Waratah Cup Round 4: Manly United ease into Quarters with victory over Fraser Park
Only the truly fanatical supporters braved the freezing conditions on the peninsula.
United coach Craig Midgley fielded the likes of Daniel Grant, Will Mellor and Jordan Edwards from the outset, and the trio didn’t look out of place.
Manly should have taken the lead after 14′ minutes.
A slick counterattack saw winger Seung Soo Lee in acres of space but his pass to Scott Balderson lacked conviction and the ball was hacked to safety by the NSW Super League outfit.
2′ minutes later the home side went even closer.
A Roberto Hamad free kick from the left fell at the feet of Edwards, who rushed his shot and volleyed over.
On the half hour mark Lee angled a shot at the near post, but found the side netting when he should have beaten Fraser keeper Alex Augusto.
United continued to press leading into half-time, and a minute before the break got their reward.
Persistent play from Jimmy Oates played in Grant, whose crisp ball from the byline was headed home by Balderson.
The goal sucked the life out of Fraser Park, and with both teams clearing their bench in the second-half, play was somewhat disjointed at times.
Manly veteran Robbie Cattanach showed his class with two ?poacher like? goals off the bench in the 66′ and 75′ minute, with Grant once again the provider for the second goal after a great run past two defenders.
With 6′ minutes remaining Fraser’s Troy Eedy was clear on goal but couldn’t beat Dylan Mitchell, who was determined to keep a clean sheet.
Midgley was a happy man once referee Adam Susz called full-time.
“We were a different class, our young boys were fantastic against a decent team,” he said.
“Some of ‘older’ heads like Scott Balderson, Michael Daly and Joey Gibbs are 20 or 21, so that shows what we are working with.
“I said to the guys it was a chance to push for a spot for league games in the coming weeks and they didn’t let me or themselves down.”
He also believes fatigue won’t be a factor come Sunday’s NSW Premier League home clash with Sydney United.
“Last week (against Dandaloo FC) was a very short turn around, but the lads know the deal,” he said.
“We are in the final eight (of the Waratah Cup) and played some great football, I am delighted.”
Match Stats
Manly United FC 3 (Scott Balderson 44′, Robbie Cattanach 66′, 75′)
Fraser Park 0
Wednesday 8th June, 2011
Cromer Park
Referee : Adam Susz
Assistant Referees: Adam Coombes and Tom Lee
Manly United FC: 1.Dylan MITCHELL; 2.Jimmy OATES, 3.Roberto HAMAD, (19.John HALL 65′) 5.Marc RICHARDS, 6.Michael DALY (17.Matthew SIM), 7.Scott BALDERSON (18.Colin ILEY 68′), 11.Justin HAYWARD (21.Joey GIBBS 20′), 14.Seung Soo LEE (9.Robbie CATTANACH 54′), 25.Jordan EDWARDS, 26.Daniel GRANT, 27.Will MELLOR
Substitutes Not Used: Nil
Yellow Cards: Jordan Edwards 55′
Red Cards: Nil
Fraser Park: 26.Alex AUGUSTO; (1.Ivan KOVACEVIC 62′), 2.Ryuta NAMBU, 3.Andrea RUSSO, 4.Maurice ALIBERTI, 6. Anthony BARLETTA, 10.Paulo OLIVEIRA, (13.Sergio BORDONARO 59′) 17.Wassim HIJAZI, 18.Nasanari OMURA, 22.Yuya TAMARI, 20.Carlos VILLAZON, (12.Troy EEDY 46′) 21.Anthony VILLAZON
Substitutes Not Used: 9.Leigh GUNN, 16.Antonio FARIA
Yellow Cards: Paulo Oliveira 55′
Red Cards: Nil
