State League Division 1 Round 11 Review
Match of the Round
Inter Lions v Blacktown Spartans
The last day of Autumn produced a crisp, overcast afternoon at the picturesque venue of Concord Oval, as home side Inter Lions welcomed the visiting Blacktown Spartans in Round 11 of the Division One competition.
The fans were rugged up and expecting a fierce clash between two teams vying to consolidate their respective position near the summit of the ladder.
Inter Lions have a couple of games in hand on their visitors, and a win here would?ve put them in a great position to give the Division a real shake. Blacktown came to the inner west hoping to snap a three game run of losses, confident of doing so given their efforts of late.
It was indeed the Spartans that came out firing with two goals in the opening seven minutes to take a real stranglehold on the match from the outset.
Wide man Malouf dissected the Inter defence on four minutes, with a ball bent with the outside of his right foot from wide on the left.
Cornett raced onto the through pass just inside the Lions? penalty area, and when faced with Inter goalkeeper Napoleone, unselfishly squared to Matafonov who simply tapped the ball into an empty net.
Three minutes later and it was 0-2 to the Spartans, with Matafonov again the goalscorer after a clinical piece of finishing. Matafonov reached a through ball into the penalty area just before the advancing Napoleone, flicking it past him before directing his shot into the net from an acute angle.
Blacktown sharpshooter Jajaw was playing a much deeper role than usual, in an attacking midfield position, and he set up Matafonov on nine minutes with a great one-two that nearly produced the striker?s hatrick. Alas, his half volley was well saved by Napoleone in the Inter goal.
The home side were clearly rattled by the two goal setback, rushing somewhat to get back into the match, and often pushing the final pass too quickly. Actually, many balls failed to reach the mark and were found skidding across the surface and out of play as the Lions rallied to try and pull a goal back.
Lively Iliopoulos conjured up the first real attempt for Inter on 20 minutes, wriggling free from the attention of Todd to fire a shot on goal, the ball taking a slight deflection as it just missed the upright.
For the remainder of the first period, Blacktown did well to soak up anything Inter had to throw at them, stifling any potential attacks with a collective defensive effort across the width of the park.
Inter seemed devoid of ideas on how to break down the Spartans, and resorted to a few long balls that were easily dealt with by the Blacktown backline, especially central defenders Todd and Awola.
Iliopoulos had another super effort for Inter just before the break, controlling the ball on his chest, before firing his volley just wide of the mark.
Young referee Mr.Tom Klein then blew his half time whistle, giving both teams a much needed breather, with both coaches looking to no doubt provide some tactical direction in what shaped up as an interesting second half.
Inter?s Domenic Dimento cracked a shot from 20 yards just minutes after the restart, with Blacktown keeper, Saliadarre, who had a relatively quiet first period, alert as ever and tipping the ball around the post.
Both teams felt the need to make substitutions within the first quarter of an hour after the break, hoping to provide some much needed injection into their play.
On the hour mark, Inter pulled a goal back, and no prizes for guessing the goalscorer.
A cross played onto the edge of the penalty box reached Inter?s playmaker, De Jesus, and he flicked his header into the path of Kovas. The big striker reached the ball inches before the onrushing Blacktown keeper, Saliadarre, managing to slide in and clip the ball over the custodian.
Iliopoulos was left to bundle the ball over the line from close range for Inter, making it an interesting last half hour left to play.
As Inter threw men forward, they were vulnerable to a Blacktown counter attack, but had no choice as they tried valiantly to equalize.
Kovas went closest for Inter on 75 minutes with a firm strike from outside the box, hitting the ball too well as it was gratefully accepted by keeper Saliadarre.
As the minutes ticked away, Inter became more frustrated as Blacktown thwarted their forays forward, and a third goal for the visitors seemed on the cards.
Blacktown?s dangerman Cornett raced away on 82 minutes as a result of one of these counter attacks, hitting his angled shot just over the cross bar from the side of the penalty area.
Three minutes later Cornett was at it again, sprinting away from his marker down the right flank before smartly cutting the ball back to Jajaw, who mishit his shot and Inter cleared the danger.
The anticipated goal arrived in injury time, when two of Blacktown?s substitutes combined to put the result beyond doubt.
A counter attack resulted in Machado facing Inter goalkeeper Napoleone in a one-on-one near the corner of the penalty area.
The Inter keeper did well to parry the initial shot, however the rebound fell to Brown, who simply stabbed the ball into an empty net, much to the joy of his team mates.
Full time finally came as darkness descended upon Concord Oval, with Blacktown Spartans winning an important three points to put them back on track in the championship race.
The Spartans were up for it on the day, scoring twice early, and soaking up whatever Inter threw at them, whilst knowing their counter attack weapon can be deadly.
Cornett was a menace once again for Blacktown, utilizing his blistering pace to make inroads down the flank, and often being the instigator of many attacks for his team.
The backline must also rate a mention in a polished display, with Todd and Awola dominant in the centre, and Fitzgerald and Semenikow effective with their tackles and distribution out wide. Falanga also was instrumental with his defensive effort in the centre of midfield.
Inter seemed to lack direction going forward, not utilizing their playmaker, De Jesus, until very late in the match. The Inter number 10 found it tough to make an impact during the game, due to a combination of a lack of service, as well as the close attention of the Spartans defence.
Big striker Kovas was also closely marked, and found it difficult to break free and threaten Saliadarre?s goal.
