Sydney United back on the winner’s list
Three goals in the final 10? minutes made for an exciting finish, a vast difference from the dour 80? minute struggle which preceded.
Slippery conditions made for a scrappy match between the two sides on Sunday, but it wasn?t long before Sydney United went on the attack, with Luka Glavas and Elsid Barkhousir testing Wollongong goalkeeper Alex Augusto in the early minutes.
But that was as good as it got in the first 20? minutes, with neither side looking like threatening their opponents goal.
The ball went from end to end, with both sides lacking the execution to trouble their respective defenders.
Lachlan Cahill stepped up to a take a free-kick from 30-metres out, but unfortunately for Wollongong his powerful shot was taken comfortably by United?s Vedran Janjetovic.
Wollongong then went on the counter-attack and it was Samet Kaynak?s deft touch that supplied Steve Hayes with a clear run up-field.
However, James Monie was unable to finish off his team-mate?s lead up, trickling his shot straight to Janjetovic between the sticks.
Despite not looking like the side that dominated the Premier League in the first-half of the season, United almost went into the break with a 1-0 lead.
Glen Trifiro found his way through thick traffic to cross the ball into the penalty-area, finding an unmarked Berbis whose shot sailed narrowly wide of the target.
The start of the second-half was marred by an injury to Wollongong?s Samet Kaynak who limped off the field with a foot injury.
United was desperate to be the first on the scoresheet and almost did so courtesy of Elsid Barkhousir.
However, the striker failed to capitalise on a one-on-one with Augusto, sending his shot straight into the shot-stopper?s body and away from danger ? a wasted opportunity.
Reds player/coach Ante Milicic made his way on to the field in the 65? minute for the first time in three weeks, and almost made an immediate impact.
The number 10 linked up with Luka Glavas who in turn crossed a low ball into the goal mouth into the direction of Wollongong shot-stopper Augusto. A slight fumble from Augusto though, presented United with a chance to snare their first goal of the night, but unfortunately there wasn?t a red jersey within striking distance.
The match turned into a dour affair midway through the second period, with both sides making simple mistakes that frustrated the Edensor Park crowd.
But with 10? minutes on the clock remaining, the United faithful were given something to cheer about as the home-side brought the game to life.
A cross from Andrija Petkovic found Luka Glavas at the far post, but Glavas? header ricocheted off the crossbar in the direction of Ante Milicic who made no mistake heading his shot into an empty goal for a 1-0 lead on 81? minutes.
Ante Milicic only took two minutes to return the favour, laying off a ball to Andrija Petkovic who drilled his shot past the goalkeeper to double United?s lead.
But United soon paid the price for complacency, allowing Kieran Deane to reduce the margin to one goal with a shot into the bottom left-hand corner of the net, punishing the United defenders for standing around and watching the man with the ball.
Sydney United defender Damon Collina was relieved at the final whistle with his side?s win:
?We haven?t won a game in three weeks so it was good to get the points, even though we didn?t play overly well,? he said.
??I think we are still at the same level as where we were [three weeks ago].
?We?ve had one or two bad games and we lost against Manly but I think we played well enough.?
Collina conceded his side had been under the pump defensively in recent weeks:
?We have let in a few soft goals so I think our resilience has slipped,? he said.
?We need to pick up our effort and re-group because there is enough belief in this change room to do that.?
Wollongong assistant coach Claudio Canosa believed his side did enough to deserve the three points:
?I think we have to call ourselves unlucky,? he said.
?It?s disappointing because we were the better team in the first-half and in the second-half we still played some good football.
?But we need to be a bit more consistent at the back,? Canosa said.
?In the space of three minutes they killed us and instead of not letting another one in, we let them score a second,? he concluded.
Match Stats
Sydney United 2 (Ante Milicic 81?, Andrija Petkovic 83?)
Wollongong Community FC 1 (Kieran Deane 89?)
Sunday, 7th of June, 2009
Sydney United Sports Centre, Edensor Park
Referee: Adam Weir
Assistant Referees: Murray Wilson and Scott Edeling
Fourth Official: Matthew Samson
Crowd: 600 Approx.
Sydney United: 1.Vedran Janjetovic; 5.Damon Collina, 6.Joe Vrkic, 36.Mitchell Spears, 19.Mitchell Thompson, 3.Roger Galayini (12.Davor Bajsic 59?), 15.Lisandro Berbis, 18.Glen Trifiro (24.Andrija Petkovic 45?), 2.Ricky Perinich, 16.Elsid Barkhousir (10.Ante Milicic 65?), 11.Luka Glavas
Substitutes Not Used: 21.Dominic Rossi, 20.Michael Frost.
Yellow Cards: Nil
Red Cards: Nil
Wollongong Community FC: 1.Alex Augusto; 2.Kieran Deane, 4.Alfredo Esteves, 5.David Able, 8.Samet Kaynak (18.Brian Vanega 52?), 9.Steve Hayes, 10.Balla Conde, 12.Brendan Kearns, 16.James Vaughan, 11.James Monie, 19.Lachlan Cahill
Substitutes Not Used: 17.Chris Nathaniel, 20.Matt Brandalise, 6.Ilija Prenzoski
Yellow Cards: Nil
Red Cards: Nil
-By Michael Chammas
