Super League Round 18 Review
Fraser Park made it back-to-back victories with a 3-2 disposal of Northern Tigers, and Liverpool foiled top guns Parramatta 2-1 in a grand final rematch. Mount Druitt held third-placed Spirit FC to a 1-1 draw, while Sydney Uni beat Rockdale 3-1. St George staked their finals claim with a clinical 3-1 win over Central Coast, and Macarthur came from two goals down to pip Granville at the post, 4-3.
The results made it interesting at the top, with Parramatta (37 points) and Rockdale still thrashing out the minor premiership, while Spirit (30), Macarthur (28) and Northern (27) try to keep Uni (25) and St George (25) at bay. The competition is just as exciting at the bottom of the table with Granville (18) and Central Coast (18) being reeled into a relegation battle with Liverpool (16), Mount Druitt (14) and Fraser Park (12).
The race for the golden boot also tightened up with Mount Druitt ace Troy Eedy and St George striker Juan Carlos Chavez adding to their season tallies on the weekend to register 18 and 16 goals respectively. Spirit spearhead Tim Simpson (13) and Uni force Christian Soares (12) are the only other players in the running, with a drop to Tom Gibbs (Central Coast), Sam Awad (Rockdale) and Scott Balderson (Northern) on eight goals.
Bossy boots Eagles
Bossy Liverpool were full of running in their upset 2-1 win over PCYC Parramatta Eagles at Melita Stadium on Saturday night. The title holders played like men possessed to turn the tables on their more highly ranked opponents, and repeating last year?s grand final dose in the process. It was Bossy?s second win over the Eagles in eight Super League matches and moved them into 10th position.
After a frenetic opening, Baturay Akin put Liverpool ahead when he snuck in a goal just before halftime. Parramatta then made it tougher on themselves by having a player shown a red card before a Mario Ghobrial goal drew them level on the hour-mark. But their joy was short-lived as Akin popped in a second goal to grab a decisive 2-1 lead for the visitors, despite having two players sent off themselves.
Parramatta coach Jason Falzon was prepared for a tough match, but would have liked a different result. ?It was one of those games, and disappointing for the boys. Bossy came out to get a draw and got more out of it. We have to forget about this game now and remember that not everything will go our way. We have spoken about it and just have to work hard every week, especially against teams that are fighting to survive.?
Liverpool coach Zlatko Nastevski summed up his team?s run of just one loss in seven rounds with, ?The miracle is happening. [Jason Falzon] is exactly right. I knew we couldn?t possibly win because had four starting players out, including the captain, so the plan was obvious. We went there to hold on for as long as we could, and take whatever happens at the end of the day. Baturay played the game of his life, and his first goal lifted the mood of the team. [Bossy goalkeeper] Chad Taylor was also in doubt to play, but he saved a few clear-cut goals. The whole team played unbelievable.?
PCYC Parramatta Eagles 1 (Mario Ghobrial 62m) Bossy Liverpool 2 (Baturay Akin 44/64m)
Rescheduled round 10: Sydney University 0 PCYC Parramatta Eagles 2
Fraser Park rules Northern estate
Sleeping giants Fraser Park have finally awoken with a stirring 3-2 win over top-five side Northern Tigers at Fraser Park on Saturday night. The result pushed Fraser to within a point of Mount Druitt and boosted confidence at the besieged club. It also continued a goalscoring tradition between the two clubs, who have now racked up 45 goals in 11 Super League contests.
It didn?t take long for the home side to account for themselves after Alex Smith scored in the second minute, and Leigh Gunn made it 2-0 on 20-minutes. Tigers player Andrew Christiansen pegged one back not long afterwards only for Daniel Zeleny to ram home his first goal of the season and restore Fraser Park?s two-goal advantage. A goal to Scott Balderson to make it 3-2 made for an enthralling final half-hour, but Fraser Park did enough to hold on for vital back-to-back victories.
?The squad has turned around 360 degrees and everyone is working hard,? said Fraser Park coach Ramsin Shamon. ?We blew [Northern] out of the park, played them all over the field. The commitment is there, and I have always told them that nothing comes from nothing. We really have been our worst enemy, giving games away due to a whole range of excuse. But we?re not getting ahead of ourselves. The work?s not done yet, and getting off the bottom is the first milestone.?
