Thirroul bring the thunder to win Reserve Grade grand final

Photo: Jess Hampton

By Cal Behrendt, FSC Match Reporter

In a clash of the two best sides in the WCG Cranes District League Reserve Grade competition, Fernhill Foxes took on Thirroul Thunder at Wetherall Park in the Reserve Grade Grand Final for the right to call themselves Champions.

Fernhill entered the game as pre-match favorites, having topped the ladder with 54 points across their 22 matches and waltzing past Warilla Wanderers 2-0 in the Major Semi Final to book their spot in the big match at the first point of entry.

However, Thirroul – who finished 2nd on the ladder with 47 points after 22 matches – had to work to book their spot in the game, after losing 2-1 to Warilla in the Qualifying Final.

The side then defeated Oak Flats Falcons 3-0 to move onto the Preliminary Final where they faced Warilla again, this time gaining revenge in the biggest possible fashion, with a 6-0 demolition of the Wanderers enough to send the Thunder into the final.

Both sides had taken a win over the other team during the regular season, with Fernhill downing Thirroul 5-3 in round 4 and Thirroul beating Fernhill 3-2 in Round 15, so fans were expecting a close game where either side could win on the day.

The final started off with both sides getting early shots off at the opposing goal, with Thirroul having a free kick from Bradley Strudwick sent over in the opening sixty seconds, while Fernhill’s Matt Richardson would fire off a shot straight down the throat of Thunder keeper Chris Wearing just three minutes later.

But it was the Thunder who would strike first in the 21st minute, with a fantastically placed corner from Strudwick finding the head of Scott Woods, who expertly netted the ball to give the Thunder the opening blow in the Grand Final.

Just three minutes later Thirroul found themselves a second goal ahead, with an attack forming from a great pass by Oscar Pruks to find Bradley Strudwick. It was Strudwick who again found the perfect pass, setting up Jonathon De Lyall to have a simple shot on goal. De Lyall managed to sneak his shot past Fernhill’s Brad Hunter and send the Thunder up by two goals after just 24 minutes of play.

To read the full match report click here

Fernhill FC – 1 (Breslin 82’)

Thirroul Thunder FC – 2 (Woods 21’, De Lyall 24’)

Saturday the 23rd of September 2017 at Wetherall Park.

Fernhill FC – Brad Hunter, Luke McDonald, Brett Kear, Joel Sims, Nathan Thompson, Lee White, Dean Morosin, Damien Warwick, Andrew Breslin, Toby Napper, Matt Richardson 

Subs – Kevin McDonald (on for Morosin), Hiroki Makita (on for White), Christian Armour (on for Sims), Michael Stephenson, Yacoub Hadaya

Thirroul Thunder FC – Chris Wearing, Jonathon Tobin, James Townson, Ryan Hunter, Tom Goodier, Scott Woods, Jonathon De Lyall, Aaron Buzinki, Oscar Pruks, Bradley Strudwick, Robert Gyngell

Subs – Nathan Orvad (on for Woods), Jordan Simms (on for Townson), Marcus Rusbourne (on for De Lyall), Tyler Snelgrove (on for Buzinki), Liam Harris

Referee – Ryan O’Sullivan

Assistant Referees – Keelum Harrison, Darcy Jordan

Report by Cal Behrendt, on Twitter @CalBehrendt

Super Hoops win grand final in extra time

On a cold Saturday morning (16 September), the GPR Super Hoops prevailed to win the Masters Division 4 grand final in conditions best suited for wind surfing.

The game was end to end like watching tennis and the ball was in the air more often than on the ground like aerial pin pong.

The Super Hoops went behind in the first half but evened up the score in the second half and then during the first half of extra time got the goal to put them in front.

From then on it was just a matter of parking the bus, the odd counter attack and waiting for the final whistle.

Well done to the GPR Super Hoops on a history making 2017 season, becoming the first GPR team to claim both the Minor Premiership or League Champions title and Grand Final.

A special congratulations to Rob Allision, who became the first original GPR player to claim two Grand Finals.

Rob was also manager the GPR Super Hoops throughout the year with the assistance of Gavin Stapleton, Nathan Willdig, John Byrom, Matt Bennett and Scott Ellis.

