State League Division 1 Round 12 Review
Match of the Round
Fairfield City Lions v Hills Brumbies
The skies were overcast and the rain fell intermittently as fans arrived to watch the Division One, Round Thirteen match at Norford Park on Sunday afternoon.
Home side Fairfield City Lions were missing some strikepower due to an injury crisis, but other than that, were determined to grab a valuable three points that would contribute towards their push for a finals berth.
For Hills Brumbies this was an opportunity to push away from the foot of the table and close the gap between the teams in the bottom half of the ladder.
Fairfield had an opportunity to take the game by the scruff of the neck as early as the opening minute. Codmani controlled a chipped pass by Cetinay inside the box, and he blasted his volley at goal, only for Hills keeper, Needham, to parry over the bar.
This early exchange would turn out to be an example of many that would occur during the afternoon between the three players.
Fairfield?s early game plan was to throw everything at the visiting Brumbies, and they were dominating play, pushing men forward in numbers as they tried to score an opening goal. Hills were on the back foot during the first twenty minutes, soaking up the pressure, and venturing forward only via the occasional counter attack.
On 23 minutes Hills goalkeeper Needham almost gifted Fairfield the opening goal, an attempted throw out slipping out of his hands and falling at the feet of Mohebbee.
The Fairfield midfielder attempted to chip Needham, but the keeper redeemed himself, diverting the shot with an outstretched hand, and blocking the follow up attempt by Oncu.
A minute later and Sozer?s blast from the edge of the box flew just wide of the Hills upright, after Ongel initially had two shots from a free kick blocked by a resolute Brumbies wall.
Against the run of play, Hills almost took the lead on the half hour when Shrimpton hit a dipping free kick from 25 yards, Fairfield?s keeper Webb tipping the shot over the bar.
On 31 minutes Fairfield City took a deserved lead with a simple but composed passage of play. Fairfield?s skipper, Issa, and Cetinay exchanged passes in the middle of the Brumbies half, before the latter slipped the ball through to Mohebbee as he entered the penalty area behind the Hills defence. Mohebbee took a touch, and snuck the ball past Hills keeper, Needham, as he rushed off his line, giving the Lions a justified lead.
Not to be outdone, Hills responded in the best possible way, and equalized just six minutes later with a fantastic effort.
Central defender, Hawkins, started the move by breaking out of defence after winning possession.He played the ball down the right flank to Farrell, who reached the goal line before sending over a super cross back to Hawkins, who had continued his run, and he hit a bullet header on the run which powered past Fairfield keeper Webb, restoring parity for Hills.
Fairfield persisted, and regained the lead just before the break. Receiving the ball just inside the penalty area, Issa took a touch before swiveling and slipping the ball behind a defender for Mohebbee to run onto, a move not dissimilar to the opening goal for the Lions.
Mohebbee, on this occasion, reached the goal line before squaring to Codmani, and the evergreen midfielder had the simplest of tasks of tapping into an empty net.
Referee Mr James Barnes hadn?t missed a beat in the first period, contributing to the action by allowing play to flow whenever possible. He duly brought the match to a halt with the half time whistle, with the home side providing most of the entertainment and leading by the odd goal in three.
Once again displaying their determination, Hills came out of the half time break and equalized for a second time on 53 minutes.
First half substitution Guirgis raced onto a through ball, only for Fairfield keeper Webb to block the initial shot in a one-on-one challenge. The rebound fell to Vizza, and he attempted to chip Webb from 20 yards, the keeper once again doing the job, this time getting his finger tips to the ball and diverting it onto the post.
Alas, at the third attempt, Hills striker Farrell was quickest to react, beating a defender to the loose ball to slam it into the net from close range.
Remarkably Hills almost took the lead just five minutes later. A shot from distance took a wicked deflection, falling to the feet of Farrell, whose angled shot was brilliantly blocked by the advancing Fairfield keeper, Webb.
Cetinay and Issa then had shots just after the hour mark for Fairfield, the former lacking power, whilst the skipper?s effort sliced agonizingly wide of the upright.
Not content with the draw, the Lions made all three possible substitutions just after the 70 minute mark, hoping to spark the team into grabbing a winner.
And the ploy provided dividends, with a the third goal on 80 minutes, and it was Codmani who did the damage with an intelligent bit of play.