Shamon also dipped his hat to his goalscorers. Gunn has scored three times in two games after missing a month due to injury, while Zeleny returned to Fraser after stints at Parramatta and Liverpool to score his first goal in his first start in over a month. ?We now have players finding form and we are confident of beating Parramatta on Saturday night,? he said.
Northern coach Jason Eager was disappointed to drop points to the team coming last but refused to ring any alarm bells. ?Fraser Park out-enthused us and were a little bit hungrier to win than us,? he said. ?We were poor in the goals we let in and [in the second half] had enough chances to win, but just couldn?t put the ball into the back of the net. We?ll work hard during the week and look to next week?s game.?
Fraser Park 3 (Alex Smith 2m Leigh Gunn 21m Daniel Zeleny 28m) Northern Tigers 2 (Andrew Christiansen 25m Scott Balderson 63m)
Saints crash Lightning
St George Saints continued the misery of Central Coast Lightning following a 3-1 win at St George Stadium on Saturday night. The Saints were simply too snazzy for the Lightning, and victory lifted the ?red and whites? to within sight of playoff territory. Central Coast are in the middle of a slump which has seen them win just one of their last eight matches.
A first goal of the year to Neil Woodcock gave a well-organised Central Coast the lead on 17-minutes, and they looked like holding their advantage into halftime before a last-minute strike by Yavuz Ekinci restored parity for St George at the break. Goalscoring maestro Juan Carlos Chavez converted a 55th minute spot kick to make it a Saints lead and Simon Verrender made sure of the result with a third goal on 65-minutes.
St George coach Nikola Orlic said it was good to get a result. ?We worked out a few things at halftime that we needed to change and it worked out well for us,? he said. ?It?s the old clich? at the moment of taking it one game at a time. The good thing about it is it?s [making the top-five] in our court. If we?re good enough, we?ll get there. But it?s a different competition at this end of the season and results are going every way.?
St George Saints 3 (Yavuz Ekinci 44m Juan Carlos Chavez 55m penalty Simon Verrender 65m) Central Coast Lightning 1 (Neil Woodcock 17m)
Uni dish out lesson to Suns
Sydney University continued a round of upsets by defeating high-flyers Rockdale City Suns 3-1 at Hensley Athletics Field on Sunday afternoon. The Uni win ? their fourth win in five games and second over the Suns in seven meetings ? took them back to within sight of the top-five and ruined Rockdale?s chance of going top of the table.
Uni got the ball rolling in the 11th minute when James Alcorn found the back of the net for his first score of the year and Emilio Vigliante made it 2-0 on the hour. Robert Di Meglio pulled one goal back for the Suns midway through the second half, only for Christian Soares to make sure of the result with a 12th goal for Uni this season.
?A couple of the boys had their 21st birthday today, so it was present to them,? Uni coach John Caruana said. ?No, the boys really wanted it today and stuck to what we had to do. We had to win to put pressure on the top-five and we played good football to do that. The competition shows just how tight it is when we can get results against teams like Rockdale, but every game is tough and the pressure is on every coach. I?ve learnt quickly that you have to be ready every single game to earn respect.?
Rockdale coach Mile Todorovski took the loss ? his second of the year ? on the chin. ?You do lose sometimes at Rockdale,? he said. ?We didn?t play very bad football but, at the end of the day, they [Uni] accepted two presents and scored one incredible goal and that?s it. They use every chance to score three goals and we could not make our clear chances. The boys were conscience of taking the top spot [from Parramatta], but football is a good sport because it is unpredictable.?
Sydney University 3 (James Alcorn 11m Emilio Vigliante 56m Christian Soares 74m) Rockdale City Suns 1 (Robert Di Meglio 72m)
Rams win thriller at Granville
Macarthur Rams rose triumphantly to beat Granville Rage 4-3 in a thriller at Garside Park on Sunday afternoon. Still overcoming the glandular fever outbreak that swamped the club over the past month, the Rams faced an energetic Rage outfit that looked like they would outlast their weakened opponents, particularly with Aaron Cimitile?s dismissal from the field in the 15th minute.
The game picked up pace after the Macarthur player was sent off and a Daniel Fogarty goal for the visitors cancelled out David Harding?s strike for Granville one minute beforehand. Phillip Pyliotis made it 2-1 for the Rage before the break and Luciano Berbis added a third goal for Granville with just 20 minutes left to play.
