Late Wolves comeback downs Eagles
A stunning strike from Chris Camilleri had given Parramatta the lead midway through a tightly contested first-half, though A-League import Sasho Petrovski grabbed the equaliser for the Wolves with a screamer of a free-kick before Stephen Paric snatched a late winner in the youngster?s first competitive start for the South Coast club.
Parramatta goalkeeper Anthony Costa was called into action in the 1? minute when he darted off his line to beat Peter Simonovski to a through ball, clearing any early danger to his goal.
The Wolves came close to grabbing the lead soon after when Nick Littler cut inside Daniel Borg on the left wing and then found Mark Picciolini on the edge of the penalty-area. Picciolini?s effort was largely disappointing as he curled his shot over the crossbar with his left foot.
The first threat on the Wolves goal came on 6? minutes when Bryan Soane volleyed his shot across the face of goal after connecting with Fabien Iacovelli?s teasing cross.
Picciolini broke free of Peter Crevani on the right wing shortly after; his driven cross came within inches of the outstretched boot of Chris Nathaniel as another early chance went begging for the Wolves.
Parramatta FC then began to find their feet as Camilleri and Iacovelli fired over before Kutaiba Elrich turned past Petrovski and drove a shot straight into Brody Crane?s safe hands.
Camilleri then grabbed the lead for Parramatta midway through the first period when he curled a splendid 25-yard strike inside the far post after his corner was fed back to him on the left wing.
George Strogylos went close to adding a second for Parramatta FC shortly after when his header cleared the crossbar from 6-yards off Soane?s cross.
Parramatta?s Almir Dizdaric then fired over from outside the area late in the half before Strogylos was on hand at the other end to block Petrovski?s long-range effort to ensure the visitors held their goal advantage going into the interval.
The Wolves appeared to grow increasingly frustrated in the second-half after referee Kurt Ams waved play on when Simonovski went down in the box under the challenge of Thomas Wilson.
The match seemed to be slipping away from them as the discouraged Wolves picked up a series of bookings early in the half with Parramatta limiting their goal scoring opportunities to long-range attempts ? including a 45-yard shot from Dave Abel.
Camilleri went within an inch of sealing the win for Parramatta FC when his curled 20-yard free-kick struck the underside of the crossbar and bounced clear, much to the relief of Crane who was well beaten in the Wolves? goal.
South Coast Wolves ironically grabbed their equaliser from a free-kick minutes later when the experienced Sasho Petrovski stepped up to drill a 25-yard strike into the top corner, opening his goal scoring account for the season.
The goal put Parramatta FC on the back foot as the Wolves lifted in search of a winner, which they found when Paric stole possession from the Parramatta backline and drove a low shot past Costa from the edge of the 18-yard box on 81? minutes.
The Wolves looked to cement their victory as Gomez twice tested Costa with placed shots, both of which were well saved as the home side controlled the closing stages to hold on for a dramatic victory.
Wolves? coach Trevor Morgan was delighted with the result, marking Petrovski?s free-kick as the turning point of the match:
?It was an uplifting moment, and that?s what his experience brings for us,? said Morgan.
?Sasho?s pulled out a top class finish and to be fair it changed the game.
?I think the boys were battling and it changed their confidence. They did lift, as did I.?
Morgan also made special mention of Stephen Paric, praising both the youngster?s performance and winning goal:
?I thought he had an excellent game for a young fella at 17 years of age,? said Morgan.
?He?s pinched the ball and put it in the back of the net for 2-1. Thank you very much!?
After a solid performance Parramatta defender George Strogylos was understandably disappointed with the result, yet could draw positives from the loss:
?After doing so well until we conceded it is disappointing to come away without anything,? said Strogylos.
?To be fair we did really well until we conceded so there?s a few positives to take from the game ? apart from the scoreline.?
Despite late goals costing Parramatta 5-points from their first two NSW Premier League outings, Strogylos believes the future is bright for the competition?s newcomers after pushing more experienced opponents until the final whistle for the second week running:
?We?ve played two good games, albeit the score lines may not be in our favour,? said Strogylos
?We?re aiming to do really well and surprise a fair few people so we?re looking forward to a good year with a good group of boys,? Strogylos concluded.
The afternoon?s early fixture saw Parramatta FC earn a 1-0 victory over South Coast Wolves in the Grade-20 division.
Match Stats
South Coast Wolves 2 (Sasho Petrovski 75?, Stephen Paric 81?)
Parramatta FC 1 (Chris Camilleri 27?)
Sunday 3rd April, 2011
John Crehan Park, Cringila
Referee: Kurts Ams
Assistant Referees: Sarah Ho and Nick Backo
Fourth Official: Lance Greenshields
Crowd: 300 Approx.
South Coast Wolves: 1.Brody Crane; 2.Alex Mansueto, 3.Dave Abel, 4.Jacob Timpano, 5.Nick Littler, 6.Lawrence Drake (16.Jake Duczynski 72?), 13.Stephen Paric, 19.Peter Simonovski (8.Andres Gomez 58?), 9.Mark Picciolini, 10.Sasho Petrovski, 11.Chris Nathaniel
Substitutes Not Used: 14.Cam Littler, 12.Jack Keating, 20.Hayden Durose
Yellow Cards: Alex Mansueto 60?, Mark Picciolini 62?, Brody Crane 65?, Jacob Timpano 71?
Red Cards: Nil
Parramatta FC: 21.Anthony Costa; 3.Daniel Borg, 5.George Strogylos, 6.Thomas Wilson, 8.Bryan Soane (20.Evangelos Petratos 85?), 9.Kutaiba Elrich, 10.Chris Camilleri, 11.Peter Crevani, 14.Fabien Iacovelli, 15. Ben Delicata, 18.Almir Dizdaric (13.L Grima 88?)
Substitutes Not Used: 7.Shayne Ardle, 12.Marc O?Donell, 40.M Bortone
Yellow Cards: Chris Camilleri 54?
Red Cards: Nil
Player Ratings:
3 ? Chris Camilleri (PE)
2 ? Stephen Paric (SCW)
1 ? Lawrence Drake (SCW)
-By Michael Shoolman
