ILLAROO coach Andrew Timbs has described his side’s performance against Culburra at Sharman Park on Saturday as the worst he has seen in his time at the club.
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While they were only beaten 2-1, the final score flattered the home side and did not tell the whole story.
In contrast, Culburra coach Tony Gauci was very happy with the effort of his team, but thought they should have scored more goals.
Culburra opened their account after 10 minutes when a cross from Aaron Mason found Steve Gray, who drew in the last defender before passing it on to Jack Miller who had an easy tap in for the first goal.
While the consensus from both camps was that Culburra dominated most of the game, they were unable to put away a number of opportunities, with Gauci suggesting there must have been some kind of voodoo on the back of the net.
Illaroo managed to find an equaliser through Trent Bray mid-way through the second half and it was not until the last five minutes that Culburra were able to put the game to bed, when Dale Blundell slotted their second goal.
Gauci said he had never seen his players look so happy when they came up with the winning goal.
“We were on fire in the second half, but I tell you what, we probably missed about five easy chances,” he said.
“The guys are killing me and I’ve got more grey hairs than I’d like; that’s for sure.
“At one stage I thought it might come back to bite us, but I was really happy and I think the win was well deserved.”
When Timbs was asked what he thought of his side’s performance, his reply was short and simple: crap.
A few more four-letter adjectives were used later on as Timbs conceded it just wasn’t their day.
“We just didn’t turn up,” he said.
“It’s probably the worst I’ve seen us play since I’ve been with the club.
“We still almost managed to steal a point out of it, but they should have won, so it would have been hard to justify.”
Timbs said even before the kick off, it never really felt like they were in it and it snowballed after they went behind early.
He said he couldn’t pick any standouts and it is likely there will be chances to the squad when they take on United at Lyrebird Park next week.
Gauci on the other hand praised his side for an all-round team effort, with Dale Blundell, Aaron Mason and Daniel Wells being the standouts.
The win meant Culburra extended their lead at the top of the table and they will now have the opportunity to go further in front when they play the second-placed Shoalhaven Heads next week.
Gauci said he feels settled with his line-up but could face some selection headaches in the near future, with striker Corey Ryan a chance of returning in the coming weeks.