Thanks to the managers of each of Thirroul's All Ages Amateur teams:

Div 1 1st team Thunder AC - Gary Lux and Ryan Davidson.

Div 1 2nd team Thunder DC - James Panteli and Ryan Fairley.

Div 2 1st team GPR Hoops - Leon Mar who is also GPR head of operations and Thirroul fc - Senior Mens Amateur Player Representative, SMAPR. 

Div 2 2nd team GPR R's - Morgan McKinnon and Trent Oliver,

Thanks to the supporters during the year at the games, especially Mrs Mar, and back at the Bowlo. Also thanks to Thirroul JFC, Football South Coast and the RMB Community League committee for their support.

Check out the footage on either the Thunder or GPR Facebook pages. Grand Final footage is courtesy of Lin Hampton. Thanks to Lin for attending some other games to get footage.

GPR Super Hoops in Grand Final this Saturday

Gibson Park Rangers Super Hoops will be aiming to add a grand final win to their Minor Premiership title when they take on Burgh Hogs at 9.30am Saturday at Macedonia Park.

The Super Hoops qualified for the Community League Masters Division Four grand final after beating the Hogs 3-0 in the major semi-final two weeks ago.

The GPR team also triumphed in their In two other previous encounters against the Hogs during the regular season, in which they lost just one match.

Please come and support the Super Hoops, whose team includes a number of current and former Thirroul JFC junior coaches.

Also on Saturday, Thirroul Thunder will be seeking to avenge their semi-final loss to Warilla when they take on the Wanders at 12.15pm at JJ Kelly Park for a place in the District League grand final.

The Thunder beat Oak Flats 3-0 last Saturday to move to within one win of the grand final against Fernhill and the opportunity to claim back to back premierships.

All are invited to celebrate with the teams afterwards at Thirroul Bowling Club. 

Thunder In Elimination Final Action

Thirroul Thunder play Elimination Finals matches in First Grade and Reserve Grade this Saturday at JJ Kelly Park after both teams surrendered half time leads and conceded a late goal to lose their Qualifying Final matches to Warilla last Saturday.

The Thunder face Helensburgh Thistle at 2.30pm in First Grade and Oak Flats Falcons at 12.15pm in Reserve Grade.

Thirroul went undefeated against the Thistle in First Grade during the regular season, with the Thunder running out 2-0 winners at home in round 7 and picking up a point in a 1-1 draw at Helensburgh in round 18.

However, Helensburgh are coming off a 3-0 defeat of Oak Flats last Saturday, while the Falcons won Reserve Grade 1-0 in extra time.

Here is a match report from the FSC website.

WANDERERS STRIKE LATE TO STEAL THIRROUL'S THUNDER

Warilla Wanderers played host to Thirroul Thunder in the Qualifying Final of the WGC Cranes District League with the winner booking a game against Fernhill to play-off for the chance at securing the first spot in this season’s Grand Final. The Wanderers had finished second on the table, with 47 points after their 22 matches, as well as one of the strongest attacking records in the league, with 61 goals to their name. The Thunder on the other hand, have one of the strongest defensive records in the league, with only 18 goals conceded in their 22 matches, which helped them to finish third, only two points behind Warilla. However, it was Warilla who held the bragging rights over the course of the season, with the Wanderers running out winners (3-2 and 2-1) both times the sides faced each other during the regular season.

Warilla begun the game with a real statement of intent, pushing forward with an attacking style of play and securing several corners in the opening minutes, but many of these chances were defended well by the Thunder, who ensured that Warilla would not secure an early lead. The Wanderers came close to breaking through the Thirroul defence in the 17th minute, but a final shot from Kaine Good fell directly into the path of Thirroul keeper Joshua Williams.

After some early Warilla dominance, Thirroul begun to acclimatize themselves to the match and the Thunder begun to push back and create some attacking movements of their own, however their long-ball passes were quickly snuffled out in the early stages of the match thanks to some fantastic rushing by Warilla keeper Valon Rizvani. But it was the Wanderers who would come agonizingly close once again to opening the scoring at the 24-minute mark, with some fantastic physical play from Bojan Caric allowing him to get past Thirroul’s Todd Davidson and fire off a shot at Williams, which the Thunder keeper fumbled and almost knocked into his own net, but he was able to get control of it before the ball crossed the line.

