Olympic take advantage of United?s mistake
The former NSL giants clashed on all parts of the park, with Mirjan Pavlovic and James Monie scoring for their respective sides to earn them a point each.
The match started at a slow pace with both sides testing each other with heavy challenges from the opening whistle.
In the 3? minute Mirjan Pavlovic was put through as Olympic opened up, only for the linesman to put his flag up in a contentious call.
Several tough challenges ensued after the call, leaving Chris Triantis and Luka Glavas grounded at opposite ends of the field.
The duo returned to the fray as Sydney Olympic?s first chance arrived in the 6? minute. After a free-kick was poorly cleared by United, the ball popped up for Nik Tsattalios to volley, only for the former A-League player to force his shot well wide of the mark.
It wasn?t long for Sydney United?s first chance, as 2? minutes later an out swinging corner met the head of Damon Collina, just going over the crossbar and keeping the scores level.
In the 12? minute things could have turned sour for United. A poor back pass put Vedran Janjetovic in trouble, with the goalkeeper?s clearance ricocheting straight off Matthew Mayora?s head but luckily out for a goal kick.
The end-to-end action continued in the 15? minute as Sydney United entered Sydney Olympic?s half with a flurry. Pavlovic beat the offside trap this time and was one-on-one with Henderson, but Devrimol was back to save the day for Sydney Olympic getting the decisive touch to get the ball away from the striker.
Pavlovic continued to find space around the edges of Olympic?s defence, but could not hit the target with two chances within as many minutes midway through the first period.
In the 27? minute quick thinking by Peter Zorbas released Ante Tomic wide in the box with the latter failing to find a waiting teammate in the middle on two occasions.
Sydney United finally hit a shot on target in the 30? minute as Ivo Bosnar was laid off by Pavlovic just outside the box. The midfielder though found Henderson?s safe hands in goals for Olympic.
Sydney Olympic almost stunned United 2? minutes later. After winning the ball well in his own half, Chris Triantis quickly led a counter attack feeding Ian Ramsey through on goal, with the winger turning the ball onto his right foot and failing to hit the target as Michael Cindric blocked his goal bound shot.
The chance sprung Olympic back to life as they held the majority of possession in the back end of the half but could not get a shot on target as United?s defence stood tall thwarting several opportunities.
Triantis continued to pester United?s defence in the 43? minute as he found space of his own to turn and shoot from 25-yards out. But his shot was well over the crossbar and out for a goal kick.
On the stroke of half-time however, Sydney United took the lead. Against the run of play Ante Tomic won the ball and found Pavlovic in space. The striker stepped past both Devrimol and Perinich and placed the ball in the bottom left-hand corner of the goal to send his team to the break with a 1-0 lead.
Sydney United returned from the break as they ended the first, pestering Olympic?s defensive line. It was Sydney Olympic however that shocked the United faithful in the 47? minute with an equaliser.
A pass back to Janjetovic saw the goalkeeper slip with the ball at his mercy as James Monie took the ball and scored one of the easiest goals he has scored throughout his career, pegging the score back to 1-1.
United were not going to take the goal lightly and were straight back on the attack from the kick off with Ante Tomic striking a great shot which was equally well saved by Henderson to thwart the chance.
Tomic was at it again minutes later. A great through ball found the winger in space as he stepped past his defender but his soft shot fell right into the arms of Henderson again.
Sydney Olympic squandered a chance in the 55? minute to take the lead. Against the run of play Ramsey switched the ball across to Matthew Mayora on the right. Last season?s top goal scorer squared the ball to Triantis who got past the goalkeeper but walked straight into the post missing a great opportunity.
A minute later a great one-two between Monie and Ramsey saw the latter strike on goal with his effort just over the mark.
In the 56? minute Phil Makrys was also allowed to take aim at the United goal but Janjetovic was there to tap the ball over the bar, before grabbing the ball from the resulting corner to keep the scores level.
Sydney United?s next chance arrived 2? minutes later. Pavlovic crossed to Markovic who struck the ball on his second touch but saw his show sail just wide of the mark.
The home-side thought their hard work paid off in the 60? minute as Joe Vrkic headed the ball into the back of the net from a corner, only for referee Gerard Parsons to call a free-kick for the visitors.
