State League Division 1 Round 9 Review
Division One Round Nine Match of the Round
Stanmore Hawks v Sydney Wanderers
Stanmore Hawks consolidated their position in the top half of Division One with a comprehensive 3-0 victory over Sydney Wanderers on Sunday evening at Arlington Oval.
With both clubs sitting comfortably in mid-table prior to the match, this result would see the victor stay in touch with the leading teams, with the loser dropping back to the pack.
Stanmore seemed to understand the importance of this and came out a lot more focused than the Wanderers, dominating general play from the outset.
Hijazi had a great opportunity to give the Hawks the lead as early as the sixth minute, when he was sent clear after a super through ball by his skipper, David James.
After steadying himself as he raced in on goal, his attempted low shot was expertly smothered by the advancing Wanderers goalkeeper, Rizzo.
The Wanderers almost grabbed the lead themselves on nine minutes when their first corner of the match was cleared to Pannowicz, and he let a rasping drive fly from the edge of the penalty box that was superbly tipped around the post by Stanmore?s keeper, Theouli.
Hijazi then had his second great opportunity of the match on 12 minutes, and this time he made it count with a clinical finish to give Stanmore the lead.
The Wanderers defensive backline was again caught square, with Caltabiano sending Hijazi away. The striker zeroed in on the ball to crack a low shot past the Wanderers? keeper, Rizzo, and into the net off the base of the post.
The Wanderers were trying to play their way out from the back, but a combination of the uneven surface at Arlington Oval, plus the fierce defensive effort of the Hawks, kept them at arm?s length from the Stanmore end of the pitch.
Right on the break the Wanderers thought they had equalized, but Eddie Adam?s tap in was disallowed for an infringement on Stanmore keeper, Theouli, amidst protests from the visitors.
Referee Mr.David Christie showed why he is one of the Division?s top whistle blowers with another exemplary display, allowing the game to flow by playing the advantage whenever possible, and understanding the difference between a rash tackle and a clumsy challenge. He brought the first half to an end, allowing the players some solitude in the dressing sheds on a brisk cool evening.
Sydney Wanderers coach, Tommy McCulloch, would?ve welcomed the opportunity to give his troops a pep talk, and Mitchell responded immediately after the restart with a fantastic run down the left flank, his shot being parried for a corner by Stanmore keeper Theouli.
On 57 minutes Stanmore produced a quick fire counter attack, James sending Koroma away down the left wing. Koroma squared to Bromley, who disappointingly blasted over from 20 yards when in acres of space.
Nine minutes later, and an almost identical counter attack produced the desired result for the Hawks.
Big centre back, Giannoulis, stopped a Wanderers attack, and played a long ball to Papadopoulos on the left flank. The substitute controlled the ball, and played a superb pass in behind the Wanderer?s defence for Koroma to run onto.
The striker?s first attempt was saved by Rizzo, but Koroma was quick to reach the rebound and stab it home from a few yards to give Stanmore a 2-0 lead.
The Wanderers were desperate to stay in the match, but just lacked the necessary creativity to unlock the Stanmore defence.
Having said that, on 73 minutes, Gibson took it upon himself to try and pull a goal back for the Wanderers. He went on a mazy run, leaving a number of Stanmore defenders in his wake, and after a swift one-two with Borg, hit a firm shot from inside the box that was superbly saved by Theouli.
The match was eventually put to bed in the 87th minute when Stanmore scored their third goal. Sydney Wanderers failed to deal with a long throw near the middle of their half, and when the ball reached substitute Papadopoulos on the edge of the penalty area, he smashed a volley down the centre of the goal that flew past Rizzo.
The final whistle went moments later, and Stanmore had a very welcome three points which has placed the club in sixth position on the ladder on 13 points.
Stanmore?s captain, David James, was happy with his team?s performance on the night.
?We are a young side, and work hard for each other, especially off the ball. I thought our keeper, Theouli, made some great saves tonight, and our substitutes also did well, which shows we have great depth in the squad,? said James.
?At times we have shown our inexperience in past matches, but I am confident we can achieve a top five place by the end of the season,? added James.
For Sydney Wanderers, best on a disappointing night were ; defender McKenzie, who was strong in the tackle, and quick with his distribution ; left flanker Mitchell, who showed pace and skill with many dribbling attempts down the wing ; substitute R.Miranda, who added composure and effective passing when he came on early in the match.
For the home side and victors, Stanmore Hawks, best in a solid team performance were ; skipper James lead by example in the centre of the park, strong in the tackle, linking well with his team mates from either side of the field, and generally pulling all the strings in his team?s victory ; central defenders, Lagoudakis and Giannoulis, were absolute brick walls in defence, both fierce and resolute in the tackle, and constantly winning possession both in the air and on the deck ; keeper Theouli, who pulled off some marvelous saves at critical times in the match.
Match Stats
STANMORE HAWKS 3 (Hijazi 12?, Koroma 66?, Papadopoulos 87?)
