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Marconi remain unbeaten with victory over the Sharks
28.03.10 10:57


Sutherland Sharks skipper George Souris shown in action against the Marconi Stallions in their round 5 clash on Saturday
Marconi Stallions continued their unbeaten run with a single goal win against Sutherland Sharks at Seymour Shaw Park.
Matthew Gordon’s shot past Nathan Denham in the first-half, with an attempt that wasn’t hit cleanly, was enough to veer away from the home goalkeeper and into the back of the net to secure the points for the Stallions.

The left foot shot came off the outside of the foot but was always curling beyond the despairing dive of Denham into the shot-stopper’s top right-hand corner in what must be an early contender for goal of the season and most worthy of winning any game, although it wasn’t all going Marconi’s way as Sutherland had four chances to take the lead prior to the goal.

In only the 2’ minute Yianni Fragogiannis sent over a cross that Chris Price was unable to reach quickly followed by George Souris pumping the ball wide to Fragogiannis who slipped the ball to Jimmy Bakis on the right only to see Stephen McConologue flick the ball past the post in the best of the side’s goal scoring opportunities.

Denham was called into action to palm the ball around the post from the impressive Jared Lum, though nothing came of the resulting corner shortly after Gordon’s goal.

Despite the Stallions taking the lead, from that point on it appeared all the Sharks as the chances came thick and fast with Stallions goalkeeper James Chronopoulos twice forced into save in quick succession from headers by Price and Neil Jablonksi as the home-side searched for the equaliser.

Lum, Gordon, Chris Nunes and Nahuel Arrarte provided the better moments for the Stallions attack and both Brenton Rhodes and Adel El Jamal were strong at the back leaving the Sharks to snatch at many a half-chance they couldn’t put away as the half finished with Marconi one goal to the good.

The visitors started the second period brighter with Lum going close before Michael Robinson, truly finding some excellent form this season to date, cleared off the line from an Umut Tokdogan effort before the Sharks started to spark again when Nick Stavroulakis played a neat one-two with Blake Powell only to scuff the shot.

Marconi looked composed in their style of play and put plenty of bodies behind the ball yet they were still found wanting on occasion and can certainly thank Chronopoulos for preserving the lead in the 65’ minute when Bakis fired in another cross from the right that Price met superbly and correctly headed downward, but somehow the Stallions custodian managed not only to get down quickly to the ball from almost point-blank range, but also to smother the danger.

Marconi came back with a couple of half chances themselves from distance before El Jamal found himself in the book for a scything tackle on Price as this pulsating game ran its course.

Price was again unlucky when another header, this time from the cross of substitute Ben Vidaic, came to nought although a worse moment was to come for the Sharks midfielder when Powell fired back across the goalmouth to find Price in space and an open net, but in keeping with the night, the ball bobbled just as he was about to tap it home and the opportunity drifted away toward the touchline with the player and crowd holding their collective heads in hands as much in disbelief than anything else.

Sutherland forced Marconi into a few scary moments for the remaining minutes to hold on to the points which on any other night they may not have got, yet tonight they probably deserved.

Coach Robbie Stanton said of the Sharks afterwards:

“Our execution was poor tonight and we didn’t always play the best option into the box and we need to be more efficient plus show more mobility and determination.

“Those are the areas we need to show a great deal of improvement on at the moment and also in our finishing of course but it takes a good side to come to Seymour Shaw and get the points and Marconi showed tonight they certainly are that.

“They played smart and got the points and I can’t really have any complaint about that, they deserved it.”

The enigmatic Lee Sterrey commented:

“I think we went off the rails after the first 15’ minutes or so and lost our shape a little and the last 20’ minutes from us was poor.

“We had no support going forward but we managed to get in-front with a goal and Chronopoulos was terrific out there and a lot of credit must go to not just the player but our goalkeeping coach Jose. He has put the younger lads through some tricky training and that is paying off as you could see tonight.

“We’ve got some good young lads at the club coming through so it might be difficult for me to change the line-up when our other players come back if we keep up this momentum but hopefully Matthew Hall (former Sharks player) will be available next week although Jimmy McGowan came back to the squad and had to have a plate screwed into an unfortunate foot injury so to come here and take the points away is something any coach would settle for because it’s never easy to do that here.”

Sutherland Sharks were victorious in the Grade-20 match, defeating the Stallions 2-1.

Match Stats

Sutherland Sharks 0

Marconi Stallions 1 (Matthew Gordon 17’)

Saturday, 27th March, 2010

Seymour Shaw, Miranda

Referee: Ryan Shepherd

Assistant Referees: Sarah Ho and Bachar Allam

Crowd: 1500 Approx.

