Ten-man Stallions keep White Eagles winless in 2011
25.04.11 19:27



Action shown from the ANZAC Day clash between Marconi Stallions v Bonnyrigg White Eagles at Marconi Stadium. (Photos by Nigel Owen)

Marconi Stallions secured a point against 2010 Premiers Bonnyrigg White Eagles on Easter Monday after playing 50’ minutes with ten men.

On a wet and slippery surface, the Stallions battled hard despite losing Matthew Mayora prior to half-time, to add further frustration to a Bonnyrigg side still searching for their first win of 2011.

A 2’ minutes silence was observed prior to the encounter as a mark of respect firstly for ANZAC day, and the death of the late Mr. Lorenzo Sartoretto - Financial Life Member and Honorary Life Member of Club Marconi - as around 1,000 spectators attended Marconi Stadium for this ‘cross town derby’.

The Stallions were without Andrew Mailer for the clash through injury, while Brenton Rhodes passed a late fitness test to be selected in the starting line-up. Bonnyrigg’s biggest loss was that of Brad Boardman who was suspended, though Brian Brown welcomed Tynan Diaz to the starting line-up for this clash.

A scrappy opening 10’ minutes saw both sides struggle to retain possession of the ball in midfield, largely due to the wet conditions following the downpour prior to kick-off.

Shane Webb unleashed the first effort on goal from the edge of the penalty-area on 8’ minutes, though his effort did lack precision as the ball finished well wide of the mark.

Webb was involved again in the 10’ minute as his perfectly floated cross from the right picked out Tynan Diaz in the centre. In his first match for the White Eagles this season, Diaz’s first time effort on the turn deflected off a Stallions’ defender before finishing wide.

Matthew Gordon replied for the Stallions with an effort from distance on 11’ minutes, though Phil Zabaks made a very comfortable save.

The White Eagles took a hold of possession, and enjoyed some quality time in the Stallions’ half, mainly via the feet of playmaker Daniel Severino. The Bonnyrigg number 10’s wicked left-peg had James Chronopoulos & Co. in the Stallions’ defensive third constantly on alert, swinging in three corners in the space of 5’ minutes and causing much distress for the home side.

The Stallions twice tested the Bonnyrigg rearguard, calling Zabaks off his goal line to clear. Matthew Mayora, on the second occasion, picked up the loose ball on the right-flank before delivering a low-driven cross into the centre of the penalty-area, though the Bonnyrigg defenders were quick to thwart any danger.

The visitors thought they had found the breakthrough on 23’ minutes as Jamie McMaster spotted Chronopoulos off his goal line. McMaster’s audacious attempted chip had goal written all over it before Brenton Rhodes tracked back to clear the ball off the goal line.

Another Severino corner on 27’ minutes had the Stallions defenders scrambling as Daniel Petkovski cleared the line for the home side with a diving header.

Marconi captain Nahuel Arrarte attempted to get his troops forward and on 34’ minutes, nearly found a breakthrough. Arrarte’s long distance drive deflected off Mayora as the Stallions’ striker made his way through to goal. Mayora, unaware of where the ball was, was immediately closed down by Zabaks who claimed the ball diving at the striker’s feet.

The Stallions squandered a golden set-piece chance from a very interesting position in the 37’ minute. With Arrarte and Mayora standing over the ball, the Stallions’ captain took a touch of the ball and was immediately closed down by the White Eagles wall. Whilst the Stallions were awaiting the referee to stop play, Bonnyrigg hit on the counterattack and carved out a great chance, only for Elasi’s centre to be well thwarted by Chronopoulos.

The Stallions’ afternoon was complicated when a poorly timed Mayora challenge on the halfway line resulted in a straight red card for the Marconi striker. Having already caught the eye of the referee moments earlier for a collision with a Bonnyrigg defender, the referee did not hesitate in sending Mayora off in what was certainly a talking point in the first-half.

Despite the numerical disadvantage, Marconi immediately carved out a chance as Arrarte received a loose ball inside the White Eagles’ penalty-area. The Marconi captain hit his effort first time, though failed to breech the scrambling Bonnyrigg defence.

Marconi finished the half strongly in the opposition’s half, though some well-organised defending led by Wade Oostendorp in the Bonnyrigg defence, saw the visitors keep the Stallions scoreless.

