Sydney United return to winner?s list with Blacktown City scalp
For United, the result saw them continue to set a course for the top three whilst for Blacktown it meant they are now looking over their shoulder at the advancing pack right behind them, all chasing a top-three berth at Blacktown?s expense.
In a first-half of few chances it may have been the home-side that dominated possession but it was Sydney United who took advantage of their own chances.
The opening quarter hour of the game saw no chances created by either side with the majority of the game played out in the middle third of the park. In minutes 16? and 18?, Luka Glavas had a look-in though could not get to a ball cut back by Petar Markovic, and then hit his free-kick on the edge of the penalty-area directly at the goalkeeper.
In the 27? minute Mitchell Thompson pulled down a ball from midfield and flicked it to Damon Collina standing right next to him. Collina had time and space in the area thanks to the great lead up work by Thompson and he smashed the ball home to give United the lead.
In the 29? minute Collina almost turned provider as he made a great run down the right but the Blacktown defence cut out the cross effectively.
On the half hour Blacktown put in their first shot of the match, albeit well over the crossbar.
This was not the end of the attacks from United though as they continued to combat the possession play of Blacktown with effective attacking play.
On 32? minutes Glavas almost stole the ball from a poor pass amongst the Blacktown City defence, and the ball landed at the feet of Elsid Barkhousir. However, Barkhousir could not react in time and tripped on the ball while taking his shot, with the ball not even making the target.
Blacktown?s cause was not helped in the 37? minute when goalkeeper Matt Nemes had to come off injured. 3? minutes later, United?s defence was finally called on to deny a couple of Blacktown efforts on goal – through Ozbey and Chianese.
A minute before the break, Barkhousir tried to make things worse for the home fans as he brought the ball down in attack, rounded his marker and played the ball into the path of Markovic, though the midfielder?s volley did not stay down and just crept over the crossbar.
At half-time Aytec Genc changed things around for his team, taking off Ante Deur and putting on Jordan Simpson in the hope of ramping things up in an attacking sense for his team.
In the second-half the game started to fire up with yellow cards to Markovic, Long and Chianese. It seemed to fire the players into action with the ball as well as just on the hour the game came alive. First Luke Roodenberg stole the ball off the keeper and fired the ball goalwards only to be denied by Shane Lyons off the goalline. The ball fell to Jordan Simpson outside the penalty-area, and he smashed his effort on target, only to be denied by the post. As all the other players held their heads Lachlan Cahill pounced on the ball on the left and chipped the ball into the near post where Joel Chianese headed the ball down and into the back of the net.
1? minute later at the other end, the referee pointed to the spot after Barkhousir came down in the area under a challenge from his Blacktown opponent. However, young goalkeeper Justin Biega denied Luka Glavas diving low to save the ball. The danger was not over and the Blacktown team were shaken, so much so that Tyler Simpson could not clear the ball out of defence and instead played it into the feet of Luka Glavas who slotted the ball home, despite the valiant attempts of Biega.
Now United were playing some magnificent football, but Blacktown stayed in the match thanks to circumstance and the framework of the goal. First though it was Blacktown who nearly equalised as Tolgay Ozbey smashed the ball from a tight angle but over the crossbar. Then, United stepped up with a chance to Markovic finishing only just over the crossbar and a great half field run from Luka Glavas, turning his marker Pressello as he ran, only for the crossbar to deny him what would have been a magnificent individual goal.
With the introduction of Bernie Ibini Blacktown stepped it up but Sydney United was dangerous on the counter-attack. With 2? minutes remaining, a free-kick from Ozbey just needed to be touched for the ball to go in the back of the net by Chianese, and with the last kick of the game Chianese was only denied by the post – an incredible finish for the home fans.
Sydney United had worked well as a collective and denied a competitive Blacktown side any points in the end.
For Sydney United coach David Zdrilic this was a must win match and he was obviously pleased with the final result:
?We had to win today and we did. We had a great break that refreshed us up and we have all enjoyed the week. We were solid today, working as a collective unit just as we need to.
?They had their chances but we also had ours and in the end we got the result we were after.?
BlacktownCity coach Aytec Genc was obviously disappointed with the result:
?We got caught up in the battle today and did not win the match.
?In the wet conditions we had to change the way we play. We were not good in the first-half but in the second-half we battled hard and created chances.
?Little things count in big games and we need to do these little things much better.?
Blacktown City defeated Sydney United 3-1 in the Grade-20 encounter to secure top spot in that competition.
Match Details
Blacktown City FC (Joel Chianese 62?)
Sydney United 1 (Damon Collina 27?, Luka Glavas 66?)
Sunday, July 25th, 2010
Homes Stadium, Seven Hills
Referee: Kris Griffiths Jones
Assistant Referees: Nick Backo and S. Grasso
Fourth Official: Steven Lucas
Crowd: 400
Blacktown City FC: 1.Matt NEMES (20.Justin BIEGA 37?); 2.Tyler SIMPSON, 6.Matt PRESSELLO (12.Bernie IBINI 77?), 4.Mirko JURILJ, 16.Ante DEUR (10.Jordan SIMPSON 45?), 7.Luke ROODENBERG, 13.Lachlan CAHILL, 19.Tolgay OZBEY, 17.Joel CHIANESE, 11.Mitchell LONG, 18.Travis MAJOR
Substitutes Not Used: 5.Luka DUKIC
Yellow Cards: Long 55?, Chianese 64?
Red Cards: Nil
Sydney United: 1.Ryan NORVAC; 8.Shane LYONS, 5.Damon COLLINA, 4.Michael CINDRIC, 6.Joe VRKIC, 14.Petar MARKOVIC, 23.Ivo BOSNAR, 19.Mitchell THOMPSON, 22.Peter ZORBAS, 16.Elsid BARKHOUSIR (34.Tommy CIRJAK 88?), 11.Luka GLAVAS
Substitutes Not Used: 12.Jacob TIMPANO, 39.Kyle EWART, 24.Steven VELESKI, 30.Cem AKILLI
Yellow Cards: Markovic 58?, Vrkic 82?, Bosnar 87?, Cirjak 89?
Red Cards: Nil
– Stuart Jones
