The Entrance 2 – 1 Kariong
This week’s Division 1 match of the round features two of the men’s teams looking to gather momentum as they head into the second half of the season: The Entrance Bateau Bay Eagles and the Kariong United Cougars, who now take up the bottom two spots on the ladder.
It was a hotly contested match in which the Entrance pulled off a comeback to secure their 3rd win of the season.
It was far from a dream start for the hosts, however, as they went behind early.
The first goal arrived while both teams were still finding their feet, and the most that had happened was the Eagles diffusing long balls from the Kariong defence, but a moment of quality from the Cougars’ left winger Joshua Ireland changed that.
Ireland received the ball and drove into the left side of the box, using his pace to separate himself from his defender. Once he saw a gap, he brilliantly rolled it home to the far side of the net, and suddenly it was 1-0 after their first real attack.
It was a dream start for the Cougars, but not one they would enjoy for long, as the Eagles remained composed and levelled things up not long after.
The Entrance defence established a strong foundation for the equaliser by effectively countering the barrage of long passes from Kariong. Glenn Watkins played a crucial role as a centre-back for the hosts, tirelessly contesting headers throughout the match, always ensuring it was he who got to the ball first. His efforts kept Kariong on the defensive for long stretches of the game.
This allowed the Eagles to build pressure, and soon enough the scores were tied when a right-sided corner taken by A-League veteran Joshua Rose was sent perfectly to the back post, where the other Entrance centre-back, Blake Steuart, leapt above the defence and nodded it home for 1-1.
What followed was a period of total dominance for the Eagles, as they had multiple opportunities to take the lead, while the Cougars struggled to transition the ball past midfield.
The first chance fell to Oliver Mann after some terrific work down the left wing from Brayden Kenny saw him cut the ball back to Mann in the box, who looked like he was going to have the perfect opportunity to shoot.
However, Mann ended up one stride short of the ball, and the chance faded as it went by him.
The next chance was off the back of more great work from Rose, who took on the Kariong defender, drawing three of them before playing his striker, Casey Gannon, free into the box, but this time the shot sailed over the bar and the game remained deadlocked.
Kariong were now barely hanging on; their centre-back, Leonardo Mazzaferro, was doing his best to slow the onslaught, and he put in some great tackles throughout the game. Yet, their struggles going forward remained, and more chances piled up for the Eagles.
Mann would have another chance, this time from the left, as The Entrance swapped their wingers. Mann took on the Cougars’ defence and got inside the left side of the box and shot from a tight angle. It was a curling effort searching for the far side of the net that ultimately went agonisingly close but didn’t curl enough and sailed across the face of the goal and out.
With his next chance, though, Mann would finally put the Entrance into the lead, and it took a classy finish from the winger to get there.
The third goal of the afternoon came similarly to Mann’s last chance, as he battled defenders into the left side of the box, but this time he was on a much nicer angle. When Kariong keeper Alex Muscat decided to rush him, Mann made no mistake, calmly rolling it past the gloveman and into the net for 2-1.
The Entrance would keep the pressure on until halftime came around, and they were surely left wondering how they weren’t further ahead. While Kariong were still in the match, they just needed to find something in their attack to give the Eagles more trouble.
From the onset of the second half, it seemed like more of the same from the hosts when Gannon intercepted a loose back pass from the Kariong midfield and skilfully played a through ball into the path of Kenny, who was storming down the right wing.
Kenny almost certainly would have got a shot off it weren’t for the retreating Cody Medina, who never gave up and managed to tackle the ball out for a corner as Kenny got into the box; it was a fantastic tackle.
Rose would then have a chance to extend the lead when he was played through into the left side of the box to take on Muscat, but the keeper made himself big and saved the shot.
The game would even out for the middle portion of the second half, and Kariong, buoyed by only being a goal down, began to trouble the Entrance defence.
Kyle Leo played a dangerous ball into Jayden Baillie that forced the entrance defence to close in on him to end the chance, but this was only their warning shot for the golden opportunity that followed.
A mistake at the back led to Ireland stealing the ball high up the pitch and getting in behind most of the Eagles’ defence in an instant.
Still wide of goal and by the edge of the box Ireland crossed the ball over the one remainingEntrance defender and straight onto the head of Jack White in the centre of the box unmarked, but he couldn’t generate power onto his header and the shot went straight into the gloves of Entrance keeper Tyler Bartley.
This was a nervous moment for The Entrance, but they so nearly put the game to bed when Rose, who had the ball on a string all game, played a perfect pass to Indy Hough running through the Kariong defence.
Hough got onto it through on goal, but still deep around the entry to the final third. Muscat decided to rush him early, and Hough chipped him, managing to get it over the keeper as the crowd watched with bated breath as the ball went just the wrong side of the left post and out for a goal kick.
There was a brief injury pause that set the stage for the closing 10 minutes, and this is when the Eagles shut up shop, and it was the only time all game that Kariong penned them into their half.
Still, even though they weren’t countering, their defence held steadfast, frustrating the visitors who were desperate for a goal.
As time dwindled and the match entered a lengthy injury time allotment, tensions flared andwarnings were handed out, but the Entrance never lost focus and emerged victors 2-1, rebounding from their defeat to Umina last round.
Written by Mark Goodyear
Round 14 Results –
