Sydney United move into top spot after defeat of Bankstown City
26.04.10 02:50


Bankstown City FC striker Hussein Salameh shown getting tackled by Sydney United Player/Manager David Zdrilic during their duel on Sunday evening at Jensen Park
Sydney United moved into first-spot on the NSW Premier League ladder, ahead of Marconi Stallions on goal average, following a very impressive second-half showing against Bankstown City at Jensen Park.

The Reds scored three unanswered goals in the space of 8’ minutes – a brace to Elsid Barkhousir and a goal to Mirjan Pavlovic - to kill off the brave challenge from the home-side, before administering the closing stages of the match with complete ease.

Faced with a number of absentees due to injury and suspension, Sydney United player/coach David Zdrilic opted for Peter Zorbas to pull the strings in midfield with Sean Mitchell, as Mirjan Pavlovic held the weight on his shoulders in the front-third with Zdrilic and Barkhousir playing off the burly striker.

Peter Tsekenis too had to make some late changes with Tallan Martin pulling out following the warm-up due to injury, meanwhile defender Ali Haydar was handed his debut with the first team at right-back.

Sydney United opened proceedings with the first chance of the match on 7’ minutes as the skillful youngster Ante Tomic played a pin-point corner onto the head of Elsid Barkhousir at the back post. Despite the striker’s best efforts, Barkhousir failed to keep his header down.

The home-side’s response arrived on 15’ minutes as Peter Tsekenis cleverly started a Lions counter-attack.

Having won possession inside the Lions’ half, Tsekenis released Robbie Mileski before continuing his run up the field. Mileski played an exquisite through ball into the path of Tsekenis on the edge of the penalty-area, though the Bankstown City player/coach was brought to ground by Shane Lyons.

The former Sutherland Sharks and A.P.I.A.-Leichhardt Tigers player picked up a booking for his troubles, as Robbie Mileski failed to find the target with the resulting free-kick.

Sydney United turned their attentions back to attack and Petar Markovic picked out Pavlovic with a floated cross from the right-flank, though Pavlovic’s diving effort was well-parried by Zlatko Joseski in the Lions’ goal.

Richard Luksic nearly found the opener for the home-side as he leapt highest to meet Shane Thomas’ floated free-kick. Luksic’s glancing header had all the power required, though lacked the accuracy as the ball finished over Vedran Janjetovic’s crossbar.

Tomic, at the opposing end, had a golden chance to hit the Reds ahead moments later as he picked up a loose ball at the back post following a cross from the right. Tomic’s diagonal effort across the face of goal only just finished wide of the left-hand post much to the despair of the vocal group of travelling supporters.

Tomic was again in the thick of the action on 35’ minutes as the Reds hit Bankstown City on the counter-attack. Markovic’s delicate ball over the top of the Lions defence picked out Tomic who attempted a first-time volley that packed a real punch, though failed to dip enough as the ball finished over the crossbar.

Bankstown City closed the half on the front foot, though Mileski scuffed the final chance. The Lions number 10 received a pass on the edge of the penalty-area and hit the ball on the half-volley, though again failed to hit the target as the referee called an end to first-half proceedings.

After the break, Sydney United set-out to put the pressure on the Lions as Pavlovic showed his strength on multiple occasions in the opening 6’ minutes. The best chance for the former Newcastle Jets striker arrived on 51’ minutes as he weaved his way past three defenders before forcing Joseski into a point-blank reflex save, as the scores remained level.

At the other end, Hassan Akil wasted a promising chance when his shot from distance lacked power and was easily thwarted by the Reds defence.

Bankstown City kept the pressure on Sydney United as George Nohra firstly, then Steve Liavas both had efforts blocked by some solid Sydney United defence.

Sydney United immediately returned attentions to attack as Zdrilic forced Joseski into another fine save, this time denying the former Socceroo’s volley on the turn with a save down to his right.

The visiting Reds did find the breakthrough on the hour as Barkhousir headed home Ante Tomic’s cross at the back post. With the Lions’ down a man as Peter Tsekenis was receiving treatment on the sideline, Sydney United played a two exceptional passes out of midfield to release Tomic down the left-flank before the youngster delivered on a platter the opener for Barkhousir.

