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: 500 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

Tigers and Suns fight out thrilling draw
28.03.10 21:51


Rockdale City Suns' Adem Kir shown hitting the free-kick that earned his side a valuable point after Matthew Nash fumbled at Leichhardt Oval (Photo by Gavin Leung/G-shotphotography.com.au)
A.P.I.A.-Leichhardt Tigers were coming off four consecutive defeats when the NSW Premier League’s new boys, Rockdale City Suns, came to town in Round 5 of the competition.
The Tigers were desperate for a win after suffering a luckless, narrow loss to Marconi Stallions in the previous round, while the Suns were hoping to show that they are competitive in the higher level of competition after notching up just one win in their first four outings.

Luke McGuire, the resilient coach of the Tigers, was hoping for some better fortune this week after a shaky beginning to the season that originally had the Tigers on the back foot with a high injury toll.

In the end, the sides shared the spoils and A.P.I.A.-Leichhardt’s habit of missing chance after chance continued especially in the second-half.

“I thought our first-half was poor but in the second-half we certainly clicked into gear,” McGuire said.

“We had many, many chances but you cannot miss seven, eight or nine chances in a game and expect to come away with the three points.”

In many ways that was the story of the second-half as A.P.I.A.-Leichhardt squandered a plethora of opportunities.

Rockdale City Suns though were never out of the game and, with a bit of luck, could have stolen the full quota of points from Leichhardt Oval.

Peter Apolevski, the likeable captain of the Rockdale City Suns, was realistic about his side when discussing their fate after the game.

“The game could have gone either way,” he said. “We were up at one stage, then we were down and then we came back.

“It was a tough game but it has been like that all season for us. To come away tonight with a point we should be happy.

“We showed character as a team and as a unit to come back and next week we have a tough game against Sydney Olympic where, obviously, it would be nice to get all three points, but if we get a point like tonight I’m sure we’ll be happy too.”

The first real chance of the game fell to the visitors when George Lagoudakis beautifully sent a free-kick into the box in the 8’ minute only for Marino Musumeci, against his former club, to be denied a wonderful goal by a superb diving save from Matthew Nash from Musumeci’s spectacular diving header.

A.P.I.A.-Leichhardt’s first chance didn’t arrive until the 22’ minute when Bishara Stephan sent the ball across for Robert Younis, but unfortunately for the Tigers his shot went just over the crossbar just like they have in recent games for the once prolific marksman.

Shortly afterwards Lagoudakis thought that he would try his luck from outside the box and nearly succeeded when the ball sailed across the entire face of goal, only to end up just wide of Nash’s post.

There wasn’t much more to add to the dreary first-half except for two late free-kicks from the Rockdale City Suns from reasonably close range that somehow the A.P.I.A.-Leichhardt defence managed to scramble away.

As the second stanza of play got underway, the reasonable crowd in attendance was certainly hoping for a change in fortune from an entertainment point of view and they were not to be disappointed.

In the 53’ minute Rockdale took the lead when a Lagoudakis corner was poorly cleared by the Tigers defence and Askin Oygur, bandaged like a mummy from a previous cut, fired the ball into the net.

It wasn’t Younis’ night because a few minutes later he should have equalised for the home-side but, even with two bites of the cherry, he fired wide.

However, in the 58’ minute A.P.I.A.-Leichhardt did equalise when Younis went down in the box under an Oygur challenge and the referee awarded the penalty.

Younis, from the 11-metres spot, didn’t miss the back of the net to bring both sides level.

Younis then fired a header at Ben McNamara in goal for Rockdale City Suns, but the young goalkeeper brilliantly turned the ball over for a corner.

Nevertheless, from the ensuing corner kick by Pablo Cardozo, Danial Cummins turned the ball back to Michael West who powerfully volleyed the ball home to give A.P.I.A.-Leichhardt the advantage for the first time.

Another golden chance fell A.P.I.A.-Leichhardt’s way in the 69’ minute when Anthony Hartshorn set Younis free but he fired just wide.

In the 74’ minute Franco Parisi showed why, on his day, he can be simply brilliant as he waltzed his way towards goal and set up Younis, but McNamara was too alert and turned the ball away for a corner.