Bonnyrigg White Eagles opened proceedings in the second-half on the front foot as Nikola Zonjic’s cross from the right was headed inches wide of goal by Elasi.

Bonnyrigg kept their foot on the accelerator as Elasi latched onto Chris Tadrosse’s searching ball from deep, though the striker could only play his effort back across goal as Marconi scrambled to clear their lines.

Jamie McMaster cleverly created a yard of space on the edge of the penalty-area to unleash a venomous drive, though Chronopoulos pulled off a remarkable save to deny the White Eagles.

The resulting corner, once again swung in by Severino, carried a real punch though the defending Stallions managed to clear their lines once more.

On 58’ minutes, Bonnyrigg carved out their best chance of the match to that point as Elasi used his trickery to beat his marker on the left-flank. With the Stallions scrambling to get numbers behind the ball, Elasi’s cut back effort failed to pick out McMaster at the back post.

1’ minute later, Elasi was again in the thick of the action as he headed goalwards – the effort finished inches wide of the post with Severino failing to stick a foot out at the back post.

Marconi responded shortly after the hour via a set-piece. Matthew Gordon’s delivery from the right picked out Adel El Jamal who headed goalwards, denied only by a fine Zabaks save down to his right.

Nahuel Arrarte nearly delivered the killer blow in the 68’ minute with an exceptional free-kick from the left-flank. The Marconi captain’s in-swinger with his right peg beat everyone inside the penalty-area, though finished inches wide of the post despite the lunging effort of a teammate at the back post.

At the other end, Elasi stung the palms of Chronopoulos with a fierce long-range effort. Chronopoulos failed to hold onto the first attempt, though was quick to throw his body onto the ball to pick up the scraps.

Bonnyrigg’s best efforts to push forward continued to go unrewarded as McMaster created the space on the edge of the penalty-area to get a shot away. The attacking midfielder’s left-foot effort had Chronopoulos scrambling, though finished wide of goal.

Marconi captain Nahuel Arrarte had the home supporters on their feet in the 82’ minute as his slalom run saw the midfielder beat three defenders before going one-on-one with Zabaks. On his less favoured left foot, and from a slightly decentralised position, Arrarte failed to force Zabaks into a save, driving his effort wide of goal.

From the re-start, Bonnyrigg got forward and Alex Canak had Chronopoulos diving as his curled attempt from the edge of the penalty-area finished wide of Chronopoulos' left-hand post.

The chance proved to be the last for either side, as the referee called time following 3’ minutes of injury-time.

Marconi Stallions Luke Casserly was extremely happy with the effort of his players:

“We knew how difficult it would be to face Bonnyrigg, so we prepared for a real battle.

“Playing Bonnyrigg with eleven players is difficult, let alone with ten players for 50’ minutes.

“I thought we remained well organised especially after going a man down. The boys kept the intensity high, and I thought that we limited Bonnyrigg in clear scoring chances,” ended Casserly.

Bonnyrigg White Eagles boss Brian Brown was less impressed with the final result:

“Disappointed definitely, as I thought that we should have won the match today.

“We created enough chances on a difficult surface, and really, we should have put at least one chance away to take home all the points.

“There is a little disappointment in the group considering we have drawn each of the four matches we have played, though I am not too concerned at the moment.

“Today we kept a clean sheet, in our last match we kept a clean sheet, and we weren’t really tested today in defence – we didn’t concede any clear cut chances.

“Up front, we just need to convert our chances, and I think this will come for us soon,” Brown concluded.

In the Grade-20 division, Marconi Stallions handed Bonnyrigg White Eagles a hiding, comfortably accounting for the bottom-placed side on the League ladder 11-3.

Match Stats

Marconi Stallions 0

Bonnyrigg White Eagles 0

Monday 25thApril, 2011

Marconi Stadium, Bossley Park

Referee: Khodr Yaghi

Assistant Referees: Christian Mehl and Alex Long

Fourth Official: Nathan Roberts

Crowd: 1,000 Approx.

