Why South Coast United's Olympic win meant much more than a game of football

Heading into the round seven clash of the Illawarra Premier League, Ted Valic - at the club from the first day of SCU's establishment 40 years ago in 1984 - the father of Greg, informed the team it would be his last game involved as team manager role for the foreseeable future.

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Ted was recently diagnosed with mesothelioma, a form of lung cancer that is caused due to asbestos exposure.

For that reason, head coach Greg said that win meant that much more.

"It was a big result and a big celebration after the game," Greg Valic said.

"During the week, Ted kind of said this was his last game of doing manager duties for us. He's been the manager for a long time. He basically said on Thursday, this is my last game to help out and do those duties.

"So the boys really rallied around him and put a shift in and we really celebrated after the game, not just for the victory but for him as well.

"It was a really special moment."

Ted is a well-respected figure at not just his beloved SCU, but across all of Illawarra football. Over the years, he has taken on a number of roles at the club.

"He started as a player and then went into the committee. He's been involved in one capacity or another, he's done it all basically," Greg added.

On the pitch, the team recorded a 2-0 win against a star-studded Olympic side thanks to goals from Chang Gyun Yoo and Mark Moric before half-time.

The victory at Ian McLennen Park marked a sensational achievement from the side. In 2023, SCU defeated both Albion Park and Coniston, the eventual league champions and grand final winners respectively. In 2024, they knocked off Olympic, the victors of the 2023 Bert Bampton Cup.

The triumph sees Valic's team reach within just three points of the finals spots. Valic said a tweak in game plan led to wins against the league's best in recent years.

"I think it comes down to being a little bit more comfortable against some of these top teams," he said.

"We can go into our defensive shape and we almost invite teams to come at us and see if you can break us down. Almost like the South Coast of 15 years ago where we chose to defend a little deeper and try to be as resolute as possible and take our chances when they come.

"I think against the top teams it's still a bit of a tactic for us where we choose to defend, choose to have maybe a little bit less of the ball and strike on the counter if we can.

"The result against Olympic was kind of a throwback to that. And in recent seasons, we've done the same thing. So it's good that we can do that against the top teams.

"I think the challenge for us now is in games where we need to dominate more of the ball and have more of the ball and create chances ourselves.

"I think that's going to be our challenge going forward for the rest of the season."

Around the grounds, round seven kicked off on Friday at Crehan Park with Cringila recording a statement win against fellow title challengers Wollongong United.

The visitors had the lead twice in the first half thanks to goals from Sam Matthews and Klime Sekutkovski, but a double from Peter Simonoski and another from Justin Ivanovic saw Jorge De Matos' troops record the win.

Crucially for the Lions, the win sees them leapfrog into the finals places.

After a sluggish start, Tarrawana have now picked up two wins from two games, the latest a 3-0 rout of rivals Bulli.

Shannon Fielding opened the scoring, before goals from David Booth and Daniel Carella confirmed the result for Jason Wenig's side.

Worrying signs for Corrimal with the side conceding 11 goals in a game and a half of football after a 5-2 loss to SCU last week and then more recently 6-0 against Port Kembla.

Stuart Beedie's Port Kembla were five goals to the good before the break. The Rangers fought back in the second stanza, but Adrian Avello made it 6-0 for Port Kembla as the game was drawing to a close.

A first win of the season for Port Kembla.

Franc Pierro's defending grand final champions can do no wrong at present, a thumping 5-1 win against Helensburgh an indication of that.

Still without defeat with five wins and a draw after six games, Coniston has come out of the blocks firing.

The team took a 3-1 lead against the Thistle at JJ Kelly Park, before Adrian Cabral and Temma Noumura put the result beyond doubt in the second half.

The only sour note for Pierro will be the late sending off of Daniel Stern.

There were dramatic scenes at Barrack Heights Sports Field as Rod Williams' Shellharbour salvaged a point against defending league champions the White Eagles thanks to a 96^th minute goal to second half substitute, Jayden Branovski.

It was a massive result for the recently promoted side.

Riku Amakawa opened the scoring for APWE in the 23^rd minute, but failed to put the game away, paving the way for Shellharbour to draw level late on.

Whilst it was obviously disappointing, the result was hardly catastrophic for George Antoniou's Albion Park. His team are in second spot, and well within reach of first-placed Coniston. Those two are the only two teams still yet to taste defeat.

On Saturday, April 27, Tarrawanna will host Cringila, Coniston take on Corrimal, and Helensburgh play Albion Park.

The following day, Port Kembla tackle Wollongong United, Shellharbour travel to North Wollongong to play Olympic, and SCU host Bulli in the 6pm fixture at Ian McLennan Park.