Parisi then had his own golden moment in-front of goal shortly afterwards but McNamara, one again, with another great save denied him too what appeared to be a certain goal.

Rockdale City Suns then equalised against the run of play in what can only be described as vaudevillian circumstances: Nash went from hero to zero in a minute.

The Tigers goalkeeper brilliantly came out to block a shot from Baturay Akin when he was the last player standing between the attacker and the goal, but was penalised for encroaching with the ball in his hands outside his box as he saved at Akin’s feet.

From the free-kick, Adem Kir bent the ball over the wall and Nash fumbled the straight-forward grab and the ball only marginally crept over the goal line, but that was enough for assistant referee Daniel Dewhurst to signal that the ball had indeed crossed into the goal area.

There were late chances to both sides: Younis and Cardozo for the Tigers and Apolevski and Zaikovski for the Suns and, even though some of these last four movements were extremely close, there were to be no further changes to the score line.

Meanwhile, in the Grade 20s A.P.I.A.-Leichhardt defeated Rockdale City Suns 3-1.

Match Stats

A.P.I.A.-Leichhardt Tigers 2 (Younis 58’ (pen), West 63’)

Rockdale City Suns 2 (Oygur 53’, Kir 79’)

Sunday, 28th March, 2010

Leichhardt Oval, Leichhardt

Referee: Andrew Best

Assistant Referees: Daniel Dewhurst and Paul Faithfull

Fourth Official: Thomas Klein

A.P.I.A.-Leichhardt Tigers: 1.Matthew Nash; 2.Mark Byrnes, 13.John Kelso (4.Joseph Cartisano 79’), 5.Michael West, 7.Stephen Kayes, 18.Bishara Stephan (8.Anthony Hartshorn 38’), 19.Danial Cummins, 11.Nick Rizzo, 9.Robert Younis, 10.Franco Parisi, 12.Pablo Cardozo.

Substitutes Not Used: 40.Michael Rutherford, 20.Mark Pinto, 18.David Dascal

Yellow Cards: Byrnes 13’, Stephan 28’, Younis 34’, Parisi 65’

Red Cards: Nil

Rockdale City Suns: 1.Ben McNamara; 2.Paul Dee, 3.Mark Bariamis, 7.Peter Apolevski, 8.Dominic Hudap (20.Andrija Petkovic 77’), 11.Adem Kir, 17.George Lagoudakis, 16.Steven Bozinovski (9.Pece Zaikovski 66’), 18.Robert Di Meglio (13.Baturay Akin 64’), 19.Marino Musumeci, 23.Askin Oygur.

Substitutes Not Used: 6.Ian King, 22.Chad Taylor

Yellow Cards: Bozinovski 30’, Oygur 34’, Lagoudakis 83’

Red Cards: Nil

Player Ratings:

3 - Michael West (ALT)

2 - Ben McNamara (RCS)

1 - Peter Apolevski (RCS)

-By Joe Russo

South Coast Wolves bites back Bankstown
28.03.10 22:11


Bankstown City FC defender Brett Studman (left) shown marking South Coast Wolves' Andrew Keep at Jensen Park on Sunday (Photo by Gordon Tipene)
South Coast Wolves have come from behind to get their first win of the season against a hapless Bankstown City FC side with the score ending at 3-2.

After frustrating Sydney United in recent weeks, the Wolves got a deserved victory thanks to a brace to Mark Picciolini and one to Andres Gomez.

The match began in typical fashion at Jensen Park with Bankstown City pushing and showing their gritty football with rough challenges flying in.

Gaining the majority of possession, the home-side had the first chance of the match.

In the 9’ minute, Tallan Martin did well to dribble past three defenders and lay it off for Hussein Salameh, but his poor shot went well over the crossbar.

Following a flurry of Bankstown attacks, South Coast slowly began to find their feet and could have hit the lead twice in the matter of minutes.

In the 14’ minute a great through ball from in-form Tayfun Buyukkopru found Andy Keep as the striker beat the goalkeeper but hit the post.

A minute later and South Coast were to be denied again as great dribbling by Andres Gomez ended in a fantastic shot from 25-yards out, beating Joseski in goal but smashing the crossbar and shocking the home fans.