Marconi Stallions: 22.James Chronopoulos; 4.Umut Tokdogan, 5.Adel El Jamal, 6.Brenton Rhodes, 9.Keith Shevlin, 11.Matthew Gordon (14.Graziano Trimboli 78’), 15.Matthew Mayora, 20.Giosue Sama (19.Matthew Hall 69’), 23.Chris Nunes (17.Mitchell Mallia 59’), 24.Daniel Petkovski, 26.Nahuel Arrarte (C)

Substitutes Not Used: 21.Nikodin Matic, 16.Domenic Trimboli

Yellow Cards: Matthew Hall 85’

Red Cards: Matthew Mayora 40’

Bonnyrigg White Eagles: 99.Phil Zabaks; 3.Nicola Zonjic, 4.Wade Oostendorp (12.Takuya Murayama 59’), 5.Chris Tadrosse (C), 6.Ben Spruce, 7.Nathan Elasi, 10.Daniel Severino, 11.Shane Webb, 17.Michael Robinson, 19.Jamie McMaster, 23.Tynan Diaz (8.Alex Canak 59’)

Substitutes Not Used: 1.Andrew Bazi, 16.David Vrankovic, 22.Joseph Delia

Yellow Cards: Michael Robinson 36’, Nathan Elasi 62’, Ben Spruce 79’

Red Cards: Nil

Player Ratings:

3 – Adel El Jamal (MS)

2 – Nathan Elasi (BWE)

1 – Nahuel Arrarte (MS)

-By Joseph Carlucci

Sydney Olympic holds on for victory at Parramatta FC
25.04.11 19:40



Action shown from the Anzac Day clash at Melita Stadium between Parramatta FC v Sydney Olympic (Photos by Carlos Furtado)

Gold Coast United’s new recruit Alex Smith has continued his run of goal scoring form for Sydney Olympic as his early strike earned his side a 1-0 victory over Parramatta FC in their ANZAC Day clash at Melita Stadium.

Sydney Olympic’s direct approach in slippery conditions kept their opposition on the back foot throughout the match, however the visitors were fortunate late on as Parramatta FC spurned several golden chances to equalise in the second-half after the visitors had failed to extend their early advantage.

The first clear chance of the match fell to Smith, who managed to latch onto Phil Makrys’ deep free-kick only to glance his header wide of goal.

Almir Dizdaric was on target at the other end as the tall striker poorly connected with a cross from the right wing while under pressure from Brett Studman, providing Paul Henderson with the easiest of saves.

David Gullo called Anthony Costa into action with a low drive from the edge of the 18-yard box soon after; the Parramatta shot-stopper was equal to the task, holding the ball in the slippery conditions.

Sydney Olympic were not to be denied for much longer, grabbing the early advantage on 8’ minutes. Robert Mileski was the architect, sliding a precise pass behind the Parramatta FC backline for Smith to beat the offside trap and place the ball past Anthony Costa to open the scoring.

With Sydney Olympic dominating the run of play, Chris Triantis found space to pull the strings in attack, and was unlucky not to pick up an assist when smart long balls were wasted by Mileski and Smith, with Mileski handballing and Smith losing his footing in the wet as he beared down on goal.

Mileski called Costa into action again midway through the first-half, turning past Tom Wilson to dispatch a low driven shot into the safe hands of the Parramatta custodian.

Parramatta’s best chance of the half fell to Shayne Ardle, who was unfortunate to scuff his shot from 6-yards, slipping in the wet conditions after he was teed up by Matthew Osman.

The defensive scare prompted Olympic to push for a second goal, bombarding the Parramatta goal to no avail throughout the final 15’ minutes of the first period.

Smith twice created glorious chances for Mileski, with Costa bravely saving the striker’s first effort at the expense of a corner before Mileski headed wide when unmarked in front of goal shortly after.

Smith himself also went close when he again connected with a Makrys free-kick only to see Costa well positioned to deny Smith his second goal.

Despite being generally outplayed in the middle, Parramatta FC pushed for an equaliser as Bryan Soane flashed a 20-yard drive across face of goal from a tight angle before Dizdaric’s foul on Henderson from Chris Camilleri’s late free-kick let the last chance of the half go begging as Olympic took their one goal lead into the interval.

Sydney Olympic were first out of the blocks again in the second-half as Peter Triantis stung the palms of Costa when his 25-yard volley forced the Parramatta goalkeeper into a spectacular diving save.

The second-half quickly turned into a scrappy affair, with the slippery conditions forcing the use of long balls and leading to several mistimed challenges.

