Bulli’s Pat Morales (right) and Tarra’s James Kerr clash during the IPL qualifying final. Picture: SYLVIA LIBER.
ILLAWARRA FOOTBALL
They were at each other for 120 minutes, but one gets the feeling this is not over. At least not yet.
The scoreboard has Bulli advancing to a major semi-final showdown with Dapto Dandaloo. Tarrawanna are down to their last chance.
But the latest chapter in this storied local rivalry just might be written away from the pitch - and won't the outcome be crucial to each side's Illawarra Premier League finals ambitions.
Tarrawanna had David Hartas sent off after lashing home a spectacular opening goal. Brendan Fordham instigated Bulli's reply and was also shown red.
Their finals fates will be determined by disciplinary procedures to follow.
The real hero was probably beanpole striker Ben McDonald whose brace - including the clincher 20 seconds into the second period of extra time - sealed Bulli's 2-1 win at Tarrawanna Oval yesterday.
But it wasn't the main talking point for an absorbing game where both sides finished with 10.
Hartas trudged off the pitch in the 67th minute after throwing the ball at Bulli skipper David Buchanan's head after a tussle in the corner.
Fordham followed 16 minutes later for dissent, apparently levelled at an opponent who allegedly incited him. The specifics will be argued and dissected later.
Coaches Ben Smith and Luke McGuire did find common ground on one thing - they will be counting the cost in the coming weeks.
Said Smith: "Why don't we worry about the bigger things in the game like bad tackles and elbows? I'm a long, long way away from that [Hartas' red] and I hate to see anyone sent off for something like that. It was pretty trivial and a yellow card at best.
"David Hartas was probably harshly dealt with for that and Brendan Fordham [too]. You should be more worried about protecting players' legs than anything."
McGuire also stood in Fordham's corner, while throwing his support behind Hartas despite his side relinquishing a 1-0 lead when he was in the sheds.
"I don't think you can say it was his fault entirely, but it certainly didn't help us at that stage of the game," he said.
Perhaps the only real winners out of yesterday's contest were Dapto Dandaloo - and they didn't even kick a ball.
Their two closest rivals slugged it out for an extra 30 minutes, had niggling concerns to key players (most notably to Tarrawanna's Darren Stone) and now have suspensions hovering.
But the Fury, who only bested Bulli for the league title on goal difference, will have to contend with a red-hot McDonald. The hitman squeezed home a 79th-minute equaliser after Fordham's sprint and delivery before firing past a helpless Christian Pretto late on.
"He had an injury in the pre-season and things just weren't going for him," Smith said of his 12-goal talisman.