South Coast then began to keep the ball, frustrating Bankstown which resulted in a number of yellow cards being dished out by referee Peter Vrtovski.

It took Bankstown until the 33’ minute to have their second real chance of the evening as the Wolves continued to break down their plays.

After Joseski cleared the ball from goals, Nick McInerney misjudged the flight of the ball allowing Hussein Salameh to pounce. The clever striker beat another defender and had his powerful effort saved by Brody Crane’s chest, without the shot-stopper even noticing the ball coming towards him.

The Bankstown faithful did not have to wait much longer for the opener however, as against the run of play Richard Luksic jumped up for a header and buried the ball into the net for the 1-0 lead.

Although having conceded against the run of play, South Coast continued to pester the Bankstown defence going close on a number of occasions to end the first-half.

The second period began much like the first ended as South Coast equalised in the space of 2’ minutes.

After winning a corner, Mark Picciolini scored a header in almost identical fashion to Luksic’s goal to pip the score back to 1-1.

The match then began to heat up as both teams went in hard to find the ‘go ahead’ goal. In the 60’ minute South Coast took the lead as Picciolini scored his second with a beautiful strike finding the back of the net in great fashion.

Picciolini nearly added a third on 64’ minutes as he struck a shot at goal only to be thwarted by the waiting Joseski.

Bankstown City again began to gain the possession as the searched for an equaliser, though the Wolves defensive duo of Dave Abel and Alex Mansueto stood tall with great headed clearances frustrating the home-side.

Bankstown had a golden chance in the 73’ minute as Shannon Burgin moved in from the left-hand side, beating three defenders and hitting a cracking shot goal bound, though the shot was excellently saved by Crane in between the sticks for the Wolves.

One minute later and Bankstown thought they deserved a penalty after Mileski was brought down in the area, but the referee waved play on much to the disgust of the home fans.

The missed chances came back to haunt the home-side as the Wolves extended their lead on 81’ minutes.

Following a throw-in, Bansktown crowded their corner to clear the ball but a sneaky through ball by Lisandro Berbis put Paine on goal to square the ball as Gomez hit the back of the empty net to all but seal South Coast’s first win of the season.

In the dying minute of the match, Bankstown’s hard work returned some consolation as Almir Dizdaric scored a header to enter his name on the score sheet.

Following the match, Wolves coach Trevor Morgan was ecstatic with the result:

“We were very weary of the quality this side had and to come away with the points is magnificent.

“After our game against Sydney United where we were paralysed at times I told the boys we have to back ourselves and play our passing game and some of that we got right tonight which ended in our favour.’’

Bankstown City FC coach Peter Tsekenis also heaped praise on the South Coast Wolves:

“That is the best side we have played so far this season.

“We were below par today. I think we expected to walk all over them and it came back to bite us.

“They played well, defended in numbers and credit to them, they really deserved the win today.’’

In the Grade 20’s fixture, the South Coast Wolves ran away with a 2-0 win over a determined Bankstown outfit.

Match Stats

Bankstown City FC 2 (Luksic 35’, Dizdaric 92’)

South Coast Wolves 3 (Picciolini 47’, 60’, Gomez 81’)

Saturday, 27th March, 2010

Jensen Park, Sefton

Referee: Peter Vrtovski

Crowd: 300 Approx.

Bankstown City FC: 1.Zlatko Joseski (gk); 2.Scott Thomas, 3.Shannon Burgin, 4.Brett Studman, 5.Richard Luksic (C), 6.Peter Tsekenis, 7.Steve Liavas (11.Almir Dizdaric 75’), 10.Robbie Mileski, 14.Suad Ameti (8.George Nohra 66’), 20.Hussein Salameh, 23.Tallan Martin (99.Chris Goddy Bascur 69’)

Substitutes Not Used: 16.Damien Brosque, 22.R. Napoleon

Yellow Cards: Brett Studman 18’, Steve Liavas 45’, Peter Tsekenis 62’

