NSW Super League Round 9 Review

Spirit FC fell to their third loss in a week with a hefty 0-3 reverse to Granville Rage while St George had their biggest win of the season, 6-2 over Hills Brumbies. Dulwich Hill gained their first win of the season, defeating Sydney University 3-1.
Feature match of the Week
St George v Hills Brumbies
St George triumphed 6-2 over the Hills Brumbies on an icy night at St George Stadium, he win keeping the Saints within touching distance of leaders Macarthur Rams.
The Saints looked comfortable for the most part, scoring early in the piece to take the lead. With a defence as strong as what St George have shown this season, the loss of a goal did look ominous for the Brumbies.
The match had started fairly evenly though, Hills being very competitive and pressuring St George quickly. The Saints have shown themselves to be arguably the best passing side in the competition this season, a feature of their game across the park. The midfield influence of Ivo de Jesus and Reuben Lagos has been the start of many attacking forays and it was this influence that the Brumbies tried to counter.
And they did so for a period, the chances for both sides being minimal in the opening twenty minutes or so. But when Josh Gersbach headed in from a George Lagoudakis free kick, after nineteen minutes, it seemed it would be tough for Hills.
But they still looked sharp, and played some decent football as they sought to get a goal themselves. They did have the ball in the net on thirty five minutes after a slip by St George saw Lord Darkoh score what appeared an equaliser, but the linesman?s flag was up and play was pulled back.
It was perhaps a close call for St George who took heed of the warning and just five minutes later got their second. It was a brilliantly executed goal. Lagoudakis chested down well, beating his man and then letting fly with a left footer which soared into the net. Chris Rizzo in the Brumbies goal had not a chance.
It seemed a comfortable lead but the Brumbies were never going to lie down. They gained a goal back just after the restart, Russell Farrell sneaking in a shot low into the corner, after some sustained Hills pressure.
But within ten minutes, St George regained their two goal advantage. A Gersbach cross from the right was met sharply by James Kovas, against a slightly hesitant Hills defence, his rising shot always going in.
Gersbach had a great chance to make it four as the chances came but blasted wide. Not long after though, Kovas got his second. A delightful free kick by de Jesus was met by Kovas running across the area, and unmarked, flicked the ball backwards with his head, over an exposed Rizzo.
At 4-1 the points were safe but Brumbies still worked at reducing the arrears. Substitute Dragan Savic got one back to make it 4-2 but two very quick goals in reply by St George blew out the score to 6-2. Lagos got Saints? fifth, keeping his nerve to slot away and a minute later Denis Cutura controlled well in the area being slamming past Rizzo.
?They are a very good side, the best in the competition?, remarked Mark Abi-Arrage about St George, after the game. ?The quality of their crosses into the box was of a different class. They are also clinical too?they had about ten chances tonight and scored six?.
?We tried to press and it was their midfield men we targeted, particularly de Jesus, Lagos and Simon Verrender. And that was how we got our first, even if it came as a result of a slip up. But it came because we pressed them?.
?We will get our results against most sides but they were in a different class tonight?.
Kory Babington is certainly happy with how the team is travelling at the moment but well aware that the season is still relatively young.
?We don?t want to get too far ahead of ourselves. As a coach, you always know that a slip or a couple of quick goals can change things. Even though we may have looked comfortable, there is always the chance that a game can change?.
?But we played well. It is good to have David Smith back, he is a quality player, and James Kovas too, played well. He hasn?t started too many games but scored two nice goals?.
St George 6 (James Kovas 61?, 76?, Josh Gersbach 19?, George Lagoudakis 41?, Reuben Lagos 90?, Denis Cutura 91?) v Hills Brumbies 2 (Russell Farrell 53?, Dragan Savic 89?)
14 May 2011
at St George Stadium
Referee: Kevin Peddie
Assts: Darren Richards and Wayne Crabb
St George: 1. Daniel Nash 10. Peter Vassilis (21. Blake Ricciuto 55?) 14. Mark Bariamis 2. Michael Smith 3. David Smith 5. Simon Verrender 25. Ivo de Jesus 7. George Lagoudakis (22. Brad Gibson 61?) 6. Reuben Lagos 17. Josh Gersbach (9. Denis Cutura 80?) 11. James Kovas.