Sutherland Sharks: 1.Nathan Denham; 2.George Souris, 4.Michael Robinson, 6.Chris Price, 7.Jim Bakis, 8.Blake Powell, 10.Stephen McConologue (9.Ben Vidaic 76’), 11.Ben Spruce, 12.Neil Jablonski, 14.Nick Stavroulakis, 22.Yianni Fragogiannis

Substitutes Not Used: 16.James Lawrence, 31.Hussein Jasli, 36.Tyson Rhodes, 24.Jack Duncan

Yellow Cards: Nil

Red Cards: Nil

Marconi Stallions: 22.James Chronopoulos; 2.Brenton Rhodes, 4.Umut Tokdogan (25.Dominic Trimboli 76), 5.Adel Eljamal, 9.Erick Anabalon, 11.Matthew Gordon (34.Nathan Jagelman 76’), 18.Jared Lum, 23.Christopher Nunes, 26.Nahuel Arrarte, 31.Mitchell Malia (39.Sean O’Connell 90’), 42.Giorgio Speranza

Substitutes Not Used: 21.Jose Bello, 38.Daniel Petkovski

Yellow Cards: Eljamal 69’, Speranza 90’

Red Cards: Nil

Player Ratings:

3 – James Chronopoulos (MS)

2 – Matthew Gordon (MS)

1 – Michael Robinson (SS)

-By Micky Brock

Bonnyrigg grab bragging rights with defeat of Sydney United
28.03.10 01:58


Bonnyrigg White Eagles celebrate Brad Boardman's double against Sydney United at Sydney United Sports Centre on Saturday
Bonnyrigg White Eagles claimed bragging rights over their stern rivals Sydney United on Saturday afternoon with a hard fought win at Sydney United Sports Centre.
Played at an often frantic pace, the White Eagles’ two first-half goals courtesy of Brad Boardman were too much for the Reds, who re-opened the contest via a Luka Glavas penalty, though finished the match with nine-men.

Sydney United forced the issue in the opening minutes with new signing Mirtan Pavlovic causing grief for the White Eagles defence with his physical presence. It was Pavlovic that orchestrated the opening chance as Damon Collina met Pavlovic’s cross from the right-flank only to scuff his first-time effort as Bonnyrigg shot-stopper Ali Akbal parried at the second attempt.

Bonnyrigg’s response arrived on 7’ minutes via Jamie McMaster. The speedy midfielder left three Reds defenders behind en-route to the edge of the penalty-area before his run was ended by a Sean Mitchell foul. The result was a free-kick from the edge of the penalty-area where dead-ball specialist Daniel Severino sent his curling effort agonisingly wide of the mark.

The White Eagles backed up moments later, again via a set-piece, as Brad Boardman’s header was deflected wide for a corner.

The resulting corner produced the opening goal of the match. The Reds defence poorly dealt with Severino’s cross, as Vedran Janjetovic misjudged the trajectory of the ball, leaving Bonnyrigg’s Brad Boardman unmarked for the easiest of tap-ins.

The White Eagles continued to pepper the Reds defence with McMaster ‘running a muck’ out of midfield. It was McMaster’s cross from the left on 13’ minutes that had the Reds on the back foot; another poorly cleared attempt allowed Vuko Tomasevic a shot on target, though he failed to beat Janjetovic with his low-driven effort.

The Reds replied courtesy of Pavlovic. The burly striker used his strength well to beat his markers before providing Steve Hayes with a look-in. From point-blank range, Hayes drove his effort over the crossbar, much to the despair of the Sydney United bench.

Bonnyrigg extended their lead on 22’ minutes, again via a set-piece. Severino’s curling free-kick from deep picked out the glancing header of Boardman who finished off at the back post for a two-goal lead.

The Reds defensive woes continued as Boardman exquisitely turned, with his back to goal, to beat his marker and create a yard of space to shoot. The burly striker picked his spot, though lacked the power as Janjetovic easily parried to thwart any danger.

Milorad Simonovic kept the pressure on for the visitors when he latched onto Shane Webb’s cut-back from the right on 38’ minutes to unleash a venomous low-drive on goal, denied only by a goal line clearance by Michael Cindric.

Sydney United closed the half with a Pavlovic free-kick from a promising position following a foul on Steve Hayes. The striker’s curled attempt lacked any conviction as Ali Akbal coolly watched the ball finish well-wide of the intended target.

Sydney United’s task at hand took a turn for the worse as captain Joe Vrkic was given his marching orders moments after the break. Vrkic’s tackle on McMaster was deemed a bookable offence by the referee, leaving the Reds to play-out the afternoon with ten-men.

Despite the numerical disadvantage, the Reds pulled a goal back via the penalty-spot courtesy of Luka Glavas. The Sydney United striker won the spot-kick after being challenged illegally in the penalty-area by Wade Oostendorp, before sending Ali Akbal the wrong way to re-open the contest.

Elsid Barkhousir should have drawn the home-side level moments later as Glavas’ square ball across the face of goal picked out the striker. Ali Akbal was quick off his line to pressure Barkhousir; the shot-stopper’s presence was enough to put the striker off and the chance went begging.

