Manly United ease relegation fears with Berries defeat
With relegation to the NSW Super League a haunting reality for both squads, it was always going to be a scrappy affair on a pitch best described as diabolical.
Manly United welcomed back Scott Balderson from injury and the midfielder was in the thick of things in the first-half. Some sharp interplay with captain Schirripa almost saw Balderson open the scoring on 19? minutes but Berries goalkeeper Nestor Tsioutsas was up to the task.
16? minutes later Balderson prized open the defence with a great ball for Jimmy Oates but the Manly winger was unable to control the ball at the key moment.
A free-kick from Schirripa after 40? minutes was easy pickings for Tsioutsas before the United skipper atoned with a breathtaking set-piece from 25-yards to open the scoring a few moments before oranges.
Glen Trifiro almost caught the home-side napping moments after the break with a quickly taken free-kick, only to see Ryo Maekawa somehow shoot over the bar from six-yards.
8? minutes later Manly?s Adam Foti should have given the home-side a two goal buffer but produced a weak header when he needed to be forceful.
Team-mate Andrew Mailer went close seconds later, with his rasping drive just clearing the crossbar.
A series of late chances fluffed by United?s Robbie Cattanach summed up the evening, in a game that won?t make many highlights reels around the world.
Manly United coach Craig Midgley was happy his team struck to the game plan:
?It was a game we had to win, so credit to the boys for digging their heels in,? he said.
?We knew it wasn?t going to be the best fixture given the state of the pitch and that proved to be the case.
?Our objective was to grind out a win, so now we can look forward to our next few games.?
His opposite Steve Karavatakis refused to concede relegation is now a reality:
?We needed to win our last two games to give ourselves some breathing space, but at this stage it is still mathematically possible we can stay up,” he said.
?Manly had the better chances but I still feel we could have jagged a point.
?We just have to keep working hard and see out the season in style.?
Match Stats
Manly United FC 1 (Joey Schirripa 45?)
West Sydney Berries 0
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Cromer Park, Dee Why
Referee: Peter Vrtkovski
Assistant Referees: Alex Long and Thomas Klein
Fourth Official: Thomas Lee
Crowd: 100 Approx.
Manly United FC: 1.Brad SWANCOTT; 3.Roberto HAMAD, 5.Pascal JULLIARD, 6.Luke CASSERLY, 7.Andrew MAILER, 11.Adam FOTI, (19.Brad GROVES 81?) 12.Scott BALDERSON, 16.Joey SCHIRRIPA, 17.Jimmy OATES, (9.Robbie CATTANACH 67?) 23.David DODD, 24.Beau BUSCH
Substitutes Not Used: 14.Chad COWLEY, 20.Rhyss KEANE, 21.Chris GALLO
Yellow Cards: Mailer 65?
Red Cards: Nil
West Sydney Berries: 40.Nestor TSIOUTSAS; 29.Marc O?DONNELL (4.Daniel CLIFFORD 87?), 6.Mark BARIAMIS, 21.Nathan SHERLOCK, 18.Shayne MORRISEY (8.Jesse PINTO 59?), 33.Ian KING, 24.Brad BARTELS, 26.Glen TRIFIRO, 10.John TSIRONIS (19.Dimitri ZAKILAS 66?), 17.Sash TIROVSKI, 13.Ray MAEKAWA
Substitutes Not Used: 12.Stefan DE JESUS, 1.J SHEWAN
Yellow Cards: Nil
Red Cards: Nil
