Super League Round 19 Review
The results and ladder positions lead towards a frantic dash for fourth and fifth place, while the last five teams are separated by a mere five points with only three weekends left to play.
The Eagles downed Fraser Park 1-0 (and beat Central Coast 1-0 midweek) to extend their points advantage over the Suns, who narrowly beat the Rangers 1-0 on the weekend. But Fraser Park was still able to creep ahead of Mount Druitt, and lift away from last place for the first time in a long while, courtesy of a 4-0 drubbing of Macarthur midweek. Granville and Liverpool fought out a 0-0 draw to both maintain a cautious distance away from the drop-pit, straddling a hapless Lightning who drew 2-2 with Sydney Uni to go with a 0-1 midweek loss to Parramatta.
The battle to avoid relegation will intensify when Fraser Park (15 competition points) plays out its crucial matches against Granville (19), Liverpool (17) and Mount Druitt (14), the latter of which also takes on Central Coast (19) and league leaders Parramatta in their run home. The Lightning have the toughest finale, facing top-three sides Rockdale and Spirit in the last two rounds.
St George leapfrogged Northern Tigers into the top-five via a 6-3 thrashing on the weekend, while Macarthur fell 1-0 to Spirit, creating plenty of speculation about who will take fourth and fifth place and make the post-season finals. St George (29), Macarthur (28), Uni (27) and Northern (27) will all need to impress in their closing matches.
Individually, a Juan Carlos Chavez hat-trick against Northern moved him to 20 Saints goals for the season and back in front of Mount Druitt?s Troy Eedy (18) with a tantalising three rounds left to finalise. Trailing are Spirit?s Tim Simpson (13), Uni?s Christian Soares (12), Rockdale?s Sam Awad (10), and Northern?s Scott Balderson (9).
Spirit break Rams
With their backs against the wall, and head coach Paul Carter parting ways with the club midweek, a depleted Macarthur Rams side could still hold their heads high despite losing 1-0 to third-placed Spirit FC at Lynwood Park on Saturday night. An Adam Peatey goal ? his first of the season for Spirit ? was the only difference between the teams, but enough to throw Macarthur to the jaws of a hungry pack of top-five chasers.
Carter said he was shattered to leave the players following their 0-4 midweek loss to Fraser Park, who he said did all they could to produce results. He wished the club the best and said he was looking forward to his next coaching challenge. ?It?s a game I love and couldn?t think of walking away from,? he said. ?There were circumstances that led to me resigning from the club? it was a tough decision to make.?
Macarthur Rams 0 Spirit FC 1 (Adam Peatey 42m)
Uni steal draw on Coast
Central Coast Lightning bounced back from a recent form slump to grab a 2-2 draw ? their first home draw of the year ? with Sydney University at Pluim Park on Saturday night. Central Coast were quick out of the blocks and led through Neil Woodcock on 14-minutes, but Uni responded through Jason Alcorn on the half-hour to be level 1-1 at halftime.
The Lightning again showed strength in the second half and went back in front 2-1 with less than 10 minutes to play via a Mitchell Harper effort. But, with the clock ticking down, Uni young gun Hamish Macdonald latched onto a last-minute corner kick to head home his first goal of the year and snare a valuable point for Uni. It was the second draw inside a week for Uni after a 1-1 result against St George. It was heartbreak for the Lightning, who were narrowly beaten 1-0 by Parramatta midweek.
Uni coach John Caruana was happy to get a point out of a hardfought contest. ?They were a much better side than they were in the first round; much more organised. It was also out fifth game in 13 days, and I think it was starting to take its toll,? he said. ?We had 2-3 very good chances and I thought it would be a shame for us to lose this. It would have been nicer to win the three points, but it was good game all round.?
Regarding Macdonald?s winner, Caruana reflected what most Super League coaches hold as their main aim. ?That?s what it?s all about; trying to create the opportunities at the club for these kids to come through. I believe we [Uni] have done a good job to be where we are.?
Central Coast Lightning 2 (Neil Woodcock 14m Mitchell Harper 83m) Sydney University 2 (James Alcorn 29m Hamish MacDonald 90m)
Eagles sneak past Park
PCYC Parramatta Eagles found a late goal to defeat a spirited Fraser Park 1-0 at Melita Stadium on Sunday afternoon. The win maintained Parramatta?s unbeaten Super League run over Fraser Park (five wins and a draw) but they had to fight tooth and claw for every advantage against a Fraser Park outfit trying to make it three wins on the trot. Craig Jacob scored the winner in the 60th minute.
Eagles coach Jason Falzon took the win, the ninth time his team has kept a clean sheet this year. ?You have to grind those results out [against teams fighting for relegation],? he said. ?Games are not going to be pretty at this time of the year. We?re not worried about anyone else; we?re just focused on the three games to go. If we do the things right, we don?t have to worry about anyone else.?
For the record, Parramatta is the master of frustrating opposition attacks, keeping prowling forward packs scoreless 10 times in 19 games. The next best are Rockdale and Spirit, with six clean sheets, while Macarthur, Northern and Granville have commanded four nil scorelines. Mount Druitt is the only team that has had a goal scored against them in every game.
PCYC Parramatta Eagles 1 (Craig Jacob 60m) Fraser Park 0
Saints cage Tigers
It?s been a while between drinks, but St George Saints enjoyed a 6-3 romp over the Northern Tigers at Mills Park on Sunday afternoon. The Saints stole a top-five place from the Tigers in the goal-athon, repeating a 6-1 thrashing in their last victory over Northern in April 2007.