Substitute Kataiba Elrich came on for Parramatta FC midway through the half, and the striker was quickly in the thick of the action. The enigmatic striker soon played his way through on goal with a smart one-two with Dizdaric only to be denied by Henderson, who was quick off his line to dive at Elrich’s feet and pick the ball out of the air at his second attempt.

Chris Triantis was equally as dangerous at the other end, skipping past Peter Crevani to dart into the penalty-area and drive a low cross into the 6-yard box. Costa showed great determination to tip the cross away before saving Smith’s follow-up from 25-yards.

Parramatta went agonisingly close to equalising when Osman intercepted the ball on the edge of Olympic’s 18-yard box before placing his shot onto the post, which rebounded into Henderson’s back, and then trickled across the face of goal before the defence belatedly cleared to safety.

The visitors surged forward in an attempt to seal the three points, however Costa stood firm in goal, blocking Triantis’ 25-yard shot before twice denying Smith to keep his side in the match.

His efforts should have been rewarded in the closing minutes as Elrich picked out Osman in the box, yet the striker placed his shot straight at Henderson to let Olympic off the hook.

Elrich should have grabbed the equaliser himself soon after when Brodie Mooy’s header put him unmarked in front of goal, however the substitute volleyed over the crossbar with the outside of his boot from 6-yards, much to the disbelief of the home crowd.

With that, Sydney Olympic controlled the ball in added time to maintain their advantage and seal a valuable away victory.

Sydney Olympic coach Peter Tsekenis was happy with his side’s performance, indicating that their direct approach in these conditions was what got them over the line:

“Obviously the field was not the best to play football so I gave the boys their instructions and I thought they followed them quite well,” said Tsekenis.

“I thought we were probably unlucky not to be three or four up at half-time.

Tsekenis was also relieved to have avoided conceding a late equaliser to hold on for the win:

“Football’s a funny game,” said Tsekenis

“You always think in the back of your head that if you don’t finish your chances you might concede one. To be honest they had a couple of chances there, but it would have been criminal had they got one back.

“I think we deserved that win and it was good to win away from home as we are every week,” Tsekenis added.

Brian Dene was notably disappointed with the result, and while he could draw positives out his side’s second-half performance, a first win of their NSW Premier League campaign still eludes the side:

“Something’s going to have to change,” said Dene.

“We made some small changes today, perhaps we’ll have to make some more to get something out of it.

“I thought they were very predictable with what they did, playing long balls up to Smith in the first-half, but we just didn’t pressure them enough and they got their first goal.

“When we did start to pressure them, things almost changed for us.

“It’s a tough hard battle, we’ve just got to keep plugging away,” Dene concluded.

The afternoon’s early Grade-20 fixture saw Parramatta FC secure a 3-2 victory over Sydney Olympic.

Match Stats

Parramatta FC 0

Sydney Olympic 1 (Alex Smith 8’)

Monday 25th April, 2011

Melita Stadium, South Granville

Referee: Alex Glasgow

Assistant Referees: Bashar Allam and Justin Brady

Fourth Official: Matt Cropper

Crowd: 300 Approx.

Parramatta FC: 21.Anthony Costa; 2.Nick McInerney, 3.Daniel Borg (15.Ben Delicata 85’), 6.Thomas Wilson, 7.Shane Ardle (9.Kataiba Elrich 61’), 8.Bryan Soane, 10.Chris Camilleri, 11.Peter Crevani, 17.Matthew Osman, 18.Almir Dizdaric (14.Fabien Iacovelli 72’), 19.Brodie Mooy

Substitutes Not Used: 23.Tomislav Romic, 20.Evangelos Petratos

Yellow Cards: Kataiba Elrich 65’, Chris Camilleri 93’

Red Cards: Nil

Sydney Olympic: 1.Paul Henderson; 18.Jerry Kalouris, 16.Peter Triantis, 2.Emmanuel Giannaros, 3.Brett Studman, 5.Richard Luksic, 19.David Gullo (14.Will Angel 61’), 6.Alex Smith, 11.Robert Mileski (23.Takayami Omi 66’), 7.Phil Makrys, 8.Chris Triantis (9.Husky Akil 89’)

Substitutes Not Used: 4.Ibrahim Haydar, 21.Nenad Vekic

Yellow Cards: Peter Triantis 45’

Red Cards: Nil

Player Ratings:

3 – Anthony Costa (PFC)

2 – Alex Smith (SO)

1 – Brett Studman (SO)

-By Michael Shoolman

Olympic is on FIRE baby!!!!!!!

who form here was at the game today

Crowd: 300 Approx.

