Peter Simonoski and Stefan Dimoski score braces as Lions trounce Corrimal Rangers

The Rangers kept things tight early at Memorial Park, but three minutes of madness proved the difference as the Lions put their foot down on their way. Captain Peter Simonoski, Ben Zucco (penalty) and Stefan Dimoski all found the back of the net in quick succession - before Dimoski mustered a brace six minutes later - as the visitors led 4-0 at halftime.

Simonoski then found the back of the net early in the second stanza to complete his double, while Michael Mendes also scored to guide their side to a rousing victory.

The result continues Cringila's strong form in this year's Illawarra Premier League, with the side wrapping up five wins in the opening two months to show their title credentials. Conversely, Corrimal have secured just two wins so far in 2023.

"We started off slow the first 10 minutes, but then we got that opening goal and it was uphill from there. The boys were hungry today and we've had a few poor results the last couple of weeks, so we knew we had to come out and get a win," Simonoski told the Mercury.

"We've got a dangerous front line, so those goals were coming I think. Scoring six goals was awesome, but I was also impressed that you could see the boys still pressing in the 90^th minute and still hungry to win the ball back, and to keep pressing as a unit.

"We've had a good start to the year, but it's still early days and we need to keep winning, and keep building on what we what to build on, and how we want to play. And hopefully the results keep coming like today."

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The first opportunity on Saturday came inside the opening five minutes when Cringila's Dimoski split two defenders and found Michael Mendes inside the box, however, he was unable to trap the ball and the defenders converged on him.

At the other end, the hosts got into a dangerous area on a couple of ocassions, but they couldn't find that final touch.

The ball continued to move from end to end during the first 20 minutes, with neither side dominating possession. However, it was the visitors who drew first blood via a lovely strike from Simonoski from the edge of the box to give Cringila a 1-0 lead.

The Lions continued to pile on the pressure and were rewarded when Anthony Krsteski was dragged down inside the box just minutes later. Zucco stepped up to take the penalty and, despite goalkeeper Harrison Matias picking the right direction, the ball went into the back of the net and Cringila led 2-0.

Two become three just a minute later, as the Lions asserted their dominance. Krtsteski's shot was well blocked by the gloveman, but the ball ricocheted to Dimoski, who made no mistake from short range.

Approaching the 30-minute mark, Cringila had their fourth goal, with a quick counter-attack leading to DImoski getting one-on-one with the goalkeeper, and he made no mistake to complete a brace.

At the other end, Keegan Matias attempted to stem the tide for Corrimal, but his long-range attempt was just wide. Following another Rangers' error, Cringila then found space on the counter-attack, but Simonoski's shot hit the woodwork.

Corrimal then nearly clawed one back before the break - however, Zane Wilson's header was just off target. Despite a couple of late chances for both teams, the score remained 4-0 at halftime.

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It was a quiet start to the second stanza but Cringila added to their lead when Simonoski chipped the ball over the Rangers substitute gloveman Josh Micallef, regained possession and tapped the ball into the back of the net to complete his brace.

Dimoski nearly had another soon after, following a free kick from outside the box, but his header skimmed over the cross-bar. Midway through the half, Dimoski had another great chance to score when he was one-on-one with the goalkeeper, but his attempt sailed over the cross-bar.

Krsteski and Dimoski continued to look through threatening going forward, but they couldn't add to their lead. For Corrimal, Japanese striker Shinjiro Shibuya had a couple of half-chances to score, which were shutdown by gloveman Nikola Ristevski.

However, it was Cringila who found their sixth goal soon after, with Mendes sliding the ball past the goalkeeper.

Both sides had some half-chances in the closing stages of the match, but the Lions were able to maintain their 6-0 advantage by the full-time whistle.

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