Rams take huge step to avoid wooden-spoon

The match started with Carl McNaughton playing the ball through the middle of the park to Ben Wright who flicked the ball to Nathan Ralph on the left. Ralph had a tight angle but managed to put it on target, only to be denied by Brody Crane in the Rams goal.      
In the 10? minute the locals were awarded a free-kick on the edge of the area. As the ball was played in, players ended up on the ground in the area following a scuffle and a penalty was awarded against Penrith-Nepean for pulling down an opponent.
Silky midfielder Glen Trifiro stepped up and struck the ball well to put his team a goal up.
Three minutes later he doubled the lead as a free-kick was awarded 30-metres out.
Trifiro?s fine effort had Daniel Schwarzer beaten ? the younger brother of Socceroo Mark Schwarzer could not reach the ball fully as it swerved just inside his post.
At this point Macarthur tried to consolidate its lead with good defence but continually gave the ball over to Penrith who could not consolidate possession with shots on goal. Javier Mancino could only get his effort blocked by the defence in the 26? minute and then in the 32? minute Nathan Ralph could only volley the ball over the crossbar after a great cross from Michael Cromar on the left.
On 38? minutes debutant Yianni Fragogiannis played Jason Browne down the right and Browne saw his cross turn-to-shot easily handled by Crane. Two minutes later Nathan Ralph shook off the defence in the area but the angle was too tight once more as he smashed the ball into the side-netting. A minute later Ben Wright capped off an industrious half in the midfield with a shot from distance but the ball was off-target.
Each side made a change at the interval but it was the visitors that started the stronger. Ante Juric curled a shot goalwards in the 29? minute only to be denied by a world class save by Crane. Then a minute later Wright put a shot just millimetres over the crossbar.
Macarthur responded through Matt Toogood who shot a ball over the bar from the left. When under pressure the visitors were often saved thanks to the last ditch defence of William Stuart who was doing the work of three players, as well as assisting in attack.
On the hour, former Penrith star Daniel McCann put a great ball through to Cooley down the right but the ball beat him to the byline. The ball went up to the other end of the field and Wright put in a cross from the right and Jason Browne was unmarked in the area. Browne?s header put the ball into the back of the net and it was game on.
Five minutes later it looked like Macarthur were to extend their lead when a neat touch by Trifiro saw Steven Baveas’s strike on goal but Daniel Schwarzer pulled off a save as magnificent as Crane?s effort earlier in the half.
The 66? minute was a turning point in the match. First Ante Juric was denied a goal when he bodied the ball just past the near post Then Shannon Hankin returned to haunt Penrith (having scored in their first round clash) as he turned his marker in the area and put the ball into the far corner of the net for the Rams third goal of the night.
That should have been ?game over? though the visitors would not go down without a fight.
In the 78? minute a chance came to Penrith in the most bizarre manner with a clearance from Toogood deflecting off the back of Jason Browne and heading goalwards. Fortunately for the home side, it went straight to Crane as it could have gone anywhere, including the back of the net.
In the 83? minute a free-kick was awarded to Penrith when it was argued by the Penrith players that the foul occurred inside the area. However the free-kick saw the Penrith bench celebrate as it looked like the referee had pointed to the spot once it was taken and Ben Wright had fallen in the area, reminiscent of the first-half incident that led to the opening goal. However, the free-kick went the other way for a foul on the goalkeeper by Wright.
In the 86? minute Nathan Ralph was set up by Ante Juric but his shot went over the bar. A minute later Wright had a long distance shot and the ball took a deflection from a defender and ended up in the back of the net. Macarthur was now back to hanging on to their hard fought lead.
It was not the end of the action as Jason Browne saw a free-kick tipped over the bar by Crane, and even Daniel Schwarzer put shots in from half way. In the end though it was not enough and Macarthur had secured a historic win.
After the match Paul Carter was delighted to pick up the points:
?Personally not to finish bottom is massive. The job is not done yet but tonight helps a lot. As a club the victory means we get to fight another day. I could not have asked for more, we did not play well throughout the entire match tonight, but sometimes you have to win ugly.?
Match Stats
Macarthur Rams 3 (Glen Trifiro 10?(penalty), 13?,  Shannon Hankin 66?)
Penrith-Nepean United 2 (Jason Browne 60?, Ben Wright 87?)
Venue: Campbelltown Stadium
Referee: Miles Allen-Scott
Crowd: 125
Macarthur Rams: 1. Brody Crane; 2. Craig Cooley; 4. Jason Lewis (16. Steven Baveas 46′), 7. Matt Toogood, 12. Shannon Hankin (32. Darko Vidovic 93?), 14. Daniel McCann, 19. Paul Crisp, 23. Josh Ford, 22. Glen Trifiro, 17. Adam Wither, 5. David Gardiner
Substitutes Not Used: 40. Roy Bell, 24. Scott Goodwin, 27. James Young 
Yellow Cards: Baveas 84?
Red Cards: Nil
Penrith-Nepean United: 42. Daniel Schwarzer; 19. Yianni Fragogiannis, 20. Ben Wright, 28. Ante Juric, 16. Michael Cromar (8. Stewart Van Bentum 63?), 5. Luke Boyd, 9. Carl McNaughton (23. Devrim Huseyin 46?), 10. Jason Browne, 13. Nathan Ralph, 2. William Stuart, 7. Javier Mancino
Substitutes Not Used: 1. Chad Taylor, 4. Ryan O?Shea, 3. Christopher Gomez
Yellow Cards: Juric 9?, Cromar 20?, McNaughton 25?, Ralph 51?, Boyd 54?, Wright 67?
Red Cards: Nil
Player Ratings:
3 – Glen Trifiro (MR)
2 – William Stuart (PNU)
1 – Ben Wright (PNU)
-By Stuart Jones