Red Cards: Nil

South Coast Wolves: 1.Brody Crane (gk); 2.Alex Mansueto, 4.Dave Abel, 5.Nick McInerney, 6.Lisandro Berbis, 7.Andy Keep, 8.Tayfun Buyukkopru, 9.Mark Picciolini (19.Ken Chun 79’), 11.Andrew Paine (10.Jason Trifiro 90’), 14.Andres Gomez (16.Keiren Deane 86’), 17.Tynan Diaz

Subsitutions Not Used: 3.Greg Valic, 40.Nick Matic (gk)

Yellow Cards: Lisandro Berbis 18’

Red Card: Nil

Player Ratings:

3 - Mark Picciolini (SCW)

2 - Tayfun Buyukkopru (SCW)

1 - Dave Abel (SCW)

-By Christopher Georges

Blacktown City FC retain top spot with win over Berries
28.03.10 22:59


Blacktown City FC players celebrated another victory in the NSW Premier League with a win over the West Sydney Berries on Sunday
Blacktown City FC continued their fine start to the NSW Premier League season with a hard fought one-nil victory over a courageous West Sydney Berries outfit at Lily Homes Stadium on Sunday evening, thanks to a late goal from Tolgay Ozbey.
The first-half had started with the visiting Berries coming out all guns blazing.

Despite having been hit with an injury crisis, the team stood tall against the early pace setters of the competition - who were also without several players through injury.

Early on it was Michael Herbet and the offside flag that prevented the Berries taking the lead, with Kosta Lagoudakis, Damir Prodanavic and Dimitri Zakilas combining strongly in the attacking-third and Jesse Pinto, returning to his old club for the first time, threatening down the right-flank.

However, Blacktown was not completely out of the match in the early stages with Tolgay Ozbay seemingly a part of every home attack. On 15’ minutes, Ozbey made a run with the ball through into the penalty-area and then laid the ball off to Jordan Simpson who in turn tried to lay the ball across to the far side of the goal where it came to nothing, a better option would have been to have a shot.

Ozbey was then denied by the feet of Berries custodian Hamish McLean. The ball did return to the striker’s feet a third time and on this occasion Ozbey fell in the area from a defender’s challenge, though the referee quickly waved away Blacktown City’s penalty claims.

Combined pressure from the Berries over the following 10’ minutes saw chances fall to the two men leading the charge, both ex-Blacktown juniors, Stefan De Jesus and Pinto.

Prodanavic also had a chance in the 24’ minute but he was denied by Michael Herbert’s feet.

With Zakilas running hard, the Berries pressure was mounting but they could not get a really strong effort on target. After 30’ minutes the tide started to turn and it was the home team that would try and turn the screw.

Firstly a corner from Blacktown City saw the ball go over the players in the goal mouth and landed for Tyler Simpson at the far post. He put the ball back into the area with Luke Roodenberg diving low to meet the ball with his head, though the effort finished over the crossbar.

Roodenberg then played the ball to Mitchell Long, who flew down the right wing and played the ball into Ozbey before Berries defender Daniel Clifford magnificently cleared the ball away to safety.

Still the corner came in and was pushed away by the defence for a second corner, this time Zac Cairncross got a head to the ball only for the effort to finish between McLean’s waiting arms.

The Berries continued to fight, thanks mainly at this point to the play of former Blacktown player Stefan De Jesus. In the 38’ minute Prodanavic almost capped off a solid first-half performance with a goal but Herbert made his first difficult save to deny him, and the visitors, the opening score.

Having been scoreless at the break, the home team came out much stronger in the second-half and almost scored from the opening salvo.

Tolgay Ozbey chipped the ball across to Jordan Simpson and his header went just over the crossbar.

For their part the Berries tried attacking down the left but whilst the work of Ryan Jones was excellent, the visitors continued to fail to put shots on target.

Ozbey was in everything by now and after a great interchange with Mitchell Long he fired the ball well over the crossbar 10’ minutes into the half. Then Lachlan Cahill, having a strong game for Blacktown down their left, tried a shot from close-range but it went straight at McLean.

Tyler Simpson was then in the thick of it, running thirty-metres and beating several players before passing to Long who acrobatically crossed into the penalty-area, though intercepted by McLean.

