Berries slump to defeat at Lidcombe against runaway leaders Sydney United
In truth, the scoreline was a reflection of the gulf in class between the two sides, former Australia international Ante Milicic with a quality-laden squad at his disposal this season.
Along with Manly United, the Reds are the League?s only undefeated side and have produced some attractive football under the former club legend, racing into first place on the TeleChoice Premier League ladder.
The Berries have contrastingly struggled, taking only one win and five points from their opening six matches ? though that victory was against title favourites, and rivals, Sydney Olympic.
However, that opening round performance at Belmore will be as much a source of frustration as encouragement for boss John Calleja; his side has struggled to replicate their characteristically dogged fighting displays against the league?s less reputable sides.
Indeed, West Sydney certainly showed the usual grit and determination that they reserve for the competition?s giants, starting positively but ultimately being undone by defensive lapses.
The Berries started brightly, captain and 18-year veteran Archie Kotsopoulos saw his low free-kick saved by goalkeeper Vedran Janjetovic inside 10? minutes.
Barely a few moments later though and former A-League striker Luka Glavas provided a glimpse of what would become a recurring theme throughout the match, pouncing on a mistake by the home-side?s back-line to race through on goal.
The lanky 24-year-old composed himself inside the penalty-area but could only lift the ball over the advancing Hamish McLean and the crossbar, showing the sort of poor finishing that his manager challenged him to erase from his otherwise impressive game at the start of the season.
An enigma, Glavas? spells with Perth Glory and Sydney FC never yielded success, though his talent is undoubted and was conspicuous in front of a 300-strong crowd in Lidcombe.
His routine runs into channels and dribbling ability unsettled a flat West Sydney defence, who struggled to deal with his pace and directness.
Former Croatian youth international Davor Bajsic succeeded where his team-mate had earlier failed, heading home from close-range in the 10? minute, though the lack of marking by West Sydney defenders at the far post was perhaps more noticeable than the sharp finish.
It was Glavas? work rate that also made his performance so impressive though and made the Berries look that much more sluggish at the back, his willingness to pressure defenders off the ball almost yielding a second goal for his side.
Again he capitalised on a Berries error, racing through on goal after a missed interception before delaying his strike intelligently and committing McLean; his side-footed finish bounced agonisingly wide of the far post.
Struggling to commit bodies forward by virtue of their need to defend deep, the Berries ended the first-half virtually non-existent as an attacking threat.
Much too slow to push out of their own half and showing a worrying inability to play the ball out of their back-line quickly, Calleja?s men conceded possession and territory to their opponents ? perhaps also suffering the effects of a difficult League match against Manly in midweek.
The introduction of energetic midfielder Ryan Jones was a clear attempt by the West Sydney manager to add a creative spark to his team, though it was United who came closest to scoring after the restart; Central Coast Mariners youth player Glen Trifiro hit the top of the crossbar with an awkward floating free-kick.
Dominic Rossi would deservedly double the visitors? lead on 55? minutes though, and it was appropriately Glavas and the superb Mitchell Thompson ? the brother of Newcastle Jets? captain Matthew Thompson ? who combined to create the opportunity.
The former hit the by-line with a characteristic burst of speed down the left side of the area, before cutting it back to Thompson who swivelled sharply before intelligently laying the ball off to the unmarked Rossi to finish high into the net.
Despite their dominance, United didn?t necessarily create a great amount of chances for themselves and were on occasion caught square by the Berries, who might have pulled a goal back had it not been for some rather poor finishing from set-pieces.
It was Elsid Barkhousir who would have the best remaining chance of the match though; one that he fashioned for himself brilliantly.
The United man darted to the by-line and appeared to run out of space whilst being literally pushed off the ball, though somehow managed to beat his man, cut back onto his left foot and slip the ball past McLean only to see it roll out off the inside of the post to groans of disappointment from a strong away following.
The individual effort would have been the perfect ending to a superb United performance, as Milicic?s men showed a capacity to compete with the league?s supposedly weaker, but extremely determined sides.
