Wollongong Olympic survive scare to claim Premier League win over Port Kembla

Olympic held a comfortable two-goal lead heading into stoppage time, before Port's Christian Safioti breathed life back into the contest when he scored in the 93^rd minute.

Zebras striker Jordan Nikolovski then had a chance to snare an unlikely draw two minutes later, however, his penalty hit the post.

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The result sealed Olympic's third win in an impressive beginning to a stop-start IPL season, however, coach Matt Bailey said there was plenty of room for improvement.

"We were cruising at 3-1 with 10 minutes to go and then we were a little bit green and naive, and that's where that experience and game management comes into play - that's where we should be able to close out the game from there," Bailey said.

"We made some silly errors and opened the door back up with a deflected chance then they nearly had a penalty in the 95^th minute.

''But it's been difficult, we haven't had a lot of football which has meant the players' match fitness is nowhere near where it needs to be. It's the situation that a lot of clubs are facing."

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Olympic looked the more dominant side in the opening half and opened up a 1-0 lead at the break courtesy of Stefan Dimoski.

The Zebras returned serve six minutes into the second half through Daniel Carella, before Rick Goodchild's 70^th minute penalty saw the visitors wrest back the lead.

Olympic appeared to have sealed victory when Dimoski found the back of the net in the 89^th minute, before Port gave them a late scare.

"I thought the performance was really good in the first half. We controlled possession, we controlled the tempo of the game and carved out some really good chances," Bailey said.

"But I think the second half just demonstrates that we've got some work to do. We were sloppy, loose and allowed some chances for Port Kembla, which ultimately nearly cost us."

The game is one of just two IPL games set to go ahead this weekend, as rain continues to decimate the 2022 competition. The other match will see the Lions host Tarrawanna on Monday.

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