Blacktown City seal second spot in sad farewell for Tsekenis
The Lions club, who rightfully so presented player/coach Peter Tsekenis with a token of appreciation for his services to the club prior to the match ? the former Australian Youth International played his final match as a footballer ? unfortunately fell well short of sending the stalwart defender out on a high with such a heavy final result.
Tolgay Ozbey stole the show for the visitors, adding a hat-trick to his chart of goals in 2010, as the nine-man Lions crumbled to defeat.
Tolgay Ozbey and Joel Chianese combined early for the latter to be sent through on goal, though Richard Luksic cleaned up the scraps for the Lions.
The Blackotwn pairing combined again moments later as the Lions were stretched down the left-flank. Chianese?s square pass was slightly ahead of Ozbey who diverted his lunging effort over the crossbar.
Blacktown City captain Luke Roodenburg provided Chianese with an opening in the 7? minute, though the youngster?s short ball into the path of Mitchell Long was intercepted by the retreating Lions defence.
Despite holding a good share of possession in the middle of the park via Nohra and Scott Thomas, it was the visitors that continued carving out the openings. Ozbey was sent clear on goal in the 10? minute, denied only by a late call by the linesman.
The visitors? top-scorer was then denied by a reflex Zlatko Joseski save ? again sent through on goal ? though once more, the linesman?s flag was raised.
In the 15? minute, in Bankstown?s first real forward foray, the home-side was rewarded a penalty. Thomas? floated effort over the defence picked out Tallan Martin who cleverly brought the ball under control, though was fouled by the Blacktown City defence. Despite the excitement around the ground following such a nice move, Robbie Mileski blasted the spot-kick over the crossbar, much to the disbelief of the home supporters.
Peter Tsekenis showed his experience on 19? minutes as he cleverly anticipated what would have led to another one-on-one goalscoring opportunity for Ozbey.
Ozbey did beat the offside trap ? in what appeared to be a real touch and go decision ? to open the scoring on 22? minutes. The marksman kept his cool with only Joseski to beat, slotting the ball neatly into the bottom right-hand corner.
Robbie Mileski attempted to make amends for his missed penalty in the 37? minute via a free-kick, though his curling effort from the edge of the penalty-area finished well over the crossbar.
Tragedy struck for the home-side in the 40? minute when Richard Luksic was shown a straight red card for a late foul. Much to the dismay of the Lions? players and supporters, the side went down a second goal as the visitors took a quick free-kick. With goalkeeper Joseski off his line, and the Lions players protesting the referee?s decision, Ozbey struck his effort from near the right touchline into an empty net for a two goal buffer at the break.
The situation worsened for the home-side after the break as Steve Liavas was shown a straight red card for handling the ball on the goalline. Ozbey completed his hat-trick, converting with aplomb the spot-kick, ensuring Blacktown City second-spot on the ladder.
Despite trailing by three goals, and with only nine-men, George Nohra produced an exceptional finish to pull a goal back for the Lions. Martin released Nohra one-on-one with goalkeeper Justin Biega, the classy midfielder exquisitely depositing the ball into the back of the net with a fine chipped effort.
Blacktown re-instated the three-goal lead in the 65? minute as Joel Chianese?s glancing header beat Joseski. The set-piece delivery from the right-flank was pin-point, and Chianese made the most of the space to find the back of the net.
Blacktown City almost added a fifth in the 70? minute as Luka Dukic?s cross from the left only just failed to pick out a lunging Chianese at the back post. The visitors however, did find their fifth goal via captain Luke Roodenburg in the 75? minute; Roodenburg rose highest in the penalty-area to powerfully head home past Joseski.
The Blacktown City captain was extremely lucky to remain on the field moments later as his two-footed challenge on Nohra was deemed worthy only of a yellow card.
The visitors rounded out the result in the 87? minute as second-half substitute Chris Bedzo was played through on goal. The midfielder?s first effort was parried by Joseski, though the follow-up was easily converted by Bedzo.
Following the match, Peter Tsekenis expressed his disappointment in the result, yet appreciation for the club he has been so heavily involved with:
?Unfortunately, it wasn?t to be, it was always going to be a difficult match for us.
?We missed a penalty, a few decisions went against us, and it really was a huge mountain to overcome.
?I have to thank the club for their gesture, and also this wonderful group of players that I have spent many years with now.
?A few of the guys like George Nohra who really wanted to be part of the match, even though he hadn?t trained, I myself have been out for fourteen-weeks, so it was really going to be tough for us, though these boys really wanted to be part of the match, and I am really grateful to them.
?I will turn my attentions to coaching, I am not sure yet where that will be, though I need to speak with the club in the next week and I guess take it from there,? ended Tsekenis.
Blacktown City FC coach Aytek Genc was pleased with the win:
?Very happy to take the points, and the goals, as it will boost morale heading into the finals.
?We did play against nine-men at one point, and that obviously made our job easier, though I am pleased the boys continued to play through right until the end.
?I believe we are a very good side, we?ve beaten each of the top teams, and it will be important we now take the next step in the finals.
Genc also paid tribute to Tsekenis:
?Peter is a fantastic person, and has been great for the game in this country. Unfortunately, it wasn?t the best send off for him, in-terms of the result, though he has been a tremendous player, and will add much experience now as he turns to the coaching ranks.?
In the Grade-20 division, Blacktown City FC defeated a ten-man Bankstown City 3-2.
Match Stats
Bankstown City 1 (George Nohra 58?)
Blacktown City FC 6 (Tolgay Ozbey 22?, 41?, 50?, Joel Chianese 65?, Luke Roodenburg 75?, Chris Bedzo 87?)
Sunday, 1st August, 2010
Jensen Park, Sefton
Referee: James Lewis
Crowd: 500 Approx.
Bankstown City: 1.Zlatko Joseski; 8.George Nohra, 99.Chris Godoy Bascur, 86.Steve Tibbetts, 23.Tallan Martin, 82.Unike Maralit (4.Roy Waianabe 51?), 5.Richard Luksic, 7.Steve Liavas, 6.Peter Tsekenis (C) (94.Trent Barton 81?), 10.Robbie Mileski (87.Ali Huseyin 46?), 2.Scott Thomas
Substitutes Not Used: 89.Matt Bianchi, 91.Andrew Mercuri
Yellow Cards: Peter Tsekenis 33?, George Nohra 39?
Red Cards: Richard Luksic 40?, Steve Liavas 49?
Blacktown City FC: 1.Justin Biega; 2.Tyler Simpson, 4.Mirko Jurilj, 5.Luka Dukic, 6.Matt Pressello (12.Bernie Ibini 66?), 7.Luke Roodenberg (C), 10.Jordan Simpson, 11.Mitchell Long (9.Kain Rastall 73?), 17.Joel Chianese, 18.Travis Major, 19.Tolgay Ozbey (8.Chris Bedzo 61?)
Substitutes Not Used: 23.Luke Austin, 60.David Bradesevic
Yellow Cards: Luke Roodenburg 80?
Red Cards: Nil
-By Joseph Carlucci