At the other end Cairncross, Luka Dukic and Tyler Simpson were working well to deny the Berries any chances on goal.

On 66’ minutes Tyler Simpson put a great ball in from the left and 30-metres out. The ball was met by Roodenberg’s head but again it went over the crossbar, the side’s best chance to that point.

Then Mitchell Long, now doing much more running down the flank and looking much more like the dangerous player he can be, curled a great ball into the attacking area only for Clifford to get around his man and cut the ball away from danger.

In the 78’ minute the home-side were awarded a free-kick in a promising position, though it was awfully executed, as the home fans could have been excused for thinking the lead would never come. Almost as if angered by the free-kick, less than a minute later Tolgay Ozbey picked the ball up on the edge of the penalty-area and drifted across the penalty line before smashing a shot into the far corner of the goal, well out of the reach of the diving hands of McLean.

To give them their due, the visitors were not done yet and Peter Peralta tried to take matters into his own hands with an effort from distance finishing agonisingly wide of the mark.

Berries coach John Caleja was feeling both disappointed and happy after the match:

“I am happy because it was a much improved performance from our lads.

“I am disappointed because we went for so long holding onto a point and even dominated play in the first-half, but we come away with nothing, that certainly hurts.

“We had possession in the first-half and we played well throughout those 45’ minutes but we lacked the bite up front to put away a chance. It was a better performance than last week and something we can build upon.”

Blacktown City assistant coach Mark Crittenden was pleased with the full points:

“We were lethargic and slow in the first-half but were more direct and awake in the second.

“We improved upon our ball retention and got the goal eventually. In the end we could have won by two or three.

“Defensively we did well tonight but we need to increase our intensity across the park through the whole 90 minutes. We have a tough couple of weeks ahead so we are happy about getting the result tonight.”

In the Grade-20 encounter, Blacktown City FC beat the West Sydney Berries 1-0.

Match Stats

Blacktown City FC 1 (Ozbey 79’)

West Sydney Berries 0

Sunday, 28th March, 2010

Lily Homes Stadium, Seven Hills

Referee: Khodr YOGHI

Assistant Referees: Scott EDELING and Lance GREENSHIELDS

Fourth Official: Nicholas TRAGOUSTIS

Blacktown City FC: 1.Michael HERBET; 2.Tyler SIMPSON, 5.Luka DUKIC, 7.Luke ROODENBERG, 6.Matt PRESELLO (16.Ante DEUR 76’), 9.Kain RASTALL, 10.Jordan SIMPSON (18.Travis MAJOR 83’), 11.Mitchell LONG, 13.Lachlan CAHILL, 19.Tolgay OZBEY, 22.Zac CAIRNCROSS

Substitutes Not Used: 20.Matt RYAN, 12.Brendan MARONEY

Yellow Cards: J Simpson 26’, Ozbey 43’, Rastall 91’

Red Cards: Nil

West Sydney Berries: 1.Hamish MCLEAN; 5.Ryan WALSH, 4.Daniel CLIFFORD (32.Leon PARRELLO 81’), 7.Peter PERALTA, 3.Omar SAADI (18.Shayne MORRISEY 72’), 15.Ryan JONES, 12.Stefan DE JESUS, 16.Kosta LAGOUDAKIS, 21.Damir PRODANAVIC, 19.Dmitri ZAKILAS, 8.Jesse PINTO (18.James O’ROURKE 79’)

Substitutes Not Used: 22.Gem AKILI, 23.Alexander SAPINA

Yellow Cards: Pinto 21’, Jones 65’, Peralta 84’, Lagoudakis 92’, Parello 92’

Red Cards: Nil

Player Ratings:

3 - Tyler Simpson (BC)

2 - Daniel Clifford (WSB)

1 - Tolgay Ozbey (BC)

-By Stuart Jones

Blacktown City FC retain top spot with win over Berries
28.03.10 22:59


Blacktown City FC players celebrated another victory in the NSW Premier League with a win over the West Sydney Berries on Sunday
Blacktown City FC continued their fine start to the NSW Premier League season with a hard fought one-nil victory over a courageous West Sydney Berries outfit at Lily Homes Stadium on Sunday evening, thanks to a late goal from Tolgay Ozbey.
The first-half had started with the visiting Berries coming out all guns blazing.

