Bulli captain Ben McDonald was left to rue a missed opportunity after his side played out a 1-1 draw with a 10-man Wollongong Olympic on Saturday.
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Van Elia's penalty gave the visitors the lead in the 33rd minute, but the match flipped on its head minutes later when James O'Rourke was sent off at Balls Paddock.
Deakin Brownlee equalised seven minutes after half time. but Bulli missed several chances to secure victory. By the full-time whistle, both teams forced to share the honours in their round 12 Illawarra Premier League fixture.
For McDonald, it was a "disappointing" result as Bulli fight with several sides for fifth position on the IPL ladder.
"I thought in the second half, we had the ascendancy, but we couldn't find that final pass to get the goal. It was disappointing but we'll move on. It is what it is," he said.
"I think, despite where we are on the ladder, we've got to take each game and play for a win. We rode our luck a bit early on, but it's still disappointing not to come up with three points. It's the old cliche that we've got to take it one week at a time, but that's what we've got to do. And we'll move onwards and upwards from next week."
Conversely, Saturday's stalemate means that Olympic remain undefeated this IPL campaign and stay on top of the ladder. Veteran Chris Price said he had mixed emotions after the game.
"It's disappointing because we obviously pride ourselves on winning games - and we've been able to do that most games this year - and under adversity we've come up trumps," Price said.
"But whilst it is disappointing, to be able to get a draw against Bulli - who are a quality team - with 10 men for most of the game, we'll take that and go on to next week. It's just about character and resilience, we prided ourselves on that at the start of the year and they were the foundations we wanted to take into the year. Sometimes you've got to rely on those in certain games, and today was one of those. And we did what we had to do."
Players were met by blustery conditions on Saturday. Olympic's best early chance came when Tory Musumeci put through a great pass to Elia, but his shot was wide of the target.
Bulli looked keen to control possession from the outset. In attack, Kyle Jackson took a shot from long range, which was stopped by gloveman Christian Pretto. At the other end, Olympic looked lively but struggled to click going forward.
While they looked a bit clunky, Olympic continued to press hard and were rewarded, with the referee ruling that Bulli gloveman Ben McGinnes dragged Elia down inside the box. Elia stepped up to nail the penalty and the visitors led 1-0 after 33 minutes.
However, momentum swung minutes later when O'Rourke received a red card following a strong challenge. Bulli nearly captalised on the advantage straight away, but Nick Littler's scrambling shot was just wide.
The home side had their chances late in the half, however, the score remained 1-0 at the break.
Bulli were patient and looked to control possession after the break. But when an opportunity opened up following an Olympic error, the hosts pounced.
The ball was worked forward to Brownlee, whose shot took a deflection into the back of the net to draw level at 1-1 in the 52nd minute.
Bulli continued to push forward, with their best chance being an Aaron Baker shot that skimmed over the cross bar. Meanwhile, Olympic looked to keep absorbing the pressure and to cause damage on the counter-attack.
But it was Bulli who looked more lively in the second half, especially after the injection of Joel Beattie. He put through a good pass for Brownlee, who was dragged down just outside the box by Mark Every. The free kick was taken by Littler, whose attempt sailed over the cross bar.
After Olympic were able to find some momentum and force a couple of corners, Bulli looked strong on the counter-attack, leading to Luke Foster taking a long-range attempt which Pretto tapped over the bar.
Bulli also forced a couple of corners, however, Olympic's defence proved up to the task. It would prove to be the last real chance of the game, as the sides were forced to share the points on Saturday.
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Joshua Bartlett
A sporting fanatic who is keen to promote all codes in the Illawarra and abroad. Mercury's chief football reporter.
A sporting fanatic who is keen to promote all codes in the Illawarra and abroad. Mercury's chief football reporter.
