Super League Round 18 Review
Bonnyrigg (37 points), Parramatta (37) and Liverpool (34) continued their duel at the top of the ladder with wins to all three frontrunners over Rockdale 1-0, Northern 3-0 and Uni 2-1 respectively.
In other games, Granville (on 28 points) bolstered fourth spot by beating Mount Druitt 2-1, while Fairfield roped a few more teams into the relegation scrap following their upset 2-1 win over Central Coast. The Fraser Park versus St George match was washed out.
Interestingly, the round-18 shutouts from Bonnyrigg and Parramatta put them in elite positions this season. From 17 rounds, it was the 10th time Bonnyrigg had held a team scoreless, and Parramatta?s ninth occasion. Granville is the next best performer with six games. At the other end of the scale, Rockdale and Northern have not been in goalscoring moods this year and each has been held to nil eight times.
Lions strike Lightning
They may have endured a tough season to date, but Fairfield City Lions are showing some strength at the right end of the year with a gritty 2-1 win over finals aspirants Central Coast Lightning at Norford Park on Saturday night. Fairfield?s third win of 2008 lifted them to within two points of Sydney Uni (15) at the bottom of the table, and the Lions now also have Mount Druitt (18) and Northern Tigers (19) in their sights.
Serkan Erel got the ball rolling for Fairfield with a well-taken chance on 20 minutes ? the goal lifting Erel to four for the season to be the Lions highest goalscorer. The home side was playing good football and kept their lead at half-time, but they met tougher resistance in the second half.
On the hour mark, Central Coast livewire midfielder Brady Smith notched up his sixth goal of the year (the Lightning?s best mark) to bring the two sides level. But a disastrous deflection off a Central Coast defender minutes later restored Fairfield?s advantage. There were some rocky moments for the Lions when Mohammed Baghdadi was marched from the field with 10 minutes to go after being given a second yellow card.
Faifield coach Aydin Cetinay was ecstatic. ?We haven?t lost for three weeks and are really coming together now as a team,? he said. ?It?s been a bruising time, but the signs are very positive. We have one goal that we are all aiming for as a club, to beat relegation. If we can win all of our home games from here on in, it should see us through.?
?There are more teams in the relegation zone that Fairfield and Uni. A few teams will have to watch out now, including the Tigers and Rangers. You just don?t know at the moment. We play Uni in the second last round, and that could decide it. But it?s our aim to not have to worry about it by then. It will be a tough schedule. We play Bossy on Thursday, St George on the weekend, then Bonnyrigg next Wednesday night.?
Fairfield City Lions 2 (Serkan Erel 20m own goal 68m) Central Coast Lightning 1 (Brady Smith 62m)
Parramatta punish Northern
PCYC Parramatta Eagles stayed equal-first with Bonnyrigg following a comprehensive 3-0 victory over Northern Tigers at Melita Stadium on Sunday afternoon. Parramatta were simply too hot to handle and added to their 2-0 halftime lead to round out a solid performance against an out-of-sorts Northern outfit. The Tigers have now been drawn into the relegation dogfight although, technically, they can still make the finals.
The Eagles started their rout through a terrific goal from Fred Graham, whose 30-yard blast smacked against the underside of the bar and bounced over the line for a 1-0 lead after just seven minutes of play. Mathew Clowes doubled the advantage five minutes later with a second goal for Parramatta, with Andy Amegashie?s second-half injury time strike ? his 10th goal of the season ? completing the three goal shutout.
Eagles coach Jason Falzon was pleased to see a consistent effort from his troops. ?The boys did play well. We were 2-0 up at halftime and cruising ? we got what we deserved,? he said. ?Our movement off the ball was really good to see, and I think we could?ve won by more. Every game is going to be tough from here on in, but we are playing the way we want to at the moment.?
PCYC Parramatta Eagles 3 (Fred Graham 7m Mathew Clowes 12m Andy Amegashie 91m) Northern Tigers 0
Bonnyrigg beat Rockdale
Bonnyrigg White Eagles maintained their mantle at the top of the leaderboard with a plucky 1-0 win against old rivals Rockdale City Suns at the Ilinden Sports Centre on Sunday afternoon. A backpass that stopped dead in a puddle was pounced on by White Eagles midfielder Daniel Willoughby in the 75th-minute, and his goal ended up separating the sides at the final whistle.
Rockdale stayed in the finals hunt despite the loss, but they will need some fortune to go their way over the remaining four rounds to stick their noses into a tight top-five. Suns coach Michael Grbevski remained optimistic about the tough road ahead, focusing his team on the opportunity at hand.
?It bucketed down and ended up playing in a swamp,? he said, ?And we only lost 1-0 to the league leaders from a silly back pass that got stuck in the mud. It was a very close contest but, once again, we walked away with nothing to show for our efforts. I?m not worried. There?s still four games to go, and it?s all in our hands.?