Despite having been hit with an injury crisis, the team stood tall against the early pace setters of the competition - who were also without several players through injury.

Early on it was Michael Herbet and the offside flag that prevented the Berries taking the lead, with Kosta Lagoudakis, Damir Prodanavic and Dimitri Zakilas combining strongly in the attacking-third and Jesse Pinto, returning to his old club for the first time, threatening down the right-flank.

However, Blacktown was not completely out of the match in the early stages with Tolgay Ozbay seemingly a part of every home attack. On 15’ minutes, Ozbey made a run with the ball through into the penalty-area and then laid the ball off to Jordan Simpson who in turn tried to lay the ball across to the far side of the goal where it came to nothing, a better option would have been to have a shot.

Ozbey was then denied by the feet of Berries custodian Hamish McLean. The ball did return to the striker’s feet a third time and on this occasion Ozbey fell in the area from a defender’s challenge, though the referee quickly waved away Blacktown City’s penalty claims.

Combined pressure from the Berries over the following 10’ minutes saw chances fall to the two men leading the charge, both ex-Blacktown juniors, Stefan De Jesus and Pinto.

Prodanavic also had a chance in the 24’ minute but he was denied by Michael Herbert’s feet.

With Zakilas running hard, the Berries pressure was mounting but they could not get a really strong effort on target. After 30’ minutes the tide started to turn and it was the home team that would try and turn the screw.

Firstly a corner from Blacktown City saw the ball go over the players in the goal mouth and landed for Tyler Simpson at the far post. He put the ball back into the area with Luke Roodenberg diving low to meet the ball with his head, though the effort finished over the crossbar.

Roodenberg then played the ball to Mitchell Long, who flew down the right wing and played the ball into Ozbey before Berries defender Daniel Clifford magnificently cleared the ball away to safety.

Still the corner came in and was pushed away by the defence for a second corner, this time Zac Cairncross got a head to the ball only for the effort to finish between McLean’s waiting arms.

The Berries continued to fight, thanks mainly at this point to the play of former Blacktown player Stefan De Jesus. In the 38’ minute Prodanavic almost capped off a solid first-half performance with a goal but Herbert made his first difficult save to deny him, and the visitors, the opening score.

Having been scoreless at the break, the home team came out much stronger in the second-half and almost scored from the opening salvo.

Tolgay Ozbey chipped the ball across to Jordan Simpson and his header went just over the crossbar.

For their part the Berries tried attacking down the left but whilst the work of Ryan Jones was excellent, the visitors continued to fail to put shots on target.

Ozbey was in everything by now and after a great interchange with Mitchell Long he fired the ball well over the crossbar 10’ minutes into the half. Then Lachlan Cahill, having a strong game for Blacktown down their left, tried a shot from close-range but it went straight at McLean.

Tyler Simpson was then in the thick of it, running thirty-metres and beating several players before passing to Long who acrobatically crossed into the penalty-area, though intercepted by McLean.

At the other end Cairncross, Luka Dukic and Tyler Simpson were working well to deny the Berries any chances on goal.

On 66’ minutes Tyler Simpson put a great ball in from the left and 30-metres out. The ball was met by Roodenberg’s head but again it went over the crossbar, the side’s best chance to that point.

Then Mitchell Long, now doing much more running down the flank and looking much more like the dangerous player he can be, curled a great ball into the attacking area only for Clifford to get around his man and cut the ball away from danger.

In the 78’ minute the home-side were awarded a free-kick in a promising position, though it was awfully executed, as the home fans could have been excused for thinking the lead would never come. Almost as if angered by the free-kick, less than a minute later Tolgay Ozbey picked the ball up on the edge of the penalty-area and drifted across the penalty line before smashing a shot into the far corner of the goal, well out of the reach of the diving hands of McLean.

To give them their due, the visitors were not done yet and Peter Peralta tried to take matters into his own hands with an effort from distance finishing agonisingly wide of the mark.

Berries coach John Caleja was feeling both disappointed and happy after the match:

“I am happy because it was a much improved performance from our lads.

