Super League Wrap Round 9

The win lifts Dulwich Hill to within a shout of the top five while Spirit will have to consider how to overcome their poor recent form, now having taken just the one point from the past twelve.
Parramatta Eagles overcame Sydney University to remain in top spot but Granville Rage are in hot pursuit, sitting just two points behind. Macarthur Rams? revival continues after their 2-2 draw against St George while Mount Druitt overturned their recent run of losses with a battling 2-1 win at Liverpool Bossy.
Match of the Round
In a gritty effort,Mount Druitt Town reversed their run of outs to defeat fifth placed FC Bossy, now in the care of Paul Carter, 2-1 at Ernie Smith Reserve. The previously high flying Bossy have hit a patch of trouble in recent weeks, this result meaning that they, like Spirit FC, have only taken one point from the last four games.
It didn?t auger well for Bossy either with Rangers looking the more dominant in the early stages, certainly having the greater share of territory. Scott Bowman had a decent chance while Rafid Hirmiz had a header saved by Joe Mamou. But the best chance of the opening half hour or so fell to Josh Ford for Bossy, whose first time shot rattled against the post.
Mount Druitt had the greater number of half chances, but Bossy had the clearer and better chances. Luciano Berbis skied over for the Rangers, Hirmiz again, had a shot saved by Mamou while at the other end, Nick Jelic tipped around a goal bound shot onto the post then to safety.
Alex Asanovic tried hard for Bossy in the first half, not quite getting the better of the Rangers backline, featuring captain Ryan O?Shea for the first time in seven weeks. Jelic was safe in goal for the Rangers, always showing a clean pair of hands, on one occasion holding well from a David Wilson shot.
It was no real surprise then when Mount Druitt took the lead. It was a well worked move which ultimately saw Wand Jajaw slam the ball into the roof of the net, Mamou having no chance.
Bossy pressured in an attempt to claw back the game but Rangers generally held firm, if a bit erratically at times, although Bossy also weren?t their smooth self.
As time wore on, the match became a little scrappy as desperation took over, both for Bossy trying to equalise and Mount Druitt trying to hold on.
But the game was all but over when the Rangers doubled their lead in the 85th minute. Eddie Georges outran Mark D?Alessandro before skirting Mamou and sliding the ball into an empty net.
There was no real danger that the Rangers would lose it from there although a late strike from Domenic Cutri gave Bossy a glimmer of hope.
Gilbert Yalda was confident that Mount Druitt can go on with it in the upcoming weeks.
?It was a very gutsy win and I am sure we can start pushing for the top six or so. We have five more players coming back next week and with Ryan O?Shea back today, it will just take a couple more wins to be right up there?.
?Special mention though must go to Omar Valderama who was my man of the match today?.
FC Bossy Liverpool 1 (Domenic Cutri 90?) v Mount Druitt Town Rangers 2 (Wand Jajaw 65?, Eddie Georges 85?)
16 May 2010
Ernie Smith Reserve
Referee: Peter Vrtovski
Assts: Craig Fisher and Lance Morton
FC Bossy Liverpool: 1. Joe Mamou 2. Tony Park 3. Josh Ford (10. Daniel Willoughby 39?) 4. Mark D?Alessandro 5. Mirza Sehic 7. Matt Toogood 8. David Wilson 9. Alex Asanovic 11. Daniel Wilson 14. Domenic Cutri 16. Tony Currer (20. Sasa Drca 70?)
Subs not used: rgk Tony Simonovski 15. D Slaveski
Yellow Cards: Mark D?Alessandro
Mount Druitt Town Rangers: 23. Nick Jelic 2. Chris Lima 3. Scott Bowman 4. Rafid Hirmiz (15. Lee Brown 83?) 5. Ryan O?Shea (7. Michael Noro) 6. James Thurtell 8. Omar Valderama 9. Eddie Georges 10. Luciano Berbis 12. Tom Owusu 18. Brett Salmon (14. Wand Jajaw 57?).
Subs not used: rgk Jarrod Marsh 13. M McFarlane.
Spirit FC v Dulwich Hill
In an absolute thriller at Christie Park, Dulwich Hill came from 3-0 down inside the first twenty minutes to come over the top of Spirit FC and take all three points in a 4-3 victory.
