Super League Round 2 Review
Thrilling action was a key feature of round two of the 2009 NSW Super League, with two pulsating draws on Saturday night (between Granville and Spirit FC, and Macarthur and St George) countered by the competition?s first casualty, Fraser Park coach Jeff Suzor being asked to stand down following a second straight loss, this time a 2-5 defeat to Uni. In Sunday?s games, Parramatta triumphed 1-0 over Rockdale, Central Coast and Northern Tigers drew 2-2 and Mount Druitt beat Liverpool 3-1.
Pulsating Rage, Spirit deadlock
?A game fans would have loved, but that coaches hate,? is how Granville coach Hugh McCrory explained Saturday night?s enthralling 0-0 draw between the Rage and Spirit FC at Christie Park. The end-to-end action had spectators on the edge of their seats for 90 minutes as both sides made repeated requests to take the lead.
Despite chances to both sides, the game ended 0-0 and McCrory was happy to take a point home from their road trip. ?No quarter was asked, and none given for 90 minutes. It was fantastic for the fans,? he said. ?On chances created, Spirit probably should have won, but there was real commitment from both sides. Last night was not our best performance, but the boys battled hard for the whole game.?
Spirit coach Jason Van Blerk also had the adrenaline rushing through him in an intense affair. It was the second successive home draw to start the year (and a third to come against Liverpool next week), but the football shown by his players indicates they will be more than competitive in their first year of Super League.
?It was high tempo, with plenty of opportunities at both ends of the park,? he said. ?It?s still early in the season. We created a lot of chances but didn?t stick them away, and the boys were a little disappointed. It was a good game to watch.?
Spirit FC 0 Granville Rage 0
Last gasp goal in Saints, Rams draw
Three players were sent off in a tense 1-1 draw between Macarthur Rams and St George Saints at Lynwood Park on Saturday night. The visitors took a 1-0 advantage into halftime courtesy of a goal to Juan Carlos Chavez, his fourth in two matches, and they looked set for victory when Macarthur?s Daniel Fogarty was marched from the field in the 60th minute, and a second Rams player, Kane Wright, asked to join him by the referee in the 80th minute.
Macarthur?s odds improved slightly when St George playmaker Tanju Balabanel was shown a second yellow card for diving inside the penalty area. The home team piled on the pressure and was finally awarded a penalty following a goalbox handball infringement by Saints player Simon Verrender in the 90th minute. The spot kick was converted by Mat Toogood seconds before the fulltime whistle blew.
Macarthur coach Paul Carter was baffled by the Fogarty send-off, and felt grabbing a competition point showed plenty of mettle with two players down in the end. ?I think I?m happier than what St George would be,? he said. ?I?m not sure what happened [regarding Fogarty]. It was a 50-50 ball? and he got marched. The second one was a late tackle, no complaints.?
?I think we can take a lot out of [the match]. We played against a good experienced side. I thought we were a bit punished out there, but we still dominated the game for long periods without a full team on the field. We thoroughly deserved the draw, and I think we got more out of it, finishing with nine men.?
Macarthur Rams 1 (Mat Toogood 91m pen) St George FC 1 (Juan Carlos Chavez 39m)
Uni romp in Fraser Park
Fraser Park FC coach Jeff Suzor was sacked just moments after guiding his side to back-to-back losses, this time a 2-5 capitulation to Sydney University at Fraser Park on Saturday night. Two quick goals gifted Uni a 2-0 lead after just three minutes of play before the home side kicked into gear and scored either side of halftime to draw level at 2-2. But a rejuvenated Fraser Park ignited a Uni resurgence and the visitors closed out the game with three well-taken goals inside five minutes to win 5-2.
Uni coach John Caruana praised his players but would not let a solid start to the campaign raise his expectations of a young side. ?It wasn?t a bad effort; pretty much an up and down game for us,? he said. ?Getting the lead seemed to send us to sleep for a few moments. They [Fraser Park] have some good players who got behind the ball [on Saturday night] and we sat on the back foot a little bit. In the last half-hour, we actually played some very good football.?
?It?s a good start [to the year ? 1-1 with defending champions Liverpool last week and a 5-2 win over Fraser Park]. I just want to get away from the relegation zone first and then we can start enjoying our football ? we?ll see what happens from there.?
Suzor was understandably upset with the club?s decision to remove him after a fortnight of games, but saw the writing on the wall after his side had conceded 11 goals in two games. ?When you lose 6-1 and 5-2, someone?s head?s going to roll; unfortunately, it?s the coach in this case,? he said. ?I?m pretty disappointed, but I?d like to get a job somewhere as an assistant coach or part of the coaching staff, as soon as possible.?
A club spokesperson said a replacement for Suzor would be discussed at a [Monday] night meeting. ?It just wasn?t happening with Jeff, so we parted ways. He was professional about it. This year is very important for us to stay up, and we thought it would be better to make the hard decision now and not later,? he said. Fraser Park have only beaten Uni once in 10 league meetings spanning six seasons.
Fraser Park 2 (D Andrade 42/62m) Sydney University 5 (C Soares 2/3m A Hadid 69/74m E Vigiliante 72m)
Eagles rock Suns
Competition heavyweights PCYC Parramatta Eagles taking on Rockdale City Suns at Hajduk Stadium on Sunday was billed as the clash of the Titans. Both sides were heavily backed by rival coaches as the league?s two potential grand finalists, and they showed why in an epic struggle from the opening whistle. But when the dust settled it was Parramatta who stood over Rockdale in a tight 1-0 victory, extending an impressive record of five straight league wins against the Suns.
