Five-star Bankstown send Berries packing
Peter Tsekenis? side, with this win made it consecutive victories over the past fortnight, were dominant from start to finish against a Berries outfit that really only pressured the home-side in the closing stages of the first-half.
Tallan Martin scored twice for Bankstown City in the opening period, following a goalmouth scramble that led to the opening goal of the afternoon, before Robbie Mileski?s ?Beckham-esque? free-kick and Chris Godoy Bascur?s powerful finish in the second period sealed the win.
Kosta Lagoudakis created the first chance of the match for the visitors on 3? minutes as he cleverly released Jesse Pinto down the left-flank. Pinto?s pin-point cross to the back post picked out Dimitri Zakilas, though the striker?s snap-shot was well saved by Zlatko Joseski in the Bankstown City goal.
Bankstown City?s reply arrived moments later as Hussein Salameh left three defenders in his wake as he entered the Berries penalty-area. The Lions? striker failed to release his shot on goal though, allowing the Berries defenders to close the angle and thwart the chance.
Bankstown City took the lead on 10? minutes as Shannon Burgin?s in-swinging corner from the right flank, appeared to take a deflection off a defender and finish in the back of an empty net.
West Sydney replied with a fine counter-attacking move involving Iain King and Ryo Maekawa. The latter latched onto a floated pass by King over the Lions defence, bringing the goal down with the most elegant of touches before running out of space as the Bankstown City defence rushed the striker into a weak shot on goal.
Martin doubled the Lions? lead in the 14? minute as his glancing header from Robbie Mileski?s free-kick finished inside Hamish McLean?s left-hand post.
In almost identical fashion, Mileski combined with Richard Luksic moments later, though the Bankstown City captain failed to get his effort on-target at the back post.
Martin added his second of the afternoon in the 23? minute as his lunging effort at the back post, following some poor defending by the Berries, saw his effort cross the goal-line after his initial shot hit the underside of the crossbar.
The visitors best chance of the half arrive moments prior to the half-hour as Sash Tirovski?s ball over the defence picked out Maekawa. The striker hit a first-time effort goalwards, forcing Joseski into a tremendous one-handed save to keep the margin at three.
Former Bankstown City player Omar Saadi was stretchered from the field on 33? minutes after a strong collision with an opponent. The defender suffered a big hit to his midriff/chest area and was taken to hospital for precautionary measures.
Bankstown City squandered chances via the boots of Mileski and Salameh in the closing stages of the half, though the Berries did call the shots in-terms of possession. Steve Karavatakis? men went close to pulling a goal back on two occasions in the final 5? minutes of the half via Iain King and Daniel Clifford respectively. Both players? efforts finished agonizingly wide of the mark.
Following the break, the heavy rain arrived as George Lagoudakis put Joseski to the test with a low-driven effort along the wet surface ? dealt with impeccably well by the Lions? shot-stopper.
At the other end, Mileski forced McLean into a fine save down to his right ? the shot-stopper did exceptionally well as the initial effort took a strong deflection off a defender, forcing the goalkeeper to re-adjust.
Sash Tirovski weaved his magic in the middle of the park on 66? minutes as he beat his marker before releasing Zakilas through on goal. The final pass though carried a little too much weight on the slippery surface.
Tirovski and Zakilas then saw a double chance in the space of 5?? seconds flash before their eyes, in-front of Joseski, though the Lions defenders cleared their lines well.
West Sydney?s afternoon in-front of goal was summed up in the 72? minute as Zakilas? powerful header smacked against the crossbar and finished over, much to the disbelief of the Berries striker.
Bankstown City?s administration of the final 16? minutes was facilitated a little as Stefan De Jesus was shown a straight red card for what was deemed a last-man foul on Mileski. The Lions number 10 lined-up the free-kick on the edge of the penalty-area and converted with a sensational curling effort over the wall and out of reach of the diving McLean.
The five-star performance was complete when Chris Godoy Bascur blasted his effort from close-range into the back of the net, following Steve Liavas? touch-down and a miscued Scott Thomas effort. Godoy-Bascur?s goal was much deserved following an impressive 30? minute appearance in the second-half by the Lions? attacking midfielder.
Following the match, Bankstown City boss Peter Tsekenis expressed his delight:
?Very happy with the boys today, everyone put in a great effort and we got a fantastic result.
?It has been coming, as I have said previously, we have played well this season, though have failed to convert goals ? today, we managed to put a few away, and I am happy for the players as this will lift the confidence across the whole group.?
Asked about the Lions? charge to the finals-series, Tsekenis was quick to dismiss thinking too far ahead:
?Of course that is our objective, though really, we are not thinking too far ahead at the moment. We need to find some consistency, and I am confident in my players? ability to perform well and put in a big charge.
?We have a tough one in Wollongong next weekend (against South Coast Wolves) and we will need to be ready for that one, even if we have held a pretty good record in Wollongong in recent years,? Tsekenis ended.
The mood was less cheerful in the Berries dressing room, as the loss keeps the side at the foot of the table.
A Berries spokesperson commented: ?Things didn?t go for us today, we were disappointing and really need to lift to turn our fortunes around. We?ve had a number of injuries that haven?t helped ? a long list in fact ? and we will need to continue working hard.?
In the Grade 20 division, Bankstown City and West Sydney Berries shared the spoils in a 0-0 draw.
Match Stats
Bankstown City 5 (Shannon Burgin 10?, Tallen Martin 17?, 23?, Robbie Mileski 74?, Chris Godoy Bascur 82?)
West Sydney Berries 0
Sunday, 6th June , 2010
Jensen Park, Sefton
Referee: Adam Weir
Assistant Referees: Steven Nguyen and Paul Faithfull
Fourth Official: Miles Allen-Scott
Crowd: 400 Approx.
Bankstown City FC: 1.Zlatko Joseski; 3.Shannon Burgin, 80.Ali Haydar, 5.Richard Luksic (C), 7.Steve Liavas, 8.George Nohra (2.Scott Thomas 46?), 20.Hussein Salameh (99.Chris Godoy Bascur 64?), 23.Tallan Martin (16.Damien Brosque 71?), 12.Bill Tsanidis, 10.Robbie Mileski, 18.William Angel
Substitutes Not Used: 17.L. Thomas, 94.T. Barton
Yellow Cards: Robbie Mileski 60?
Red Cards: Nil
West Sydney Berries: 1.Hamish McLean; 3.Omar Saadi (12.Stefan De Jesus 33?), 4.Daniel Clifford, 8.Jesse Pinto (15.Ryan Jones 67?), 13.Ryo Maekawa, 16.Kosta Lagoudakis (C), 17.Sash Tirovski, 19.Dimitri Zakilas, 21.Nathan Sherlock, 26.Iain King, 34.George Lagoudakis (10.John Tsironis 79?)
Substitutes Not Used: 18.Shane Morrisey
Yellow Cards: Daniel Clifford 13?
Red Cards: Stefan De Jesus 73?
-By Joseph Carlucci