Cetinay received the ball a few metres outside edge of the box, and chipped the ball over the square defence to Codmani, who did well to reach it before it went over the goal line.
Rather than do the expected and cross the ball, Codmani cut back inside a retreating Hills backline, and hit a low shot that took a slight deflection on it?s way into Needham?s net.
There was still time left for two more opportunities, with Fairfield substitute Emirali through on goal on both occasions. Hills keeper Needham excelled as he saved both, blocking one, and grabbing the other at the second attempt.
Mr Barnes?s full time whistle sounded, amidst celebrations from the home side, who showed real determination as they threw caution to the wind and grabbed a vital, late winning goal. The visiting Hills players, on the other hand, never gave up, and were a forlorn sight as they trooped off the park with nothing to show for their efforts.
Hills showed enough today to suggest they can haul themselves away from the foot of the competition, coming back twice to equalise, and holding off almost until the end of the match in a game where the opposition dominated.
Hills Brumbies goalkeeper and captain, Ben Needham, was deflated with his team?s performance on the day.
?We seemed to lack discipline today, missing tackles, diving in too early, and lacking communication,? said Needham.
?We suffered early in the season due to injuries, but we are hoping to finish well, and are aiming for at least seventh on the ladder,? predicted the tireless keeper.
Needham was by far the best performer for Hills on the day, always alert between the sticks, quick off his line, and proved to be a real presence in and around the penalty area. He was untroubled with many a high ball, saved a few one-on-one challenges, and was constantly barking encouragement from his end of the pitch.
Other good performers for Hills were ; central defender Dogan, who was strong and determined in defence, winning many tackles with his tenacity, and often starting the counter attacks for his team ; striker Farrell, who tried hard all day in attack, chasing loose balls and putting the Fairfield defence under constant pressure.
Fairfield City?s captain, Robbie Issa, was ecstatic with his team?s win.
?Apart from leaking a couple of soft goals, we showed great persistence and dedication today, a real never say die attitude,? beamed Issa.
?We dropped some silly points earlier in the season, but are still confident of making the semi finals if we can string together some wins,? said the Fairfield number 10.
Fairfield?s best on the day were ; veteran midfielder Codmani, who defied his 38 years, always composed on the ball, accurate with his distribution, and deservedly scoring two goals for his efforts ; young midfielder Cetinay also defied his youth by showing composure and technique when in possession of the ball, and was the catalyst behind most of his team?s attacking moves ; skipper Issa, who kept motivating his team forward, working hard in an accustomed attacker?s role, and was involved in most of the lead up play in the attacking third.
Match Stats
FAIRFIELD CITY LIONS 3 (Mohebbee 31?, Codmani 42?/80?)
HILLS BRUMBIES 2 (Hawkins 37?, Farrell 53?)
Sunday, June 14, at Norford Park, Sefton
Referee ? Mr.James Barnes
Referee?s Assistants ? Mr.Robert Klein & Mr.Abdel Elkordy
FAIRFIELD CITY LIONS ; 1.J.Webb, 2.S.Sozer, 3.D.Mourad (13.A.Gaeta 70?), 4.E.Ongel, 5.O.Cetinay, 6.T.Gabriel (16.H.Hidalgo 79?), 7.G.Oncu (11.I.Emirali 70?), 8.N.Codmani, 10.R.Issa (capt), 12.M.Mohebbee, 14.A.Capano.
Subs not used ?17. M.Scarano, RGK.G.Bogdan.
HILLS BRUMBIES ; 1. B.Needham (capt), 2.S.Gidaro, 3.L.Ryan, 4.S.Dogan, 5.C.Hawkins, 6.L.Brown, 7.A.Vizza, 8.B.Somogyi (16.R.Marchant 86?), 9.B.Shrimpton (12.A.King 46?), 10.R.Farrell, 11. S.Pintabona (14.M.Guirgus 21?).
Subs not used ? 13.J.Duff, 15.R.Martinez.
DIVISION ONE REVIEW ? Round Thirteen
Schofields Scorpions ? Inter Lions 2-0 AND Schofields Scorpions ? Sydney Wanderers 2-1
Schofields backed up their 2-0 victory on Thursday against Inter Lions with yet another three points in a 2-1 win over Sydney Wanderers on Saturday.