Sydney United doubled their lead 6’ minutes later as Tomic again played a huge part in the goal. Tomic showed all his class with a sensational piece of skill to beat two defenders on his way to goal. The youngster’s final attempt on goal was parried by Joseski with the rebound falling to Pavlovic who slotted the ball home with aplomb from close-range.

Despite the home-side’s best efforts, the Reds added a third to ‘kill off’ the contest on 68’ minutes. Substitute Shannon Burgin was disposed by Pavlovic who used his strength to maintain possession of the ball before playing a square-ball into the path of Barkhousir who converted into an empty net for this second goal of the night.

Sydney United player/coach David Zdrilic was pleased with his side’s progress:

“I am very happy with the result tonight as we have taken three-points from a strong side, away from home, and we did it convincingly,” Zdrilic said.

“I thought the opening half was very even, though we really stepped it up in the second-half.

“Our three goals were brilliant, with Ante’s (Tomic) cross for Elsid (Barkhousir) just brilliant. I am happy with the way we played. We have a big squad and everybody understands the system we play, so even with some absentees, the players that come in know exactly what is expected of them and they do the job.

“Next weekend we have a big match against Blacktown City, so we will be preparing as best we can for that one,” Zdrilic ended.

Bankstown City’s Peter Tsekenis was less impressed with the final result:

“It wasn’t a good result, and I am disappointed with certain errors that we made tonight.

“Sydney United scored three great goals, and went about their business with a very strong performance.

“We conceded the first goal as I was off the field receiving treatment, so it wasn’t ideal, though the through ball played over our defence by Sydney United was just brilliant.

“Our team is capable of much better, and I say that without any hesitation, as I know what these players are capable of.

“To-date though, we haven’t all as a team stepped up together. We’ve had individuals, like tonight, that step up and work really hard, though until each player does that together, we will continue to fall short of achieving our goals.”

Tsekenis left the playing field early due to injury:

“It is a rib injury, though I can’t be sure what it is exactly at the moment, I will have to have it checked out over the next few days,” ended Tsekenis.

In the Grade 20 division, Bankstown City came from a goal down to secure a 2-1 win against Sydney United.

Match Stats

Bankstown City 0

Sydney United 3 (Elsid Barkhousir 60’, 68’, Mirjan Pavlovic 66’)

Saturday, 25th April, 2010

Jensen Park, Sefton

Referee: Adam Weir

Assistant Referees: Murray Wilson and Steven Ngyuen

Fourth Official: Thomas Klein

Crowd: 700 Approx.

Bankstown City: 1.Zlatko Joseski; 2.Scott Thomas, 5.Richard Luksic (C), 6.Peter Tsekenis (3.Shannon Burgin 67’), 8.George Nohra (18.William Angel 79’), 9.Hassan Akil, 7.Steve Liavas, 10.Robert Mileski, 12.Bill Tsandis, 20.Hussein Salameh, 80.Ali Haydar (99.Chris Godoy Bascur 73’)

Substitutes Not Used: 22.Robert Napoleone

Yellow Cards: Nil

Red Cards: Nil

Sydney United: 1.Vedran Janjetovic; 5.Damon Collina, 6.Joe Vrkic (C), 8.Shane Lyons, 14.Petar Markovic, 7.Peter Zorbas, 21.Sean Mitchell, 9.David Zdrilic (27.Adam Jenner 90’), 16.Elsid Barkhousir, 25.Mirijan Pavlovic, 32. Ante Tomic (11.Luka Glavas 79’)

Substitutes Not Used: 20.Roy Bell, 10.Steve Wright, 23.Steven Veleski

Yellow Cards: Shane Lyons 14’, Joe Vrkic 14’, Damon Collina 30’, David Zdrilic 44’

Red Cards: Nil

Player Ratings:

3 – Elsid Barkhousir (SU)

2 – Ante Tomic (SU)

1 – Mirjan Pavlovic (SU)

-By Joseph Carlucci

Sydney Olympic sizzle against Wolves
26.04.10 02:43


Sydney Olympic's two-goal hero Cedric Ramirez shown in action against South Coast Wolves' skipper Lisandro Berbis on Sunday at Belmore Sports Ground
The Anzac Day clash between Sydney Olympic and South Coast Wolves proved to be a very exciting and entertaining game, especially for the Olympic faithful who were very boisterous in their support as their team won 4-2 at home.
The game kicked off to a blistering pace with Sydney Olympic the first to attack, moving the ball wide and testing the Wolves lefts side of defence.

