NSW Premier League Round 17 Review
Bonnyrigg, flying high following the win over Sydney United last weekend, were stunned by Bankstown City, meanwhile Marconi?s indifferent run continued with a loss against Sydney United. Arguably, the shock of the round arrived on Saturday evening as South Coast Wolves defeat Blacktown City FC.
League leader Bonnyrigg White Eagles slumped to an unexpected loss against Bankstown City at Jensen Park. The Lions, who have underachieved this season with a poor run of results, kept alive their hopes of finishing in the top-five with a 2-1 victory.
Richard Luksic sent the Lions ahead on 11? minutes when he headed Robbie Mileski?s cross into the back of the net.
In an open match where both sides created goalscoring chances, the White Eagles needed to wait until the 73? minute to draw level. Nathan Elasi headed home Brad Boardman?s assist ? Boardman picked out by Daniel Severino ? much to the delight of the travelling Bonnyrigg supporters. The home-side was not to be denied though as George Nohra found the back of the net following some fine build-up play by William Angel. The result, much welcomed by Peter Tsekenis and the Bankstown City supporters.
Sydney United moved into second-spot on the League ladder with a morale boosting 2-0 defeat of Marconi Stallions in the local derby. In a match dominated by the Reds, a first-half brace to Luka Glavas was enough for David Zdrilic?s men to return to the winner?s list following the disappointments of last weekend?s loss against Bonnyrigg White Eagles. Glavas? first goal arrived in the 39? minute from close-range, the striker required two bites of the cherry before slotting past James Chronopoulos.
Glavas doubled his tally 1? minute before the break from the penalty-spot. Mirjan Pavlovic was brought down by the Stallions defence, allowing Glavas to step-up for the spot-kick and coolly slot past Chronopoulos.
The Reds administered the lead in the second-half and would be content with the clean sheet. On the Marconi front, the fine performance of youngster Giorgio Speranza was one of only few positives from the outing, with the Stallions now slipping to third-spot on the League ladder.
A.P.I.A.-Leichhardt Tigers had their home fixture against Sutherland Sharks moved to Belmore Sports Ground, though despite losing home ground advantage, the Tigers dominated from start-to-finish and thoroughly deserved the 1-0 victory.
In a tremendous performance by captain Franco Parisi and Japanese import Hirofuni Moriyasu, the Tigers peppered the Sharks defence on numerous occasions creating chances for Robbie Younis, Anthong Hartshorn and Parisi during the opening half. Sutherland?s best chances arrived via the feet of Jim Bakis, though a flat performance by Robbie Stanton?s men made for a disappointing afternoon.
The Sharks lost Nick Stavroulakis ? broken nose ? midway through the second-half, as the Tigers finally hit the front via Nicola Rizzo. Played into space by Parisi, Rizzo drove a sweetly struck effort into the bottom right-hand corner past Nathan Denham for the win.
A late scuffle between Marton Vass and Neil Jablonski resulted in the latter receiving his second yellow card of the afternoon, leaving the Sharks with 10-men for the remainder of injury-time. The win keeps the Tigers? chances of reaching the finals series alive ? the side is due to play the washed out Round 14 fixture against Manly United FC at Cromer Park this Tuesday evening.
At Bicentennial Park South in Rockdale, the Suns were denied victory by Sydney Olympic late in the clash, much to the disappointment of the Suns supporters. Leading 1-0 courtesy of Almir Dizdaric?s 58? minute goal, where the striker latched onto Sam Awad?s through ball before slotting home coolly past Sydney Olympic goalkeeper Paul Henderson, the Blues found a 90? minute equaliser to take a point from the match.
Despite the home-side?s dominance over the course of the match, Billy Darwich rose highest to head home a Phillip Makrys free-kick. The result sees the Suns remain five-points outside of the top-five, with five League matches remaining.
On Saturday evening, South Coast Wolves stunned Blacktown City FC with an emphatic 3-2 win at Lily Homes Stadium. The Wolves hit the front after only 2? minutes when Jason Trifiro drove home a Tynan Diaz cross from close-range. Despite the early set-back, Blacktown City were back in the match 12? minutes later as Tolgay Ozbey headed the side level.
The visitors regained the lead in the 29? minute courtesy of Tynan Diaz, combining well with Nic McInerney before slotting the ball past Matt Ryan. No-less than 5? minutes later, Alex Mansueto added a third for the Wolves, heading home a Tayfun Buyukkopru free-kick.
Despite creating a number of chances in the second-half, Blacktown City could only manage one goal, Ante Deur on hand to pick up the scraps following a loose ball in the Wolves penalty-area. A late red card to Mitchell Long ended any slight chance of Blacktown City taking a point from the match ? the Wolves deservedly returning to Wollongong with maximum points.
Meanwhile, the Manly United FC ? West Sydney Berries match has been re-scheduled for Saturday the 10th of July, 2010.
-By Joseph Carlucci