Subs not used: 8. Jason Gonzalez 16. Luke Turnbull
Yellow Cards: Michael Smith, David Smith, Mark Bariamis, Josh Gersbach
Coach: Kory Babington
Hills Brumbies: 20. Chris Rizzo 16. Chad Cowley 13. Greg Giovenali 2. Daniel Ramirez 17. Nemanja Tomic (9. Dragan Savic 64?) 6. Terry Pannowitz 19. Eros Bergamin 4. Jovan Miladinovic (12. Anthony Abi-Arrage 64?) 11. Lord Darkoh 5. Russell Farrell 8. Keunike Maralit (10. Brendan Mitrovich 73?)
Subs not used: 18. Justin Ciampa Rgk Harrick Sinpraseuth  
Yellow cards: Nemanja Tomic
Coach: Mark Abi-Arrage
Dulwich Hill v Sydney University
Dulwich Hill gained their first win of the season, and came from behind to do so, defeating Sydney University 3-1, the points leapfrogging Dully over Hills Brumbies and off the bottom of the table.
But they had to do so the hard way, after Liam McConaghy put Uni ahead with his fifth of the year. The goal came after some good interchange down the left between Kenda Takashima and Mitchell Lensink, Lensink?s cross being met by McConaghy.
But within four minutes, Dulwich Hill got on level terms. Robbie Shields, newly signed, got his first of the night just after the hour beating Michael Frost in a one-on-one, following a defensive mixup by the Uni backline, and then Jason Garrido scored a blinder to put Dully in the lead. Garrido, facing away from goal and near the touchline blasted into the net, catching Uni by surprise. A second by Shields, with seven minutes left on the clock, confirmed the win.
?We compressed well, and put Uni under a lot of pressure?, said Paul Carter, ?which is really how our first goal came, forcing an error?.
?It was a nice win and a lot of credit goes to the team, for a lot of hard work. And finally, a few things are starting to go our way. It will do our confidence a lot of good too?.
?It was a funny game?, explained a frustrated John Calleja. ?We did very well in the first half and dominated but we just didn?t keep our composure in the final third. When we hit the lead, in the second half, we felt that the job was done?.
?But an error at the back invited them back into the game and then their second was freakish. After that, we stopped playing football and just started chasing. The harder we tried, the worse we got. We panicked and just fell to pieces.?
Dulwich Hill 3 (Robbie Shields 57?, 83?, Jason Garrido 63?) v Sydney University 1 (Liam McConaghy 53?)
Spirit FC v Granville Rage
Granville Rage had their second win since the Easter break with a 3-0 victory over Spirit FC at Christie Park, to lift them to fourth spot on the table. It has not been one of Spirit?s better weeks, this being their second successive league loss, while they were also eliminated from the Waratah Cup last Wednesday.
Phil Pyliotis got on the scoresheet after just two minutes to put the Rage ahead. Pyliotis received a square ball on the edge of the 18 yard box before striking past Murray Nelson. But in a game of few chances, it took until the latter period of the second half before the scoreboard attendant was again called into action.
This time it was Kris Holbrook with a double who did the damage. Both goals saw him beat Nelson in breakaways after outrunning a flat Spirit backline.
?We are leaking goals, and it will just have to stop?, said John McLafferty. ?Our midfield is simply not supporting our defence.?
?All their goals came from breakaways, and the difference between the two sides was the finishing?.
?Both goalkeepers did very little, neither really had a serious save to make. And Jason Holmes was untroubled the whole game,? was his final comment.
Rage co-coach, Mauricio Islas, agreed that it was relatively comfortable for Holmes, but maybe not quite that quiet.
?Spirit did have some chances and they hit the crossbar at one stage. When Appiah-Kubi came on for Spirit, he caused us a few problems, and we had to absorb a bit of pressure?.
?The boys who came in for us did well, but we are still trying to get some consistency. There are still some areas to improve in?.
Spirit FC 0 v Granville Rage 3 (Phil Pyliotis 2?, Kris Holbrook 68?, 73?)
Blacktown Spartans v Macarthur Rams
Macarthur Rams kept on their winning ways with a hard fought 2-1 away win over Blacktown Spartans at Francis Park. It was a difficult match for the Rams who have been somewhat injury hit over the past week, as the number of matches has started to take their toll.
But they still did the necessary over the Spartans, who were missing the suspended Tom Spencer and Danny Wells, and took a second minute lead from the spot. A trademark run down the right by Craig Cooley saw him upended by the Spartans keeper, leaving the Rams captain to calmly dispatch the penalty.
Chris Gomez made it 2-0 in the twenty third minute, after unleashing a shot on the run, following good inroads down the left. Gomez is on fire at the moment, that being his sixth goal of the season.
Spartans worked hard to get back into the game and when James Young pulled one back with a quarter of an hour left, a screamer from thirty yards, the Rams were under the pump. The final fifteen minutes had the Spartans piling on the pressure but the league leaders held firm.