Thirroul finally got their first real chance of the match just five minutes later, with a great volley from Daniel Arthur from outside the box, but his chance went wide of the post. However, as the half begun to draw towards its close, the Thunder found themselves creating more and more attacking chances and they were rewarded on the stroke of half time. After some strong play down the right-hand side, Thirroul’s Nathan Mucci played a fantastic ball to Matthew Kellond, who in turn used a fabulous piece of individual skill to sneak past the Warilla backline, before slotting his shot past Rizvani to give the Thunder a 1-0 lead.

To read the match report in full, click here

Warilla Wanderers FC – 2 (Ovando 71’, Everingham 87’)

Thirroul Thunder FC – 1 (Kellond 45’)

Saturday, 2 September 2017 at King Mickey Park

Warilla Wanderers FC – Valon Rizvani, Jordan Nolan, Jamie Young, Martin Castelli, Jason Goldsmith, Luke Everingham, Kaine Good, Adam White, Bojan Caric, Javier Ovando, Jeremy Lopez

Subs – Daniel Atkins, Stewart Robertson, Adrian Montalbano, Mark Marinelli (on for Caric), Ken Nguyen

Coach – Barney King

Thirroul Thunder FC – Joshua Williams, Daniel Bond, Adam Ward, Shayne Mulholland, Joel Mucci, Matthew Kellond, Todd Davidson, Corey Haines-Grose, Nathan Mucci, Daniel Arthur 

Subs – Tyler Snelgrove, Bradley Strudwick (on for Mulholland), Marcus Rusbourne, Scott Woods, Cooper Brindle 

Coach – Garth Bowley

Referee – Bobby Mazevski

Assistant Referees – Atesh Maharaj, Gareth Jenkins

Report by Cal Behrendt, on Twitter @CalBehrendt

Photo courtesy of Pickles Photography

Junior teams in grand final action this weekend

Congratulations to the W16.2 Thunderbirds and U14.3 Thunder for making it through to the FSC Junior Grand Finals this weekend.

The U14.3 team, coached by Ryan Figueroa, will play Tarrawanna - the team they beat in the major semi-final to advance to the grand final - at 2pm, Saturday at Unanderra Oval.

The Russell Forbes-coached W16.2 team qualified for the grand final after beating Kiama last weekend and will take on Dapto at 8am on Sunday at Unanderra in the first match of a massive day of female football deciders, from Under 12 Girls to Division 1 Women.

Unfortunately, Thirroul JFC's W12.1 and U15.2 teams both went down in their preliminary finals on penalties, while the W14.1 team was beaten 1-0 by Shellharbour and the U13.3 team lost 2-1 to Coledale. The U12.2, W13.1, W18.2 and W21s teams were all eliminated in the previous weekend's semi-finals.

Please come and support those teams in the grand finals this weekend.

Junior Finals Draw

Photo: Davina Newton

Congratulations to the Thirroul JFC teams who have qualified for the finals of their competitions.

The Thirroul U12.3, W12.1, U13.3, W13.1, U14.3, W14.1, U15.2, W18s and W21s teams will all play semi-final matches this weekend. The W16.2 team plays next Sunday. 

Please get out and support these teams during the finals series.

The full FSC Juniors final draw is below. 

Mini Roos Presentation: Gallery 1

A big thank you to all of our wonderful Mini Roos for a great season and their parents and families for supporting them. 

Here are some photos from the 2017 presentation on Saturday, August 19 at Gibson Park.

Photo: Lin Hampton

Photo: Lin Hampton

Photo: Lin Hampton

Photo: Lin Hampton

Photo: Lin Hampton

Photo: Lin Hampton

Photo: Lin Hampton

Photo: Lin Hampton

Photo: Lin Hampton

Photo: Lin Hampton

Photo: Lin Hampton

Photo: Lin Hampton

Photo: Lin Hampton

Photo: Lin Hampton

Photo: Lin Hampton

Photo: Lin Hampton

Photo: Lin Hampton

Photo: Lin Hampton

Photo: Lin Hampton

Photo: Lin Hampton

Photo: Lin Hampton

Photo: Lin Hampton

Photo: Lin Hampton

Photo: Lin Hampton

Photo: Lin Hampton

Mini Roos Presentation: Gallery 2

A big thank you to all of our wonderful Mini Roos for a great season and their parents and families for supporting them. 

