Tiger Turf Cup Semi-Final Review

Both the Sutherland Sharks – Sydney Olympic and Bankstown City-Bonnyrigg White Eagles semi-finals were decided via the dreaded penalty shootout, following 120? minutes of end-to-end action.
On Saturday, Sydney Olympic got ?another one? over Sutherland Sharks following the Johnny Warren Cup Final victory at the same venue in pre-season.
In a match where dominance of possession was shared by both sides at different stages throughout, the Sharks managed to hit the front in extra-time following a precise finish from substitute Matthew Hall via a swift Sharks counter-attack. Despite losing goalkeeper Phillip Zabaks at half-time following a collision with Pail Wither and having Pedj Bojic sent-off for an uncharacteristic second yellow card before the end of normal time, the Sharks looked strong enough to hold out for the remainder of the match despite the onslaught that followed by Sydney Olympic.
Milan Blagojevic?s men embraced their opening chance of the second period of extra-time when a Paul Wither glancing header was adjudged to cross the goal-line, despite the headed clearance of Nick Stavroulakis.
Matthew Hall had another chance soon after, though Sydney Olympic seemed the most likely to find a winner with chances falling to substitutes Doumanis and Jin Kim ? though substitute goalkeeper Matt Brandalise proved more than ?up to? the challenge with a series of tremendous saves.
With the penalty shootout the only measure available to decide the encounter, Sydney Olympic sealed the win 5-4 with Michael Jurman converting the winning penalty to spark scenes of celebration on the playing surface.
Sydney Olympic?s opponents in the Tiger Turf Cup Final will be fellow TeleChoice Premier League outfit Bankstown City.
Peter Tsekenis? side was forced on the back-foot for almost the entire encounter as the less fancied Bonnyrigg White Eagles made most of the running throughout the first-half.
Domenic Cutri caused the Lions? defence much grief with his ?mazy-like? runs, as did the presence of Giovanni Leuzzi in the middle of the park.
Bankstown City?s afternoon turned for the worse on 50? minutes when Phillip Makrys was shown his second yellow card. Despite the numerical disadvantage, Bankstown created chances of their own, though Paul Harries and James Monie were unable to find their side a winner.
In somewhat amazing circumstances, Bankstown City was reduced to nine-men at the start of second-half extra-time when the referee sent Lions? goalkeeper Zlatko Joseski off after consulting with his Assistant.
Just when the situation could not get any worse, Robert Mileski was given a straight red card with 10? minutes remaining, leaving Bankstown City with the task of locking up shop and playing for the penalty shootout.
And this they did. The Lions reached the shootout and had substitute goalkeeper Andrew Bazi to thank for his two fine spot-kick saves, ensuring his side still remains in the hunt for some silverware after missing out on a Top-Five finish in the TeleChoice Premier League.
The Tiger Turf Cup showcase event will take place on Sunday August 10, 2008.
-By Joe Carlucci