Manly United spoil Sydney Tigers farewell to Lambert Park party
It was a scrappy start to the match with both sides failing to execute their plans, leaving a lot to be desired in the passing department.
The first free kick within scoring range was a curling ball into the goal mouth from Robbie Cattanach, however his attempt to supply his side?s first goal was headed away from danger.
Josh Sama and Cattanach were looking dangerous up front in the early stages for Manly, while at the other side of the paddock, Robbie Younis was finding very little space as the sole striker.
Cattanach who was presented with the first real opportunity of the match in the 14? minute, though was unable to capitalise on a clever ball from Michael Lloyd-Green, toe-poking a shot wide of the left post.
Moments later a long ball from Joey Schirripa found Sama in the penalty area, hitting a shot off the volley straight to Tigers goal keeper Phillip Zabaks.
The Tigers hit back in the 16? minute when Marino Musumeci found himself in an attacking two on two raid, but unfortunately his pass found Robbie Younis in an offside position, despite the Adelaide United striker driving his shot into the back of the Manly net.
Manly?s second golden opportunity came in the 24 minute when Keith Shevlin?s long ball found Lloyd-Green out wide.
Lloyd-Green controlled well to lay off a perfect ball to Scott Thomas, but unfortunately for the visitors, Phillip Zabaks? diving effort denied United of their first goal.
Sama should have opened Manly?s account when he got in a one-on-one situation with the goalkeeper, but his shot lacked the venom to penetrate the Tigers go-al.
Towards the latter stages of the first period Franco Parisi?s involvement for the Tigers increased, coming into his own in the mid-field.
Despite his efforts to spark a Tigers revival, there was nothing he could do stop the flow of possession for Manly United.
They were unlucky not to go into half-time in front when Sama?s ball rolled in between Cattanach and Zabaks, only for the custodian to put his body on the line and pounce on the ball to save his side yet again.
The Tigers came hard out of the blocks in the second period and were almost rewarded, but unfortunately Younis? header from a curling cross sailed over the wood work.
Cattanach was seeing plenty of the ball, but each time he looked like threatening goal, Zabaks would have an answer.
Younis showed off his fancy footwork in beating two players, turning on to the left boot for a shot that fell straight into the arms of Manly goal-keeper Brad Swancott
A mix up in the penalty-area saw the ball scramble around between several players, allowing Joe Gibbs a shot from five metres out that went narrowly over the cross bar.
Brad Groves made an immediate impact when he arrived on the field for Manly, turning two defenders to get a powerful right foot shot away to the waiting arms of Zabaks.
Cattanach and Sama were building quite a combination as the match progressed and looked the most likely to score, but neither managed to penetrate the Tigers? goal, allowing the opportunity for Brad Groves to step up and slot home the match winner.
The Tigers paid the price for allowing Groves with too much room to move, as the number 24 buried his shot from outside the 18-yard box into the bottom left hand corner of the net for a 1-0 lead in the 76? minute.
Robbie Cattanach was pleased with such a hard fought victory:
?It?s good to be able to close a game out but in saying that there is still plenty of room for improvement,? the striker said.
?We weren?t too sure what they would have so we just concentrated on our work ethic and it shun through today because we dominated the game.
?We had a lot of chances tonight so we need to improve on our finishing and decision making.??
At the other end of the field, Robbie Younis was left to ponder on what could have been for his side:
??It?s never good to lose and it?s disappointing for the team that the result didn?t go our way,? he said.
?We need to attack more, the effort was there today but we were just unlucky.?
?If we can get into the attacking third more often we are more likely to score a few goals than to try snatch a goal like today.
?With one player up front it is hard because you are such an easy target for the four defenders.?
Match Stats
Sydney Tigers 0
Manly United 1 (Brad Groves 76?)
Sunday, 22nd March, 2009
Lambert Park, Leichhardt
Referee: Peter Vrtkovski.
Assistant Referees: Murray Wilson, Christian Mehl.
Fourth Official: Adam Dayeian.
Crowd: 350 Approx.
Sydney Tigers: 99.Phillip Zabaks; 2.Mark Byrnes, 15.Danial Cummins, 4.Daniel Clifford, 12.Michael West, 16.Michael Hawrysiuk, 7.Stephen Kayes, 10.Franco Parisi (18.Bishara Stephan 82?), 8.Marino Musumeci (24.Jason Trifiro 82?), 6.Shane Lyons, 9.Robert Younis (13.Stefan Donevski 82?)
Substitutes Not Used: 1.Giancarlo Papapaini, 23.Daine Merrin
Yellow Cards: Daniel Clifford 87?.
Red Cards: Nil
Manly United FC: 1.Brad Swancott; 3.Andrew Mailer, 4. Spencer Prior (17.Scott Wright 79?), 6.Scott Thomas, 8.Michael Lloyd-Green, 9.Robbie Cattanach, 10. Josh Sama, 15.Keith Shevlin (23.Fabio Pena 68?), 16.Joey Schirripa, 20.Matt Bingley, 35.Joe Gibbs (24.Brad Groves 58?)
Substitutes Not Used: 13.Mitch Macedo, 40.Rhyss Keane
Yellow Cards: Keith Shevlin 45?.
Red Cards: Nil
Player Ratings:
3 – Joey Schirripa (MU)
2 ? Robbie Cattanach (MU)
1 ? Franco Parisi (ST)
-By Michael Chammas
