State League Division Two Round 6 Review
Match of the Round
Luddenham United v Gazy Lansvale
Luddenham began with confidence and opened the scoring with only two minutes of the first-half played.
A 2? minute corner from C. Vella found A.Hartas unmarked in the middle of the penalty-area to head home the first goal of the game. The Lansvale defence in this case was guilty of ball watching, a solid start by the home-side. Despite the good start by Luddenham, Lansvale began to take control of the possession with F. Wilson and N. Alemic again controlling the midfield as they do week in week out.
However, despite chances being created, the finishing touch was lacking, and this was evident in the 13? minute when a one-on-one chance for Lansvale through H. Merdanovic was wasted after his attempted chip over the goalkeeper drifted way over the crossbar.
Luddenham?s D. Farre and A.Hartas were the stand-outs for the home-side, chasing every ball upfront and putting immense pressure on the Lansvale backline. Lansvale should have scored in the 29? minute when A. Rashid went one-on-one, again trying the chip over the top, but this time the goalkeeper charged in well and took possession of the ball.
They should have equalised in the 41? minute with a A. Rashid cross from the right side that found H. Merdanovic on his own in the box; his attempted header missing to the left.
The away side was wasting their chances and this was evident when Luddenham struck in the 43? minute through D. Farre, when he latched onto a defender?s mistake to tap the second goal past A. Kurtovic to take a 2-0 lead at the break.
The second-half saw the home-side begin well, though they were dealt a blow after C. Vella was red carded for charging into the goalkeeper.
The away side struggled even though they held the numerical advantage; Luddenham worked under immense pressure to hold their 2-0 lead. A. Rashid and N. Alemic were much involved in the play for the Lansvale side in the second-half but the home-side backline held solid throughout.
Frustration began to set in for Lansvale as set-pieces were conceded in dangerous positions and it cost them when S. Andrews struck a sensational free-kick to give the 10-man Luddenham side a 3-0 lead in the 60? minute.
The home-side showed a lot of courage in this match with one man down, the result too difficult for Lansvale to overturn. Luddenham defender K. Ciappa played a solid game at the back throughout the match, chasing down the Lansvale forwards with complete ease.
Luddenham?s P. Corso was outstanding in the second-half as he constantly caused havoc for the Lansvale backline. A. Hartas was also in good touch in the second-half as he was in the first, as he controlled the movement of the ball in the middle of the park for P. Corso upfront. In the 69? minute Lansvale tried to surprise the Luddenham defence with H. Merdanovic and N. Alemic taking a quick free-kick, however the Luddenham goalkeeper T. Dixon was alert as he put his body on the line to thwart any danger.
The away side nearly struck through F. Wilson in the 70? minute with a thunderbolt shot just missing to the left of goal. Despite being down by three goals, the performance by Lansvale was solid, however missed chances and silly mistakes is the reason for the three-goal deficit.
Lansvale pulled one back through H. Merdanovic after showing some quality skills taking on two defenders before slotting past the goalkeepers right.
Luddenham should have finished it through P. Corso after he was one-on-one with the Lansvale keeper; however his shot was wasted over the bar. Lansvale sent numbers forward risking the counter-attack though the ten-men of Luddenham were far superior and held out for the 3-1 win.
Luddenham coach Andrew Montgomery was delighted with the performance saying that his side showed a lot of spirit today:
?Even when we went down to ten men, I thought we played with so much heart, the boys deserved the win today. Our defence was solid today, we have been working hard on our defence and it has paid off today, I?m really proud of the boys.?
Lansvale Manager Safet was disappointed that his side couldn?t convert their chances throughout the game.
?Full credit to Luddenham they outplayed us today, they showed a lot of spirit, I was disappointed that we missed our chances, we should have scored more than one goal today.?
Match Stats
Luddenham United 3 (Hartas 2?, Farre 43?, Andrews 60?)
Gazy Lansvale 1 (Merdanovic 74?)
Sunday 10th May, 2009
Luddenham Oval
Luddenham United: Gk. T.Dixon; 2.B.Pettit (13.D. Imamovic 35?), 3.S.Andrews, 4.A.Chronopoulos, 5.K.Ciappa, 6.P.Corso, 7.D.Montgomery (12.R.Stjepic, 81?), 8.C.Vella, 9.D.Farre, 10.A.Hartas, 11.D.Lownds (14.S.Urosevski 37?)
Substitutes Not Used: 15.C.Panetta, Rg, N. Serovski
Yellow Cards: D. Montgomery 47?
Red Cards: C. Vella 4?
Gazy Lansvale: Gk. A.Kurtovic; 13.D.Imamovic, 8.N.Alemic, 18.S.Stevoski, 10.H.Merdanovic, 11.F.Wilson, 5. J.Berkho, 4.A.Mikhail, 17.E.Yokhanna, 9.A.Rashid, 2.M.Barnett
Substitutes Not Used: Gk. D. Smajic, 14. J. Omerbigovic, 7. A. Chandab, 12. N.Odishio,
Yellow Cards: 17. E. Yokhanna 54?