SYDNEY WANDERERS 0
Sunday, May17, at Arlington Oval, Dulwich Hill
Referee ? Mr.David Christie
Referee?s Assistants ? Mr.Robert Warry & Mr.Nikola Radic
STANMORE HAWKS:1.L.Theouli, 2.D.Papazafiropoulos, 4.C.Lagoudakis, 5.P.Giannoulis, 6.A.Caltabiano(15.A.Papadopoulos 60?), 9.A.Heath, 10.D.James (capt), 11.C.Theodosiou, 16.D.Koroma(8.C.Fiakos 83?), 20.S.Bromley, 17.W.Hijazi(7.D.Pieris 70?).
Subs not used ?12.F.Jeremiah, RGK.J.Frangeskoy.
SYDNEY WANDERERS: 20. C.Rizzo, 2.S.McKenzie, 3.P.Bourke (capt), 4.M.Gane, 6.T.Pannowicz, 11.T.Mitchell, 12..B.Gibson, 14.S.Koops, 16.E.Adam(9.D.Martinez 76?), 17.B.Lam (15.D.Borg 51?) , 18.R.Stivala(19.R.Miranda 24?).
Subs not used ? 8.C.Miranda, RGK.T.Berger.
DIVISION ONE REVIEW ? Round Nine
Hills Brumbies – Schofields Scorpions 2-10
This is not a misprint ? as I predicted in my preview last week, Hills were always going to find it tough against the competition?s best attack, and the Scorpions stung their opposition with an annihilation at Second Ponds Oval on Saturday night.
Schofields hit double figures in a dominating display, the win putting them top of the ladder after they have been knocking on the door of top spot for a few weeks now.
Competition top goal scorer Glenn McPherson helped himself to four goals on the night, giving him ten for the season with just nine games played. But even he was upstaged by team mate Macrae, who remarkably scored five goals in a lethal display of finishing, he himself now on seven goals for the season. Tyrell was the other man on the score-sheet for the Scorpions.
Martinez and Jajaw both scored consolation goals for Hills, who will need to desperately regroup at training this week in order to get their season back on track after a couple of big scoring successive losses.
Mounties FC ? Blacktown Spartans 1-0
In the match of the round at Cook Park, Blacktown Spartans were knocked off their perch at the top of the ladder when they came unstuck at the hands of the Mounties.
Tricky striker Noro got the all important winner for the home side, scoring on 36 minutes to send the fans into raptures.
In what looks like a real quagmire at the top of the ladder, Mounties FC have jumped into third spot on 18 points, one point off the Scorpions who are leading, whilst the Spartans have paid the ultimate price for the second loss in a week, dropping to fourth.
Dulwich Hill SC ? Fairfield City Lions 4-1
The Dulwich Hill machine just keeps on, keeping on, as they accounted for a spirited Fairfield City Lions by 4-1 on Saturday evening at Arlington Oval.
Striker Neil Philippou got the ball rolling for the home side, with his fifth goal of the season on 25 minutes.
The marauding Sam Messam made it two within a minute, and grabbed his second on the hour to virtually put the match out of Fairfield?s reach.
Rafael Bove continued his excellent form of 2009, scoring his third goal of the season, and Dully?s fourth, on 65 minutes.
Fairfield kept at it, and were rewarded with no more than a consolation goal by Ongel with a couple of minutes remaining.
Dulwich are proving a real force this season, still undefeated and just one point off the Scorpions, whilst Fairfield City will have to try to focus on consistency if they are to make a serious push up the ladder.
UNSW ? Balmain SC 3-3
UNSW almost grabbed their first win of the season, but had to settle for a draw in a 3-3 thriller at David Phillips Field.
Football NSW had no scorers details by the time we went to press, so more about the scorers in our next bulletin.
For UNSW, this result was frustratingly their fourth draw so far, having lost the other five matches, with the point keeping them off the bottom of the competition ladder.
For Balmain the draw was their sixth thus far in 2009, but a pleasing aspect is that they continue to climb and now move to seventh on the ladder.
Hurstville ZSC ? Inter Lions 2-5
Just when the game at Hurstville Oval on Sunday looked like it was heading for a draw, Inter Lions scored three goals in a frenzied final few minutes to run out convincing 5-2 victors over Hurstville ZSC.
New signing and former Sydney Olympic and West Sydney Berries striker James Kovas scored after just 17 minutes to put Inter in front, but Hurstville target man, Stiven Kostanic, equalized on 35 minutes to put the home side on the map.
Inter?s skipper Adrian Vizzari restored the visitor?s lead ten minutes into the second half, but Kostanic ? who else ? did what he does best, and equalized once more for Hurstville just four minutes later.
Inter?s persistence paid off then with a late flurry, Vizzari (84th) and Kovas (93rd) both grabbing their brace, sandwiching a goal on 89 minutes from the club?s top scorer, Domenic Dimento.
The win puts Inter on 15 points in fifth position, with a game in hand on some teams above them, whilst Hurstville ZSC remain stranded at the bottom still waiting for their first victory of the year.
-By Frank Speranza
