IT DOESN'T GET ANY
BETTER.
To say that the Kiama Quarriers Soccer Club has had a big week is a very big understatement. The fact is
they have had a huge week both on and off the park.
The week started with a very important meeting before the New South Wales Soccer Federation Appeals Board in Sydney where the on-going saga of the Round
Five washed out game against Warilla was discussed. After a short hearing the Board ruled in Kiama’s favour and ordered that the game be played on a date to be set. They also dismissed all decisions set down by the Illawarra Soccer Association and the Illawarra Appeals Board.
The Chairman of the Board, Sydney Solicitor John Constantine, was very critical of the way the matter was handled by the Illawarra Appeals Board and
commended the Kiama Club for their actions during the long drawn out process.
The problem was one that should have been dealt with using a large amount of common sense rather than being dragged through the various hearings that it
was. The Quarriers were always of the opinion that they were right and were justly vindicated by the NSW Federation
Appeals Board.
The good news started the week off well for the Club and they went into the weekend in good spirit. The
Club had a double header with Ruse away on Saturday and Woonona at home on the Sunday. The Woonona game was a
washed out game from the week before.
Saturday’s game against cellar-dwellers, Ruse, was played at Campbelltown on a very poor pitch which contributed to very lack-lustre affair that never
raised itself above mediocre. The match was a total bore for the supporters who travelled up for the game and saw
the Quarriers run out easy 3 – 0 victors.
Kiama were in total control for the whole of the match, even though they played it in a very casual manner. Ruse
offered little or nothing to the match and were content to sit back and try to keep the score respectable. Their
tactics hovered between hacking defence and roughhouse wrestling.
The Quarriers, although playing well below their normal standard, seemed to be toying with Ruse at times and never got into any semblance of their
normal game until the second half. That is not to say they weren’t threatening the Ruse goals as the play was
generally bogged down in the Ruse end of the field.
The First half was best forgotten but saw the Quarriers hit the woodwork on three occasions and have two goals disallowed. Ruse were quite happy to go into the sheds at half time with a 1 – 0 score line and were banking on the same tactics
in the second half to stop the Quarriers.
Unfortunately the script was changed and the Quarriers tore Ruse apart in a twenty-minute spell at the start of the second half. Jim Berry opened the scoring with a penalty when a Ruse defender handled the ball and his goal was quickly followed by
one from Luke Bedford. The game was gone for Ruse and for the remainder of the match they tried to goad Kiama with
roughhouse and niggling tactics. It didn’t work and Kiama strolled through the rest of the game quite easily with
Coach Brod Crighton using his Reserves Bench well.
The final score was a respectable 3 – 0 win but was not a true indication of the one sidedness of the match. The
Quarriers strolled through the game without ever being in danger and appeared to be saving themselves for the following days game against Woonona.
Although turning in a sub standard performance the Quarriers had some players who performed well and the pick of them were Marc Price and Luke Bedford
who both dominated play. The Kiama Leagues Club Man of the Match was defender Mick Gillespie who was head and
shoulders above the rest and put in a top all round effort.
Kiama’s Reserve Grade had a similar experience to the First Grade and scored six goals in the second half to win 6-0 against a poor Ruse side. The match was lop-sided and the score could have been many more if not for the Ruse goalkeeper who had a fine game.
Kiama’s Youth Grade had a sterner test and won 2-1 after putting in one of their worst efforts of the season. The
Kids were horrible and should have strolled past a very ordinary Ruse eleven.
Having all three grades winning was good news but it got better when news filtered in that First Grade rivals Warilla had been held to a 2 – 2 draw
against Highlands. Good news indeed.
Saturdays results put Kiama into a strong position for Sunday’s game. If they could beat a tough Woonona
team then it would be guaranteed a top two position and promotion to the Premier League.
Woonona have had a mixed season and scored an incredible 46 goals while languishing in tenth place. They
have a tough, no nonsense approach to the game and play a very physical style. The Quarriers continued with their
system of squad rotation and put a strong team on the park.