Eagles coach Jason Falzon may have been treating the blockbuster like any other match, but the fact he was playing against the man who guided Bossy Liverpool to grand final success against him last year, Mile Todorovski, may have given him extra desire to do well. The match, originally scheduled for Melita Stadium, had to be shifted to Hajduk while the Parramatta playing field recovered from a bug attack.
The Eagles started flat and soaked up plenty of Rockdale pressure before the halftime whistle brought welcome relief. Parramatta started the second half more briskly and Ben Delicata should have done better with a one-on-one opportunity against the Suns keeper left begging. With time ticking into the final 10 minutes, Eagles central defender Patrick Gatt finished off a goalmouth scramble to slot home from six-yards away. The whistle blew for fulltime with the 1-0 scoreline unchanged.
?[At 0-0] We had a good chat at halftime, and talked about playing the type of football we wanted to play, and I thought we played a good second half. It was a pretty good match,? Falzon said. ?It?s still too early to make anything out of it [the win against competition favourites Rockdale], we?ve never worried about anyone else. I?m proud of my guys. We?ve played two good games and are in a pretty good position.?
Suns mentor Todorovski knows exactly what helps to win games: Goals. ?Every time you lose the game is disappointing, but it was a very hard game, for us and them. We dominated some periods in the first half, they dominate the second half. I don?t like to lose, but this is football. They did a little more than us to win the game. I?m happy with how we play, but we need to score the goal if we want to win anything. We will try harder. Congratulations to Melita [Parramatta] for getting the three points.?
PCYC Parramatta Eagles 1 (Patrick Gatt 80m) Rockdale City Suns 0
Rangers win shows who?s Bossy
Mount Druitt Town Rangers notched up their first Super League win over FC Bossy Liverpool at Ernie Smith Reserve on Sunday, beating the title holders 3-1. It took five tries, but the Rangers proved too good for the home side, taking the lead through a neat Michael Haberman free kick in the last minute of the first half.
Mount Druitt extended their midway through the second half after Troy Eedy finished off a corner kick with maximum effect, and they made it 3-0 when Haberman beat the offside trap moments later as the Liverpool defenders pressed up. Having a player red carded for violent conduct late in the game didn?t help Bossy?s cause, but they did manage to pull a goal back through Sasa Drca in the final quarter-hour.
Liverpool coach Saso Boskovski wasn?t overly concerned with the result. ?We lost 1-3, but considering it?s a new team and players are still coming back from injury, we?re not in top shape. We are hoping this will change for the next weekend. We have to keep working hard. It?s early stages now, but we can be better over time.?
FC Bossy Liverpool 1 (Sasa Drca 75m) Mount Druitt Town Rangers 3 (Michael Haberman 46/68m Troy Eedy 63m)
Tigers level with Lightning
It required a bit of patience, but a 10-man Northern Tigers has held on to share the points in a 2-2 with Central Coast Lightning at Mills Park on Sunday. Down 1-2 at halftime, Tigers coach Jason Eager talked about the composure needed to get them back into the match. The home fans were rewarded on the hour mark when Northern found their equaliser through.
A lapse in concentration from Tigers player James Stubbs-Mills shortly afterwards, kicking the ball away after a handball decision went against him, saw him pick up a second yellow card; but Northern held on for a well-earned share of the points. Eager wanted more.
?I?m disappointed we didn?t get a result,? he said. ?We didn?t play well in first half [and had a penalty kick saved] I just told them at halftime that we needed to keep the ball and the opportunities would come. We got quite a few opportunities, actually, but only one of them went in. We can build on it; the second half was promising. I?m relatively happy.?
Central Coast coach Peter Preston was pleased with his team?s turnaround from last week?s six-goal thrashing to Macarthur. ?We led twice and gave a late goal away. In my opinion, I think we controlled the majority of the game and were a bit unlucky not to get all three points,? he said. [The result away from home] helps with the confidence. Of course, keeping 11 players on the field helps, but I think we dictated terms for periods of the game against one of the top sides.?
Northern Tigers 2 (Tom Spencer, Scott Balderson) Central Coast Lightning 2 (Tom Gibbs x 2)
First grade results
Fraser Park 2 (D Andrade 42/62m) Sydney University 5 (C Soares 2/3m A Hadid 69/74m E Vigiliante 72m)
Spirit FC 0 Granville Rage 0
Macarthur Rams 1 (Mat Toogood 91m pen) St George FC 1 (Juan Carlos Chavez 39m)
FC Bossy Liverpool 1 (Sasa Drca 75m) Mount Druitt Town Rangers 3 (Michael Haberman 46/68m Troy Eedy 63m)
PCYC Parramatta Eagles 1 (Patrick Gatt 80m) Rockdale City Suns 0
Northern Tigers 2 Central Coast Lightning 2 (Tom Gibbs x 2)
Grade 20 results
Fraser Park 2 Sydney University 4
Spirit FC 4 Granville Rage 1
Macarthur Rams 1 St George FC 1
FC Bossy Liverpool 6 Mount Druitt Town Rangers 2
PCYC Parramatta Eagles 2 Rockdale City Suns 1
Northern Tigers 1 Central Coast Lightning 1
This week?s games
Round three of the 2009 NSW Super League pits St George Saints against Sydney University at Hensley Athletic Field, Northern Tigers versus Macarthur Rams at Lynwood Park, and PCYC Parramatta play Central Coast Lightning at Pluim Park, all on Saturday night, kick-off at 7.30pm. On Sunday Mount Druitt Town Rangers tackle Fraser Park FC at Popondetta Park, Spirit FC welcome FC Bossy Liverpool to Christie Park, and Rockdale City Suns take on Granville Rage at the Ilinden Sports Centre.
-By Daniel De Nardi
