Sydney United secure third-spot after win over Manly

The Reds started slowly and the visitors really should have taken an early lead.
In the 3? minute Keith Shevlin played David Dodd into space and he tried to slide the ball past Ryan Norval, though the Reds goalkeeper got a hand on it to slow the ball down and Shane Lyons had enough time to clear it from danger.
Joey Shirripa, playing his final match, then stole the ball off Damon Collina and surprised Sydney United by shooting an effort that deflected the wrong side of the far post.
By the 7? minute, Sydney United had still not got into the game and Shirripa and Cattanach combined down the right before the ball came across the goal and into the path of Shevlin who turned on the ball but, had he left it for Scott Balderson behind him, the chance would have been a clear one, as Joe Vrkic took the ball and played it out of trouble.
Finally, after 15? minutes of play, Sydney United woke up and Elsid Barkhousir made progress in the area and towards goal only to be dispossessed by Pascal Julliard in a great piece of defending. Luka Glavas made a good run in the 21? minute but his final shot was easily saved by Brad Swancott, who was also concluding his career after this match.
Whilst Sydney United were awake and involved in the game, both sides were giving away possession too easily. On 30? minutes, Peter Zorbas and Petar Markovic combined well to play Luka Glavas into a good attacking position, and he played a ball through traffic but Swancott anticipated Barkhousir.
Robbie Cattanach then surprised his opponents by taking a shot from distance as it skidded across the uneven surface, though Norval was able to save it with ease.
In the 39? minute Ivo Bosnar played Barkhousir into space and he was taken down on the edge of the penalty-area by Matthew Simon, who was sent off for the effort.
Despite the numerical disadvantage, Manly had the final chance of the half with Cattanach crossing the ball from the right to Shevlin who headed it on the up and over the crossbar.
The home-side started the second-half much stronger than they had the first, and in the 49? minute they took the lead. Luka Glavas played the ball to Mitchell Thompson who collected it on the edge of the area and smashed the ball through traffic into the far corner of the goal. It was a great goal, and was almost followed by a second a minute later when Glavas hit the ball just over the crossbar.
Thompson then concluded a purple patch in the match for Sydney United when he ran to the byline and cut the ball across the face of goal but the uneven surface saw neither attackers, nor defence, get on the end of it until it was well clear of danger.
After a half chance fell to Cattanach in the 56? minute, the ball going the wrong side of the post, Sydney United held their collective breath when Manly were awarded a penalty after Shane Lyons was adjudged to have felled Shevlin in the area. Cattanach struck the penalty well but Norval dived to his right and made a very impressive save. The resulting corner was then backheeled goalwards by Dodd and had to again be saved by Norval.
Sydney United were now holding third spot in the competition but they chased the second goal that would have secured the position. However, shots were coming from distance at best, as evidenced by Thompson?s effort in the 65? minute.
In the 70? minute Shevlin had a free header in the area but the ball went straight to Norval.
The last 20? minutes saw Sydney United nervous on the ball but Manly were unable to respond with a further clear opportunity on goal. A couple of half chances fell to Markovic near the end of the match but in the end the one goal was enough to see Sydney United win and take out third spot on the table.
For Sydney United?s David Zdrilic the match came down to getting the result his side needed:
?It was good to get the result. The story of our season has been our inconsistency and we demonstrated that today after our great performance last week.
?We seem to life for teams high up on the table but this is not the case when we play other teams but you can easily lose a game like today and we got the result.
?We have the second chance now and hopefully we can go to Blacktown next week and produce the form we did last week there.?
For Manly United?s Craig Midgley it was the end of a strong run of results for Manly United that lifted them away from the lower part of the table:
?Despite not playing for much we have been equipping ourselves well on the park in the last few weeks.
?We are all footballers and want to win matches no matter the circumstance. We had the same build up as usual and the atmosphere in our camp was very positive.
?We had our chances today and missed a penalty so it is sad to lose a match like today. However I am proud of the boys and special mention goes to Joey Schirripa and Brad Swancott who have served this club so well over a long period of time and we wish them well in whatever they do after football.?
In the Grade-20 match, Sydney United defeated Manly United 2-1.
Match Stats
Sydney United 1 (Thompson 49?)
Manly United FC 0
Sunday, August 1st, 2010
Sydney United Sports Centre, Edensor Park
Referee: Khodr Yoghi
Assistant Referees: Daniel Dewhurst and Paul Faithful
Fourth Official: Brendan Johansen
Crowd: 250
Sydney United: 1.Ryan NORVAL; 5.Damon COLLINA, 4.Michael CINDRIC, 6.Joe VRKIC, 8.Shane LYONS, 19.Mitchell THOMPSON, 14.Petar MARKOVIC, 23.Ivo BOSNAR, 22.Peter ZORBAS (21.Sean MITCHELL 64?), 16.Elsid BARKHOUSIR, 11.Luka GLAVAS
Substitutes Not Used: 12.Jake TIMPANO, 10.Steve HAYES, 44.Steven VELESKI, 30.Gem AKILLI
Yellow Cards: Nil
Red Cards: Nil
Manly United FC: 1.Brad SWANCOTT; 4.Matthew SIMON, 5.Pascal JULLIARD, 8.Keith SHEVLIN, 9.Robbie CATTANACH, 12.Scott BALDERSON, (29.Nicholas SWART 85?), 16.Joey SCHIRRIPA, 14.Jimmy OATES, 23.David DODD (3.Roberto HAMAD 69?), 24.Beau BUSCH, 28.Chad COWLEY (6.Luke CASSERLY 60?)
Substitutes Not Used: 20.Rhyss KEANE, 11.Craig MIDGLEY
Yellow Cards: Balderson 23?, Dodd 54?
Red Cards: Simon 39?
-By Stuart Jones