Not even a Ben Gough hat trick was enough for Spirit whose horror run continues with three losses in their past four matches.
Gough got off the mark after only five minutes, doubled the lead in ten and then tripled the lead by the 20th minute mark. The first came after a defensive lapse allowed him to sneak in between defence and keeper while the second came after he beat the offside trap and then Michael Frost in a one-on-one. The third was a screamer from 20 yards and it must have seemed by that early stage that the points were already safe.
But a quick return by Dully, with Tony Faria reducing the arrears to just the two, only one minute later, allowed the Hill to remain in touch with Spirit, if somewhat tenuously. When Jay Lucas brought it back to 3-2 before half time, from a Faria cross, it was then anyone?s game.
Dulwich Hill?s twin strikers are always dangerous, with them having netted seven times between them this season before this match, and it continued at Spirit with Faria scoring his second of the night, and drawing Dully level, with twelve minutes to go.
But if Spirit thought that was bad enough, their night only worsened when Neil Phillipou proceeded to get the winner for the visitors six minutes from time.
Mark Strachan didn?t know where to start in describing this result.
?It was just the most amazing game you would ever see. Both sides rolled up their sleeves right from the start and basically went for it. But the defending was shambolic from both sides to be honest?.
?We were lucky not to be down five or six by half time but, why we weren?t, you can put down to some quite unbelievable saves by Michael Frost, who was simply peerless in goals?.
Strachan certainly let his team know at half time too, that the performance had not been up to scratch.
?It is fair to say that there was some paint peeling off the walls at half time. We hadn?t performed but credit to the team, they settled down better in the second half even though we still rode our luck at times?.
A switch between Ben Burrows and Angatesh Rao helped and when Faria got the game back to 3-3, the Hill felt that the momentum was in the favour.
?We did play a bit more conservatively once we got to 3-3 as we didn?t want to throw it away after working hard to get back into it but we felt that the shift in momentum was clear. We thought we could still get a win?.
?It was certainly great viewing for the neutral though I expect both coaches will be getting their blood pressure checked today,? laughed Strachan.
Spirit FC 3 (Ben Gough 5?, 10?, 20?) v Dulwich Hill 4 (Tony Faria 21?, 78?, Jay Lucas 36?, Neil Phillipou 84?)
Macarthur Rams v St George
There were chances aplenty for both sides at Lynwood Park but Macarthur Rams and St George had to settle for a share of the points in a fast paced game, although neither side really appreciated the draw.
St George, suffering selection problems up front with injuries and having released Ryo Maekawa to West Sydney Berries midweek, still managed to get on the scoresheet first.
A build up begun by Arthur Diles, influential in the middle of the park, resulted in Reuben Lagos scoring from close range, his second goal in two weeks. But the Rams weren?t behind for long, Chris Gomez having the easiest of tasks in knocking the ball into an empty net after good work by Craig Cooley and Sam Messam.
Just after half time, Macarthur took the lead after a long searching ball found Messam who was too powerful before looping the ball over the keeper, Aaron Liddell, in for the suspended Daniel Nash.
But it just seven minutes later, the Saints drew level from the spot after Ivo de Jesus, leading the Rams defenders a merry dance in the area, was adjudged to have been fouled. De Jesus confidently took the kick to bring the scoreline to 2-2.
There were no further changes to the scoreboard although there certainly should have been. The Rams, particularly, had three great opportunities in the final six minutes but all were wasted. A long run by Messam saw him clear but, pushed wide by Liddell, couldn?t quite get the angle. Gomez blasted over from right in front and then Messam again was wide when a goal seemed certain.
De Jesus had a half chance for the Saints but hit the side netting very late on, and so it was that the points were shared.
Claudio Canosa felt that his side should have won.
?We deserved better than a draw. We certainly created enough chances in the second half to win the game and I feel that it is two points lost?.
?I thought the penalty was a soft decision but that how it goes sometimes?.
Canosa has high hopes for his team and the club.
?We are a new team and we only got together at the beginning of the season. It is now two wins and a draw from the last three games and we are starting to get some momentum. It is important that we remain positive, they are young players learning the trade and we are working hard, training three times a week.?
?Our aim is to be in the top five but we will only get there by training hard and remaining humble. We are trying to be very professional and eventually, get back into the Premier League where we feel we rightly belong?.