Here are some action photos from small sided games at Thirroul JFC's Mini Roos presentation on Saturday, August 19 at Gibson Park

Photo: Lin Hampton

Photo: Lin Hampton

Photo: Lin Hampton

Photo: Lin Hampton

Photo: Lin Hampton

Photo: Lin Hampton

Photo: Lin Hampton

Photo: Lin Hampton

Photo: Lin Hampton

Photo: Lin Hampton

Vale Doug LePage: A kind and gentle soul

Thirroul Junior Football Club is saddened by the loss of club stalwart and Life Member, Doug LePage, who passed away peacefully at home last Sunday after a courageous battle with cancer.

Doug's contribution to our club was enormous, especially in the mentoring and development of young referees, and he continued to attend committee meetings until recently.

"He was a kind, gentle soul who always looked out for the welfare of our young referees," Thirroul JFC executive member Peter Harkin said. "I’m hard pressed to ever recall Doug losing his temper and he always seemed willing to stick his hand up to do tasks.

"Even in the later stages of his illness he volunteered to do the barbecue when he could. A quiet achiever who was always the gentleman. Sadly missed."

Long serving Thirroul JFC registar Debbie Crawford said: "Over the years I have known Doug – two of his boys, Tim and Joshua, played for Thirroul – he never lost his cool.  He was quiet and studious, enjoying a chin wag and a beer with mates."

 The club extends its deepest sympathies to Doug's wife Patty, his family and to all who knew and loved him.

Relatives and friends are invited to attend Doug's funeral service to be held in the chapel, Parsons Funeral Home, 278 Princes Highway, Bulli on Friday, August 18, 2017 at 12noon.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Relay for Life (Bikini Girl's & Friends).

Senior Summer 7s is back on Wednesday nights

Thirroul JFC is pleased to announce that its long running Senior Summer 7s competition will revert to Wednesday nights at the end of the 2017 season.

The Summer 7s was moved to Sunday afternoons last year to allow drainage to be installed on Ground 1 and Ground 2 at Gibson Park but it was always intended to return to Wednesday nights once the work was completed.

This year's Senior Summer 7s will commence on Wednesday, October 4 and will run for 12 weeks until Wednesday, December 20.

Team nomination forms will be available on the website soon, along with more information about registration and payment.

Junior Summer 7s will commence on Monday, September 25.   

Junior Football Charity Round - July 22/23

The Football South Coast Junior Football Council will conduct a Charity Round to support SAHSSI this weekend (July 22 and 23).

SAHSSI is a not for profit service covering the Illawarra/Shoalhaven District that supports vulnerable women and families by providing support in the following areas:

• Homelessness
• Domestic and Family violence
• Women’s Services
• Corrective Services
• Mental Health – Partners in Recovery

The Charity Round can be supported by:

1.    Donation of the following items:

•         Winter pyjamas for women and children in various sizes

•         Socks and undies for women and children in various sizes

•         Cleaning products

•         Toiletries

2.    Financial support that can be deposited to: 

Account Name: SAHSSI

BSB: 062644

Account: 10339778

Clubs or teams to write FSC Club as a reference for any direct deposits.

SASSHI was also supported by the FSC Women's Charity Round earlier this season.  

Please feel free to take photos of your team supporting this cause so Football South Coast can promote a great community initiative.

Photos can be sent to admin@footballsouthcoast.com

Thirroul JFC Club Photo and Team Photos

Thirroul JFC is pleased to announce that 2017 team photos will be taken at Gibson Park on June 17/18 and June 24/25. 

In addition, a Club photo - featuring all junior and senior players - will be taken at the conclusion of the Reserve Grade match between Thirroul Thunder and Berkeley at Gibson Park on Saturday, June 17. 

The purpose of the Club photo is to recognise that Thirroul JFC is One Club, from U6s Mini-Roos to our Thunder, Thunderbirds and Amateurs players, and to mark the 125th anniversary of the club.

The sale of team photos is a major fundraiser for Thirroul JFC each season, as well as a personal memento for each player who represents the club in 2017.

It is intended that the team photos will be taken before or after each team's next home game on one of the above mentioned dates.