?They came at us pretty hard?, said Rams assistant coach Gilbert Yalda. ?They pushed us hard all the way, and were parked in our quarter for the last fifteen minutes?.
?Our keeper, Josh Barrett, made a couple of good saves and so we were able to still take the win?.
There have been some injury concerns for the Rams, this match being their fifth game in fifteen days.
?I had to take Shannon Hankin and Callum Fleming off due to injuries, and Shannon didn?t train all week. I am not sure what we will do about the Cup on Wednesday yet, and of course, we have St George next week. I will call a training meeting on Monday and we will see then, what we will do?.
For Ben de Hann, it was an opportunity missed.
?I am extremely disappointed. I thought we played well enough and we certainly threw everything at them. We definitely should?ve got something from the game,? he said.
?We created plenty of chances, and that is not our problem, but we really need to start scoring. We had raid after raid, we could have had seven or eight on any other night?.
?But the Rams did the job early on us, from probably their only couple of chances?.
Blacktown Spartans 1 (James Young 75?) v Macarthur Rams 2 (Craig Cooley pen 6?, Chris Gomez 23?)
Fraser Park v West Sydney Berries
There was drama aplenty at Fraser Park as the home side finished with just eight players after three sendings off. While the dismissals were somewhat late in the game, there proved enough time for West Sydney Berries to take advantage, their winner coming four minutes from time, when Fraser Park were down to nine.
The Berries had taken the lead just before half time, when Dimitri Zakilas met an Ante Deur cross. A send off to Paulo Oliviera in the second half reduced Fraser Park to ten but that didn?t stop them from getting an equaliser, Clive Delaney netting from a cross to draw the home side level at 1-1.
But as the game degenerated in the final fifteen minutes, with Carlo Musumeci and then Robert di Meglio being red carded, Zakilas and the Berries maintained their composure to gain another valuable three points, hot on the heels of the Spirit victory last week. Zakilas, at the second attempt, secured the win.
?I always knew it would be a tough game?, said Steve Karavatakis. ?This league is unpredictable and it doesn?t matter who you play, everyone is capable of beating everybody else.?
?But our defence was strong, and though we missed a lot of chances, we still maintained our composure.?
?We tried to play football,? stated Alex Augusto, ?and I thought we played better than them but we got punished?.
?I had to change the team when Paulo was sent off, bringing off Fred Umlil and replacing him with Des Koroma to help keep our balance, reverting to a 4-4-1. And Des did really well, helping to set up the equaliser?.
?We probably played better with ten than we did with eleven. But the game, as a whole, really needs to improve its quality across the board?.
The win lifts the Berries into the top five for the first time this season, their second win in a row since the Easter break.
Fraser Park (Clive Delaney 77?) v West Sydney Berries (Dimitri Zakilas 45?, 86?)
Central Coast v Northern Tigers
There was little activity at Pluim Park as both Central Coast and Northern Tigers fought out a drab 0-0 draw, a result which doesn?t suit either side.
The concern for the Tigers? Jason Eagar must be how to get his team scoring again, this result being their fourth game in a row, including their cup loss, in which the Tigers have failed to find the net.  
Central Coast likewise, have found goals difficult to come by of late, their tally of nine for the season the second lowest in the competition. The Coast will have the chance to make some amends when they meet St George on Thursday in the rearranged round six clash.
Central Coast 0 v Northern Tigers 0
Top Scorers
7 –        Shannon Hankin            (Macarthur Rams)
            Kris Holbrook                (Granville Rage)
6 –        Chris Gomez                 (Macarthur Rams)
Grant Maundrell             (Central Coast)
5 –        Liam McConaghy          (Sydney University)
4 –        Kodjo Adjassou            (West Sydney Berries)
Juan Chavez                 (Spirit FC)
Travis Cooper               (Northern Tigers)
            Ivo de Jesus                 (St George)
            James Kovas                (St George)
            Dragan Savic                (Hills Brumbies)
            Dimitri Zakilas               (West Sydney Berries)
Upcoming Fixtures
Waratah Cup
All games Wednesday 18 May
Kick off 730pm
Fraser Park v Chopin Park Rams
Sydney Utd v Sydney University
Macarthur Rams v Fairfield City Lions
Marconi  v West Sydney Berries
Blacktown Spartans v Port Kembla
Hills Brumbies v Rockdale City Suns
Granville Rage v Sutherland Sharks
Super League
Catch up Round 6
Thursday 19 May
Kick off 730pm
Central Coast                v          St George
-By Peter Rowney