Blacktown City Demons humble league leaders Sydney United
Sydney United were missing a couple of key players none more so than player/manager Ante Milicic who was away with the Young Socceroos in Holland.
Sydney United lacked the patience and direction that served them well in the first 11-rounds of the TeleChoice Premier League, playing a brand of football that was unfamiliar to the Reds in the opening half of the season.
Blacktown couldn?t be accused of coming out of the blocks too slow, sticking it to the competition front runners in the early stages of the match.
Despite attacking without any real venom up front, the Demons dominated the battle of field position, controlling the match from the back of the field.
A mountain of possession finally paid off in the 24? minute, with the visitors capitalising on a free-kick conceded by Mitchell Thompson down the right-flank.
Daniel Wilkinson whipped the ball in from close to the sideline and caught the United defenders napping, allowing Adam Kwasnik with the opportunity to leap above the pack to head the ball past Vedran Janjetovic for a 1-0 lead.
The Demons looked to be exposing their opponents in the air, finding ample opportunity to whip the ball in from either side of the paddock.
The visitors? persistence was rewarded when Matt Lewis got head to ball from another cross, guiding his shot past Janjetovic to stun the home-side and double the Demons lead to 2-0.
Elsid Barkhousir replaced Glen Trifiro at half-time, hoping to add some much needed spark to a team that was quite lacklustre in the first period.
But it was Blacktown who continued their ascendancy into the second-half, and looked dangerous when Luke Austin got his side moving forward.
Austin linked up with Kwasnik to set up Chris Bedzo with a through ball, but Bedzo wasn?t quick enough to beat Janjetovic to the ball and was yellow-carded for a loose challenge on the United shot-stopper.
Kwasnik then turned Ricky Perinich inside out, beating his man to unleash a shot that sailed over the crossbar for a goal-kick.
Elsid Barkhousir looked to have reduced the lead moments later but his shot found the side of the net, summing up United?s evening.
A frustrated David Zdrilic unleashed his anger on the referee in the 58? minute, copping a yellow card for his troubles.
One minute later Zdrilic found himself in the referee?s book again, with a reckless challenge earning him a second yellow card and an early shower.
If anyone looked likely to find the back of the net for United it was substitute Elsid Barkhousir, creating several half-chances with his pace and footwork.
Each time the home-side ventured forward, Blacktown was quick to reply, but Chris Bedzo was unable to finish off the lead-up work from team-mate Matt Lewis to seal the victory midway through the second-half.
But Lewis didn?t have to wait too much longer for another crack at the match winner, lunging forward to head home a Kwasnik cross in the 76? minute to secure a 3-0 lead.
United had a chance to gain some respect on the scoreboard, but the goalkeeping of Michael Herbert denied the Reds of anything worth smiling about, pulling off a brilliant save following a powerful shot from Luka Glavas.
Blacktown City Demons coach Ken Schembri was ecstatic with his troops? performance, conceding it was one of the best he has been involved with:
?The first-half was exceptional and it was really high quality,? he said.
?It was a polished performance and it was nice to keep a clean sheet.
?Adam [Kwasnik] held the ball up very well and no one talks about young Matty [Lewis] but he done very well,? Schembri added.
?We let them back into the match at certain stages but I can?t be unhappy with a 3-0 win at Sydney United.?
United captain Joe Vrkic wasn?t so impressed:
?Last week it was disappointing we lost, but that was a close game,? the defender said.
?But today we were just out-played, out-enthused and full credit to Blacktown who really gave it to us.
?We tried something a little different today but it looks like it didn?t work so it?s back to the drawing board.
?I think we need to get our enthusiasm right next week and everything else should follow,? Vrkic concluded.
Match Stats
Sydney United 0
Blacktown City Demons 3 (Adam Kwasnik 24?, Matt Lewis 32?, 76?)
Sunday 24th May, 2009
Sydney United Sports Centre, Edensor Park
Referee: Gerard Parksons
Assistant Referees: David Lockeridge and Murray Wilson
Fourth Official: Tom Klein
Crowd: 600 Approx.
Sydney United: 1.Vedran Janjetovic; 5.Damon Collina, 6.Joe Vrkic, 2. Ricky Perinich (Lisandro Berbis 73?), 7.Todd Brodie, 18.Glen Trifiro (Elsid Barkhousir 45?), 19.Mitchell Thompson, 21.Dominic Rossi (25.Dennis Cutura 82?), 3.Roger Galayini, 9.David Zdrilic, 11.Luka Glavas.
Substitutes Not Used: 20.Michael Frost
Yellow Cards: David Zdrilic 58?, 59?, Elsid Barkhousir 77?
Red Cards: David Zdrilic 59?
Blacktown City Demons: 1.Michael Herbert; 3.Paul Karbon, 5.Daniel Wilkinson, 6.Luke Casserly, 8.Chris Bedzo (14.Gavin Forbes 75?), 9.Kain Rastall, 10.Luke Austin, 16.Ante Deur, 17.Joel Chianese, 19.Adam Kwasnik, 29.Matt Lewis (18.Agyei Akwasi 88?)
Substitutes Not Used: 40.Brody Crane, 13.Ben Ellis, 15.Ray Miller
Yellow Cards: Chris Bedzo 53?
Red Cards: Nil
-By Michael Chammas