Unlikey to be many

hahaha you dont listen to that rubbish do you?

there own facebook page said this:

NSW Premier League
Match is underway here at Melita Stadium, ANZAC Day is alive and kicking with a healthy crowd of 800 people here...

http://www.facebook.com/nswpl

and by the way the whole grandstand was packed!!!!

http://www.austadiums.com/stadiums/stadiums.php?id=251

there were people on the opposite side, behind the goals on the scorebaord side and next to the grandstand so you tell us how there was 300ppl there?

the grandstand holds 2,000 so work that one out cutie

cutie?

Are you sure you want to start?

im just saying how i feel, isnt that what a forum is for?

I suggest you call people by their forum names.

Yeah I'll post em up later been busy :lol:

NSW Premier League Round 6 Preview
26.04.11 12:46



Sydney Olympic's Alex Smith shown in action against Parramatta FC on Monday
Round 6 NSW Premier League action kicks off with two fixtures on Saturday evening this weekend as the pre-season favourites Bonnyrigg White Eagles look for a change in fortune – and more importantly – their first win of the 2011 campaign, against Rockdale City Suns.

Bonnyrigg has failed to take advantage of the monopoly on possession they have held in each of their League matches to-date, as their opponents have constantly approached the White Eagles with a well organised defensive setup. Coach Brian Brown will welcome back Brad Boardman from suspension, the burly striker has been the most successful in the attacking third with goals arriving from the opening round. A further plus for Bonnyrigg will be their two consecutive clean sheets, signifying the uncharacteristic defensive lapses of the first two rounds seem to be out of the system.

Rockdale City enter this clash at Bonnyrigg Sports Club full of confidence following their very hard fought win at Cromer Park against the previously undefeated Manly United FC in Round 5. The Suns too have a match in hand, following the rescheduling of their Round 4 clash with Marconi, though the signs are looking better for the side that was thumped by Sydney United in Round 3. The performance at Cromer Park shows a great character about the side, and along with the all important three-points that were sewn up, the Suns also managed to keep a clean sheet which augurs well for a tough clash like this one against the defending Premiers.

In the second Saturday evening clash, League leaders Sutherland Sharks will be out to keep a sole-hold on top-spot as Bankstown City visit Seymour Shaw.

The Sharks have been unyielding thus far, especially at home, and with a confident group that has found their stride already, expectation is for a Sutherland win.

George Souris has again been monumental in defence for Robbie Stanton’s side, meanwhile Nick Stavroulakis has enjoyed a very good start to the campaign. Panni Nikas’ return to the club too has proven successful with his fine ability to create alongside Jim Bakis, whilst the goalscoring duties in this early part of the season have fallen to Chris Price, Todd Halloran, Matt Bailey and Sam Awad.

Bankstown City have had a rather topsy-turvy start to the season with a mixed bag of results thus far. With so many changes at the club at the conclusion of last season, the Jensen Park side was expected to struggle in 2011. Blagoja Kuleski has obviously instilled belief amongst his players with the side securing wins at Rockdale City and South Coast Wolves, along with a draw against the defending Premiers, Bonnyrigg White Eagles. The worrying sign has been the two home defeats at the hands of Marconi Stallions and Blacktown City FC – two sides that have also undergone some big changes since last season. Against the Sharks, much weight will be placed on the shoulders of new signing Aman Hadid who has already proven a hit with his three goals in the last two matches. Hadid’s speed, ball control and composure in front of goal will be vital to Bankstown City this weekend, if the side is to return from Seymour Shaw with anything to show for.

On Sunday afternoon, South Coast Wolves and Marconi Stallions meet at John Crehan Park in a very important match for both sides. A win for either side will certainly make some noise amongst the Top-Five, with both these sides already proving this season they do have what it takes to play finals football.

The Wolves have shown their ability across the park, though it has been the addition of experienced campaigner Sasho Petrovski that has brought that extra spark to the side’s play. Petrovski, along with Mark Picciolini have proven a handful to handle for opposition defences, meanwhile in defence, Alex Mansueto and Jacob Timpano have shown positive signs of a developing defensive line.