With their backs against the wall, the Rams kept pressing and a second Fogarty goal on 76-minutes got them back in the game before Cole Tinkler picked a great moment to score his first goal of the season, leveling the game in the 80th minute. It was then left for Matt Toogood to send a 25m free-kick screamer into the top corner of the goal to steal an unlikely victory for Macarthur.
Two hours before kickoff, Rams coach Paul Carter had to substitute two players out of the reserve grade game just so he could field a full team in first grade. ?We were lucky to have a team today, so it was a massive effort from the boys,? he said. ?We?re still not fully recovered [from the fever], but we?re digging deep. The boys showed they have guts by pulling together after Aaron [Cimitile] was sent off. I told them to keep attacking and not give up, and the players responded.?
Granville coach Hugh McCrory knew his fourth loss in six games placed the team in relegation trouble. ?At 3-1 up we could have scored another two but instead gave away a few silly goals and it was ?see you later, good night?,? he said. ?It was a very open game and when Macarthur had a player sent off we looked like we were going to win. We should have got the three points but it didn?t happen. We?re in the [relegation] danger mix right now.?
Granville Rage 3 (David Harding 37m Phillip Pyliotis 42m Luciano Berbis 68m) Macarthur Rams 4 (Daniel Fogarty 38/76m Matt Toogood 89m Cole Tinkler 80m)
Rangers, Spirit draw
Mount Druitt Town Rangers held highly fancied Spirit FC to a 1-1 draw at Popondetta Park on Sunday afternoon. The point was probably more vital to Mount Druitt, who is under siege from bottom club Fraser Park in the bid to stave off relegation.
After a scoreless first half, first-time scorer Matt Peatey gave Spirit the lead when he struck home on the hour-mark. But it was that man again, Troy Eedy, who came to Mount Druitt?s rescue, scoring in the 72nd minute of the game to square up the ledger. The fulltime whistle blew with the scoreline unchanged.
It was Eedy?s 18th goal of the campaign and kept him two goals in front of St George counterpart Juan Carlos Chavez on the scoring chart. Incredibly, Eedy has scored in 14 of Mount Druitt?s 17 matches this season and has virtually maintained the Rangers fine feat of scoring in every game they have played. Unfortunately for them, they have also leaked 46 goals in that time, the worst record of any side.
Mount Druitt Town Rangers 1 (Troy Eedy 72m) Spirit FC 1 (Matt Peatey 62m)
Round 18 results
Fraser Park 3 (Alex Smith 2m Leigh Gunn 21m Daniel Zeleny 28m) Northern Tigers 2 (Andrew Christiansen 25m Scott Balderson 63m)
St George Saints 3 (Yavuz Ekinci 44m Juan Carlos Chavez 55m penalty Simon Verrender 65m) Central Coast Lightning 1 (Neil Woodcock 17m)
PCYC Parramatta Eagles 1 (Mario Ghobrial 62m) Bossy Liverpool 2 (Baturay Akin 44/64m)
Sydney University 3 (James Alcorn 11m Emilio Vigliante 56m Christian Soares 74m) Rockdale City Suns 1 (Robert Di Meglio 72m)
Mount Druitt Town Rangers 1 (Troy Eedy 72m) Spirit FC 1 (Matt Peatey 62m)
Granville Rage 3 (David Harding 37m Phillip Pyliotis 42m Luciano Berbis 68m) Macarthur Rams 4 (Daniel Fogarty 38/76m Matt Toogood 89m Cole Tinkler 80m)
Rescheduled round 10: Sydney University 0 PCYC Parramatta Eagles 2
Grade 20 results
Fraser Park 1 Northern Tigers 1
St George Saints 4 Central Coast Lightning 3
PCYC Parramatta Eagles 2 Bossy Liverpool 0
Sydney University 3 Rockdale City Suns 2
Mount Druitt Town Rangers 2 Spirit FC 1
Granville Rage 0 Macarthur Rams 2
Rescheduled round 8: St George FC 1 Northern Tigers 1
Rescheduled round 10: Sydney University 1 PCYC Parramatta Eagles 2
Round 19 Fixtures
Round 19 of the 2009 NSW Super League has Macarthur listed against Spirit FC at Lynwood Park and Central Coast versus Sydney Uni at Pluim Park, both games on Saturday night. On Sunday afternoon, Parramatta welcome Fraser Park to Melita Stadium, Northern Tigers play St George at Mills Park, Granville tackle Liverpool at Garside Park, and Rockdale entertain Mount Druitt at the Ilinden Sports Centre.
-By Daniel De Nardi
