The Lions have ensured that they will start their Illawarra Premier League finals campaign at Crehan Park after overcoming a spirited Bulli outfit 3-2 on Sunday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
The win saw Cringila leap-frog up to second position over Wollongong Olympic, who could only settle for a 1-1 stalemate with Coniston at JJ Kelly Park.
The Lions and Olympic will now meet on Crini's turf in a qualifying final next weekend, while Cono jump up into fourth place and will host Bulli in an elimination final.
The two matches highlighted a dramatic last day of the regular IPL season. All six games were held concurrently on Sunday, with four contests set to have an impact on the make-up of this year's finals series.
In the end, the top five sides heading into round 22 booked their tickets to finals.
Wollongong United and Port Kembla had also remained outside chances of keeping their campaign alive, but they fell 2-1 and 4-0 to Albion Park and Helensburgh respectfully on Sunday.
While there was plenty happening across the league, Lions captain Peter Simonoski and his teammates were happy to savour their victory.
"It was a good hit-out for us today and now we have one eye set on the semi-final. We have a big game coming up against Olympic next week," Simonoski told the Mercury.
"We wanted to finish the season strongly with a win today, and we did that, so we'll now focus on next week."
Cringila were forced to work hard for the win at Crehan Park on Sunday, with the visitors jumping out a 1-0 lead inside 30 minutes via Sam Adnum.
The hosts had looked flat in the first half, but it was Simonoski who delivered a much-needed boost, sliding the ball past Bulli goalkeeper Braeden Kludass to equalise before halftime.
The Lions came out firing after the break and were rewarded early when, from a corner, Harrison Taranto curled the ball into the goal-mouth and past everyone to give them a 2-1 advantage.
Bulli had multiple opportunities to equalise during the stanza, but it was the Lions who extended their lead with around 20 minutes left, with Simonoski deftly passing the ball to Anthony Krsteski who tapped home their third goal.
There was late nerves for the hosts when Bulli dragged one back in the dying minutes via Jarvis Patterson, but Crini were able to record for a 3-2 victory.
"I think we got a bit too comfortable there, going 3-2 up. And Bulli had nothing to lose, they pushed numbers forward and they got one towards the end to make things interesting. But we did well to hold on," Simonoski said.
"It's been our tendency all year to start off games pretty slow, but once we get going, we can score goals and we're pretty lethal. And we took our chances today which was good."
Our news app has had a makeover, making it faster and giving you access to even more great content. Download The Illawarra Mercury news app in the Apple Store and Google Play.
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.