The Stallions will be without target man Matthew Mayora after his red card last weekend, though the Stallions do have Giosue Sama available for selection. Captain Nahuel Arrarte continues to prove his worth with instrumental performances out of midfield for the Stallions, alongside the likes of Keith Shevlin and Matt Gordon out of midfield. Coach Luke Casserly will be waiting on the fitness of Andrew Mailer for this clash, though he can take much confidence in confirming the Adel El Jamal-Wade Oostendorp partnership in the centre of defence following the strong showing by both players against Bonnyrigg last weekend.

A very interesting clash is expected at John Crehan Park where the victors can certainly use the match as a springboard for a very successful 2011.

At Lambert Park, A.P.I.A.-Leichhardt Tigers host Sydney Olympic in arguably the pick of the round as these two former NSL giants meet. The Tigers were good value against the Sharks last weekend though failed to seal the three-points on a wet pitch. Positives for the side do revolve around the good moment of form of the likes of Chris James, John Kelso and Anthony Hartshorn, though concerns do surround the fitness of the latter after he was forced to leave the field after 30’ minutes last weekend with a hamstring injury following his opening goal.

Sydney Olympic have shown they are genuine title contenders, sitting in equal second spot after five rounds. Peter Tsekenis has managed to get the ball rolling from the opening round despite a new team at his disposal, and the second placing on the ladder at this point is well deserved. Much attention has been given to Alex Smith and his sensational goal scoring touch thus far, and rightly so, with the Blues’ number 6 a real talent in the NSW Premier League competition.

With both sides presenting strong defensive lines, the team to bring their ‘a game’ in the attacking third will prove triumphant on Sunday.

At Lily Homes Stadium, Blacktown City FC will be out to kick-start their campaign after finally securing their first win of the season at Bankstown City last weekend. The defending champions have failed to find consistency in the opening month of the competition, with some poor performances outweighing any good shown to-date. The win against Bankstown, along with the exceptional form of Travis Major, arrived at the perfect time with high-flying Sydney United the opponent this Sunday.

The Reds have been in exceptional touch, with the side dropping points only in their opening match of the season where Manly United FC scored very late on to take a point. Since, the Reds have shown their defensive capabilities and attacking flair with coach Jean Paul DeMarigny not scared to throw three strikers out from the very start. The return of Mark Rudan proved very successful last weekend as the former A-League defender showed his composure and experience with a very polished performance.

This clash is always a real battle between two very passionate sides, and Sunday’s encounter promises to be no different.

In the final match of the Round, both Parramatta FC and Manly United FC will be out to secure their first win of 2011 when the two sides meet at Melita Stadium. Both sides have proven they do have the ability to make the lives of their more fancied opponents difficult, though the victories have not been forthcoming thus far.

Parramatta FC coach Brian Dene will be hoping to have captain Ben Delicata available from the opening whistle this weekend after a 5’ minute cameo against Sydney Olympic following an injury. Delicata alongside Chris Camilleri has proven to be a very strong midfield pairing, and the two will need to be on their game to overcome Manly United. Upfront, the Eagles squandered a number of goal scoring chances, despite being on the back foot for large spells against Sydney Olympic. Parramatta FC has proven their ability to soak up much of the pressure of their opponents and hit on the counterattack, though their finishing will need to be much better this weekend if a first-up win is to eventuate.

Manly United lost their first match of the campaign against Rockdale City Suns last weekend after four consecutive scored draws. The Cromer Park side too has been battling with some poor finishing in front of goal in recent weeks, despite showing their fighting spirit on three occasions to come from behind late-on and salvage a point.

Robbie Cattanach, Adam Foti and Justin Hayward will be looking for a return to the score sheet in a bid to get their side a first-up win for 2011.

APIA/Olympic. Defs going to that. That'll be a lot of fun.

Edit: And Kudos to Joffa for Stickying this thread :)

Edited by heineken: 26/4/2011 05:29:26 PM

also why are you ppl closing all threads and putting them in one thread?

Whats the point of having a whole section, its like you dont want state league to prospure and have news i dont get it

see you at the match dude!

also why are you ppl closing all threads and putting them in one thread?

Whats the point of having a whole section, its like you dont want state league to prospure and have news i dont get it

SUTHO!
Still top, what legends.