Nick Orlic, though disappointed with a second draw in a row, was realistic of the current difficulties.
?We are lacking in a couple of areas, key areas, particularly up front but hopefully, that will be sorted out in a couple of weeks although I thought Ivo did well up there tonight. But Blake Ricciuto and Aaron Liddell also played exceptionally well for us tonight?.
Macarthur Rams 2 (Chris Gomez 30?, Sam Messam 48?) v St George 2 (Reuben Lagos 23?, Ivo de Jesus pen 55?)
Parramatta Eagles v Sydney University
Parramatta Eagles recovered from their loss last week to defeat the strong Sydney University 2-1 to remain top of the table, a position they have held since the opening day.
A first half penalty by Matthew Clowes in the early minutes, awarded for handball, got the Eagles off the mark before Chris Camilleri scored direct from a corner not long after half time to make it 2-0.
Sydney University pulled one back through Christian Soares but it was the Eagles who held on for the three points, despite consistent Uni pressure. Martin Havern had two great chances to draw Uni level but just failed to convert on both occasions.
It was a welcome return to the winner?s circle for Brian Dene.
?We did very well in the first half and we were very committed. We had real passion and desire to win which was lacking last week. We kept plugging away and putting pressure on Uni which we didn?t do against Northern Tigers.?
?I felt that Uni never got into their rhythm as a result and probably turned over the ball a bit much?.
Parramatta were without Daniel Fogarty and will be for a couple of weeks with him being away with the Australian indoor team but Chris Camilleri, starting up front, was an able replacement, scoring the second goal. Craig Jacob also came in to the starting lineup.
?It was a different performance from last week. What I have to try and do is get the young boys to play consistently well, week in and week out. It didn?t happen for us last weekend but this week we had that desire?.
John Caruana felt his side deserved at least a point.
?We were a bit ruffled by the penalty, to go down so early to what was a soft decision. I thought the handball was unintentional and perhaps the decision was made too quickly?.
?Our biggest problem is conceding soft goals and giving away silly free kicks. The second goal was soft too and just went straight in from the corner. I don?t think any team has been able to break us down this year and we are very solid defensively but we just have to stop conceding these goals?.
?The last thirty minutes we played our best football of the season and I thought Parramatta started to panic. We completely dominated and a draw would have been fair. But Parramatta are very strong, very well organised and very well coached.?
Parramatta Eagles 2 (Matthew Clowes pen, Chris Camilleri) v Sydney University 1 (Christian Soares)
Central Coast v Northern Tigers
Northern Tigers? good run continued with a close fought 1-0 win over Central Coast Pluim Park. After having beaten off top dogs Parramatta Eagles last weekend, the Tigers kept their momentum going, a lone Tom Spencer goal just after the break doing the trick.
The Tigers jump into the five in outright fifth spot in a very congested table while Central Coast remain at the bottom but well within striking distance of Fraser Park.
Central Coast 0 v Northern Tigers 1 (Tom Spencer 49?)
Fraser Park v Granville Rage
Granville Rage?s great week continued with a 4-1 win away at Fraser Park, keeping the Rage within two points of local rivals Parramatta Eagles and setting up nicely the 2 v 1 battle for next weekend. Following their win over Sydney Olympic in the McDonald?s Cup midweek, the Rage now have won their past six matches with this win over Fraser.
David Harding scored first for the visitors with a header after only five minutes but a lapse in discipline by the Rage enabled Leigh Gunn to equalise almost immediately. But it was the regular scorers for the Rage who did the business once again, Nenos Bobo putting Granville in front and then Pat Cappucio, from the spot after Kris Holbrook was brought down, giving the Rage a 3-1 lead before half time.
When Holbrook made it 4-1 on 51 minutes, it was effectively game over. Holbrook could later have had a hat trick save for a clearance off the line while he also hit the post.
?It was a fairly comfortable win?, said coach Nick Porecca. ?We played some good one touch football and our front third were probably just too quick for their backs.?
?We did control the game and never really looked in danger?.
Fraser Park 1 (Leigh Gunn 7?) v Granville Rage 4 (David Harding 5?, Nenos Bobo 28?, Pat Cappuccio pen 30?, Kris Holbrook 51?)
-By Peter Rowney