Olympic players such as Cedric Ramirez, Matthew Mayora and Chris Triantis combined well and produced many opportunities throughout the afternoon.

South Coast Wolves also took aim with Andy Keep shooting on-target, only for the ball to hit the crossbar in the opening minutes of the game.

This set the tone for the entire match, and within 5’ minutes Sydney Olympic broke through the Wolves defensive line with Ramirez finding space and having only the keeper to beat. In a gallant attempt to stop a certain goal, the Wolves shot-stopper ran off his line scuttling the attack and a certain goal, while making sure that no foul would be committed on the Sydney Olympic player.

In the 7’ minute, a cross from Iain Ramsey created havoc for the Wolves backline as they tried to clear the ball out of the box only for Chris Triantis to place it in the bottom right-hand corner of the net and produce the opening goal of the afternoon, giving Sydney Olympic the lead.

Olympic’s perseverance had paid off and motivation was high as they continued to press forward while the Wolves defended. The Wolves produced some attacking raids with combinations from players such as Mark Picciolini, Andrew Paine and Andy Keep, however in the 16’ minute Sydney Olympic’s Phillip Makrys created a goal from the midfield slotting the ball through to Chris Triantis who crossed the ball wide to find Cedric Ramirez to score the home-side’s second goal of the afternoon.

Sydney Olympic, in the space of minutes, had taken the lead convincingly as momentum was in their favour while the wolves re-grouped and continue to search for a goal to get them back into the contest.

The intensity of the game grew as players began to challenge every ball, which lead to a very physical game.

Eventually, in the 29’ minute, the Wolves found the back of the net. With Sydney Olympic scrabbling to clear the ball out of their penalty-area, only for it to land to Wolves player Mark Picciolini, who scored with a fine finish, allowing his team back in the game.

In the 40’ minute Picciolini again produced another goal with some fine lead-up by team-mate Andrew Paine who had a shot from distance at the Olympic keeper, only for Zanelli to save and push the ball wide. Picciolini was on the spot to pounce on the loose ball to send his side in at the break on level terms.

The second-half started with the same level of dedication and intensity as the first, and Olympic were crossing long balls into the Wolves defensive area, while their opponents preferred quick passes looking for space.

The South Coast Wolves were creating more chances with players such as Picciolini, Buyukkopru and Trifiro, however their raids on the Olympic goals were not on target while their opponents were prepared to spread the ball wide.

In the 70’minute a free-kick was awarded to Sydney Olympic well outside the Wolves penalty-area with Phillip Makrys producing a kick worthy of a goal, as it floated high over the wall and hitting the crossbar. The Blues were in control from this point forward, producing more attacking football.

On 72’ minutes Makrys again attacked the left side of the Wolves defence, crossing the ball into the path of Cedric Ramirez to slot home for his second goal of the afternoon.

Phillip Makrys sealed the win for Sydney Olympic on 81’ minutes, win shooting from range, much to the delight of the home supporters.

After the match, South Coast Wolves’ coach Trevor Morgan said:

It was a terrible start from us and we gifted Olympic (2) two goals. In the first 25’ minutes of the game we started to switch on and play better and it was a great effort to equalise but I am disappointed that we started so poorly.

“In the second-half we were in the game but we failed to put our chances away.”

Pat Marando, the Sydney Olympic coach, said:

“We stuck to our game plan and we knew that we have a little pace up front. We made hard work of it, 4-2 is the score line but it’s not a reflection of the game, full credit to the Wolves as they did have a crack at us.

“The game plan in the second-half was to invite them into our half, win the ball in the middle third, then dispatch a few players in the gaps, we are happy with the result.”

Match Stats

Sydney Olympic 4 (Chris Triantis 7’, Cedric Ramirez 16’, 72’, Phillip Makrys 81’)

South Coast Wolves 2 (Mark Picciolini 30’, 40’)

Sunday, 25th April, 2010

Belmore Sports Ground, Belmore

Referee: Peter Vrtkovski

Assistant Referees: Scott Edeling and Leigh Pigram

Fourth Official: T. Lee

Crowd: 1550 Approx.

