Second half blitz sustains Sydney United?s unbeaten run for 2009
A formational change from Ante Milicic?s men at half-time did the trick, with his side running in four unanswered second-half goals to stretch their unbeaten record to 10-matches this season.
The first shot on goal arrived in the 11? minute courtesy of Sydney United, but Elsid Barkhousir?s bicycle-kick lacked the venom to trouble Daniel Schwarzer between the sticks.
Snatching a win against a red-hot Sydney United outfit was going to be a tough ask for Penrith-Nepean, and playing most of the match with 10-men wasn?t going to help their cause.
Paul Crisp was given a straight red card for a rash challenge on Mitchell Thompson in the 13? minute, denting the hopes of his side?s aspirations for victory against the competition frontrunners.
Evangelos Petratos looked to put the disappointment behind him and was first to the ball in a foot race with goalkeeper Vedran Janjetovic, but the striker?s cross to an open goal found three waiting Sydney United players in the box who cleared from danger.
Mitchell Long had Penrith?s first real opportunity on goal, showing off his fancy footwork to get a left foot shot away, forcing Janjetovic to dive low to his left to hold out the home-side.
Long then found himself in some space up-front for the first time in the match, but Joe Vrkic wasn?t about to concede a goal, hunting down his opponent to shut down the attacking raid.
Sam Munro delivered a lovely ball into the penalty-area shortly after, allowing Milicic to get a header on target, but the Penrith shot-stopper positioned himself well to deny the Reds yet again.
The first-half was a scrappy affair with neither team really showing any signs of hitting the lead, but Sydney United came out from the sheds in the second-half and looked a whole new team.
Milan Bosnar cleaned up the spoils from a corner, looping a cross into Barkhousir, but the little-striker lacked the height to get on top of the ball and send it in the direction of goal.
Moments later, Todd Brodie made a break down the left-flank, flinging a ball into the centre to the flying Sam Munro, but Munro?s shot was again off target.
The flow of possession finally took its toll on Penrith-Nepean United when Barkhousir attracted several Penrith defenders on his charge forward, but his shot took a deflection off the Penrith defenders.
The ricochet allowed Munro a free attempt on goal, guiding the ball into the top left-hand corner from outside the box to send his side 1-0 ahead in the 51? minute.
Sydney United almost doubled their lead when Luka Glavas side-footed a shot on goal from a corner, but Schwarzer?s one handed effort brought a halt to that play.
On the rare occasion that Penrith attacked, Evangelos Petratos spent too much time on the ball and was left to rue not taking a shot when the opportunity presented itself, shutdown by some desperate defence.
Within minutes of taking his place on the field from the bench, Ricky Perinich left his mark on the match as his 25-metre shot trickled past the diving Schwarzer into the bottom left corner of the goal.
Mitchell Long almost reduced the margin with a brilliant left footed shot, but Janjetovic showed why he was the most promising young shot-stopper in the competition with a brilliant leaping save to his right.
The Sydney United substitutions were certainly playing their part, with Dennis Cutura becoming the second player to leave his mark off the bench.
The number 25 outpaced his opposing defender to curl a cross into goal, finding a waiting Barkhousir at the far post who side-footed his shot past Schwarzer for the third time of the afternoon.
A Mitchell Thompson free-kick supplied Sydney United with their fourth goal of the match, this time it was Luka Glavas who guided his header past Schwarzer, much to the delight of the Sydney United faithful who made the road trip along the M4.
At the other end Nic McInerney took a free-kick for Penrith, but his attempt to break the goal-scoring drought went wide of the target, summing up the day for the home-side.
Penrith-Nepean coach Ian Gillan was pleased with his side?s effort against the team he believes is the best side in the competition:
?I was happy with the first-half effort, we got behind the ball and were fairly well organised,? he said.
?We worked hard and no one can deny us that.?
?At the end of the day Sydney United are a quality team with quality personnel and were quite impressive,? Gillan said.
Striker Elsid Barkhousir was one of Sydney United?s best and is relishing the opportunity of playing in the starting line-up:
?I feel pretty good and I?m happy to be starting ever since I played the game against Marconi and scored a goal,? Barkhousir said.
?The first-half we dominated the game but we didn?t have the final pass, but the second-half we came out and changed the game a bit and we were pretty good.?
?At half-time Ante changed the formation and said to be patient and that?s what we did and we scored four goals,? he concluded.
Match Stats
Penrith Nepean United 0
Sydney United 4 (Sam Munro 51?, Ricky Perinich 61?, Elsid Barkhousir 76?, Luka Glavas 83?)
Sunday 10th May, 2009
Cook Park, St. Mary?s
Crowd: 500 Approx.
Penrith-Nepean United: 1.Daniel Schwarzer; 2.Mark Bariamis, 3. David Comito (32. Matthew Liddall 56?), 4.Evangelos Petratos, 5.David Gardiner, 6.Steven Baveas, 8.Paul Crisp, 9.Mitchell Long, 10.Ben Gough (14.Greg Kondek 72?), 23.Devrim Huseyin (11.Dimitrios Petratos 58?), 12.Nic McInerney
Substitutes Not Used: 21.Nik Jelic, 19.Michael Dowling.
Yellow Cards: Nil
Red Cards: Paul Crisp 13?
Sydney United: 1.Vedran Janjetovic; 5.Damon Collina, 4.Milan Bosnar, 6.Joe Vrkic, 19.Mitchell Thompson, 7.Todd Brodie, 45.Sam Munro, 18.Glen Trifiro (2.Ricky Perinich 58?), 9.David Zdrilic (25.Dennis Cutura 70?), 10.Ante Milicic (11.Luka Glavas 45?), 16.Elsid Barkhousir.
Substitutes Not Used: 20.Michael Frost, 36.Mitchell Spears.
Yellow Cards: Nil
Red Cards: Nil
Player Ratings:
3 – Sam Munro (SU)
2 ? Elsid Barkhousir (SU)
1 ? Mitchell Thompson (SU)
-By Michael Chammas
