Late goal drama on South Coast as Wolves score point against Blacktown

Tolgay Ozbey equalised with a scintillating free kick after Andrew Paine had opened the scoring in the second half. Ante Deur appeared to have secured the win for Blacktown as he slotted home on 90? minutes, but a dramatic late leveller from Tynan Diaz earned Wolves a point.
A pre match downpour set the tone for a scrappy encounter, which saw Blacktown?s Brendan Maroney and Zac Caircross both shown yellow cards in the opening five minutes.
Wolves showed early signs of defensive frailty with poor clearances from their own 18-yard box. The ensuing chances fell to Deur and Luke Roodenburg, however both went unpunished due to poor finishing.
The slippery conditions kept the ball bogged down in midfield for extended periods as neither side threatened to score in the opening stages.
Wolves should have opened the scoring after 24? minutes as Andrew Keep found himself one-on-one with the keeper. Michael Herbet?s fantastic reflex save fell to Mark Picciolini, who miss-hit his shot into the side netting with the open goal at his mercy.
Lisandro Berbis? deep cross one minute later found the head of Andrew Keep; however Herbet was well positioned to hold the shot.
In his first appearance against his former club, Blacktown?s Lachlan Cahill tried an adventurous shot from 25-yards. His effort rocketed inches over the crossbar, although Brody Crane, also facing former employers, was well positioned to cover the shot.
Dave Abel was dominant in defence throughout the match. His presence ensured the attacking threats of Ozbey and Roodenburg were kept at bay on numerous occasions.
Ozbey was however able to find space on 38? minutes, surging forward to fire a powerful shot on goal from 25-yards. Crane saved in spectacular style, diverting the strike onto the crossbar to deny the NSW Premier League?s top scorer.
An uncharacteristic mistimed header from Blacktown defender Tyler Simpson after 57? minutes allowed Andrew Keep to slip into the box and round Herbet, who brought Keep down with an ill-time challenge.
Herbet looked to have made amends for conceding the penalty by saving Andrew Paine?s spot kick, however Paine slotted home to rebound to open the scoring.
Wolves? lead lasted only seven minutes as Ozbey rocketed home the equaliser with a powerful free kick after Nick McInerney had handballed on edge of box.
Fatigue began to show in the Wolves defence in the closing stages; however Ozbey and Deur both wasted golden opportunities to put Blacktown in front with clear sights of goal.
Wolves were eventually made to pay on 90^? minutes when Roodenburg unselfishly centred for Deur to tap Blacktown into the lead from close range.
Aytek Genc?s men thought that the three points were set to return to Blacktown but late drama unfolded as the Wolves? never-say-die attitude prevailed.
Wolves pressed forward in numbers and found a late equaliser on 94? minutes as Tayfun Buyokkopru?s smart through ball slid Diaz behind the packed Blacktown defence.
The defender coolly slotted past Herbet to earn Wolves a share of the spoils and send their saturated supporters into raptures.
Wolves? coach Trevor Morgan had mixed feelings about the final result.
?They (the players) know that this was an opportunity lost,? said Morgan.
?We talked at half time about the long patches of possession and how we didn?t do enough with it and that we needed to better in the second half.?
?To be fair Blacktown got all over us in the second half.?
?We?re now playing some top teams,? Morgan continued.
?You can see why they are top of the table; they have the ability to hurt you.?
?It?s certainly a confidence builder for us to that see we can take points off these top sides.?
Blacktown coach Aytek Genc was understandably disappointed to have conceded the late equaliser.
?We expected a tough game,? said Genc.
?They?re a top team that play some decent football, particularly in the middle third.?
?In the first half I felt we were a bit sluggish, that was a bit disappointing for us but I thought based on our second half performance we probably should have won the game.?
?We were 2-1 up with 10 seconds to go, so we feel like it?s a loss even though we?ve drawn two-all,? Genc added.
The evening?s early fixture saw Blacktown City brush aside South Coast Wolves 6-1 in the Grade-20 division.
Match Stats
South Coast Wolves 2 (Andrew Paine 58?, Tynan Diaz 94?)
Blacktown City 2 (Tolgay Ozbey 65?, Ante Deur 90?)
Saturday, April 3, 2010
WIN Stadium, Wollongong
Referee: Sandro Perticarini
Assistant Referees: Allyson Flynn, Gary Vandeburgt
Fourth Official: Lachlan Keevers
Crowd: Approx 200
South Coast Wolves: 1.Brody Crane, 17.Tynan Diaz, 2.Alex Mansueto, 4.Dave Abel (16.Kieran Deane 88?), 5.Nick McInerney, 6.Lisandro Berbis, 7.Andy Keep (18.Adrian Karakolevski 82?), 8.Tayfun Buyukkopru, 9.Mark Picciolini (14.Andreas Gomez 87?), 10.Jason Trifiro, 11.Andrew Paine
Substitutes Not Used: 19.Ken Chun, 40.Nikodin Matic.
Yellow Cards: Tynan Diaz 71?, Mark Picciolini 84?.
Red Cards: Nil
Blacktown City: 1.Michael Herbet, 2.Tyler Simpson, 4.Mirko Jurilj (5.Luka Dukic 29?), 6.Matthew Pressello, 7.Luke Roodenburg, 11.Mitchell Long, 12.Brendan Maroney (9.Kain Rastall 77?), 13.Lachlan Cahill (18.Travis Major 77?), 16. Ante Deur, 19.Tolgay Ozbey, 22.Zac Caircross
Substitutes Not Used: 14.Nick Fitzgerald, 20.Mat Ryan.
Yellow Cards: Brendan Maroney 2?, Zac Caircross 5?, Michael Herbet 57?, Mitchell Long 61?, Tyler Simpson 70?
Red Cards: Nil
Player Ratings:
3 ? Dave Abel (SCW)
2 ? Tolgay Ozbey (BC)
1 ? Jason Trifiro (SCW)
-By Michael Shoolman