All but over for Kiama
August 29, 2007
Section: Sport
Illawarra Premier League " CHRIS HUDSON
KIAMA Quarriers need a minor miracle to avoid relegation after a 3-1 loss to Coniston Lions at the Quarry in round 24.
The Quarriers are now six points adrift of Lions with two regular season games remaining.
Kiama have to beat competition heavyweights Bulli and Dandaloo in the final two rounds and hope the Lions fail to secure a point.
In front of a good crowd, the Quarriers took the lead minutes before the halftime interval, a Matt Goss cross finding Tommy Mayes in space to head home from 10 yards.
Earlier, a Coniston's Ile Kostovski was dismissed for a second bookable offence, allegedly diving in the area.
This did not help the Lions' cause, but a solid second half performance made up for the one-man deficit.
The Quarriers had its fair share of chances with both Mayes and Donlon having efforts go wide, while a long range Josh Price shot was saved.
At the other end, Coniston saw a good effort shave the bar, but were restricted to their half for long spells.
It was always going to be a volatile encounter with so much at stake and the referee was kept busy, dishing out six yellow and one red card.
In the second half, Coniston applied pressure on Kiama's back three, creating effective wing play.
On the hour Kiama's rearguard was breached when a deflected shot went over the outstretched body of Ziel Zerner in goal.
Ten minutes later Kiama could quite have levelled, but Price's freekick was cleared onto the post.
Minutes later Zerner was forced to make a brilliant save, only to see the rebound hammered home from close range, giving Coniston the lead.
Kiama tried hard but could not breakdown the ten-man Lions, who sensed premier league survival.
Ten minutes from time a Consiton winger was allowed to dribble through the heart of the Kiama defence and a clinical finish gave Zerner no chance.
Kiama's youth grade side continued to impress with a solid 6-2 win. Daniel Swinton and Cameron Nelson both netted hat-tricks as the youngsters all but confirmed a finals' spot.
The reserves hammered a demoralised Lions 11-0, with goals coming from Kris Brant (4), Wayne Farnsworth (3), Michael Tidswell (2), Ryan Trevor and Ben Jones.