White Eagles rescue point at the death against hungry Berries
An early goal to Fadi Ghosson was not enough for the Berries, who squandered several chances throughout the match.
The match started at a frantic pace with both sides aiming to get the better of each other in the early exchanges.
Bonnyrigg quickly settled into their normal quick passing game and a great ball by Paul Cotte to Vuko Tomasevic opened the Berries defence, but a simple cross was butchered as the ball went out for a goal kick.
In the 6? minute the White Eagles were at it again as Nathan Elasi found space on the left, turning well only for his swinging shot to only just miss the upright.
The Berries attempted to get into the game but were caught offside on several occasions, frustrating their attacking third.
In the 12? minute the home-side got their first real sight on goal as Peter Peralta floated a sublime through ball to Ghosson. With room to move, the striker attacked Ali Akbal?s goal but his shot was sliced to the right.
The Berries had the lead 3? minutes later, though. After another great through ball over the top by Stefan De Jesus, Ghosson again attacked Akbal. As the keeper missed the ball, Ghosson hit the ball home for a cool finish and the 1-0 lead.
Bonnyrigg were left shell-shocked after going one down, and tried to get back into the game moving the ball swiftly through their midfield.
West Sydney?s confidence was riding high as they defended well from the front. Their hard work led to Shane Webb losing the ball in the 22? minute as Zakilas ventured into the middle and put a square ball through to Pinto, only for Akbal to come out early and thwart the chance.
In the 25? minute Stefan De Jesus again made inroads in the middle of the park, but his final shot was well high of the goal.
Bonnyrigg tried to get back into the game but their long-range shooting hardly tested Hamish McLean in the Berries goal.
In the 31? minute the White Eagles got back to their passing game, troubling the Berries defence. A swift move from right to left allowed Shane Webb to cross the ball, only for McLean to save the incoming shot.
West Sydney also continued their hard work in the midfield as both Kosta Lagoudakis and Stefan De Jesus had efforts on goal, only for Akbal to save Bonnyrigg?s blemishes.
Bonnyrigg took a massive blow in the final minutes of the first-half, with influential defender Vuko Tomasevic being taken off injured, replaced by Juan Chavez.
After being forced to make the tactical change, Oostendorp went into the backline and a mistake let Lagoudakis have another shot on goal which lacked the venom needed to hit the back of the net.
Following the break the Berries came out firing, showing their intent to get all three points.
In the 47? minute, a great turn by Pinto saw him in acres of space, with a great shot just rising over the crossbar.
A minute later Bonnyrigg were on the attack as a great through ball sent Elasi through on goal, but the former Melbourne Victory striker pushed his shot wide to the despair of the travelling supporters.
In the 54? minute the Berries were forced to make their first change as Hamish McLean accidentally studded defender David Gardiner in the head leaving him down for several minutes.
The injury seemed to shock the Berries as they fell into their shell allowing a flurry of Bonnyrigg attacks.
In the 62? minute Bonnyrigg made inroads through the middle of the box, only for scrambling defence to thwart the chance, as Boardman softly lofted the ball into the air for McLean to gather quickly.
The game then turned into a lacklustre affair with the Berries playing counter-attacking football as Bonnyrigg controlled the majority of possession.
Bonnyrigg?s attacks started coming through thick and thin and in the 71? minute they had a clear chance to equalise. A great back heel through to Severino allowed the latter to cross to the waiting Boardman who could not keep his header down to keep the score at 1-0.
In the 75? minute however the home-side almost doubled their lead as substitute Damir Prodanovic did great work on the right-hand side to cross to a waiting Peralta who sent his half volley just wide of the right-hand post.
The chance seemed to spring West Sydney back into life as a midfield battled brewed between the two sides.
In the 78? minute a great cross by Severino had McLean extending his arm over to thwart any danger.
Minutes later the Berries had three shots on goal in succession only for the stiff Eagles defence to save the day.
The missed chances came back to haunt the Berries as Bonnyrigg equalised in injury time. An in-swinging corner by Severino was misjudged by the Berries defence as the ball hit one of their players and trickled over the line.
Both sides tried to clinch a winner in the dying stages, but all went to no avail as the game ended 1-1.
West Sydney Berries new coach Steve Karavatakis was pleased with his side?s effort despite conceding a late equaliser:
?The boys did really well. They played the way I wanted them to, keeping possession and not giving the ball away for silly things.
?It is a bit disappointing to not have won, we had plenty of chances to bury the game but that is football.??
Karavatakis also said he expects to get some grey hairs in the near future:
?I?ll be getting a few grey hairs and heart palpitations, I think. It?s good though, first grade is a great step for me and I am looking forward to the rest of the season.??
In the opposition sheds, Bonnyrigg White Eagles coach Brian Brown was critical of his side?s display while crediting the Berries for a job well done:
?It was a very frustrating match. I think when you lose a goal the way we did it is almost embarrassing.
?That set the tone for the whole game and put it into the hands of the Berries who had a good game plan to frustrate us and they did and they were probably unlucky to not get a win.??
In the Grade 20?s encounter, Bonnyrigg ran away with a 3-0 victory after scoring two late goals.
Match Stats
West Sydney Berries 1 (Fadi Ghosson 15?)
Bonnyrigg White Eagles 1 ( Daniel Clifford (o.g) 91?)
Saturday 8th, May, 2010.
Sydney Olympic Athletic Park, Homebush
Crowd: 400 Approx.
West Sydney Berries: 1.Hamish McLean; 2.David Gardiner (4.Daniel Clifford 54?), 5.Ryan Walsh, 7.Peter Peralta , 8.Jesse Pinto, 9.Fadi Ghosson (21.Damir Prodanovic 64?), 12.Setfan De Jesus, 16.Kosta Lagoudakis (C), 17.Sash Tirovski, 19.Dimitri Zakilas (15.Ryan Jones 75?), 36.Mark Bariamis
Substitutions Not Used: 3.Omar Saadi, 40.Jesse Shewan
Yellow Cards: Nil
Red Cards: Nil
Bonnyrigg White Eagles: 1.Ali Akbal; 2.Paul Cotte (C), 6.Vuko Tomasevic (13.Juan Chavez 39?), 7.Nikola Zonjic, 8.Milorad Simonovic (5.Milan Zoric 88?), 9.Brad Boardman, 10.Daniel Severino, 11.Shane Webb, 15.Nathan Elasi, 19.Jamie McMaster, 20.Wade Oostendorp
Substitutions Not Used: 12.D. Laiman, 17.David Gullo, 91.Nenad Vekic
Yellow Cards: Daniel Severino 61?, Paul Cotte 66?, Milorad Simonovic 78?
Red Cards: Nil
Player Ratings:
3 – Jesse Pinto (WSB)
2 – Mark Bariamis (WSB)
1 – Kostas Lagoudakis (WSB)
-By Christopher Georges
