Late winner earns Sydney United full points against Stallions
While still heavy and patchy in parts, it was never going to be an issue for the players in this local derby between Marconi Stallions and Sydney United.
At stake was too much – three competition points in the regular TeleChoice Premier League plus the Capitol Hill Cup which is an annual trophy that these two clubs contest over the two regular season matches.
In the end, Sydney United won both the game and the Capitol Hill Cup but not before Marconi had played the game of their lives with mainly ten men after an early send off.
One of Sydney United?s most senior players, David Zdrilic, summed up the game after the match as follows:
?We started the game well and got lucky as Marconi got a player sent off,? he said.
?We dominated the first-half and we probably should have got a second goal ? we didn?t get it ? and Marconi came out well in the second-half.
?To be fair, we didn?t play well in the second-half and we let them dominate with ten-men and that shouldn?t happen.
?In the end, we got the goal we needed but I think it is a bit disappointing because we should have made it a lot more comfortable than what it was.
?There?s good spirit in the team and we showed we can get the result when we need it even if we are not playing as well as we can.?
The opening exchanges of the game produced very little until the 14? minute when Vuko Tomasevic was given his marching orders by referee Peter Vrtkovski for a collision with an opponent where an arm seemed to make contact.
While Tomasevic looked surprised, it would have been hard to argue with the man-in-black because he was so close to the action.
The send off was real setback for Marconi as their coach Lee Sterrey acknowledged afterwards:
?When you are playing a top of the table team with ten-men for a long period, it?s a big ask,? he said.
The opening chance of the game arrived at the 21? minute mark when an Ali Abbas Al Hilfi corner reached Ben Vidaic, but the tall striker could only direct his header just wide of the net.
Sydney United?s reply was almost immediate. A Todd Brodie cross from the left was poorly cleared by a Marconi header and the ball fell nicely for player/coach Ante Milicic who hit a superb volley from the edge of the box giving Cem Akili no chance in goal.
It was a brilliant goal from the veteran Milicic who clearly still has a lot to offer at this level of football as a player.
In the 30? minute another Marconi corner found its way to Vidaic who, from close-range, forced a reflex save out of Vedran Janjetovic.
Just prior to the break Luka Glavas broke free from two Marconi defenders, but when he pulled the trigger his shot ended up just wide. The Sydney United supporters present were certainly hoping that such a miss would not prove to be costly in the long run. And in the end thanks to a late winner it wasn?t.
In the 52? minute Marconi struck gold when a great ball from the right from Ousmane Toure reached Tim McGowan who majestically turned and flick the ball into the top right hand corner of the net to equalise.
?Timmy is a young player who certainly has a lot of ability and overall I couldn?t fault Timmy tonight,? Sterrey said.
The match then slowed down considerably after that on the heavy pitch and it wasn?t until the 81? minute that the crowd came to life.
Toure scrambled between two defenders and put the ball in the goal in a sliding motion only to see the linesman on the far side raise his flag for offside.
In the 88? minute Sydney United, who were let off the hook with that offside call minutes earlier, managed to score the winner.
A dangerous ball from the right from Glen Trifiro against his former club only needed the slightest of touches from Damon Collina to end up in the bottom left hand corner of the net. It was a tough pill for Marconi to swallow.
?I think if anybody is going to win lotto this week it is going to be somebody at Edensor Park, that?s for sure,? Sterrey said post match in a clear reference to the late goal.
In the 92? minute a dangerous cross from the left by Ali Abbas Al-Hilfi avoided Joe Vrkic, but unfortunately no Marconi player was ready to guide it in for the home-side as it sailed dangerously across the face of goal.
David Zdrilic highlighted what the three points against Marconi meant to his team:
?We have a big tradition with Marconi and it is always a big rivalry,? he said.
?They gave us a good game at our home – and we were lucky to get a win there – and today again it was a good game because there?s quite a tradition here between us.?
Sterrey was delighted overall with his players and couldn?t find a word of disappointment for anyone:
?I couldn?t fault anyone in a Marconi shirt as our character was first class and we deserved a lot more,? he said.
?It was one second of madness because at the end of the day Trifiro was one-against-one and we should have two there, but overall it was a pretty big injustice that we walked away with nothing.
?We deserved a point and I think everybody in the stadium wouldn?t begrudge us getting a point tonight.
?I am just really disappointed for my troops because the players gave everything they got.?
Meanwhile, the Grade-20 encounter between these two sides was postponed due to the weather.
Match Stats
Marconi Stallions 1 (Tim McGowan 52?)
Sydney United 2 (Ante Milicic 22?, Damon Collina 88?)
Marconi Stallions: 20.Cem Akili, 2.Wade Oostendorp, 30.Andrea Merenda, 6.Vuko Tomasevic, 10.Ali Abbas Al-Hilfi, 7.Ousmane Toure (11.Matthew Gordon 87?), 17.Vamara Diarra (4.Umut Tokdogan 76?), 23.Christopher Nunes, 26.Nahuel Arrarte, 8.Alexander Canak, 13.Ben Vidaic (15.Tim McGowan 46?).
Substitutes Not Used: 9.Erick Anabalon, 20.James Chronopoulos
Yellow Cards: Nil
Red Cards: Tomasevic 14?
Sydney United: 1.Vedran Janjetovic; 5.Damon Collina, 6.Joe Vrkic, 19.Mitchell Thompson (24.Andrija Petkovic 80?), 45.Sam Munro, 15.Karl Dodd, 3.Roger Galayini (16.Elsid Barkhousir 56?), 9.David Zdrilic, 7.Todd Brodie, 10.Ante Milicic (18.Glen Trifiro 70?), 11.Luka Glavas.
Substitutes Not Used: 36.Michael Spear, 20.Michael Frost
Yellow Cards: Munro 50?
Red Cards: Nil
Saturday 20th, June, 2009
Marconi Stadium, Bossley Park
Referee: Peter Vrtkovski
Assistant Referees: Allyson Flynn and Lance Greenshield
Fourth Official: Matthew Samson
-By Joe Russo
