Bankstown outclassed at Belmore
Bankstown City?s Stefanos Liavas arrived late at the ground after attending the birth of his son in what proved a bitter sweet day for the Bankstown player who was given his marching orders in the first-half following his second caution.
The feel around the ground was one of complete sadness for the Blues faithful however, following the passing of Mr. Triantis during the week ? the father of Sydney Olympic players Chris and Peter.
Chris Triantis turned out for the Blues and found the net, and with an impeccably observed minute silence prior to kick-off to honour Mr. Triantis? memory, all connected with the game send their condolences to the family.
Bankstown started by far the brighter with several half-chances being carved out with both Bedzo, having a shot from distance blocked, and then Sean Mitchell lifting the ball over the advancing Paul Henderson, though his effort lacked power and was comfortably cleared off the line.
David Gardiner headed narrowly wide for the visitors from a free-kick to the back stick shortly after, and when Bedzo hit a volley across the face of the Olympic goal there were several worried looks on the faces of the Olympic support after only 10? minutes of play.
Peter Tsekenis has instilled a belief in this Sydney Olympic side and after soaking up the early pressure from Bankstown, the Blues slowly slipped through the gears and took control of the game, a control they never looked likely to relinquish.
They mounted a series of sustained attacks as Takayuki Omi was thwarted in the 22? minute by goalkeeper Zlatko Joseski.
The Lions shot-stopper was powerless shortly afterwards when David Gullo broke down the Lions? left and crossed for Omi who did enough to put off Joseski without getting a touch, and the ball bobbled toward the line with Robbie Mileski quickest to react and power the ball over the line.
Liavas then received the first of two yellow cards for handball in the 32? minute, barely 20-yards out, that Triantis struck home with great aplomb to make it 2-0.
Peralta added his name to the referee?s book before a second yellow for a foul saw Liavas leave the field.
Playing Sydney Olympic with a full team has proven difficult for most sides this season and the second-half saw the home side take the foot off the pedal somewhat, with catch-up games in mind. Despite this, the Lions struggled to pressure the home side at all in the second period.
Bankstown huffed and puffed but it was always going to be a tough challenge and the final word went to Olympic with a solo goal from Gullo that not only sealed the victory but was worth the entry fee alone.
Credit has to be given to Tsekenis who has transformed what was, according to the pundits, a side that was workmanlike at best into a ball playing team that is within touching distance of the minor premiership, something their football thoroughly deserves this season at the very least.
Following the match, Bankstown coach Blagoja Kuleski commented:
?We talked during the week about the players who were out and the fact we needed to stick together and make sure no-one gets a red card at this stage of the season and what happens? We get a red card.
?I am not too disappointed to lose to Sydney Olympic because it was always going to be a hard game to come here and win and we started well but they are a good team, the best in the league and we couldn?t match them today.
?They deserve their win.?
Peter Tsekenis, his counterpart and a man who will not accept praise for what he has done so far said:
?Bankstown started better than us and maybe had a decent half-chance they could have put away that dropped for them but nothing really from open play and I never thought we were under any great pressure to be honest.
?We finally woke up and probably had two clear chances before we actually scored and when they had a lad sent off that changes the dynamic of the game and we took our foot off the pedal a little.
?However, we were always in control I thought and we had the excellent finish at the end that was well deserved.
?We had a bad day today, the father of one of the players passed away this week and he still turned up to play today and that was a big effort from him and it could have been the other way where the boys didn?t step up so it was a good result,? Tsekenis ended.
Match Stats
Sydney Olympic 3 (Mileski 26?, Triantis 33?, Gullo 90?+3?)
Bankstown City 0
Sunday 31st July, 2011
Belmore Sports Ground, Belmore
Referee: Kevin Peddie
Assistant Referees: Alex Long and Sam Grasso
Fourth Official: Janne Sjogren
Sydney Olympic: 1.Paul Henderson (gk); 3.Brett Studman, 4.Ibrahim Haydar (12.Bill Tsanidis 59?), 5.Richard Luksic (C), 8.Chris Triantis, 10.Anthony Doumanis (17.Mitchell Stamatelis 72?), 11.Robbie Mileski (9.Hussein Akil 80?), 18.Jerry Kalouris, 14.William Angel, 19.David Gullo, 23.Takayuki Omi
Substitutes Not Used: 15.Tod Bamber, 40.Costa D?Addona
Yellow Cards: Mileski 54?, Stamatelis 78?
Red Cards: Nil
Bankstown City: 1.Zlatko Joseski; 4.Blaz Dejanovic, 5.David Gardiner, 7.Stefanos Liavas, 8.Peter Peralta, 10.Hussein Salameh, 15.Steven Bozinovski, 18.Lennox Tweneboa, 20.Frederick Graham (6.Daniel Slaveski 70?), 31.Chris Bedzo (14.Nathan Slaveski 77?), 32.Sean Mitchell (19.Steven Krsteski 89?)
Substitutes Not Used: Anthony Anic, 3.Chris Petrovski
Yellow Cards: Liavas 32?, Peralta 35?, Graham 70?
Red Cards: Liavas 38?
-By Micky Brock