Sydney Olympic: 13.Paul Henderson; 4.Josh Lawson (5. Tayfun Devrimol 46'), 21.Ricky Perinich, 8.Chris Triantis, 12.Cedric Ramirez (9.James Monie 73'), 6.Andre Gumprecht, 11.Phillip Makrys, 15.Matthew Mayora (32. Dimitrios Petratos 57’), 17.Iain Ramsey, 16.Steven Tibbets, 23.Luke Gearin.

Substitutes Not Used: 1. Zaim Zanelli, 18. Jerry Kalouris

Yellow Cards: Dimitrios Petratos 90’

Red Cards: Nil

South Coast Wolves: 1.Brody Crane; 17.Tynan Diaz, 2.Alex Mansueto, 3.Greg Valic, 5.Nick McInerney, 6.Lisandro Berbis, 7.Andy Keep (19.Ken Chun 55’), 8.Tayfun Buyukkopru, 9.Mark Picciolini, 10.Jason Trifiro 11.Andrew Paine (16.Kieran Deane 66’)

Substitutes Not Used: 14.Andreas Gomez, 15.Chris Nathaniel, 40.Nikodin Matic

Yellow Cards: Mark Picciolini 10’

Red Cards: Nil

Player Ratings:

3 – Cedric Ramirez (SO)

2 – Mark Picciolini (SCW)

1 – Iain Ramsey (SO)

-By Peter Chiodo

Red-hot Sharks knock Blacktown off top-spot
26.04.10 02:31


Sutherland Sharks' Panny Nikas (right) shown in control of the ball as Blacktown City FC's Chris Bedzo (left) looks on. (Photo by Damian Briggs)
Sutherland Sharks sent out a big warning to all adversaries as they delivered Blacktown City FC their first loss of the season with a 2-0 win at Lily Homes Stadium.
The match started with Sutherland attacking down the right-flank. Jim Bakis’ deliveries though, were easily intercepted by Michael Herbet.

In the 7’ minute Yianni Fragogiannis looped around Bakis and crossed the ball over to the other side of the goal where Nick Stavroulakis headed the ball back into the area. As Ben Vidaic was about to pounce the defence intercepted the ball and it was cleared away for a corner.

Despite their early dominance it was to be Sutherland’s only really clear chance from that period.

In the 10’ minute Tyler Simpson headed a corner goalwards but the ball went over the crossbar. 2’ minutes later Tolgay Ozbey rounded the Sutherland defence and shot on target, though Nathan Denham did an outstanding job to deny the home-side.

Then a minute later Sutherland were almost caught napping as Luke Roodenberg flicked on a throw-in and Ozbey had a header from point-blank range parried by an exceptional Denham reflex save.

On 18’ minutes, Panagiotis Nikas slipped through unmarked in-front of goal but his shot was off the mark.

Luke Roodenberg then had a shot from distance but it too was wide of the mark.

In the 23rd minute Blake Powell sprinted through on the left and beat Matthew Pressello in defence but as he tried to shoot he slipped and the ball looped over the crossbar.

Sutherland replied via Jimmy Bakis who ran through the defence before attempting to feed the ball to Nikas, rather than drive goalwards himself. The chance went begging for the Sharks.

Blacktown had much of the ball in the first-half hour but the back four for Sutherland played well as a unit and reduced any opportunities the home-side had in the attacking third.

In the 32’ minute they consolidated this when they took the lead. George Souris played a long ball over the top and Ben Vidaic beat Michael Herbet to the ball and headed the ball over the Blacktown City custodian and into the back of the net.

Blacktown City attempted to respond immediately, though their efforts again came to nothing in terms of efforts on goal. Michael Robinson was continually marking Ozbey strongly and was keeping his threat to a minimum.

For a while after the break it looked as though the locals were a different team.

For the opening 5’ minutes Mitchell Long reminded the crowd of the form he had been in during the last home match two weeks prior. However, a combination of Neil Jablonski and the defence of Sutherland denied turning this improvement in effort into shots on goal.

The best effort in that regard arrived in the 55’ minute as a corner from Roodenberg was headed down but again Denham was there to cut off any danger. The ball then quickly went to the other end of the field and was collected by Ben Vidaic. The defence stood still as they waited for an offside flag but it never came and Vidaic rounded the goalkeeper and scored his second goal of the night.