Bonnyrigg brought some calm to the Reds storm with a strong-hold of possession shortly after. David Gullo was picked out at the back post on 63’ minutes, though his fierce drive failed to hit the target.

At the other end, Ali Akbal produced a fine save from point-blank range when Barkhousir rose highest to head Pavlovic’s cross from the left-flank, before sending his teammates forward on the counter-attack.

Substitute Juan Carlos Chavez combined well with McMaster down the right-flank to send the latter clear on goal. McMaster’s curled left-foot effort from a slightly decentralised position failed to hit the target.

The visitors should have put the result beyond the Reds reach following another swift counter-attacking move. Chavez and McMaster again combined well down the right-flank as the latter delivered a pin-point cross into the path of Severino who could only watch as his diagonal effort across the face of goal finished agonisingly wide of Janjetovic’s left-hand post.

Severino was at it again moments later as his long-range bomb via his trusted left-foot finished inches over the crossbar.

Bonnyrigg went close again via their playmaker in the closing stages as Severino again saw his effort thwarted by some desperate defending. The White Eagles number 10 took a touch too long to create the space to shoot, though despite getting an effort on goal was denied by the head of Collina on the goal line.

Sydney United striker Luka Glavas was also given an early mark with a straight red card on 89’ minutes, leaving the Reds to fend with nine-men for the closing minutes.

Despite the final forward forays in the closing minutes, Brian Brown’s White Eagles held out for a massive three-points.

White Eagles boss Brian Brown was ecstatic following the win:

“I am very pleased with the boys, they battled really hard in some warm conditions, and we have taken three-points from Sydney United,” Brown stated.

“We were well organised across the park, managed to go two goals up and I am very pleased with the attitude of the team as a whole.

“To Sydney United’s credit, they challenged in the second-half and pressured us somewhat, though I am just glad that we kept our shape and gave them very little in the final third throughout the match,” Brown ended.

Sydney United boss David Zdrilic managed to draw some positives from the match, despite the loss:

“I am not as disappointed as I would normally be, considering the effort that the boys put in during the second-half.

“Playing most of the half with a man down, and behind on the scoreboard, my guys went out and gave it everything, and I can’t ask for more than that from the players.

“The conditions were difficult, playing the match early as well made it tough, though this was the case for both teams, so full credit must go to Bonnyrigg for their win.”

In the Grade 20 division, Sydney United secured maximum points with a come from behind 2-1 defeat of the White Eagles. S. Mallira had the visitors ahead inside of the opening minute following a slip-up by the Reds defence, before S. Veleski drew the home-side level on 45’ minutes. Veleski secured the points for Sydney United with a fine solo effort 20’ minutes from time.

Match Stats

Sydney United 1 (Luka Glavas 52’ (pen))

Bonnyrigg White Eagles 2 (Brad Boardman 10’, 22’)

Saturday, 27th March, 2010

Sydney United Sports Centre, Edensor Park

Referee: Kris Griffiths-Jones

Assistant Referees: Murray Wilson and Adam Coombes

Fourth Official: Matthew Samson

Crowd: 250

Sydney United: 1.Vedran Janjetovic; 19.Mitchell Thompson, 5.Damon Collina, 6.Joe Vrkic (C), 4.Michael Cindric, 23.Ivo Bosnar, 21.Sean Mitchell (22.Peter Zorbas 54’), 10.Steve Hayes, 16.Elsid Barkhousir (32.Ante Tomic 73’), 11.Luka Glavas, 25.Mirtan Pavlovic (29.Adam Jenner 79’)

Substitutes Not Used: 20.Roy Bell, 34.Tomislav Cirjak

Yellow Cards: Sean Mitchell 7’, Mitchell Thompson 21’, Joe Vrkic 28’, 49’, Vedran Janjetovic 80’

Red Cards: Joe Vrkic 49’, Luka Glavas 89’

Bonnyrigg White Eagles: 1.Ali Akbal; 7.Nikola Zonjic, 20.Wade Oostendorp, 6.Vuko Tomasevic (C), 4.Michael Brown (3.Graeme Forbes 75’), 9.Brad Boardman, 10.Daniel Severino, 11.Shane Webb, 17.David Gullo (13.Juan Carlos Chavez 64’), 8.Milorad Simonovic (16.Stefan Helata 70’), 19.Jamie McMaster

Substitutes Not Used: 90.Nenad Vekic, 5.Milan Zoric

Yellow Cards: Michael Brown 31’, Milorad Simonovic 42’, Jamie McMaster 58’, Stefan Helata 90’

Red Cards: Nil

Player Ratings:

3 – Brad Boardman (BWE)

2 – Daniel Severino (BWE)

1 – Mitchell Thompson (SU)

-By Joseph Carlucci

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Great crowd down @ Sutherland.