Thunder Youth Grade Photo Gallery

Photos: Davina Newton

Welcome to Dictate Australia as new club sponsor

Thirroul JFC is pleased to welcome Dictate Australia as a new sponsor to the club.

Dictate Australia has taken up one of the club's Sponsor a Player packages and are sponsoring Thunder player Corey Haines-Grose for the 2017 season.

Corey, who began playing for Thirroul at a young age, returned to the club after a stint with Bulli's successful Youth Grade team and is a key member of the Thunder first grade squad.

He also coaches the Thunderbolts Under 13s Division One team along with Josh Williams and last year coached the Thunderbirds Division One women's team.

Dictate Australia director Dave Holmes was keen to sponsor Corey after he scored match winning goals for the Thunder in recent games against Coniston and Kiama.

Watch Corey's goals by clicking on the links above (in bold).

Dictate Australia Pty Ltd provides digital voice solutions Australia wide. This includes digital voice recorders, dictaphones and transcription kits from Olympus Imaging Australia. We are a Gold Professional Olympus dealer.

Dictate Australia own and use both Windows and Macs and test the products we sell on both platforms allowing us to give full cross platform support.

Dictate Australia is also a leading reseller of voice recognition software for Intel Mac (Dragon Dictate 3.0) and Windows (Dragon NaturallySpeaking 12). We are a Gold Certified Dragon NaturallySpeaking reseller and we are also a beta tester for Dragon Dictate for Mac.

Site licences for education, government and corporate are available for Dragon Mac & Windows as well as standard single install licences.

Further details about Dictate Australia can be found by clicking on their logo, which is located on the home page of the thirroulfootball.com.au website.

Please support Dictate and the community of sponsors who support Thirroul JFC.

For information about sponsoring Thirroul JFC, including Sponsor a Player packages, please go to the Sponsorship tab at the top of the website.

Thirroul junior Reagan Ogle signs with English club

Thirroul junior Reagan Ogle has signed a two year professional contract with English League Two club Accrington Stanley after making his first team debut in the last home game of the season.

Reagan, who played his junior football for Thirroul JFC alongside a number of players in the Thunder's Youth Grade team, joined Accrington Stanley's youth academy on a scholarship after moving to England with his family to pursue his dream of becoming a full-time footballer.

His proud parents, Cathryn and Phil, said the contract was a reward for the hard work Reagan has put in so far.

"Phil and I are very proud," Cathryn said. "This was his dream and he has worked tremendously hard to get there.

"He is a very proud Aussie and also of his football roots being [with] Thirroul JFC. He was a junior at Thirroul for a few years before we left to live in England."

Reagan, who began playing for Thirroul JFC in 2004 as a five-year-old, detailed his journey in an in interview on the AccringtonStanley.co.uk website. 

“I had a friend who came over here and I’d been to school with his daughter and he suggested I came over to see how I’d do," Reagan said.

"We didn’t really think anything would come of it but it was good to see how I compared to English kids and English football.

"When Accrington gave me the chance more or less straight away I wanted to give it a go. I thought if it didn’t work I’d go home a better player than I was. Getting a scholarship was great but once that had happened I wanted to be a pro.”

The 18-year-old fullback was offered a two year contract and will join the first team ranks at Wham Stadium after making his League Two debut as a late sub in the last home game of the season against Luton Town.

Reagan, who had a successful loan spell with non-league Ramsbottom United, also featured in Stanley's Checkatrade Trophy defeat to Wolves last November and has been on the bench for the Reds in several other matches.

He said he could see a path to the club's senior setup from being involved with the under 18’s and now aims to establish himself in the first team.

“Having been at the club for a few years as I have when you get into the youth team you think that it could happen in terms of going pro and if you have a good season or two it becomes more realistic because you’re training with the first team and you know that’s what you want to do,” he said.

“As soon as you get that feeling you want that contract and once you get it it’s a great feeling.

“In the first year of the youth team I wasn’t really thinking about a contract, more about having a good season then in the second year I started playing quite well, went out on loan and that helped and when I came back there were clubs looking at me and I felt like I had a shot.

“When you get on the first team bench for the first time it’s something else. It’s completely different.”

