Sydney United run Rockdale City Suns ragged in season opener
A hat-trick to Elsid Barkhousir set-up the Reds win, against a rather shaky defensive performance by the Suns, forced to play almost the entire second-half with 10-men.
The visitors made the first real in-road on goal on 4? minutes as captain Pece Apolevski cleverly sent Daniel Pejovski down the right flank. The strikers turn inside the penalty-area was neat, though the scrambling Reds defence diffused the situation.
Pejovski tried his luck again, no less than 1? minute later from distance, though the dipping effort failed to call Sydney United goalkeeper Roy Bell into action.
Sydney United?s first chance of the match arrived via a dead-ball situation that produced the opening goal. Mitchell Thompson?s low-driven effort found its way through the wall, eluding the best efforts of goalkeeper Angelo Kosmatos who could only palm the ball inside his left-hand post.
Rockdale City?s response arrived on 15? minutes as Pejovski found a yard of space on the edge of the penalty-area, though the Suns? striker failed to trouble Bell with his weak effort.
Rockdale City were given a lifeline when that man Pejovski again was sent through clean on goal on 19? minutes. The Suns striker cleverly timed his run into the penalty-area though was brought to ground by Bell. The Reds shot-stopper picked up a yellow-card for his troubles ? the foul not deemed to be last man ? and Apolevski stepped up to slot the ball into the top right-hand corner, despite Bell getting a touch to the effort.
Bell was called into action again moments later, saving well from Suad Ameti from close-range, before the ensuing goal mouth scramble saw the home-side?s defence thwart a strong goalscoring chance for the Suns.
Sydney United striker Luka Glavas squandered a golden chance on 25? minutes when he sprung the offside trap to run into a one-on-one opportunity. Glavas did start his run from the left-flank, allowing him a small angle to work with, as his effort flashed across the face of goal.
Some slack marking by the Rockdale City defence allowed the Reds to reinstate their one-goal lead on the half-hour as striker Elsid Barkhousir snuck into the penalty-area unmarked to head home a Thompson corner from the right-flank; much to the relief of the vocal Sydney United supporters.
The Reds nearly made the visitors pay, again from a corner kick, on 38? minutes as Ivo Bosnar picked out Steve Hayes at the back post. The new Sydney United signing hit his effort first-time, though failed to hit the target.
Barkhousir added a third for the Reds prior to the break, cleverly bringing the ball down inside of the penalty-area before unleashing a venomous drive across the face of goal and past the outstretched palm of the goalkeeper.
Immediately after the break, Rockdale City lost defender Saso Trajcevski following his second yellow card of the evening, leaving the newly promoted side with a mammoth task at hand.
To the Suns? credit, the team continued to push forward and was nearly rewarded following a clever interchange between Apolevski and Marino Musumeci ? the chance cut out by the experienced defending of Joe Vrkic.
On the hour, Rockdale did string together a series of fine short passes to release Sam Awad one-on-one with Bell. The burly striker drove his effort hard and low, though the Reds shot-stopper got down well to divert the ball behind for a corner.
The Reds caught Rockdale City napping in the defensive third as Mitchell Thompson got forward and played a first time ball behind the Suns? defence ? Man of the Match Barkhousir only just failed to get a boot onto the ball at the back post.
Todd Brodie nearly added a fourth for the Reds when his wicked cross-turn-shot from the right-flank scraped Angelo Kosmatos? right-hand post, much to the relief of the Rockdale City goalkeeper.
Substitute Ante Tomic had the home supporters on their feet 15? minutes from time following a 60-metre run ? where the youngster left his marker in his wake ? before attempting a cheeky chip over the goalkeeper, only to be denied by the experienced Kosmatos who stood tall.
Barkhousir almost added a third to his personal tally for the evening with a sensational volley in mid-air off a Glavas cross from the right. The striker?s effort packed a punch, though the scrambling Rockdale City defenders managed to get bodies behind the ball to clear the lines.
Rockdale provided the Reds with a late scare when George Lagoudakis tried his luck from distance. The powerful effort found the target and forced Bell into a strong save, diverting the ball over his crossbar.
Despite being denied moments earlier, Barkhouisr completed his hat-trick with a well taken goal on 93? minutes. The Reds front-man chested down a Todd Brodie cross from the right before firing home a fierce half-volley into the back of the net.
Following the match, Sydney United boss David Zdrilic expressed his delight at the result:
?It is great to start well with a good win, even though there still is some work to do,? Zdrilic commented.
?I thought there were many positives, though we still made a number of mistakes. The disappointing thing is that we did have the extra man, and I would have liked us to continue to search for more goals.
?In all though, positives have come out of the win, especially with the new boys coming in and settling in well,? ended Zdrilic.
Rockdale City Suns boss Mile Todoroski was far less pleased with the final outcome:
?The boys are disappointed, though we knew it was going to be a tough match, and a tough season.
?We came into the Premier League from the Super League, and we have a lot of work to do. Tonight, we weren?t focused in defence, and Sydney United took advantage of that.
?Playing the second-half with 10-men then didn?t make our job any easier.?
In the Grade 20 division, Sydney United opened the season with a hard fought 2-1 win against Rockdale City Suns, with a downpour during the match rendering conditions slippery for both sets of players.
Sydney United 4 (Mitchell Thompson 8?, Elsid Barkhousir 30?, 39?, 90?+3?)
Rockdale City Suns 1 (Pece Apolevski 20?)
Sunday, 28th February, 2010
Sydney United Sports Centre, Edensor Park
Referee: Kris Griffiths-Jones
Assistant Referees: Murray Wilson and Greg McLoughlin
Fourth Official: Miles Allen-Scott
Crowd: 500 Approx.
Sydney United: 20.Roy Bell; 5.Damon Collina, 6.Joe Vrkic (C), 7.Todd Brodie, 8.Shane Lyons, 22.Peter Zorbas (34.Tomislav Cirjak 43?), 23.Ivo Bosnar, 10.Steve Hayes, 19.Mitchell Thompson (32.Ante Tomic 70?), 16.Elsid Barkhousir, 11.Luka Glavas (12.Steven Veleski 83?)
Substitutes Not Used: 1.Vedran Janjetovic, 2.Ricky Perinich,
Yellow Cards: Roy Bell 19?
Red Cards: Nil
Rockdale City Suns: 1.Angelo Kosmatos; 3.Mark Bariamis (2. Paul Dee 46?), 10.Saso Trajcevski, 23.Askin Oygur, 11.Adem Kir, 7.Pece Apolevski (C), 18. Robert Di Meglio (6.Iain King 74?), 19.Marino Musumeci, 17.George Lagoudakis, 21.Sam Awad, 15.Daniel Pejovski (14.Igor Kotevski 67?)
Substitutes Not Used: 22.Ben McNamara, 20. Andrija Petkovic
Yellow Cards: Robert Di Meglio 23?, Saso Trajcevski 40?, 47?
Red Cards: Saso Trajcevski 47?
Player Ratings:
3 ? Elsid Barkhousir (SU)
2 ? Steve Hayes (SU)
1 ? Pece Apolevski (RCS)
-By Joseph Carlucci
