Goals galore and tense draws highlight 2023 Premier League's second round

Coniston kicked off round two of the IPL with a 7-0 thumping of a 10-man Corrimal on Friday night, while Bulli upset Wollongong United 1-0 and Tarrawanna emerged victorious 2-1 over Port Kembla on Saturday.

IPL newbies Helensburgh and last year's wooden spooners Bellambi played out a 2-2 draw, while a nine-man Wollongong Olympic and Cringila also shared the points following their 1-1 stalemate on Sunday.

One match still remains in the second round, with Albion Park to host South Coast United on Wednesday night. However, for now, here are some of the key moment from this round:

UNDER THE PUMP?

It's obviously still very early days, but Wollongong United may be feeling the pressure following two underwhelming performances to start their 2023 campaign.

The defending IPL champions fought back from two goals down early to play out a draw at home with the Thistle in round one. Post-match, coach Billy Tsovolos described that performance as "frustrating".

Read more: Five things we learned from the weekend in Illawarra sport

United then fell 1-0 to Bulli in round two on Saturday, with Ben McDonald proving the match-winner at Balls Paddock. Bulli's captain produced a goal just before halftime to secure his team's first win of the season.

Although it's way too early to write off any side after two rounds, Tsovolos will be hoping for a drastic improvement from his men when they face the Blueys at home this Saturday.

FREE FLOWING

Coniston certainly flexed their muscles on Friday night, thumping the Rangers 7-0 at JJ Kelly Park.

Corrimal were hampered due to being reduced to 10 men inside 25 minutes, however, the hosts already led 2-0 at that stage courtesy of two goals to Matthew Tschentscher.

After the red card was handed to Harrison Matias, 'Cono' took full advantage, with Tschentscher pushing on to secure a hat-trick as they piled on the goals.

Read more: Charity Shield an aberration, real Dragons showed up on Sunday says coach

Some fans would argue that a solid Coniston win should have been expected against a youthful opponent. However, it's the second solid showing from Rob Jonovski's men in the past fortnight. Despite being reduced to eight men, the JJ Kelly Park side showed plenty of grit in their season-opening 4-2 defeat to Cringila.

Coniston already look like one of the teams to beat in the 2023 Premier League.

THE REAL DEAL?

Speaking of Cringila, it was far from their best performance, but the Lions deserve some praise for holding Olympic to a 1-1 draw at PCYC on Sunday.

In a dramatic and tense affair, the hosts were reduced to nine men late in the contest, with Olympic veteran Rick Goodchild and Cringila captain Peter Simonoski scoring for their respective sides via penalties.

Read more: Riding high for team Brandon Demmery and Troy Corser

While Olympic coach Matt Bailey was bitterly disappointed by his team's performance, Simonoski had more positive things to say about his side, praising the Lions for fighting back after trailing 1-0 at halftime.

Simonoski added that it was a good effort to pinch a point on the road, and it's hard to argue. If Cringila are destined to make their second successive finals appearances, results like we saw on Sunday won't hurt.

SIGH OF RELIEF

Full credit to the Blueys, who put a week of misery behind them to claim all three points in Saturday's 2-1 win over Port Kembla.

Tarrawanna were thrashed 4-1 by Albion Park in their IPL season opener, and then suffered more pain just days later when they were knocked out of the Australia Cup by Helensburgh (6-3).

After those disappointments, Jason Wenig's men could have been forgiven for settling for a draw when the score was 1-1 late in Saturday's fixture. However, they refused to settle, with Nick High bobbing up in stoppage time to produce the winner.

LOOKING ELSEWHERE

Finally, Shoot-Out once kept one eye elsewhere on the District League action, which produced plenty of intriguing results. Highlights included both Warilla and Berkeley Sports getting on the board for 2023, with 2-1 and 2-0 wins over Balgownie and Oak Flats respectively.

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