He once called Coniston home, but Anthony Krsteski returned to JJ Kelly Park to haunt his old side on Monday, scoring a brace in Cringila's 3-2 victory in this year's Illawarra Premier League elimination final.
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Krsteski was everywhere during the match, with his first-half double proving the difference as the Lions marched into week two of the Premier League finals, while also ending Coniston's 2022 campaign.
His first goal came inside five minutes, before the hosts replied around the half-hour mark through Toby Norval. However, Krsteski's second goal - before teammate Peter Simonoski also scored on the brink of halftime - helped the visitors take a crucial 3-1 advantage into the break.
Coniston had the bulk of possession and dominated territory in the second stanza, but were only rewarded with a Van Elia penalty, as the Lions absorbed wave after wave of attacks to hold on for a gritty victory.
"It was unreal, the boys showed a lot of heart. It was good teamwork and communication in the second half. The boys dug deep and that was all of the one percenters that we did throughout the season coming through," Krsteski told the Mercury.
"We were confident in our ability [at halftime], but we knew that was a lot of hard work still needed to be done. The way they play is incredible, with all of the people dropping in and out of the line, so it takes a lot of energy and effort to stop that. So we knew we had to dig deep, and we did.
"It was good [to score a brace], but it was more about the win and going to the next round of finals."
Cringila will now meet Bulli in another must-win final this weekend.
"That's going to be a great game," Krsteski said.
"We haven't beaten them yet this year, so it's going to be interesting, but I feel like we're a lot different to the team that we were back then."
Cringila had the bulk of possession during the early stages and were able to capitalise in the fifth minute. Krsteski headed the ball over Coniston goalkeeper Kaydin Harrison, regathered the ball, and fired it into the left-hand corner to give his side a 1-0 lead.
The next big moment occurred about 20 minutes later when Cringila earned a penalty after Krsteski was dragged down inside the box. From the spot, Michael Mendes lined up for the visitors, but his attempt was denied by Harrison.
It's a missed opportunity that Cringila would rue. On the counter-attack, the ball fell to the feet of Norval, whose sweet strike beat goalkeeper Nikola Ristevki and helped Coniston draw level at 1-1.
However, Cono's joy was short lived, as the Lions hit back almost immediately through Krsteski. The forward chipped the ball over the goalkeeper from the edge of the box to complete his first-half brace and give Cringila a 2-1 lead.
Within sight of halftime, Cringila were able to deal another massive blow. Some lovely team passing led to Simonoski finding himself one-on-one with the goalkeeper, and his low shot hit the post before falling into the back of the net to give the Lions a 3-1 advantage.
That's how the score remained at halftime.
The end-to-end entertaining football continued into the second stanza, but neither side was able to find the back of the net. Coniston in particular looked dangerous inside their front third, and the pressure finally told when they received a penalty after substitute Aleksander Duckinoski was dragged down inside the Lions' box.
From the spot, Elia made no mistake, as the hosts cut the deficit to 3-2.
Elia continued to loom large for Cringila's defence during the second half, and was at the centre of many attacking raids. However, despite having the bulk of possession and dominating territory for the remainder of the game, Coniston couldn't find the equaliser, as the Lions held on for a gutsy victory.
"It was tough when you have a 45 minutes like we did in the first half. We were defending too deep and were too stretched, and there were nerves at the start. We were gifting goals and it was uphill from there," Cono midfielder Lukas Stergiou said.
"We did well in the second half, I don't think they really touched the ball, but we had to take risks which left ourselves open, so we were always chasing the game after the first 10, 15 minutes. At halftime, we didn't think it was over, because we know the quality we have in the dressing room, and two goals could have easily been three. But that's how it is.
"Crini had their moments, and they scored their goals, which is essentially what you have to do. And we didn't. So we got punished and that's how it is, so good luck to them."
Stergiou said he would look back on the 2022 campaign with mixed emotions, after Coniston finished the regular season in third place before bowing out early in the finals.
"It was a tough season, stop-start, with extended periods where we weren't playing and we were trying to keep fit. It was difficult, especially coming off the last couple of years with COVID," he said.
"But the boys did really well, we got the club championship so we achieved something. But it's unfortunate that we couldn't get to the grand final and have a crack there."
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.
