Second half blitz sets up an emphatic Bonnyrigg win
The White Eagles ran in three second-half goals to secure the emphatic victory against an injury depleted Tigers line up who were reduced to ten men midway through the second period.
It was a rather bleak start to round two clash, as neither side created any real opportunities inside the first 20? minutes.
Daniel Severino got the fans out of their seats when his free-kick appeared to have found the back of the net but, unfortunately for the home fans, they were celebrating a shot that went narrowly wide of the near post.
The White Eagles were caught napping midway through the first-half when a Tigers free-kick found its way into the penalty area, but an unmarked Anthony Hartshorn was unable to capitalise and sent his shot wide of the goals.
In an intense and physical first stanza, the Tigers were given a golden opportunity to hit the lead when Robbie Younis was brought down on the edge of the penalty area by Graham Forbes just 10? minutes out from half-time.
The former Adelaide United striker stepped up and curved a powerful shot past a seven-man Bonnyrigg wall, only to be denied by the wood work.
Younis looked a class above the rest at times and seemed the most likely of all the players to find the back of the net, but former team mate Phillip Zabaks was having none of it between the sticks.
Just when it seemed as though both teams would head into the break with the scores locked up at 0-0, the White Eagles pounced to take the lead in the 43? minute.
Severino, who latched on to a ball from David Gullo, had his powerful drive saved by Nash, but no one was going to deny Brad Boardman from cleaning up the scraps to register his first goal for the White Eagles.
When the players returned to the pitch for the second-half, it was the White Eagles who picked up where they left off ? scoring goals.
Jamie McMaster may have been the one who slotted his shot past Nash, but Shane Webb did equally well to supply the ball that gave the home side a two-goal buffer.
Bonnyrigg?s lacklustre start to the match was quickly erased from their memory as the side continued to press forward and almost made it a hat-trick of goals.
Severino?s free-kick from the right hand corner found the head of Vuko Tomasevic at the far post, but a desperate diving effort from Nash deflected the ball into the post and away from danger.
David Gullo was looking dangerous down the left flank for the White Eagles and weaved his way into the penalty area, but with only the keeper to beat, the youngster?s shot went straying into the crowd.
When Danial Cummins was given a red card in the 62? minute, the Tigers were staring down the barrel of another loss.
But when Robbie Younis caught Phillip Zabaks out of position, the Tigers were in with a chance with the margin reduced to one on the 65? minutes.
All hopes of an unlikely A.P.I.A.-Leichhardt Tigers victory were brought to an end just moments later when Wade Oostendorp made a charge down field, eventually latching on to a McMaster cross to give the White Eagles an unassailable 3-1 lead.
The White Eagles should have made it 4-1 in the 79? minute but Juan Chavez was unable to capitalise on some brilliant lead up work form Boardman and Severino, failing to find the back of the net from inside the penalty area.
In an attacking onslaught, the White Eagles could have found themselves four or five goals in front, but Nash was in sublime touch with the gloves, denying the White Eagles on several occasions.
However, there was very little Nash could do when Boardman and Severino went on the counter-attack, setting up Vuko Tomasevic with the fourth and final goal when he tapped home from close range to seal an emphatic victory.
A.P.I.A.-Leichhardt Tigers assistant coach Jeff Suzor was impressed with the quality of football played by the White Eagles:
?Bonnyrigg are a super team and they will go a long way this year,? he said.
?They are the favourites.?
Suzor was happy with his troops? first-half efforts but said a lack of experience cost his side in the end:
?I thought we were in the game in the first-half and we dominated for most of that first 45? minutes but it?s hard to play kids for 90? minutes against seasoned campaigners who have come back from the A-League.
?They can do it for 30-40? but they can?t do it for 90?, it?s impossible.
?But in saying that I?m really proud of the young kids? efforts.?
A delighted Brian Brown was full of praise for his men:
?Our first-half performance was a bit of a battle but our fitness really showed in the end,? he said.
?The first-half we were too far back but at half time I said if we could get further forward we could cause them problems and we did.?
Despite the convincing victory, Brown was adamant his team should have won by a bigger margin:
?We probably should have won by seven or eight goals,? he said.
?Nashy had five or six unbelievable saves and we didn?t execute as well.?
The White Eagles enjoyed a 4-1 victory in the grade 20?s clash earlier in the day.
Match Stats
Bonnyrigg White Eagles 4 (Brad Boardman 43?, Jamie McMaster 50?, Wade Oostendorp 71?, Vuko Tomasevic 90+1)
A.P.I.A.-Leichhardt Tigers 1 (Robbie Younis 65?)
Saturday, 6th of March, 2010
Bonnyrigg Sports Club, Bonnyrigg
Crowd: 1300 Approx.
Bonnyrigg White Eagles: 99.Phillip Zabaks; 20.Wade Oostendorp, 7.Nikola Zonjic, 4.Michael Brown, 11.Shane Webb (8.Milorad Simonovic 66?), 10.Daniel Severino, 19.Jamie McMaster, 9.Bradley Boardman, 3.Graham Forbes, 17.David Gullo (13.Juan Chavez 71?), 6.Vuko Tomasevic
Substitutes Not Used: 1.Ali Akbal, 5.Milan Zoric, 12.Mario Ghobrial
Yellow Cards: Jamie McMaster 90?
Red Cards: Nil
A.P.I.A.-Leichhardt Tigers: 1.Matthew Nash; 2.Mark Byrnes, 3.John Kelso, 5.Michael West, 7.Stephen Kayes, 8.Anthony Hartshorn (15.David Dascal 70?), 9.Robbie Younis, 10.Franco Parisi, 11.Nicola Rizzo, 16.Scot Madden, 19.Danial Cummins
Substitutes Not Used: 40.Michael Rutherford, 12.Liam McConaghy, 14.Joseph Cartisano, 20.M Pinto
Yellow Cards: Danial Cummins 58?, 62?, Scot Madden 63?, Michael West 76?.
Red Cards: Danial Cummins 62?.
Player Ratings:
3 ? Vuko Tomasevic (BWE)
2 ? Daniel Severino (BWE)
1 ? David Gullo (BWE)
-By Michael Chammas
