Morgan musters hat-trick, but Albion Park forced to share points with Corrimal

The White Eagles and Rangers played out an entertaining 3-all draw in cold and windy conditions at Memorial Park to cap off round five of the Illawarra Premier League season.

Morgan managed all three goals for the visitors - celebrating his second and third with front flips - while Corrimal's Rick Goodchild scored a double and Jake Morlando also found the back of the net.

While delighted to muster a hat-trick, Morgan was disappointed his side couldn't secure the victory.

"It's frustrating, I felt like we were on top for most of the game," he said.

"I thought we could have had a few more chances, we had a couple that we didn't take well at all. And we had some lapses of concentration at the back. But we're still happy to get a point.

"I'm pretty happy, I haven't been scoring so it's been good to finally hit the back of the net It was probably a bit over the top [his front flips], but I love scoring, man. I usually only do it after scoring a hat-trick but I decided to throw one in a little early."

Both sides entered Sunday's match under strength. Corrimal striker Van Elia is on the sidelines with an ankle injury while Albion Park were missing the likes of Brendan Fordham.

Neither side was able to take the ascendancy in the early stages, before the Rangers finally found some space to make an attack. From a nice cross, Ricky Goodchild sweetly connected with his header to give Corrimal a 1-0 lead after nine minutes.

The Rangers continued to press hard and a cross from Goodchild found a flying Takao Teramoto, but his header swung wide.

Conversely, Albion Park looked ominous when moving the ball around but their forwards weren't quite clicking together. Morgan, perhaps frustrated, received a yellow card following a strong challenge on Dean Pender deep in the Rangers' defence.

However, after that moment, all momentum was with Albion Park.

They had a great chance to score from a Jordan Nickovski cross, but the ball was well gloved by goalkeeper Kaydin Harrison.

Cody Waller also had a chance, but Harrison was able to get his body in the way.

And then, finally, the pressure on Corrimal's defence proved too much. A low shot from Morgan deflected off a defender and into goals to help Albion Park draw level at the half-hour mark.

The White Eagles continued to dominate possession and territory for the remaining 15 minutes, but Harrison was able to stand firm at the back for Corrimal.

The score remained 1-all at half time.

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Both teams had their chances after the break, through Goodchild and Morgan. However, it took until the 59^th minute for the next goal to come, with Morgan heading home truly from a corner for Albion Park.

However, just two minutes later, the Rangers were able to respond with a similar goal, as the ball deflected off Jake Morlando and into goal following a corner.

While the score read 2-all, the momentum appeared to be swinging towards the home side. Samuel Matthews and Goodchild both had near misses, with Goodchild's curling shot hitting the cross bar and deflecting away.

On the counter-attack, the White Eagles were able to make their opposition pay, with a crisp strike from Morgan helping his team take a 3-2 lead. The goal also completed his hat-trick after just 70 minutes.

However, remarkably, Corrimal were able to respond almost immediately. A deft touch from Goodchild completed his double and pulled the score back to 3-all.

Soon after, Albion Park's Chris Nathaniel received a yellow card and Corrimal received a corner from the ensuing play. The ball was booted towards goal, and Morlando's header was on target but goalkeeper Blake Coad tapped the ball over the bar.

Both teams had late chances to score, including Albion Park's Zane Wilson in the final minute, but the final score remained at 3-all.

In Saturday's IPL games, Bellambi came from three goals down to clinch a 4-3 win over Coniston at JJ Kelly Park and Woonona managed a late flurry of goals to help secure a 3-0 win over Port Kembla at Ocean Park.

Wollongong United managed a 2-0 victory over South Coast United at Macedonia Park and Olympic secured a 4-1 win over Cringila at PCYC. Bulli played out a 1-all draw with the Blueys at Tarrawanna Oval.