Never say die Quarriers clinch first IPL point

A "never-say-die" attitude eventually paid dividends for Kiama Quarriers in a hard fought one-all draw against third-placed Albion Park White Eagles, in Illawarra Premier League at The Quarry on Saturday.

The game deserved to be a draw on possession alone, but with Albion Park well in front on the corner count.

The Eagles had already clocked up three corners before Kiama had their first effort on goal in the 14th minute. But it was well worth the wait.

A direct free kick at the edge of the box, was drilled into the corner of the net by Kris Brant, but it was cleared off the line by a defender with the keeper well beaten.

The visitors were swinging the ball wide and using the wings to an advantage, which made Kiama defend in numbers, leaving a strike partnership of Dave Buchanan and Brant with limited support.

Albion Park showed why they are third on the ladder with some inventive passing play and quick breaks out of the defence, and in the 20th minute a 30 yard screamer just flew over the Kiama bar.

Minutes later however, Kiama's Matt Goss out-sprinted the defence, only to see his wonderful cross from the byline cleared for safety, with only Brant on hand against a four-man defence.

Alex Cross was playing a deeper than usual role, often called upon to defend, which he did to good effect.

The tigerish Mitch Grant harassed the visitors all day and Brad Gallagher showed composure in a cluttered midfield.

Albion Park continued to force Kiama on the back foot however, as the corner count rose to seven.

Soon after Kiama rattled the Eagles when a sweetly taken corner by Goss caused panic in the area, and with several chances in the melee going begging, somehow the Eagles managed to clear to safety.

Kiama keeper Kiel Zerner was called upon soon after to pull off a marvelous save to deny a direct free kick from 25 yards.

In the 39th minute however, the stalemate was broken. Kiama gave the ball away just inside the Albion Park half, which left the defence wide open and from a quick brake, Albion Park capitalised on the chance and took the lead.

In the second half, Albion Park once again continued to chalk up the corners with three in the first eight minutes.

The defence held firm however, with Brad Page once again having a huge game.

His partner at the back, Matt Gallagher, made a crucial tackle on the hour to deny the visitors when the forward only had the keeper to beat.

Kiama started to dominate for long spells and in the 78th minute Buchanan hammered home the equaliser.

That goal lifted The Quarriers and it set the scene for a nail-biting finale with Albion Park throwing caution to the wind in search of the winner.

The home side were not to be out done and their "chase every ball" attitude proved the players" true mettle in its fight for Premier League survival.

In the final minutes, Kiama held a collective breath when an Albion Park shot flew inches over the bar, moments later a scramble in the Kiama area resulted in Page clearing to concede another corner.

It can only be described as a gutsy performance by The Quarriers in a highly tense atmosphere.

Albion Park were clearly disappointed at the end of the day, but nobody would deny Kiama its first point of the season.

Keeper Kiel Zerner, Page, Buchanan, Goss and Matt Gallagher all stood out.

Nearest rivals Kemblawarra were soundly beaten 5-0 by South Coast United, which makes next week's visit to Kemblawarra all the more important for Premiership survival in what has now become a six-point contest.

Earlier in the day, the youth grade continued its fine form with a rousing 4-1 win over Albion Park.

Two goals in each half were enough to see off the visitors. Todd Wade, Jamie Stevenson, Richard Curran and Cameron Nelson were all on target.

The Reserves were unfortunate to come away from the game 3-1 down after having a goal disallowed and one effort cleared off the line.

However, Wayne Farnsworth proved that he can match it at this level with a composed goal to give the Quarriers a glimmer of hope before two late goals destroyed any chance of a comeback.