Brave young Sharks fall at final hurdle

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Blacktown looked lively in the opening 10? minutes and perhaps should have taken the lead after only 3? when Tolgay Ozbey, in scintillating form that should have the tongues of the A-League scouts wagging, fired goalwards from a free-kick. The effort stayed low and went under the wall that Nathan Denham in goal would have seen late but managed not only to keep the ball out but held on to snuff out the danger.
Blacktown City were forced to reshuffle their defence as Zac Cairncross, stretchered off, after 7? minutes of play with damaged ankle ligaments after catching his foot in the synthetic turf. Mirko Jurilj was forced into the centre of defence as Lachlan Cahill replaced the hapless Cairncross.
It left the side to settle into the new formation and left little opportunities for Sutherland to exploit but with Tyler Simpson so tight on Ben Vidaic at times they almost wore the same pair of shorts as Blacktown defended deep to lessen the ball over the top, leaving little room to manoeuvre for the home-side.
It wasn?t a case of simple containment for Blacktown as the pace and youth of the Sharks did threaten on occasion but again a through ball for Ozbey saw the City striker in a tussle with Mike Robinson and Yianni Fragogiannis with the former being bundled over in the box and the chance was gone.
Jimmy Bakis came closest to opening the scoring for the Sharks when Simpson was cautioned for a foul on Blake Powell just outside the penalty-area. The resulting free-kick was curled toward the ?keeper Matt Nemes? top left-hand corner but with cat-like reflexes he flung himself the right way and managed to tip the ball around the post. From the corner was called into action again when diving bravely amongst the feet in a packed penalty area.
Misha Hardwick, making his starting debut for Sutherland, cleared off the line at the back stick in another goalmouth melee but the move of the half belonged to Sutherland when Bakis slipped a pass to Powell who back heeled the ball into the path of Vidaic who was again thwarted by the bravery of Nemes down quickly at the striker?s feet.
The Sharks shot-stopper then made two point blank saves firstly from Ante Deur and again when the rebound fell to Chianese to keep the Sharks in the match.
There were not too many clear cut chances during the first 45? minutes but when they came they were met by two ?keepers in sparkling form and when they were beaten it was down to misfortune, determination and last ditch clearances.
That changed in the opening 60?? seconds of the second-half when a lapse from Denham, who had time to clear the ball up-field, wrong-footed Paul Kohler who wasn?t expecting a pass, saw Chianese nick the ball off the defenders toe and surge into the box and draw the ball back for Ozbey to side-foot home for his, and Blacktown?s, first of the night.  
Denham atoned for his mistake by again making a double save when Ozbey was again through and the rebound falling to Luke Roodenberg with his effort blocked away.
Sutherland replaced Adam Faour, injured, with James Lawrence and 7? minutes they were level when another Bakis free-kick from the right saw Vidaic bundled over by Travis Major in the box and referee James Lewis, in perfect position, didn?t hesitate to point the spot. Bakis duly despatched to restore parity on the night but it all went awry from there.
Blacktown responded immediately, and when Mitch Long dribbled his way into the box, it was a shame for the City fans the shot went wide with almost the entire goal at his mercy. The visitors didn?t have to wait too long to regain the lead and once again it was from the spot.
Referee Lewis was perfectly positioned once more to award a penalty when seeing enough in a Lawrence tackle on Ozbey that could have gone either way, which the Blacktown striker netted with aplomb to give the visitors the lead once more and this time they were not to relinquish.
Michael Katz, on the bench for the first time this season, replaced Huseyin Jasli and Todd Halloran came on for Vidaic and though they contributed well it wasn?t enough against a Blacktown side packed with experience and quality in depth, and when they brought on 17-year old Bernie Ibini to replace Ante Deur it was the silky skills of this star in the making against a tiring Sharks side that led to Ibini slipping the ball to Ozbey who returned the favour for Chianese to slot home.
Sutherland were missing George Souris, Nick Stavroulakis, Chris Price, Ben Spruce and Steve McConologue, who sadly had to return to Scotland to be near an ailing family member, it was never going to be an easy task to overcome Blacktown, and the lads who came in put in a tremendous effort. The lack of experience and Premier League football told in the long run though, and the visitors were worthy of the three points.
Blacktown coach Aytek Genc stated afterwards:
?It?s a good result for us tonight and I thought we were the better side, especially in the opening 10? minutes where we produced the better chances. 
?It turned out to be a decent tactical game and they took the game to us but I feel we showed we had the quality out there tonight that tipped the balance our way as the Sharks are a very good side and never easy to beat at home but we are looking to, hopefully, finish in the top two and I?m satisfied with the result tonight.?
Robbie Stanton was in reflective mood when saying:
?We were comfortable in the first-half but we were punished for a mistake at the start of the second and were chasing the game from then on.
 ?We showed our inexperience and made a few mistakes tonight with our lack of depth but we?re not out of the reckoning yet and will fight on until the end but I have to say I am pleased with the younger lads for their effort out there because they really put in along with the other guys but quality and experience won the match tonight.?

The Grade 20 game finished with a 2-0 victory to the visitors Blacktown City.

Match Stats
Sutherland Sharks 1 (Jim Bakis 64?)
Blacktown City FC 3 (Tolgay Ozbey 46?,72?, Joel Chianese 84?)
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Seymour Shaw, Miranda
Referee: James Lewis
Assistant Referees: Adam Coombes and Tom Lee
Fourth Official: Brendan Johansen
Crowd: 300 Approx.
Sutherland Sharks: 1.Nathan DENHAM; 4.Michael ROBINSON, 5.Adam FAOUR (James LAWRENCE 57?), 7.Jim BAKIS, 8.Blake POWELL, 9.Ben VIDAIC (Todd HALLORAN 78?), 12.Neil JABLONSKI, 20.Paul KOHLER, 22.Yianni FRAGOIANNIS, 31.Huseyin JASLI (15.Michael KATZ 78?), 30.Misha HARDWICK
Substitutes Not Used: 36.Tyson RHODES, 24.Jack DUNCAN
Yellow Cards: Bakis 90?
Red Cards: Nil
Blacktown City FC: 1.Matt NEMES; 2.Tyler SIMPSON, 4.Mirko JURILJ, 6.Matt PRESSELLO, 7.Luke ROODENBERG, 11.Mitch LONG, 16.Ante DUER (12.Bernie IBINI 84?), 17.Joel CHIANESE, 18.Travis MAJOR, 19.Tolgay OZBEY (10.Jordan SIMPSON 86?), 22.Zac CAIRNCROSS (13.Lachlan CAHILL 9?)
Substitutes Not Used: 20.Justin BIEGA, 5.Luke DUKIC
Yellow Cards: T. Simpson 23?
Red Cards: Nil

– Micky Brock