?We knew what we had to do today and I was honest, I said to my boys – with no disrespect to the opposition ? the way we?re playing and the confidence we?ve got, we?re more of a danger of beating ourselves than getting beaten by another side,? Milicic commented following the match.
?It?s a tricky place to come and it?s a tricky opponent.
?They?ve already taken maximum points of [Sydney] Olympic and taken points of Bankstown [City Lions] ? two sides that I rate very highly.
?I knew we?d be in for a tough game but I backed my boys, believed in them and we came in here and did a professional job. I?ve played around the world and seen smaller clubs lift against the big clubs because they want to prove a point and show something,? Milicic added.
When asked about whether he has prioritised the development of players or a title challenge, Milicic?s response was all-encompassing:
?Both. The coaching is results-orientated but at the same time, with my background, I?m heavily involved with influential people in other A-League clubs and am in constant contact with them.
?When they ask me and come in search of players in a certain position, I?ve got a few here who I believe can step up so I don?t have any hesitation recommending these players.
?It will also give the club a good name, and myself a good name, if I can produce a player who can step up to the A-League level,? concluded Milicic.
Meanwhile, Berries coach John Calleja praised his own players for their effort but lamented a lack of concentration:
?I thought our effort was tremendous tonight and the boys aimed high for the game.
?We still made our silly errors; two boys free on the back stick for the first goal ten minutes in ? that knocks you about a little bit.
?But I give my guys credit, they kept going, they kept fighting.
?We lacked penetration in the final third; we didn?t have players like Glavas who we can play that long ball into.
?But their commitment was good, their effort was good, we came out in the second half and tried something different, to hit them in wide areas but then again, we go and conceded a bit of a soft goal.
?They definitely kept playing for the full 90 minutes and was very pleased with their effort.?
The Berries manager said he was frustrated however with a culture developing at the club, whereby the Berries lift for more reputable opponents and local rivals but fail to replicate the same passion for the less glamorous of ties:
?I said that if you put that effort in week-in, week-out against the teams who are maybe not as good as Sydney United, that?s where you?re going to get your points.
?It is a bit frustrating from a coaching point of view. I think I said it after last week that we tend to pick our games; Olympic because it?s a derby, Bankstown because it?s a derby ? Manly are a big team but they?re not necessarily local rivals.
?Even after that week against Olympic, that whole week was about us trying to focus on consistency, trying to play well every week and trying to pick up as many points as we can and that?s where we?ve let ourselves down.
?They?ve certainly got to have that fight every week.?
Match Stats
West Sydney Berries 0
Sydney United 2 (Davor Bajsic 10?, Dominic Rossi 55?)
Saturday 5th of April, 2009
Lidcombe Oval, Lidcombe
Referee: James Lewis
Assistant Referees: Michael Collins & Lance Greenshield
Fourth Official: Adam Dayeian
Crowd: 300 Approx.
West Sydney Berries: 1.Hamish MCLEAN; 7.Peter PERALTA, 8.John FOTIADIS, 6.Jack SOBCZYK, 5.Michael CUNICO (14.Liam AUSTIN 71?), 16.Kosta LAGOUDAKIS, 11.Aheleas KOTSOPOULOS, 19.Dimitri ZAKLIAS, 17.Chris GAITATZIS (15.Ryan JONES 45?), 4.Adam WITHER, 10.John TSIRONIS (18.Lorenzo MACHUCA 85?)
Sydney United: 1.Vedran JANJETOVIC; 5.Damon COLLINA, 4.Milan BOSNAR, 6.Joe VRKIC, 21.Dominic ROSSI, 19.Mitchell THOMPSON, 9.David ZDRILIC, 18.Glen TRIFIRO (24.Andrija PETKOVIC 75?), 12.Davor BAJSIC, 16.Elsid BARKHOUSIR, 11.Luka GLAVAS
Player Ratings:
3 ? Luka Glavas (SU)
2 ? Mitchell Thompson (SU)
1 ? Milan Bosnar (SU)
-By Chris Paraskevas