All is not lost for Inter, who will be despondent after this loss. The Lions still have games in hand, but will have to take maximum points from their catch up games if they are to threaten for the title.
Little striker Iliopoulos was the pick of the bunch from a disappointing Inter Lions display, full of energy, always chasing the loose ball and stray pass, and was rewarded for his efforts with a goal in the second period. Tachi was lively in the midfield, trying hard to win possession, whilst Cevenini attempted to get his team going with some telling passes from the centre of the park.
Match Stats
INTER LIONS 1 (Iliopoulos 60?)
BLACKTOWN SPARTANS 3 (Matafonov 4?/ 7?, Brown 91?)
Sunday, May 31, at Concord Oval, Burwood
Referee ? Mr.Tom Klein
Referee?s Assistants ? Mr.Richard Baker & Mr.Jerry Bitas
INTER LIONS ;1.R.Napoleone, 2.J.Dimento (14.P.Antar 78?), 3.A.Vizzari (capt), 4.D.Dimento (12.P.Candalori 59?), 5.L.Sansone, 6.S.Perri (13.D.Toscano 38?), 7.Y.Tachi , 8.S.Cevenini, 9.J.Kovas, 10.I.De Jesus, 11.G.Iliopoulos.
Subs not used ?15. J.Kyrazopoulos, 16.L.Cole.
BLACKTOWN SPARTANS ; 1. C.Saliadarre (capt), 3.J.Awola, 14.D.Cornett, 5.S.Falanga, 10.W.Jajaw, 8.A.Matafonov (18.M.Georgy 73?), 17..M.Malouf (9.J.Brown 53?), 16.B.Semenikow, 4.M.Hubbard (11.A.Machado 66?), 7.M.Todd, 16. B.Fitzgerald..
Subs not used ? 2.C.Townley-Jones, 20.N.Cordina.
DIVISION ONE REVIEW ? Round Eleven
UNSW – Schofields Scorpions (at David Phillips Field)
The downpour of rain over the weekend was enough to cause a late cancellation of this fixture, much to the disappointment of both teams.
Schofields Scorpions are still very well placed in third position on the ladder, two points off the lead, with either two or three games in hand on the two teams above them.
The match will be re-scheduled as soon as possible, so check the Football NSW website for details.
Dulwich Hill ? Mounties FC 1-0
The match of the round was undoubtedly at Arlington Oval on Saturday night, with Dulwich Hill taking on Mounties FC.
In a fierce encounter, Dulwich Hill returned to the top of the competition ladder with a later winner to grab all three points.
Midfield maestro Rafael Bove has just returned from a recent overseas jaunt, and shook off any jet lag to score the all important winning goal for Dully in the final minute of play.
Dully moves to 21 points with the victory, leaving Mounties in fourth position on 18.
Hills Brumbies ? Sydney Wanderers 2-1
Hills Brumbies returned to the winning list at last with a 2-1 victory over Sydney Wanderers at Second Ponds Oval on Saturday night.
All the goals came in a frantic first half of action, with Dogan putting Hills in front on 19 minutes.
McKenzie equalized for the Wanderers in the 38th minute, but Brumbies were not to be denied, and Shrimpton scored their second and winning goal just a couple of minutes out from the break.
Hills jump a spot, and move into 10th position on 8 points with the win, just the solitary point and place behind Sydney Wanderers.
Hurstville ZFC ? Balmain SC 2-4
At Hurstville Oval on Sunday, home side Hurstville ZFC just could not hang on for their maiden win, throwing away a 2-1 lead to lose 2-4 to Balmain SC.
Hurstville at times this season have flown out the blocks, and they did so again this time as Simic put them in front as early as the third minute after some great work by Kostanic.
Balmain recently secured the signature once again of experienced defender Pettenon, a major cog in last season?s Conference League championship success, and the prodigal son repaid their faith by equalizing on 18 minutes.
The 1-1 half time deadlock was broken within minutes of the restart by Koroma, putting Hurstville into the lead once more.
Just when Hurstville got to the point of being able to smell the victory that has so far eluded them, Balmain came home strong to score three unanswered goals in a late flurry.
Hard working midfielder Andrews equalized for Balmain on 81 minutes, before Byrne ut the visitors in front for the first time in the match a couple of minutes from time.
Andrews grabbed his brace in injury time to secure a valuable three points for Balmain, the win putting them on 12 points in seventh place on the ladder.
Stanmore Hawks ? Fairfield City Lions 3-4
An exciting match eventuated on Sunday at Arlington Oval when Fairfield City Lions overcame Stanmore Hawks by the odd goal in seven.
Fairfield City would?ve been wary of Stanmore?s recent winning form, and came to play by taking a two goal lead within twelve minutes of the start.
Cetinay put the visitors in front in the very first minute, and Ongel doubled their advantage just eleven minutes later.
Hijazi pulled a goal back for the Hawks on 24 minutes, before Fairfield?s captain, Issa, restored their two goal advantage just before half time.
Amiri then scored on the hour mark to give Fairfield City a remarkable 4-1 lead with half an hour to play.
But Stanmore are made of sterner stuff these days, and they weren?t finished just yet.
In form striker Hijazi completed his hatrick with goals on 65 and 80 minutes to set up a frenzied finish, but alas, the Hawks just couldn?t find the equaliser.
The win puts Fairfield on 12 points in eight position, whilst Stanmore remain fifth on 16 points despite the loss.
-By Frank Speranza
