Sydney United Silence Defending Champions

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Ken Schembri was forced to call on a number of his younger players after being savaged by injuries and other commitments and his misery was compounded when United took the lead after just six minutes.
Luka Glavas capitalised on some hesitant Blacktown defending down the left flank and squared the ball to the advancing Chris Boyle.
The impressive midfielder fired home past Demons custodian Matt Nemes who would have been disappointed at not being able to smother the effort at his near post.
Sydney United then took their foot off the pedal and it was no surprise to see the Demons equalise ten minutes later.
Playmaker Leo Carle got the home crowd on their feet with a thumping 25 yard drive that rocketed in the top right corner and wouldn?t have looked out of place in a highlights reel from the English Premier League.
Ken Chun cut inside his marker and released Carle who had time to measure his shot with the strike worth the admission fee alone.
Ivan Petkovic?s men then took the lead in the 36? minute following excellent lead up play from United?s ?Mr Consistency? Todd Brodie.
The fleet footed attacking midfielder floated in a pinpoint cross to the far post which Elsid Barkhousir headed home.
The Mt. Druitt Rangers recruit made a mockery of his height to out jump Paul Karbon and Tim Rassmussen in a situation where Nemes again should have imposed himself.
Six minutes later United secured the three points after Demons captain Karbon was judged to have fouled Barkhousir inside the area.
He received his marching orders after picking up a second yellow card for the foul.
Luka Glavas then held his nerve to calmly slot his penalty past Nemes to give the Edensor Park boys a two goal cushion heading into half-time.
Nemes went a small way towards redeeming himself with two smart one-on-one saves from Glavas in the 48? and 56? minutes but the Demons simply couldn?t cope being a man in arrears.
Milan Bosnar ensured both sides would be playing with ten men in the second half after being given an early shower following his over zealous reaction to a 50/50 challenge involving Blacktown?s Brendan Maroney.
Both teams had chances late in the game which went begging leaving Petkovic the happier of the two coaches after the ninety minutes.
?In our first genuine hit out to come away with a win like that was pleasing,? he said.
?The combinations are starting to gel and obviously we will get better as the year goes on.
“At times our shape left a lot to be desired and after they had a man sent off I expected the boys to go on with the job. In saying that I would have taken a 3-1 win if you had offered it before kick off.?
Demons? boss Schembri didn?t mince his words when quizzed about the Demons performance: 
?We have been hammered by injuries so I wasn?t expecting the lads to set the world on fire,? he said.
?It was always going to be an uphill task after conceding such soft goals in the first half and credit to the boys for not dropping their bundle.
“When Leo scored I felt we were back in the contest then concentration and experience got the better of us.
?I have always maintained the first two to four weeks of the competition was going to be our biggest test. 
?It doesn?t get any easier next week away against Manly United and it goes without saying we have a heap of work to do at training this week. 
?The effort at times was good, the boys did their best and they will be better for the experience.?

Match Stats
Blacktown City Demons 1 (Leo Carle 16?)
Sydney United 3 (Chris Boyle 6?, Elsid Barkhousir 39? Luka Glavas 43?)
Blacktown City Demons: 20.Matt Nemes, 2.Matthew Pressello, 3.Paul Karbon, 4.Daniel Wilkinson, 6.Ken Chun, 9.Bruno.Salas, 10.Leo Carle, 11.Nick Ruoco, 12.Brendan Maroney, 14.Tim Rassmussen, 19.Brian Vanega
Substitutes: 8.Chris Bedzo, 13.Ben Ellis, 29.Matt Lewis, 18.Jesse Pinto, 40.Veljko.Vujosevic
Sydney United: 30.Vedran Janjetovic, 3.Joe Moric, 21.Sash Trajcevski, 5.Damon Collina, 6.Joe Vrkic, 7.Todd Brodie, 23.Ivo Bosnar, 4.Milan Bosnar, 15.Christopher Boyle, 16.Elsid Barkhousir, 11.Luka Glavas
Substitutes: 14.Paul Curjak, 18.Andrija Petkovic, 25.Dennis Cutura, 2.Ricky Perinich, 1.Michael Turnbull (RGK)
Yellow Cards: Brendan Maroney (BCD) 66?
Red Cards: Paul Karbon (BCD) 42?, Milan Bosnar (SU) 66?
Referee: Kurt Ams
Assistants: Daniel Dewhurst, Andrew Best
Crowd: 500 (approx)


Match Ratings:
3 – Todd Brodie (SU)
2 – Damon Collina (SU)
1 – Brendan Maroney (BCD)
-By Andrew Hurrell