SHOALHAVEN United are aiming for a spot in the major semi after they picked up a 4-2 win against Illaroo at Lyrebird Park on Saturday.
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Their coach Trevor Skingle said it was far from their best performance, but was pleased to take the three points, which will have them pushing to finish the season in second place.
United opened the scoring in the 15th minute when Dean Atkinson came up with a good finish from a volley to find the back of the net.
Illaroo later equalised through Aaron Crittenden, but the scores didn’t stay level for long, with Billy Wallington scoring a second goal for United, giving them a 2-1 lead at half time.
Despite the half time lead, United coach Trevor Skingle was less than convinced by their performance.
“We were playing pretty shit to be honest,” he said.
“Just a bit too flat and we fell asleep a few times,” he added.
Skingle was a bit happier with their second half performance where Shaun Aldous scored their third goal, before Wallington added his second to put them ahead 4-1.
This was followed by several more chances for United, but they were unable to put any of them away and it was actually Illaroo who came up with the next goal, scoring a consolation just before full time.
Arguably the biggest chance for United came when Nando Lattanzio ran all the way from right back to find himself open at the six-yard box.
“He had an open goal, with no keeper and somehow he still missed it,” Skingle said.
“I’ve got to remind him that means he’s still on a nudie run and even though we’ve got one more game, if he couldn’t score that, he’s got no chance,” he added with a laugh.
Despite their number of missed opportunities, Skingle was still pleased to take the points.
“They all did what they had to do and nothing more really,” Skingle said.
“It was a real team effort, when the team was doing well, everyone played well, so it’s hard to single anyone out,” he added.
Skingle commended Illaroo for their effort, as they were without a number of players and had several backing up.
“The way they played for 90 minutes really showed their commitment,” he said.
Skingle also wanted to congratulate Culburra on finishing first, but said it was always the likely outcome with all the players they have available.