Sydney Olympic quickly regained possession and moved forward into the opposition half, pinning United in their final third.
A flurry of chances followed with Chris Triantis testing the goalkeeper on two occasions. Janjetovic was up to the task with two classy saves keeping his team in the game.
Sydney United began getting frustrated with their lack of possession and in the 73? minute as Pavlovic and Zorbas were both issued warnings for dissent.
David Zdrilic turned to his bench moments later and his change almost led to his side taking the lead. Steven Veleski entered the fray, and with his first touch of the ball, almost scored him a goal with his well timed volley just being blocked as it went towards the top left corner.
United again had a chance on goal minutes later. Collina pushed a ball through to Todd Brodie on the right to cross to a free Pavlovic only to see his header tipped onto the crossbar and cleared by Henderson.
The match however turned ugly in the 84? minute. After a tough challenge on Ivo Bosnar by Phil Makrys, Damon Collina sprinted in towards Makrys. Clashing with the Blues midfielder, Collina fell to the ground clutching at his head. After returning to his feet, the defender was then issued a straight red card, as his frustrations got the better of him.
After going a man down United were not going to sit back but they failed to find the back of the net, ending the game a goal a piece.
Following the match, Sydney Olympic coach Andrew Gumprecht was pleased with his team?s performance:
?Overall this is a very good performance from our boys, coming to Sydney United where everyone expected us to give the three points away.
?I know and my team knows that we can take points away from any team in the ?competition.
Taking a point away from Sydney United is very positive and it will hopefully be a gradual build up for us to get the result.??
Sydney United player/coach David Zdrilic was left frustrated by his team?s ability to finish of their chances:
?I am very disappointed. We went out there and dominated possession and chances and ended up getting the goal in the end but a silly mistake just gave Olympic an equaliser.
?It is disappointing as we had enough chances to put the game away and we let it slip from our grasp by a mistake.??
In regards to the contentious red card, Zdrilic remained confused as to why his player was sent off:
?I was right in front of it and Damon was actually fouled so I really don?t know why he got a red card.
?The linesman was right there but the referee wouldn?t even refer to him. But that?s the way it goes and I even thought from there we could have scored a winner but getting a point is better than none at all.?
In the Grade 20 encounter, Sydney United comprehensively defeated Sydney Olympic 3-0.
Match Stats
Sydney United 1 (Mirjan Pavlovic 45?)
Sydney Olympic 1 (James Monie 47?)
Sunday, 23rd May, 2010
Sydney United Sports Centre, Edensor Park
Referee: Gerard Parsons
Crowd: 700 Approx.
Sydney United: 1.Vedran Janjetovic; 5.Damon Collina, 4.Michael Cindric, 6.Joe Vrkic (C), 8.Shane Lyons, 23.Ivo Bosnar, 25.Mirjan Pavlovic, 22.Peter Zorbas, 14.Petar Markovic (42.Steven Veleski 75?), 11.Luka Glavas (7.Todd Brodie 69?), 32.Ante Tomic (9.David Zdrilic 80?)
Substitutes Not Used: 21.Sean Mitchell, 30.Cem Akili (GK)
Yellow Cards: Mirjan Pavlovic73?, Peter Zorbas 73?, Joe Vrkic 85?
Red Cards: Damon Collina 83?
Sydney Olympic: 13.Paul Henderson; 8.Chris Triantis, 10.Anthony Doumanis (C), 9.James Monie, 15.Matthew Mayora (7.Dimitri Petratos 77?), 21.Ricky Perinich, 5.Tayfun Devrimol, 33.Nik Tsattalios, 18.Jerry Kalouris, 17.Iain Ramsey, 11.Phil Makrys
Substitutes Not Used: 1.Zain Zanelli (GK), 24.Angelo Petratos, Alex Jovovic, 23.Luke Gearin
Yellow Cards: Matthew Mayora 53?
Red Cards: Nil
*Note – Player Ratings will now be hidden until the end of the NSW Premier League season with the overall standings to select the 2010 NSW Premier League All-Stars line-up
-By Christopher Georges