Accrington Stanley manager John Coleman announced the promotion of Reagan to the first squad, along with another 18-year-old Zehn Mohammed.

“We are delighted that Reagan and Zehn have signed,” Coleman said. “They have huge potential and we are looking forward to working with them.

Both players have come through the youth ranks with the club and it’s a big boost to under 18s lead coach Andy Gray.

“We’re chuffed for them,” Gray said. “This is a great opportunity for them to progress. John and Jimmy have seen them in training and watched them. It’s great that Reagan has already made his debut, it’s a pat on the back for the the academy staff and it shows there’s a progression path from the academy to the first team at Accrington Stanley.”

125th anniversary: From Rovers to Bluebells to Thunder, Thunderbirds, Thunderbolts & GPR

Thirroul JFC will celebrate the 125th anniversary of the founding of the club with a Thunder-Mental Trivia Night on Saturday, May 20 at Thirroul Bowling Club.

The Thunder will fittingly play Balgownie on Saturday at Gibson Park, as Rangers were one of the clubs Thirroul FC - known as Thirroul Rovers - played in their first season after being founded at a meeting on May 21, 1895. 

Other teams included Helensburgh Rovers, Corrimal and Woonona Swifts, who were founded shortly after the Thirroul club.

Season draw for Thunderbirds teams

Football South Coast has released the draw for the women's competitions.

The White Division 1 team and U21s appear to be paired up as much as possible, while the majority of Division 2 team's games coincide with either the Blue Division 1 team or the 3rdBirds.

The draw for each team is below:

Thunder confirm finals ambitions

By Dylan Arvela, Football South Coast match reporter
Photo by Pedro Garcia

The Good Friday round of fixtures was headlined by a clash between two teams with serious finals ambitions. For Thirroul, this match was the second of three consecutive matches against the expected top three, with a 3-2 defeat to Warilla last weekend and Coniston next up. As for Fernhill, they saw off Oak Flats 2-0 maintaining their perfect record

Within seconds of the kickoff, Fernhill broke forward with Andy Keep putting Ilija Prenzoski through on goal, he rounded Joshua Williams but the striker was unable to put in a decent shot with a Thunder defender able to clear the ball.

The Foxes took an early lead in the next phase of play. With the ball loose in the box, Fernhill midfielder Scott Muilwyk was able to knock the ball back to Andy Keep who managed to tuck the ball into the bottom right corner from near the penalty mark. The worst possible start for the home side who were yet to get out of their own half. 

The next half an hour was relatively uneventful with both sides enjoying spells of possession without threatening their opponents goals. It wasn’t until the 37th minute that the Thunder had a proper chance on goal, which came through Daniel Bond who flicked a header over the bar from a deep cross into the box.

In the 40th minute, some of the Thirroul faithful were calling for a red card, after Julian Cesta-Incani blocked of Matthew Kellond’s run to the ball from just outside the box. This earned the Foxes defender a yellow card rather than a red as referee Nathan Wotton correctly judged the goalkeeper had already collected the ball, therefore, Kellond would not have had a goal scoring opportunity. 

The half came to a close with the Foxes still up by a goal to nil. Thirroul would have considered themselves unlucky because apart from the goal, the two sides were evenly matched.

Thirroul came close to an equaliser early into the second period when Corey Haines-Grose lofted the ball into the box. Fernhill keeper Brad Hunter failed to catch the ball before it fell to Adam Ward who wasn’t able to touch it goalbound. Hunter was able to gratefully regather the loose ball, a real chance in a game of few. 

From the 60th to the 70th minute, Fernhill had a couple of good opportunities through the experienced Prenzoski. First was a header from 10 metres out that Williams was able to get a hand to before collecting along the ground. The second was a half volley from the penalty box arch that lofted over the bar. Prenzoski would have hoped to have put the game to bed with one of these opportunities.

Thirroul’s best chance of the match came in the 77th minute. The Thunder rushed the Fernhill midfield forcing a counter attack, number 10 Nathan Mucci played Haines-Grose down the left channel who cut the ball back along the Foxes 6-yard box finding Kellond who was unable to get proper contact on the ball pushing it into the right post with Hunter somehow able to gather the free ball.