“I am disappointed because we went for so long holding onto a point and even dominated play in the first-half, but we come away with nothing, that certainly hurts.

“We had possession in the first-half and we played well throughout those 45’ minutes but we lacked the bite up front to put away a chance. It was a better performance than last week and something we can build upon.”

Blacktown City assistant coach Mark Crittenden was pleased with the full points:

“We were lethargic and slow in the first-half but were more direct and awake in the second.

“We improved upon our ball retention and got the goal eventually. In the end we could have won by two or three.

“Defensively we did well tonight but we need to increase our intensity across the park through the whole 90 minutes. We have a tough couple of weeks ahead so we are happy about getting the result tonight.”

In the Grade-20 encounter, Blacktown City FC beat the West Sydney Berries 1-0.

Match Stats

Blacktown City FC 1 (Ozbey 79’)

West Sydney Berries 0

Sunday, 28th March, 2010

Lily Homes Stadium, Seven Hills

Referee: Khodr YOGHI

Assistant Referees: Scott EDELING and Lance GREENSHIELDS

Fourth Official: Nicholas TRAGOUSTIS

Blacktown City FC: 1.Michael HERBET; 2.Tyler SIMPSON, 5.Luka DUKIC, 7.Luke ROODENBERG, 6.Matt PRESELLO (16.Ante DEUR 76’), 9.Kain RASTALL, 10.Jordan SIMPSON (18.Travis MAJOR 83’), 11.Mitchell LONG, 13.Lachlan CAHILL, 19.Tolgay OZBEY, 22.Zac CAIRNCROSS

Substitutes Not Used: 20.Matt RYAN, 12.Brendan MARONEY

Yellow Cards: J Simpson 26’, Ozbey 43’, Rastall 91’

Red Cards: Nil

West Sydney Berries: 1.Hamish MCLEAN; 5.Ryan WALSH, 4.Daniel CLIFFORD (32.Leon PARRELLO 81’), 7.Peter PERALTA, 3.Omar SAADI (18.Shayne MORRISEY 72’), 15.Ryan JONES, 12.Stefan DE JESUS, 16.Kosta LAGOUDAKIS, 21.Damir PRODANAVIC, 19.Dmitri ZAKILAS, 8.Jesse PINTO (18.James O’ROURKE 79’)

Substitutes Not Used: 22.Gem AKILI, 23.Alexander SAPINA

Yellow Cards: Pinto 21’, Jones 65’, Peralta 84’, Lagoudakis 92’, Parello 92’

Red Cards: Nil

Player Ratings:

3 - Tyler Simpson (BC)

2 - Daniel Clifford (WSB)

1 - Tolgay Ozbey (BC)

-By Stuart Jones

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

Cattanach clinches last minute winner to thwart Sydney Olympic
29.03.10 08:25


Manly United's Craig Midgley opened the scoring for the home side in their 2-1 victory over Sydney Olympic at Cromer Park on Sunday
Manly United ensured Sydney Olympic coach Pat Morando will continue to walk the coaching tightrope this week after a pulsating 2-1 win at Cromer Park on Sunday night.
In one of the most entertaining NSW Premier League matches this season, Robbie Cattanach’s winner in the 90’ minute handed Phil Moss’ men their first three points at home in 2010.

Sydney Olympic had plenty of chances early on to open the scoring, but a lack of guile in front of goal and some brilliant work between the sticks from Manly stand in custodian Rhyss Keane kept them at bay.

Matthew Mayora in particular had an evening he will want to forget.

While always looking dangerous, the one time Perth Glory striker missed a hatful of chances, the first one after just 3’ minutes.

He was ruing his luck in the 7’ minute when Keane spilt a ball but he snatched at the shot, hitting it well wide of the target despite having the whole goal to aim at.

In the 11’ minute he did manage to beat Keane but saw his effort cleared off the line by Sean Bowden, giving the impression it was going to be one of those nights for the boys from Belmore.

Incredibly Mayora was denied by Keane a further three times in six minutes before Manly took the lead after 33’ minutes.

After being played in by Andrew Mailer, Joey Gibbs fed Craig Midgley who finished with aplomb at the near post.

