Goals galore as Lions tame Tigers
Both sides certainly had their chances but in the end, eight goals ? some of which were absolutely brilliant ? is something to write home about.
It was definitely one of the best games in the 2009 TeleChoice Premier League.
After the game though Bankstown City?s assistant coach Peter Papoythis was definitely not getting carried away with the victory:
?It was heart-attack material out there today,? he said.
?I was happy with the way we attacked, but we were a bit sloppy with our defence.
?I can?t blame our defence because as a whole we left too much space.
?We have a lot more work to do and there is still a long way to go in this competition and any team can beat anyone.
?We went to 4-1 and we should have finished the game off there and then, but to their credit they fought back and not many teams have come here to Jensen Park and scored three goals.?
The early chances of the game fell to Bankstown. As early as the 4? minute Hussein Salameh was testing the Tigers goalkeeper Phillip Zabaks.
Nick Rizzo, arguably the best player for the Sydney Tigers, should have done a lot better instead of spraying the ball wide with an open goal after rounding Zlatko Joseski soon after.
Daniel Severino blasted wide in the 25? minute after receiving a nice ball from Shane Webb and it appeared that this would be a game of missed chances. Not to be, because the floodgates were to open shortly afterwards.
However, the Tigers will rue two more missed chances that fell to Michael Hawrysiuk: the first a double chance that was thwarted by some brilliant Joseski goalkeeping and, the second, a great shot that was well saved by the Bankstown custodian.
Hussein Salameh opened the scoring in the 38? minute when he dribbled past two defenders and with a beautiful finish that brought the home fans to their feet.
His second arrived only 2? minutes later after he ghosted into the area unchecked and picked up a precise Severino free-kick to head home.
?Hussein is the quiet achiever,? Papoythis said afterwards. ?No one recognises him or gives him the recognition he deserves, but they are the types of performances he always puts in.
?He tears teams to shreds, scares defenders and runs all day.?
On the stroke of half-time Nick Rizzo brought the Tigers back into the game with a precise penalty after Bishara Stephan was brought down in the area and the referee rightly awarded the spot kick.
After the game the Tigers? coach Luke McGuire expressed his satisfaction with his side?s new signing:
?Rizzo is fantastic for us especially with his motivation,? he said of the former Crystal Palace player.
The killer blows for the Tigers though arrived early in the second stanza of play. Two quick goals virtually put the game beyond their reach.
In the 1? minute back after the break, Severino caught all by surprise with a beautiful shot that gave Zabaks no chance.
The fourth goal came in the 51?minute: George Nohra took advantage of some more sloppy defending, beat two opponents and scored delightfully with a nice finishing shot. It looked to be all over bar the shouting at this stage.
A Jason Trifiro free-kick provided a glimmer of hope for the Tigers, but once again Joseski was superb between the sticks and turned the ball over the crossbar.
The Tigers, surprisingly, scored two goals to come right back into the game and both goals were almost carbon copies of each other.
In the 65? minute a Michael West cross found Hawrysiuk lurking with intent and he headed home before an almost instant reply in the 82? minute, but with different protagonists.
A Stephen Kayes cross found its way to Robbie Younis who did the rest and the Tigers were right back in the game that had appeared to have slipped from their grasp.
However, it wasn?t to be for the plucky visitors because in the 85? minute Robbie Mileski scored nicely from close-range after a corner which he himself had forced in the first place.
?5-3 is good for the fans who are happy but not the coach,? McGuire said after the game.
?Bankstown just strolled through the middle of the park and it?s probably the last five or six weeks that we have been dominated through the middle.
?Full credit to Bankstown because they took their chances and we didn?t,? the affable McGuire stated.
?You can?t miss three one-on-ones in the first-half and expect to win games because they are one of the better sides and you can?t let that happen.?
Meanwhile, in the Grade-20 division, Bankstown City defeated Sydney Tigers 2-1.
Match Stats
Bankstown City 5 (Hussein Salameh 38?, 40?, Daniel Severino 46?, George Nohra 65?, Robbie Mileski 85?)
Sydney Tigers 3 (Nick Rizzo 45?, Michael Hawrysiuk 65?, Robbie Younis 82?)
Sunday, 28th June, 2009
Jensen Park, Sefton
Referee: Peter Vrtkovski
Assistant Referees: Christian Mehl and Matthew Colquhoun
Fourth Official: Nicholas Tragoustis
Bankstown City: 1.Zlatko Joseski; 8.George Nohra, 3.Shane Webb, 5.Richard Luksic, 6.Peter Tsekenis, 7.Steve Liavas, 15.Hussein Salameh (23.Tallan Martin 87?), 29.Hussein Akili (10.Robbie Mileski 69?), 11.Philip Makrys, 82.Daniel Severino (14.Suad Ameti 82?), 4.Brett Studman.
Substitutes Not Used: 18.Greg Owens, 13.Matthew Pressello
Yellow Cards: Mileski 80?
Red Cards: Nil
Sydney Tigers: 99.Phillip Zabaks; 3.John Kelso, 6.Shane Lyons (10.Franco Parisi 59?), 13.David D?Apuzzo (9.Robbie Younis 59?), 12.Michael West, 15.Danial Cummins, 16.Michael Hawrysiuk, 7.Stephen Kayes, 24.Jason Trifiro, 18.Bishara Stephan, 22.Nick Rizzo
Substitutes Not Used: 1.Giancarlo Papaianni, 8.Marino Musumeci, 11.Carlo Musumeci
Yellow Cards: Nil
Red Cards: Nil
-By Joe Russo