Fernhill had come close three minutes later when Andy Keep made a mazing run down the right wing before finding Ryan Hunter who crossed the ball into Luke McDonald. The substitute was able to get in front of his marker before hooking the ball a metre over the bar. 

The closing stages were filled with niggling fouls but little opportunity for another goal. The Thunder valiantly tried to force bodies forward but the game drifted to the full-time whistle and two straight defeats for the home side.

After the match, Thirroul boss Garth Bowley lamented his side's start, “In the first five minutes we really let ourselves down in defence… but after that, I thought we managed to get on top and did pretty well.” The loss sees Thirroul drop to 4th after Warilla’s 3-2 win over Bellambi and next up for the Thunder is another tough match against top of the table Coniston. This match is next Saturday at Thomas Gibson Park, 3 pm kickoff.

As for Fernhill, this win keeps them hot on the tail of Coniston who dropped points against Oak Flats. Coach Dan McGoldrick spoke in glowing terms of his team’s defence which is yet to concede in the league, “I’m really happy to get away with three points and a clean sheet. I’m very happy with the defence.” The Foxes next league match is at home to Bellambi but before that, they meet Coniston in the Fraternity Cup final, a chance not only for silverware but crucial momentum over their major rival in the league.

Thirroul Thunder - 0

Fernhill Foxes - 1 (Keep 1’)

Friday April 14th at Thomas Gibson Park, Thirroul

Thirroul Thunder - Joshua Williams, Daniel Bond, Corey Haines-Grose, James Hutton, Shayne Mulholland, Tyler Snelgrove, Adam Ward, Todd Davidson, Matthew Kellond, Nathan Mucci and Daniel Arthur
Subs - James Townson (on for Mulholland), Bradley Strudwick (on for Davidson), Ryan Latini (on for Arthur), Jesse Bragg and Robert Gyngell
Coach - Garth Bowley

Fernhill Foxes - Brad Hunter, Julian Cesta-Incani, Ryan Hunter, Anthony Oliver, Sean Poulton, Kolan Hmda, Andy Keep, Marc Sergi, Ilija Prenzoski, Scott Muilwyk and Dean Morosin
Subs - Dale White (on for Morosin), Andrew Breslin, Luke McDonald (on for Sergi) and James McClelland
Coach - Dan McGoldrick

Referee - Nathan Wotton
Assistant referees - Darcy Jordan and Annaliese Phipps

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This match report was first published on the footballsouthcoast.com.au website.

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Post match interviews with the coaches - https://soundcloud.com/dylaneloiarvela/post-match-interviews-after-fernhill-defeated-thirroul-1-0

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Report by Dylan Arvela on Twitter @dylaneloiarvela

Photos by Pedro Garcia

Good Friday match of the round at Gibson Park

District League Round 4 Preview

By Dylan Arvela, Football South Coast match reporter

Match of the round

Thirroul Thunder vs Fernhill Foxes at Thomas Gibson Park, kick off 3 pm, Friday 14th of April

Thirroul opened the season with two wins including a 5-0 thrashing of University but went down to Warilla last weekend in a high scoring encounter. Thunder boss Garth Bowley will be aiming to avoid back to back defeats however an inform Fernhill side is a daunting prospect. Thirroul beat Fernhill in the opening round of the Fraternity Cup before losing 4-1 against them in the semifinal

Fernhill picked up their second win of the season against Oak Flats and going into this match they are yet to concede a goal. The Foxes have a wealth of District League talent with the likes of Kolan Hmda, Ilija Prenzoski and Andrew Keep make up a formidable team. With Fernhill competing in the Fraternity Cup final on Monday, this may be a chance for Dan McGoldrick to give fringe players a chance like youngster Mitchell Turner, who came on and scored against Oak Flats, Shinsei Tanaka and Hiroki Makita who impressed in the Fraternity Cup group stage.

Prediction - Draw
 

Friday 14th of April

Bellambi Rosellas vs Warilla Wanderers at Elizabeth Park, kick off 3 pm

The Rosellas produced the upset of the round with their 2-0 win over Berkeley. Coach Tim Hooker will be delighted with the win but even more so with his side's ability to keep a clean sheet after shipping eight goals in their opening match. This said, hosting one of the league's heavyweights will be a far greater challenge and it is hard to seem Bellambi pulling off an upset.