Four minutes later he nearly had his hat-trick as Pressello tried to play the ball back to his goalkeeper, though Vidaic intercepted it only for Herbet to get down low and deny his shot.

In the 63’ minute Powell ran past the defence and looked to be honing in on goal but Lachlan Cahill did an amazing job in running down the Sutherland speedster and tackle him.

Joel Chianese came on as a late substitute for Blacktown City and tried to change the game but even his runs did not lead to efforts on target for the home-side.

In the end, the last quarter of the match saw much of the ball in the middle of the park but little action at either end. Robinson and Souris continued to link strongly at the back, with Robinson able to make a couple of attacking raids forward.

The defence for Blacktown was also strengthening with Tyler Simpson pulling off a great tackle on Steve McConalogue to deny him as he drove forward down the left. Four minutes later McConalogue shot was saved by Herbet after great lead up work from Stavroulakis, who was linking strongly with Jablonski in the middle of the park, a strong return to form for both.

In the 89’ minute Tolgay Ozbey finally got Nathan Denham back involved in the game, but his shot was easily handled by the classy Sutherland shot-stopper. The visitors, as a whole, had down well in defence, but the back four of Price, Souris, Robinson, and Fragogiannis were particularly excellent.

After the match Blacktown City coach Aytek Genc was disappointed with the technical aspects of the game from his players:

“A bad defensive error cost a goal and Sutherland put a lot bodies behind the ball after that. “They were committed in defence and we had to chase the game. We allowed two soft goals, the second one very controversial, on the counter and we could not come back today as we let ourselves down technically.”

Robbie Stanton was happy enough with the result, but was already looking to next week:

“We picked up three-points against a good team today, they were not first for any reason. In the end today is just three-points and will not mean anything unless we get a win from next week’s match at home to Manly United.”

Match Stats

Blacktown City FC 0

Sutherland 2 (Ben Vidaic 32’, 55’)

Sunday, 25th April, 2010

Lily Homes Stadium

Referee: Andrew BEST

Assistant Referees: Sarah HO and Greg MCLOUGHLIN

Fourth Official: Matthew SAMPSON

Crowd: 300

Blacktown City FC: 1.Michael HERBET; 2.Tyler SIMPSON, 5.Luka DUKIC (17.Joel CHIANESE 58’), 6.Matt PRESSELLO (4.Mirko JURILJ 82’), 7.Luke ROODENBERG, 11.Mitchell LONG (8.Chris BEDZO 76’), 18.Travis MAJOR, 19.Tolgay OZBEY, 13.Lachlan CAHILL, 9.Kain RASTALL, 10.Jordan SIMPSON

Substitutes Not Used: 40.Matt RYAN, 35.Bernie IBINI

Yellow Cards: Rastall 1’, Ozbey 28’, J Simpson 39’

Red Cards: Nil

Sutherland Sharks: 1.Nathan DENHAM; 2.George SOURIS, 4.Michael ROBINSON, 6.Christopher PRICE, 7.Jim BAKIS, 8.Blake POWELL, 9.Ben VIDAIC (10.Steve MCONALOGUE 73’), 12.Neil JABLONSKI, 14.Nick STAVROULAKIS, 22.Yianni FRAGOGIANNIS, 23.Panagiotis NIKAS

Substitutes Not Used: 36.Tyson RHODES, 16.James LAWRENCE, 37.Michael SVIRCEVIC 24.Jack DUNCAN

Yellow Cards Robinson 68’, Nikas 70’, Price 86

Red Cards Nil

Player Ratings:

3 - Michael ROBINSON (SS)

2 - Ben VIDAIC (SS)

1 - Luke ROODENBERG (BC)

-By Stuart Jones

:roll:

550 the crowd was, thank-you.

http://www.nswpl.com.au/index.php?id=554&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=3681&tx_ttnews[backPid]=537&cHash=c3ca306a9e


Edited by proud2becanberran: 27/4/2010 05:15:01 PM

LOL!

hahahahaa crowd 1550 officially it was 500...solympic at his best again:shock:

Are you both solympic?

where did u get 1,550 for the crowed when on football nsw site it stated 550 :-({|=

Edited by cgorac: 28/4/2010 05:17:35 PM