastic facilities and a great place to watch football. Come along and shout for the locals. First Grade kick off at 7.30pm.
Kiama’s Reserve Grade are going through a spell where they play well but shoot themselves in the foot in giving away silly goals. They went down 5 – 2 in this game and although they didn’t deserve to win, didn’t deserve to have five goals knocked past them. Dean Triffit was a standout in the middle of the park and was the Kiama Leagues Club Man of the Match.
The Youth Grade were desperately unlucky to get beaten 1 – 0 against a Kemblawarra side that is supposedly full of stars. Kiama had a goal disallowed in the last minute and deserved a better result than this one. The kids have come on a ton and are starting to play good football. Goalkeeper Kiel Zerner deserves a mention for saving two penalties while the Kiama Leagues Club Man of the Match was James Spence in the midfield. The boys have yet to record a win but it is not too far away.
If you haven’t seen the Quarriers play so far this year you are missing out on a treat. The boys are playing well and the crowds are growing. Come along and support the side and have an enjoyable afternoon at the soccer. Go the Quarriers.