Penrith-Nepean stuns Manly United at Cook Park
The home-side came under the pump as early as the first minute when Scott Thomas fired in a hopeful shot from distance, though not connecting properly, before Penrith striker Michael Dowling was felled by an accidental knee from Manly goalkeeper Brad Swancott as both contested the ball. Dowling kept on the deck for 3? minutes as he received treatment, luckily no great harm done and the Penrith-Nepean man rejoined the fray.
Plenty of tough action in the middle of the park with half-chances created as slowly, Penrith-Nepean began to gain the ascendancy and should have taken the lead. Devrim Husseyin swung his right foot leaving the ball untouched, courtesy of a ?bobble? on the surface, leaving the player red-faced before the side eventually took the lead with a Tayfun Buyukkopru free-kick on the half-hour.
Joey Schirripa was causing havoc at will down Penrith?s right side as he sent over plenty of telling crosses – to no avail – as Manly battled to impose themselves on the game throughout the opening half.
To their credit, they came back strongly with the introduction of Justin Hayward for Robbie Cattanach after 34? minutes that sparked the side into life with the extra injection of height and pace to put the home-side under the pump in the closing stages of the half.
With Penrith-Nepean looking nervous as the minutes ticked down to the break, Manly United sensed a goal, though the Ante Juric coached side held on to their slender lead at the break.
The visitors started the second stanza brightly and, slowly but surely, pressed Penrith-Nepean back into defending deeper, though the equaliser was proving an elusive beast to pin down.
Evangelos Petratos was forced into clearing a Hayward header off the line with Matthew Nash well beaten as the home-side continued to ride their luck and protect the one-goal lead they had, although the pitch did neither side any favours as it looked uneven and cut up badly, creating both sets of players with a tough task of controlling the ball.
Extra pressure almost told for Manly United when a sweeping move eventually saw the ball fall to Ashley Ryan, though his volley whistled wide as his side struggled to retrieve something from the match.
2? minutes after replacing Greg Kondek, Dimitrios Petratos found the back of the net to give Penrith-Nepean an unassailable 2-0 lead – and three points – as Manly United pushed on and were caught wanting at the back.
In the end, a scrappy win is still three points won for Penrith in what many would consider an upset, however richly deserved.
Coach Ante Juric commented afterwards:
?We?ve set ourselves a goal for the number of points we are looking to achieve and we are getting there.
?We have a lot of youngsters in the side and the game plan tonight was to turn Manly around early and play in the holes and it worked well so I?m pleased with the result, especially as Manly are a top side.?
When questioned about his own injury he simply replied:
?I just managed to roll an ankle early on but nothing serious.?
Manly United coach Phil Moss was not happy when stating:
?We were second best tonight and didn?t deserve any points.
?What we got was a lesson in working as a unit and Penrith deserved to win, they were by far the better side.?
The Grade-20s encounter finished all square between the two sides, 2-2 the final result.
Match Stats
Penrith-Nepean United 2 (Tayfun Buyukkopru 30?, Dimitrios Petratos 89?)
Manly United FC 0
Saturday, 4th of July, 2009
Cook Park, St. Marys
Referee: Andrew Best
Assistant Referees: Lance Greenshields and Paul Faithful
Fourth Official: Andrew Brown
Penrith-Nepean United: 1.Matthew Nash; 3.David Comito (31.Alex Mansueto 64?), 4.Evangelos Petratos, 8.Paul Crisp, 12.Nick McInerney, 14.Greg Kondek (11.Dimitrios Petratos 87), 15.Sean Mitchell, 17.Ante Juric, 19.Michael Dowling (9.James O’Rourke 90?+3?), 23.Devrim Husseyin, 26.Tayfun Buyukkopru
Substitutes Not Used: 21.Nicolas Jelic, 32.Trent Barton
Yellow Cards: Ante Juric 40?
Red Cards: Nil
Manly United FC: 1.Brad Swancott; 2.Shaun Bowden, 3.Andrew Mailer, 5.Joel Grenell, 6.Scott Thomas, 7.Ashley Ryan, 8.Michael Lloyd-Green (12.Jamie Garside 65?), 9.Robbie Cattanach (22.Justin Hayward 34?), 15.Keith Shevlin, 16.Joey Schirripa, 20.Matthew Bingley
Substitutes Not Used: 4.Spencer Prior, 12.Jamie Garside, 39.Chris Gallo, 11.Dylan Mitchell
Yellow Cards: Ashley Ryan 33?, Justin Hayward 47?
Red Cards: Nil
-By Micky Brock