The match was a very tense affair and it appeared the Quarriers were suffering from some nerves for much of the game before running out winners 2 – 0. Woonona tried to upset the home team with some questionable tackles but the Quarriers kept their composure and
concentrated on the job at hand.
The early exchanges were fairly even but Kiama seemed to gain in strength as the match wore on. The
Quarriers had a few chances go amiss as Jim Berry put two headers over the bar after doing well to get to the ball. Three
minutes before half time Luke Bedford opened the scoring for Kiama with a well taken goal. Goalkeeper Josh Tidswell
hit a massive punt well into the Woonona half and Bedford put pressure on the defence in chasing the ball. He out
sprinted the defenders and had no trouble slotting it into the net past a static Woonona ‘keeper. With half time
looming it was a great time to score and the boys went for the break with their tails up.
The second half was a bit of a reversal and Woonona slowly fought their way into the match and gained the upper hand.
The visitors put immense pressure on the Quarriers. The locals handled it well but caused problems for
themselves by dropping back into defence. This allowed Woonona to push forward and it became a battle for survival
as Kiama battened down the hatches and rode the storm out.
Some of the defenders and midfielders showed a little bit of in-experience in giving away silly free kicks just outside the box but Tidswell did well to
marshal his defence and defuse the situation. He was cool and calm under pressure while the supporters on the
sidelines were nervous wrecks.
Once again Coach Brod Crighton used his Reserves Bench well and with fifteen minutes to he brought on Brian Brown and Alex Cross. Both players have pace to burn and they startled a tiring Woonona defence and turned the match around. The Quarriers opened up and pushed forward into the attack and took control of the game.
This was the real Quarriers and they looked supremely confident as they pushed the ball about.
Brown rewarded his Coach with a great goal three minutes from time to clinch the match 2 – 0. He picked
the ball up just inside Woonona’s half and sprinted at the defence. He shaped up to play the ball square to a
team mate before darting into the penalty box, completely wrong footing the defence. From twelve metres out he
picked his spot and rifled the ball into the roof of the net for a tremendous goal to finish the match in style.
The scenes at the ground after the full time whistle were very emotional with players and officials embracing each other as the gravity of the
achievement set in. An even more emotional scene was played out in the dressing shed as players, coaches, officials
and supporters all tried to crowd in as the players let rip with their traditional club song.
Kiama were well served by all of the players but special mention must go out to Mike Merriman and Marc Price who did the right things at the right times
to steady the team down and bring composure to the side. A popular choice for the Kiama Leagues Club Man of the
Match was teenage defender Brad Tuohy who had a sensational game. This kid can play and is brilliant with the ball
at his feet. He outplayed his opponent and set the standard for his team-mates.
With all the excitement of the First Grade match it was a shame to see the Reserve and Youth Grades play well below par to lose important matches.
The Reserves turned in a stinker and were thrashed 5 – 1 to bring to an end their eight game winning streak. They
were outclassed by Woonona but the problem appeared to be more a case of not playing to their coach’s instructions than anything else. Many of these players are rotating in and out of the First Grade Squad and the team that was on the park should have
done much better than this. The boys now have to wait and see what happens next week in the last game of the season
to see if they can sneak into the semi-finals.
The Youth Grade also shot themselves in the foot and went down 3 – 0. This was very disappointing for the
team although they still stay in the frame for the semi-finals. What was even more disappointing was the three
players who never turned up for the game, going off to the snowfields instead. Sorry fellows, your attitude stinks
and you let your team-mates down. It will be interesting to see what Coach Ian Rankine has to say about their
absence at training during the week.
The two wins in First Grade shot the Quarriers into top spot of the First Division. Kiama are on top with
41 points with two games to play against FERNHILL and Warilla. Tarrawanna are second with 39 points with a bye in
the last round. Warilla Wanders are in third place with 34 points and play Shellharbour City and Kiama.
The equation is simple. If Kiama can beat either Warilla or FERNHILL they will be Champions of the
Illawarra Soccer Association First Division.