West Sydney Berries spoil the Stallions party
It was a frenetic start to the opening stanza and Marconi looked the most likely to threaten their opponents? goal.
Ousmane Toure linked up with Alex Canak and looked certain to register the home-side?s opener, but Canak?s final pass was hit way too hard for Toure to control – an opportunity gone begging.
Despite the boys from Bossley Park dominating the early passages of the round 19 TeleChoice Premier League fixture, it was the West Sydney Berries who were the first to find the back of the net.
Aheleas Kotsopoulos found himself in space down the left-flank, outpacing an injured Andrea Merenda to set up an unmarked John Tsironis in the box.
Tsironis made no mistake slotting his shot past Marconi?s Cem Akili, gifting his side a 1-0 lead after just 14? minutes of play.
At the other end, Marconi weren?t having any difficulty creating chances of their own, with Ali Al-Hilfi turning his defender, drilling a powerful flat shot which was only to be denied by a brilliant diving effort from Berries shot-stopper Hamish McClean.
Marconi captain Nahuel Arrarte decided to take things into his own hands, weaving his way through some heavy traffic to cut a ball back into the direction of Canak, but the number eight couldn?t quite execute his lunging shot and was forced to watch the ball sail into the stands.
Some brilliant lead-up work from Al-Hilfi and Matthew Gordon got the Stallions faithful out of their seats, but they were again left unsatisfied when Ben Vidaic?s efforts from the edge of the penalty-area went agonisingly close to finding the top left-hand corner.
Kosta Lagoudakis tried his best to double West Sydney?s advantage before the half-time interval, but his long-range effort lacked the direction to trouble Akili between the sticks.
But the Berries didn?t have to wait too much longer for the opportunity to snare their second.
The Marconi defenders paid the price for not playing to the whistle, allowing Tsironis to latch on to a through ball and chipping his shot over an advancing Akili to give the Berries a 2-0 lead on 39? minutes.
Kotsopoulos looked like the next Berries player to join the party, but unfortunately for the visitors, his dashing effort down the sideline ended with the ball slamming into the side of the net.
The Stallions were intent on three points, and it showed by the way the side came out of the blocks in the second-half.
Vamara Diarra squandered a golden opportunity to reduce the deficit, as his one-on-one effort with McClean fell straight into the goalkeeper?s arms.
The opening 15? minutes of the second period belonged well and truly to the home-side, creating enough chances in the short space to win two games of football.
Finally the mountain of Marconi possession took its toll on the Berries, surrendering to the attacking prowess of the Stallions in the 60? minute.
It was captain Arrarte who stamped his authority on the match, slamming his long-rang effort past the outstretched arms of McClean into the top right-hand corner of the net ? a fantastic strike.
Whatever coach Lee Sterrey said to his troops at half-time must have done wonders, as his side went on the attack moments later courtesy of Al-Hilfi.
Al-Hilfi?s cross found Toure in the six-yard box, controlling the ball before punching his shot over the crossbar.
The signs looked ominous for the visitors, who despite leading on the scoreboard, looked like the team less likely to come away with the three points.
With the clock ticking and a top-two position on the line, Canak tested the waters by thumping a 35-metre shot into the direction of goal, but despite a slight fumble, McClean was able to hang on to the ball.
The second-half was all one-way traffic and this time it was Gordon who had the home fans out of their seats, but his left footed shot from the edge of the box was another driving shot that narrowly missed its target.
Just when it looked like the Berries would hold on to the three points, the Stallions snared the late equaliser they so desperately wanted.
It was a Gordon run down the left-flank that supplied Tim McGowan with the opportunity to slot the ball past McClean to level at 2-2 in the 86? minute.
The Berries were unable to contain their opponents throughout the second period, but the late equaliser seemed to spark the visitors back into the match.
First it was Pavlovic who was denied the late match-winner, with his shot blocked on the line by Adel Eljamal.
But their was very little the Marconi defence could do just 30?? seconds later, as substitute Marjan Novotini brought an end to the Stallions night with a shot that found the bottom right-hand corner in 89? minute.
Coach Lee Sterrey was delighted with his troops? second-half efforts, not so much the end result:
?I think we were good enough for at least a point,? Sterrey said.
?Our second-half was sensational, we dominated for long periods.
?And the second goal was as good as a goal you would see all season.?
?But all credit to the Berries, I think Johnny?s done a super job with them this year,? Sterrey concluded.
Berries assistant coach Matthew Ribarovski was thrilled to walk away from Marconi Stadium with the three points in the bag:
?Three points is three points,? he said.
?We scored two decent goals in the first-half and then they came out hard after the break.
?Unfortunately the boys sat back and that?s how their goals came,? Ribarovski said.
Match Stats
Marconi Stallions 2 (Nahuel Arrarte 60? Tim McGowan 86?)
West Sydney Berries 3 (John Tsironis 14?, 39?, Marjan Novotini 89?)
Saturday, 11th of July, 2009
Marconi Stadium, Bossley Park
Referee: Gerard Parsons
Assistant Referees: Bachar Allam and Wayne Lenardon
Fourth Official: Miles Allen-Scott
Crowd: 500 Approx.
Marconi Stallions: 20.Cem Akili; 5.Adel Eljamal, 7.Ousmane Toure, 8.Alex Canak, 10.Ali Abbas Al-Hilfi, 11.Matthew Gordon, 13.Ben Vidaic (9.Erick Anabalon 74?), 17.Vamara Diarra (15. Tim McGowan 79?), 23.Chris Nunes, 26.Nahuel Arrarte, 30.Andrea Merenda (4.Umut Tokdogan 22?)
Substitutes Not Used: 44.Sean O?Connell, 22.James Chronopoulos
Yellow Cards: Adel Eljamal 90?+2?
Red Cards: Nil
West Sydney Berries: 1.Hamish McClean; 3.Omar Saadi, 5.Daniel Clifford, 7.Peter Peralta, 6.Jack Sobczyk, 11.Aheleas Kotsopoulos, 16.Kosta Lagoudakis, 17.Chris Gaitatzis (12.Stefan Donevski 70?, 10.John Tsironis (2.Marjan Novotni 84?), 19.Dimitri Zakilas (20.Marjan Pavlovic 80?), 15.Ryan Jones
Substitutes Not Used: 40.Matthew Sneesby, 4.Adam Wither, 31.Shayne Morrisey
Yellow Cards: John Tsironis 14?, Ryan Jones 78?
Red Cards: Nil
-By Michael Chammas
