Late goal drama as Olympic overcome Sharks in blockbuster clash
With the clock ticking down on a cagey encounter, Brett Studman opened the scoring with a quarter of an hour left to play only for Nick Tsattalios to equalise minutes later.
The teams appeared set to share the spoils until Robbie Mileski capped off an industrious performance with an injury time winner much to the delight of the home fans.
Sutherland Sharks went into the match without captain George Souris and coach Robbie Stanton as the pair were forced to miss the fixture due to an unfortunate clash with their FFA Grade 3 coaching course.
Sydney Olympic were forced to contend without star striker Alex Smith, who now begins his A-League adventure with Gold Coast United. Daniel Severino started on the bench for the home side after he was recruited midweek from Bonnyrigg White Eagles to bolster Olympic?s attack.
After a slow start the first opportunity of the match fell to Mileski as he cut in from the left hand side only for Hayden Morton to get a crucial touch on the enigmatic striker?s shot, taking the pace off the ball to provide Nathan Denham with the simplest of saves.
Chris Triantis tried his luck soon after, turning past his marker and driving a low shot into the side netting from 20-yards.
The best chance of the half fell to Mileski as he connected with Chris Triantis? cross; however Denham was well positioned to make the save.
Substitute defender Ibrahim Haydar, on for the injured Emmanuel Giannaros, rose to meet Phil Makrys? floated free kick late in the half, heading wide from six yards.
At the end of a quiet half in the final third, Panni Nikas tested Paul Henderson with a shot from 35-yards that was well held by the Olympic custodian as the sides went scoreless into the break.
Sydney Olympic appeared more lively after the interval as Mileski took advantage of Mike Katz?s lapse in concentration to burst into the box and force a fine double save from Denham, who blocked the original shot before holding Mileski?s follow-up.
Sutherland?s backline kept Olympic at bay on multiple occasions throughout the half, pressuring Mileski into heading the ball over the crossbar before deflecting Peter Triantis? shot over the bar.
Chris Triantis came within inches of breaking the deadlock on the hour mark, creating space for himself on the edge of the box before curling his shot agonisingly wide of Denham?s left post.
Sutherland began to find their feet as they looked to leave their mark on the match, with Henderson holding Jimmy Bakis? 30-yard free kick before Richard Luksic denied Sam Awad?s goal scoring opportunity with a challenge that left the Sutherland striker injured.
The match began to open up at both ends as Chris Triantis forced Denham into a fine low save before Tsattalios found space on the edge of the Olympic 18-yard box only to have his shot blocked by a wall of defenders.
With 15? minutes left on the clock, tempers boiled over as Bakis flattened Phil Makrys with a crunching challenge on the halfway line, earning himself a yellow card once the melee cleared.
Olympic broke the deadlock from the ensuing free-kick as the unmarked Studman connected with Jerry Kalouris? cross, heading the ball inside the far post via Denham?s fingertips.
Chris Triantis went close to doubling Olympic?s lead soon after as he burst forward and played a smart one-two with Mileski only to misjudge his shot, letting Sutherland off the hook.
Nick Stavroulakis came close to equalising at the other end seconds later as his shot took a wicked deflection off Kalouris and dropped just wide of Henderson?s far post.
Sutherland equalised from the ensuing corner as Tsattalios collected the short ball, turned past his marker and rifled his shot into the back of the net, clipping the near post on the way in.
Matt Bailey came close to putting Sutherland in front shortly after as his dipping shot from the right hand side of the box drew a fine save from Denham, who did well not to carry the ball over the line.
Olympic pushed forward in search of a winner of their own, with Studman heading wide from Daniel Severino?s cross before Morton?s fine last ditch challenge block Chris Triantis? solo effort.
With the match appearing set to end with scores all square, Mileski popped up in injury time to cap his fine display with a volleyed winner after Sutherland has failed to clear from the corner, sending the supporters into raptures and his side seven points clear.
Sydney Olympic coach Peter Tsekenis was happy with the result, stating that his side were deserved winners in tonight?s top of the table encounter:
?I thought the first-half was just two teams trying to play safe,? said Tsekenis.
?I thought the second-half, especially when we made the changes with two attacking players and made a statement that we wanted to get the three points, the boys stepped up.
?We had quite a few chances before we scored the first one, they scored against the run of play to equalise, we kept pushing and I thought we got our just reward for our effort in the second half.?
With his side now seven points clear, Tsekenis faces the challenge of keeping his squad?s feet on the ground to ensure complacency does not become an issue:
?That worries me actually,? laughed Tsekenis.
?At the moment now it?s going to be a mental thing in terms of getting these boys up every week.
?Everybody?s going to want to knock us off.
?It?s easy getting there; it?s hard to stay there.
?That?s going to be our challenge, that?s what we?ll be looking towards, and hopefully we can continue on,? Tsekenis added.
Sutherland Sharks? midfielder and goalscorer Nick Tsattalios was understandably disappointed by the result, but happy with the performance his side put in:
?I think it was an intense game, especially the last 20? minutes,? said Tsattalios.
?We went down, I created an equaliser there, and it was disappointing to lose it in the last minute from the set piece.
?We?d specifically sat down in the dressing room and spoken about not conceding from set pieces so it was disappointing, but I?m still very happy with my team.
?We showed we can compete for the title and I think we?ll go on and keep fighting for it.?
With the notable absence of experienced stopper and captain George Souris, Tsattalios said he was looking forward to having the skipper back in the side next week as the Sharks regroup for their run in to the finals:
?From the set pieces and the organisation at the back Souris is impeccable,? said Tsattalios.
?His experience speaks for itself.
?It?ll be good to have him back in the squad next week, and hopefully we can kick on from there, get some results, and get ourselves into the semis,? Tsattalios concluded.
Match Stats
Sydney Olympic 2 (Brett Studman 76?, Robbie Mileski 90+2?)
Sutherland Sharks 1 (Nick Tsattalios 80?)
Saturday June 25th, 2011
Belmore Sports Ground, Belmore
Referee: Khodr Yaghi
Assistant Referees: Lance Greenshields and Michael Weiner
Fourth Official: Tom Klein
Sydney Olympic: 1.Paul Henderson; 2.Emmanuel Giannaros (4.Ibrahim Haydar 28?), 5.Richard Luksic (c), 8.Chris Triantis, 7.Phil Makrys, 18.Jerry Kalouris, 14.Will Angel (19.David Gullo 64?), 16.Peter Triantis, 3.Brett Studman, 15.Todd Bamber (22.Daniel Severino 68?), 11.Robbie Mileski
Substitutes Not Used: 21.Nenad Vekic, 23.Takayumi Omi
Yellow Cards: Brett Studman 17?, Robbie Mileski 77?
Red Cards: Nil
Sutherland Sharks: 1.Nathan Denham; 6.Sam Awad (5.Lachlan Cahill 77?), 7.Jim Bakis, 8.Chris Price, 10.Matt Bailey, 12.Hayden Morton, 14.Nick Stavroulakis, 15.Michael Katz (4.Yianni Fragogiannis 76?), 20.Paul Kohler, 23.Panni Nikas, 33.Nick Tsattalios
Substitutes Not Used: 11.Todd Halloran, 19.Huseyin Jasli, 36.Andrew Depta
Yellow Cards: Paul Kohler 30?, Jimmy Bakis 75?
Red Cards: Nil
-By Michael Shoolman
