Baillie’s Berries do it tough in busy week

Coach Scott Baillie, who has been greatly assisted by his ?go to? man ? Assistant Coach ? Ramsin Shamon, has assembled a competitive squad mixed with youth and experience, and the team has certainly not disappointed their group of supporters ? until last weekend.
An emphatic defeat of Bankstown City on Anzac Day in Round 9 TeleChoice Premier League action – 2-0 in a ?home? match played at Bankstown?s Jensen Park – seemed to re-iterate the side?s intentions for the season, though a series of injuries and a lack of cohesion in Round 10 against Sutherland Sharks saw the Berries? promising campaign take a nose dive.
Poor passing and a lack of belief in their performance, the Berries failed to show the spirit they have displayed in their giant-killing run that has included the scalps of both Bankstown City and Sydney Olympic.
?We were very disappointing (against Sutherland Sharks). I am extremely disappointed with the display,? commented player/coach Scott Baillie.
?We didn?t show up, a lot of the boys? attitudes were all wrong on the day and we deserved to lose simply for the poor performance we offered.?
Baillie was not helped with injuries to experienced pairing Michael Cunico and Kosta Lagoudakis, though much more was expected of the Berries following the good performance against Bankstown City one-week earlier.
?We spoke of the Bankstown City match during the week (leading up to the Sutherland match) and I repeated to the boys that the win at Jensen Park would count for little if we can?t back it up with another good performance ? we failed in every aspect to show up.?
The week doesn?t get much easier for the Berries who will be involved in Tiger Turf Cup action on Wednesday evening against Premier League rival, Manly United FC.
The tough proposition of facing an in-form Premier League club-side was made even more difficult as the Berries will need to travel to Cromer Park for the encounter ? without the influence of their Under 20s players.
?I am disappointed about this clash because our Under 20s too will be involved in a mid-week clash which means we cannot use any of the younger boys for the Cup match.
?It is going to be difficult and I do wish the organisers did take this into account before making the draw, though that is football and it isn?t something we can control and we?ll certainly give our best against a strong performing side,? concluded Baillie.
*Manly United FC v West Sydney Berries ? 7:15 PM kick-off at Cromer Park, Manly on Wednesday evening.

– Joseph Carlucci