St George took a 2-0 halftime lead courtesy of goals to Tanju Balabanel and Juan Carlos Chavez, who added another straight after the restart. Scott Balderson pegged one back for the Tigers five minutes laster before Simon Verrender and Balabanel added a double to consolidate a 5-1 Saints lead inside the final 10 minutes of play. A Tom Mackay double for Northern certainly made it interesting at 5-3, but Chavez emphasised the victory with his third goal coming in the fifth minute of injury time.
Tigers coach Jason Eager was not happy at all with his team?s performance. ?It was certainly poor defence on our behalf; schoolboys stuff. Very disappointing,? he said. ?The personnel should have been there to do the job, but we were let down by some silly errors and poor decisions. We?re aware that we need to keep winning to stay in the [finals] hunt. I think it was just one of those days.?
Northern Tigers 3 (Scott Balderson 54m Tom Mackay 84/90m) St George Saints 6 (Tanju Balabanel 14/68m Juan Carlos Chavez 29/48/95m Simon Verrender 61m)
Suns set on Mount Druitt
Rockdale City Suns beat Mount Druitt Town Rangers at the Ilinden Sports Centre on Sunday afternoon and did what no other team has been able to do all season ? keep the Rangers scoreless. It was a tight affair, with Mount Druitt repelling repeated Rockdale raids before Sam Awad pounced in the 82nd minute of the game to seal a 1-0 victory for the Suns. It was Awad?s ninth goal of an enterprising season, and consigned the Rangers to the bottom of the table for the first time all season.
Rockdale mastermind Mile Todorovski was relieved to get a late goal. ?We try very hard but only just win,? he said. ?For me, we dominated the game and, fortunately, we just score one goal and get the three points.?
When asked if he felt any personal pressure to emulate last season?s grand final achievements with Liverpool, Todorovski was succinct. ?Melita [Parramatta] is still the best team in the competition, but you never know in the semi finals. It doesn?t matter if you are third spot, fourth spot; like we [Bossy] were last year. Any team with the right form in the last month of the competition has the best chance.?
Rockdale City Suns 1 (Sam Awad 82m) Mount Druitt Town Rangers 0
Bossy level with Rage
Granville Rage played out a 0-0 draw with Bossy Liverpool at Garside Park on Sunday afternoon, and the scoreline probably reflect more on the team?s season than realised. It was the first time Liverpool had managed to keep a team from scoring against them, while it was the eighth time Granville hasn?t managed a goal in their 18 games.
It?s a fair point. Granville have the second least number of goalscorers in the team with seven (Mount Druitt has five), and the lowest goal yield in the competition with 19. But one thing going for them is tenacity. Every opponent has had to fight for their results and this has placed Rage in a better position than most teams with such a barren treasure chest of goal.
Granville coach Hugh McCrory said the point was an important goal after relegation combatants Mount Druitt and Fraser Park both lost over the weekend. ?It was a hard game tonight, but it didn?t reach any great heights,? he said. ?We battled away and I think a draw was a fair result. We didn?t create enough chances to warrant getting three points. We tried to win, but getting a point helps us and that?s the main thing.?
Granville Rage 0 Bossy Liverpool 0
Round 19 results
Macarthur Rams 0 Spirit FC 1 (Adam Peatey 42m)
Central Coast Lightning 2 (Neil Woodcock 14m Mitchell Harper 83m) Sydney University 2 (James Alcorn 29m Hamish MacDonald 90m)
PCYC Parramatta Eagles 1 (Craig Jacob 60m) Fraser Park 0
Rockdale City Suns 1 (Sam Awad 82m) Mount Druitt Town Rangers 0
Northern Tigers 3 (Scott Balderson 54m Tom Mackay 84/90m) St George Saints 6 (Tanju Balabanel 14/68m Juan Carlos Chavez 29/48/95m Simon Verrender 61m)
Granville Rage 0 Bossy Liverpool 0
Rescheduled
Round 11: Fraser Park 4 (Daniel Zeleny 24/55m Leigh Gunn 53m Nick Kougius 89m) Macarthur Rams 0
Round 14: PCYC Parramatta Eagles 1 Central Coast Lightning 0
Round 14: St George Saints 1 (Juan Carlos Chavez) Sydney University 1 (James Alcorn)
Grade 20 results
Macarthur Rams 2 Spirit FC 0
Central Coast Lightning 1 Sydney University 1
PCYC Parramatta Eagles 5 Fraser Park 2
Rockdale City Suns 1 Mount Druitt Town Rangers 1
Northern Tigers 0 St George Saints 1
Granville Rage 2 FC Bossy Liverpool 2
Rescheduled
Round 11: Fraser Park 0 Macarthur Rams 6
Round 14: PCYC Parramatta Eagles 0 Central Coast Lightning 1
Round 14: St George Saints Sydney University postponed
Next week?s games
Round 20 of the 2009 NSW Super League sends Granville to Fraser Park and Parramatta to St George Stadium on Saturday night. On Sunday afternoon, Spirit FC tackle Rockdale at Christie Park, Liverpool entertain Macarthur at Ernie Smith Reserve, Mount Druitt host Central Coast at Popondetta Park, and Northern Tigers play at Sydney Uni Oval.
-By Daniel De Nardi