Red Cards: Nil
Prospect United v Hurstville City Minotaurs
Prospect United, for the second week in a row, scored six goals in one game, this time successfully defeating Hurstville City 6-2 at William Lawson Reserve on Saturday afternoon. Prospect had the dream start, receiving a free-kick 30-meters out from goal.
Jason Vella whipped in a sensational effort towards the far post where Luke Isbister leaped above the City defence to head home the opening goal in the 2? minute. Luke Isbister was having a dream start as his cross in the 8? minute to the far post was headed in as an own goal, a clearing header gone wrong. The home-side was in complete control as Anthony Maxwell added a third in the 14? minute at the far post via a corner.
But this seemed to wake Hurstville up, and Prospect, at the same, time fell asleep as Hurstville lifted and were awarded a penalty in the 28? minute. A through ball over the Prospect defence was misread and a poor challenge led to the awarding of the spot-kick. Hurstville stepped up to take the penalty only to push the ball wide.
Just before the half-time break Prospect broke fast and a final pass near the half-way line saw a Hurstville defender intentionally handle; the defender received a straight red card.
Prospect started the second-half in the same fashion as the first and with a sequence of passes seeing Pasquale Landrelli in the 46? minute beat two players, then round the goalkeeper to make it 4-0.
In the 51? minute good build-up play from Chris Senat, Jason Lewis and Daniel Miralles allowed Luke Isbister to cut back a pass into the path of Anthony Maxwell who hit a first time effort into the back of the net for a 5-0 lead.
Hurstville then replied well with two goals in 2? minutes – in the 58? minute and 59? minute from Morhl and Kambounias. Prospect had taken the foot off and Hurtsville took full advantage.
A Hurstville comeback though was short-lived as Prospect was awarded a penalty. Prospect?s hard working midfielder Anthony Maxwell stepped up and slotted his third for the game.
Brian Vella was pleased with the result:
?Prospect did play well against an opposition that you never know what team they will come out with. We put our chances away and it?s another important three points.?
Round 6 Review
Bathurst 75 suffered a 3-1 loss to Roosters FC at Alec Lamberton Field on Saturday afternoon. The home-side opened the scoring in the 12? minute through M. Rooke in what was a promising display early on from the home-side. Despite the good start Roosters FC levelled just before half-time through U. Yagci in the 43? minute via the penalty-spot. The second-half was dominated by the visitors, and they took full control of the game in the 51? minute through their second penalty of the match. The game was all but over in the 68? minute when O. Gogbakan scored to give his side a comfortable 3-1 away win.
Springwood?s horror start to the season continued with Gladesville scoring two late second-half goals through A. Kabara in the 79? and 92? minute to hand his side three valuable points. The away side has had a perfect season to-date and will be hoping they can continue their form throughout the year.
Hawkesbury gained some confidence from their 3-2 win against Colo Colo. Coach Gary Lewis was pleased with the result: ?We probably played our best half of football in the first-half with every player stepping up after two losses. I was a bit disappointed we conceded two late goals but the boys played their hearts out and overall I am very happy with their performance.? Hawkesbury started well scoring through E. George in the 6? minute. M. Cotter added a second in the 65? minute to give the home side a 2-0 lead. It was all but over in the 65? minute when Hawkesbury?s G. Harte scored in the 65? minute. Colo Colo pulled back two late goals however the home-side held on to take maximum points at home.
Hakoah collected maximum points defeating Penang FC 2-0 at E.S Marks Field on Sunday afternoon. E. Port scored both goals, one in the 15? minute followed by a 75? minute second, which saw his side collect a good win. Penang FC continue to struggle this year as they are still without a win for the 2009 season, however with the experience of Tony Gallagher at the club, hopes are high for a strong finish to the season.
Camden Tigers defeated Fairfield Bulls at Ron Dine Reserve on Sunday afternoon. A. Zia opened the scoring for the away side in the 47? minute though despite the poor start by the home-side, Camden rallied in the second-half to score three late goals to win 3-1. A. Smutek scored the equaliser in the 72? minute, followed by a B. Green goal in the 85? minute. The game was all over in the 87? minute when J. Cook scored the third to seal all three-points.
Sydney Cedars picked up a good win at Punchbowl Oval on Sunday afternoon winning 4-2 against White City. The home-side was down by two goals with M. Drca and S. Milanko scoring for the away side. Sydney Cedars rallied through Chris Martin who put two goals away for his side, along with O. Hamzeh in the 52? minute and S. Benegadi in the 70? minute. A great result for the home side.
-By Johnny Casni