Olympic squared things up 8’ minutes later via the boot of Chris Triantis, with the creative midfielder forcing home a loose ball that Keane spilt in the area.

On the stroke of the break Keane atoned for his error after denying Andre Gumprecht, who rocketed a shot towards goal after some clever interchanging of passes between Mayora and Triantis.

In the 46’ minute Manly should have taken the lead via Chris Gallo, but somehow the Olympic defence denied him from point blank range.

Mailer then saw a penalty claim waved play on by referee Sandro Perticarini , before Keith Shevlin tested the palms of Zaim Zaneli after 53’ minutes.

In classic end to end football, Olympic substitute Iain Ramsay almost gave his team the lead on the hour mark, only to be denied by Keane.

He tested the Manly defence again on 66’ minutes after picking up a loose ball from Brad Groves, but saw his shot blocked by the retreating Joel Grenell.

The Sydney FC National Youth League player of the year then rattled the crossbar after 77’ minutes with Keane beaten as both teams searched for the winner.

Crowd favourite Robbie Cattanach should have given his team the lead with 12’ minutes remaining but volleyed over, before grabbing the three points in yet another Manly United late show.

In a mad scramble in the box from a Mailer corner, Cattanach reacted quickest to Joey Gibbs’ cleared effort, forcing the ball home from inside the six yard box.

A relieved Moss was happy with the second half performance dished up from his men:

“We came out strongly and were patient,’’ he said.

“Overall we deserved the result……both teams had plenty of chances to win it…..we left it late, but I was always confident.

“Guys like Joey Schirripa and Robbie Cattanach haven’t played much football this season but were very good for us.

“Rhyss Keane was also good….he stood up when given a chance and impressed me.’’

Sydney Olympic boss Pat Morando knows he will now be in the firing line after Olympic slumped to their third loss in five games:

“We were the far better side but didn’t take our chances,’’ he said.

“Manly took their chances to good luck to them.

“A few things didn’t go our way, but that’s football.”

Match Stats

Manly United 2 (Craig Midgley 33’, Robbie Cattanach 90’)

Sydney Olympic 1 (Chris Triantis 41’)

Sunday, 28th March, 2010

Cromer Park, Dee Why

Referee: Sandro Perticarini

Assistant Referees: Steven Nguyen and Matthew Colqhoun

Fourth Official: Miles Allen-Scott

Manly United FC: 20.Rhyss KEANE; 2.Sean BOWDEN, 4.Joel GRENELL, 5.Pascal JULLIARD, 7.Andrew MAILER, 8.Keith SHEVLIN, 12.Justin HAYWARD,(10.Craig MIDGLEY 27’) 16.Joey SCHIRRIPA,19.Brad GROVES,(3.Roberto HAMAD 74’) 21.Chris GALLO,(9.Robbie CATTANACH 63’) 22.Joey GIBBS

Substitutes Not Used: 40.Dylan MITCHELL, 13.Mitch MACEDO

Yellow Cards: Nil

Red Cards: Nil

Sydney Olympic: 1.Zaim ZANELI; 21.Ricky PERINICH, 4.Josh LAWSON, 18.Jerry KALOURIS, 11.Phillip MAKRYS, 8.Chris TRIANTIS, 9.James MONIE, (19.Steve BIASON 90’) 7.Peter McPHERSON, 6.Andre GUMPRECHT, (24.Mitchel STAMATELIS 68’) 15.Matthew MAYORA, (14.Iain RAMSAY 52’) 22.Emmanuel GIANNAROS

Substitutes Not Used: 3.Steven TIBBETS, 20.Luke TURNBULL

Yellow Cards: Perinich 26’, Triantis 29’, Makrys 35’, Monie 73’

Red Cards: Nil

Player Ratings:

3 – Rhyss Keane (MUFC)

2 – Joey Gibbs (MUFC)

1 – James Monie (SO)

Are you writing all these articles Solympic?

You gotta be taking the piss right:lol:

ye i go to all the games and write all the articles

and i my name changes depending what game

www.nswpl.com.au

That's better. Feel free to copy the articles here, but make sure you provide a link to them one you're doing it.