To Thursday?s match first, and then tackles were flying in during the early exchanges as both teams tried valiantly to take the ascendancy.
Both goals for the Scorpions came in the second period, and both from substitutes.
The first arrived on 58 minutes, with Iredale scoring a low header after good work on the left by McColl and Southern, having only been on the park a matter of minutes.
Inter went close to equalizing on a couple of occasions, with McCaffery doing well to block one particular attack when he was outnumbered three to one after a far post cross.
In the 80th minute Schofields put the game beyond doubt, Bazina converting at the far post from a Macrae cross following a quickly taken free kick.
Saturday?s game proved a lot tougher, backing up after 48 hours no doubt having some effect. But the Scorpions hit the lead minutes into the second period with a goal by Macrae, before Adam equalized for the traveling Wanderers on 66 minutes.
Not to be outdone, Macrae grabbed his and his team?s second on 81 minutes to give Schofields six points out of six, and a very healthy return for two days work at the office.
The Scorpions have now moved to 25 points in third position, looking ominous with games in hand on both of the top two.
Blacktown Spartans ? Balmain SC 2-0
The Spartans have kept on going about their business in a professional manner with yet another three points at Francis Park on Saturday, accounting for Balmain SC by 2-0.
Both goals for Blacktown came early, with Browne opening the scoring on just nine minutes.
Early season sharpshooter, Jajaw, has recovered from a mid-season injury, and he sealed the result only seven minutes later with number two for the Spartans.
The win puts Blacktown on 26 points in second position, and well and truly on the way to finals football in 2009.
Mounties FC ? Stanmore Hawks 5-2
Mounties bounced back from last week?s loss at UNSW with a comprehensive 5-2 drubbing of Stanmore Hawks on Saturday night at Cook Park.
They started like a house on fire and were 2-0 up within 17 minutes, Lloyd and Noro doing the early damage.
Stanmore?s man of the moment, Hijazi, pulled one back just after the half hour, but Lloyd?s second on 41 minutes restored Mounties two goal advantage going into the break.
Orcajo made it 4-1 on 57 minutes, before Caltabiano gave Stanmore some hope with a 74th minute goal.
But Mounties weren?t finished, and McCann made it five with a goal in the 85th minute to round off proceedings.
After a recent fruitful recent period for Stanmore, the loss was the club?s third on the trot, and they will be looking to regroup and get their season back on track.
As for Mounties, a great win has kept them firmly entrenched in the top five in fourth spot on 21 points.
Hurstville ZFC ? UNSW 1-6
Hurstville certainly came back down to earth with a thud following their two wins last long weekend, being annihilated 1-6 at Hurstville Oval by a rampant UNSW.
The ?students? backed up their 4-2 home win last week over Mounties with another great result, reaching ten goals in two games.
Strike partners Luca and Meney both scored in the first half, along with Griffin right on half time, to give UNSW a commanding 3-0 lead at the break.
Kostanic replied for Hurstville on 59 minutes, only for Meney to make it four just sixty seconds later, and Luca stretched the lead to 5-1 in the 70th minute for the visitors.
Meney grabbed his hatrick (and fifth in two weeks) on 87 minutes to complete a remarkable week for Luke Andrews? charges, the win putting UNSW on 13 points and in eight position, just five points outside a top five position.
Dulwich Hill ? Inter Lions 4-2
Dulwich Hill came up trumps in the match of the round, beating Inter Lions 4-2 at Arlington Oval in an absorbing clash.
Captain James put Dully in front after 23 minutes in what was the only score of the first period. Mihajlovic doubled the lead for the home side just four minutes after the break, before Inter skipper Vizzari pulled a goal back on 54 minutes.
Mihajlovic made it 3-1 to Dully by converting a penalty after 59 minutes, and that?s the way it stayed until late in the match.
Messam made it 4-1 with a goal for Dully after 80 minutes, before Vizzari secured his brace with a penalty for Inter Lions in the 82nd minute.
Dulwich Hill retain their lead at the top of the ladder, moving to 27 points and keeping just ahead of Blacktown and Schofields.
The second loss in four days is a real setback for Inter, but given results elsewhere, they remain in fifth position on 18 points.
-By Frank Speranza
