It was a tale of two halves, but Coniston have continued their solid start to the 2023 Illawarra Premier League season by taking down Bulli 2-1 on Saturday.
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Coniston burst out of the blocks to score via Toby Norval within the opening two minutes at JJ Kelly Park, before Tyson Black doubled their advantage 10 minutes before the break.
The hosts were forced to defend grimly in the second stanza, but Bulli only managed a late response in stoppage time via Logan Mathie. However, that was the final goal of the game.
The win makes it two on the trot for "Cono", who claimed a thumping 7-0 victory over the Rangers last weekend. That result came on the back of a brave 4-2 defeat to Cringila in round one, where Coniston were reduced to just eight men before halftime.
"We're happy to get the points. I've been happy with all of our performances this season, although we obviously didn't get the points in the first round - but that's behind us now," Coniston coach Rob Jonovski told the Mercury.
"I watched Bulli against United, and they got a big win against them last week. So it was an important win today for our confidence in the dressing room.
"In the first half, I thought the boys were all outstanding, and it probably should have been four (goals). In the second half, I wasn't too pleased with how we played. But I guess a bit of mental side of things came into it. We were 2-0 up and Bulli had nothing to lose, and (they) were much better in the second half."
However, Jonovski said there was plenty of room for improvement.
"As soon as you close your eyes and don't want to improve, you're in strife," he said.
"So there's a lot for us to take out of that game today."
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