Bonnyrigg mentor Blagoja Kulevski was relieved to get a win after a tough month of matches that included Tiger Turf Cup commitments. ?We won so, of course, I?m happy. Rockdale is always a hard game to play, and the rain and mud made it difficult for both sides. But that?s the game of football.?
?The competition is very tight at the moment. For sure, I don?t like it so close. It does make it more interesting for the supporters but, for me, it?s more headaches. The catch-up games will be crucial to see where we?re at, so we?ll see what happens over the next few weeks.?
Rockdale City Suns 0 Bonnyrigg White Eagles 1 (Daniel Willoughby 75m)
Liverpool steamroll Uni
Bossy Liverpool continued to lurk around the top of the ladder following a pulsating 2-1 win over a devastated Sydney University side at Uni Oval on Sunday afternoon. Uni took a 1-0 lead on 25 minutes when James Alcorn snuck in his sixth goal of the year, and the lowly-placed home team was looking good for the win until Liverpool stormed home at the death.
With the clock ticking down and an upset on the cards, Bossy rallied and grabbed an equaliser on 88-minutes through Sam Awad before Super League topscorer Alex Canak laid the boot into Uni with an injury time goal to snatch a 2-1 victory for Liverpool. It took Canak?s season tally to 12 goals, and gave his coach Mile Todorovski heart palpitations.
?It was very difficult conditions for football, very slippery and the game was played at a slow pace,? he said. ?Uni was much better than us in the first half, and maybe we were even lucky to win the game. Still, we?ll take the three points. A bit of luck is always welcome. Close finishes to football matches are part of the coaching life, but I am lucky to have my heart still working after that one.?
Sydney University 1 (James Alcorn 25m) Bossy Liverpool 2 (Sam Awad 88m Alex Canak 89m)
Rage gouge Rangers
Granville Rage won an entertaining match against Mount Druitt Town Rangers 2-1 at Popondetta Park on Sunday afternoon. The win catapulted fourth-placed Granville four points clear of Fraser Park, but the loss consigned Mount Druitt to a wooden spoon battle royale with Fairfield, Uni, and even the Tigers.
Granville led 1-0 after half-an-hour when defender Nicholas McInerney bent a free kick over the wall and into goal, and the Rage could have gone further ahead when they awarded a penalty kick. Unfortunately, Nenos Bobo had his spot-kick attempt parried back to him, and he blasted the rebound over the bar.
The missed chance proved costly when Mount Druitt player Luciano Berbis hit a misdirected defensive header into the Granville goal to level the scores up right on halftime. But it was to be McInerney?s day. Inside the last 10 minutes, the talented back snuck forward and drilled a volley from the edge of the penalty area to secure a 2-1 win for the Rage.
Granville coach Lee Sterrey said it was good to get all three points away from home, but he was still far from satisfied. ?We made it difficult for ourselves after controlling lots of the game,? he said. ?Realistically, we had many corners and free kicks, but we had to fight tooth and nail for everything. We should?ve been in a much more comfortable position.?
?Still, to go away from home and get three points in this league is important. We are pushing to get a roll-on coming into the finals and that?s our second back-to-back win of the season. The spirit in the club?s very high, and we will be hard to beat if we can get in there.?
Mount Druitt Town Rangers 1 (Luciano Berbis 44m) Granville Rage 2 (Nicholas McInerney 33/83m)
Fraser Park, St George postponed
The scheduled St George Saints at Fraser Park match on Sunday afternoon was called off due to a waterlogged pitch. It was perhaps a blessing in disguise for Fraser Park, who are missing seven on their starting 11. Coach Alex Augusto now has two catch-up games up his sleeve.
Round 19 Fixtures
As well as a couple of midweek catch-up games, round 19 fixtures will add spice to the NSW Super League finals race. On Saturday night, Bonnyrigg meet Mount Druitt at home, St George host Fairfield, and Central Coast play Rockdale at Pluim Park. On Sunday afternoon, top-five sides Liverpool tackle Granville at Ernie Smith Reserve, Fraser Park take on Northern at Mills Park, and Parramatta visits Sydney Uni.
Round 18 results:
Rockdale City Suns 0 Bonnyrigg White Eagles 1 (Daniel Willoughby 75m)
Mount Druitt Town Rangers 1 (Luciano Berbis 44m) Granville Rage 2 (Nicholas McInerney 33/83m)
PCYC Parramatta Eagles 3 (Fred Graham 7m Mathew Clowes 12m Andy Amegashie 91m) Northern Tigers 0
Sydney University 1 (James Alcorn 25m) Bossy Liverpool 2 (Sam Awad 88m Alex Canak 89m)
Fairfield City Lions 2 (Serkan Erel 20m own goal 68m) Central Coast Lightning 1 (Brady Smith 62m)
Fraser Park vs St George Saints washed out
-By Daniel De Nardi