Warilla backed up their two-goal comeback draw against Oak Flats with a 3-2 win against fellow finals candidates Thirroul. This match starts a run of six against sides the club would be expecting to finish ahead of so the experienced Barney King will be eager for a comprehensive win. 

Prediction - Warilla

Balgownie Rangers vs University FC at Judy Masters Oval, kick off 3 pm

The Rangers have collected just a point from their opening two games but they managed to keep Coniston to one goal in their opener and netted two goals in their draw against Kiama. I expect Balgownie to begin to move up the table with a set of winnable upcoming fixtures.

After a heavy 5-0 defeat first up, the Students could have been in real trouble if they suffered a similar fate against Wests, instead, the managed to pull off a 3-1 victory giving them plenty of reasons for optimism. They are a side with potential to make finals push, but they will be to continue strengthening their defensive game.

Prediction - Balgownie

Oak Flats Falcons vs Coniston FC at Keith Bond Oval, kick off 3 pm

After heartbreakingly dropping a two-goal lead at home to Warilla, the Falcons had a strong opening hour against Fernhill before losing 2-0. They will need to reproduce that first-hour performance this Friday when they take on Coniston, a team of similar quality to the Foxes. They have the players in Jarryd Vinton and Josh De Gouveia to produce a result.

Coniston sits on top of the District League table with three wins from three. They are coming off a 3-1 home win over Helensburgh that included a brace from talisman Dinko Terzic. They should have enough quality in this match to earn the three points however with the Fraternity Cup final against Fernhill on Easter Monday, coach Willy Alarcon may rest one or two players with an eye on the first piece of silverware for the season.

Prediction - Coniston

Helensburgh Thistle vs Kiama Quarriers at Rex Jackson Park, kick off 3 pm

Despite a creditable 3-2 defeat to Coniston in the Bert Bampton Cup, Helensburgh has failed to deliver in the league so far, currently sitting at the bottom of the table with no points and a -7 goal difference. The positive is, it is only early days and they do have a young squad with plenty of potential. A result here will be important for squad morale. 

The Quarriers have produced commendable results in their opening two games, a 3-2 defeat to Coniston and 2-2 draw against Balgownie in round 3. There was concern about this Kiama side after they suffered some key injuries combined with poor preseason results but these early results are promising. Their four goals is another encouraging sign.

Prediction - Draw

Wests Illawarra vs Berkeley Sports at Unanderra Oval, kick off 3 pm

Wests started their season with a comprehensive 8-1 win over Bellambi in the league followed up by Bert Bampton Cup win over Berkeley. This early season form was abruptly halted by a 3-1 defeat to University on Sunday. Wests have improved their squad from last season and their true form is likely to be somewhere in between the Bellambi and Uni results. 

Berkeley is one of two teams yet to record a point in the league. Their three matches included a strong opening half hour against Oak Flats and a resolute 1-0 defeat to Thirroul. The concerning result for Berkeley boss, Paul Mears will be their 2-0 defeat against struggling Bellambi which means they have now gone over 185 minutes without scoring a league goal. 

Prediction - Wests

Preview by Dylan Arvela on Twitter @dylaneloiarvela

Welcome to new sponsor Bulli Medical Practice

Thirroul JFC is pleased to welcome Bulli Medical Practice to the club as a new sponsor for the 2017 season.

Bulli Medical Practice has taken up one of the club's new Sponsor a Player packages and will sponsor Thunderbirds player Alex Pritchard.

Alex, who is a registered nurse at Bulli Medical Practice, is a great club person and role model.

Besides playing for the Thunderbirds Division 3 team, she also coaches the Under 15s Girls team and was last year named the 2016 Thirroul JFC Senior Club Person of the Year.

Another member of the Thunderbirds "Thirdbirds" team, Keely Mar, also works at Bulli Medical Practice, which has a proud history of supporting the local community and is a regular sponsor of Illawarra Folk Festival, Scarborough Board Riders and the PCYC.

Further details about Bulli Medical Practice can be found by clicking on their logo, which is located on the home page of the Thirroul Football website.

Please support Bulli Medical Practice and the family of sponsors who support Thirroul JFC.

For information about sponsoring Thirroul JFC, including Sponsor a Player packages, please go to the Sponsorship tab at the top of the website.