Five-star Bonnyrigg steamroll Sharks
Played at a fast-pace on a slippery surface, Bonnyrigg put together their best half of football this season over the first 45? minutes, illustrated by Jared Lum?s hat-trick.
The Sharks best efforts to re-open the contest were confirmed early in the second-half as Todd Halloran made it 2-3, before Brad Boardman and Brendan Gan completed the five-star performance.
The White Eagles had captain Chris Tadrosse at his best in a sensational performance by the left-sided defender, meanwhile Brendan Gan, Nathan Elasi and Alexander Canak looked the goods in the attacking third. Youngster Jared Lum was clinical with his finishing for the White Eagles, a most impressive sign for Bonnyrigg in the run into the finals series.
The Sharks week wasn?t a positive one with news of Yianni Fragogianis being ruled out for the season. The young left-sided defender will undergo an operation on his ankle following scans last week.
Bonnyrigg created the evening?s first opening in the 2? minute as Alexander Canak turned his marker nicely before blasting his effort inches over Nathan Denham?s crossbar.
Canak tried his luck from distance again 1? minute later though Sharks midfielder Nick Stavroulakis threw his body behind the ball to thwart any danger.
Sutherland pressed forward in numbers in the 4? minute as Jim Bakis was released down the right. The experienced midfielder picked his time nicely to deliver a cross into the penalty-area though the White Eagles defenders cleared their lines swiftly.
On 10? minutes the White Eagles found the opening goal. Chris Tadrosse?s perfectly lofted cross from deep managed to catch Denham and Sharks defender Paul Kohler hesitating momentarily, as Jared Lum snuck in with his right boot for the opener.
Brendan Gan went close to doubling the home side?s lead in the 14? minute with a fierce effort from the edge of the penalty-area. Sharks goalkeeper Denham did exceptionally well to divert the effort over the crossbar with a fingertip save.
1? minute later, Boardman and Gan combined with a tantalising one-two. The latter, from an acute angle, had his effort saved by a brave Denham at the midfielder?s feet.
In the 22? minute Canak and Boardman played a neat exchange to send the former through on goal. Again from an acute angle, Canak was thwarted by a brave Denham who claimed the ball at the attacking
On 23? minutes, White Eagles captain Tadrosse showed strength and finesse to cut back a square ball from the left byline. With a sea of legs inside the Sharks penalty-area, no Bonnyrigg player was on hand to convert.
Sutherland Sharks got a rare look at Andrew Bazi?s goal in the 28? minutes, though Bakis? free-kick delivery from the left failed to penetrate the Bonnyrigg defence.
Bonnyrigg should have had their second goal in the 30? minute as Boardman again played a neat lay-off into the path of Gan. The former Sydney FC midfielder picked his spot though saw his curling left-foot effort ricochet off the crossbar as the Sharks cleared the ball away to safety.
The White Eagles did find their second in the 32? minute, again via Jared Lum. Tadrosse?s sensational cut-back across goal from the left byline found its way into the path of Lum who blasted his shot on the turn past the outstretched glove of Denham.
The Sharks lifted their momentum in the front-third after conceding the second goal, though half-chances via crosses from Stavroulakis first, then Bakis failed to reap any reward.
The Sharks finished the half strongly with the side pulling a goal back on 43? minutes. Panni Nikas? free-kick from deep on the left-flank took a faint touch off Matthew Bailey to cut the White Eagles? lead to one.
Despite the Sharks lifting in confidence, Lum completed his hat-trick with the last kick of the half. A low corner delivery to the edge of the penalty-area picked out Lum who drove a fierce effort into the bottom right-hand corner to restore Bonnyrigg?s two-goal lead.
Sutherland returned to the field after the break with their foot firm on the accelerator. Half chances to Bailey and Nikas showcased the side?s intentions before substitutes Todd Halloran and Lachlan Cahill combined to re-open the contest.
Cahill?s cross from the left picked out Halloran at the back post ? the right-sided midfielder coolly drove his effort into the back of the net.
On 52? minutes, Matt Bailey squandered a golden chance to even the ledger. The Sharks number 10 managed to bring the ball down inside the penalty-area though, under the watchful eye of his marker, failed to drive cleanly on target as Bazi made a routine save.
At the other end, David Vrankovic picked up the scraps following a poorly dealt with set-piece by the Sharks rearguard. The defender?s snap-shot effort stamped against Denham?s left-hand post as the chance went begging for Bonnyrigg.
Tadrosse then went close via a free-kick on 65? minutes. The Bonnyrigg supporters were on their feet as Tadrosse struck the ball, though Denham got down well to make a strong save to his left.
On 77? minutes, Boardman tried his luck from distance though a slight deflection helped the ball over Denham?s crossbar.
Boardman got his goal 5? minutes later with a strong header from Tadrosse?s corner. The burly striker rose highest inside the penalty-area to restore his side?s two goal lead and secure the three-points.
Gan added a fifth for the White Eagles 3? minutes from time with a well worked effort. Gan?s initial effort was touched onto the crossbar by Denham before the White Eagles midfielder followed up with a header into the back of an open net.
Bonnyrigg White Eagles coach Brian Brown was ecstatic following the match:
?Very very happy with the boys tonight,? Brown commented.
?From the opening whistle the boys were up for the challenge and we gave a very good account of ourselves across the park.
?We were disappointed with the result last week against Blacktown City, and we knew that we needed to lift tonight, and we were brilliant in the first-half.
?I would have liked to have gone into the break with a bigger lead, for all the chances we created in the opening half ? and we were a little worried when Sutherland made it 3-2 ? though the team kept playing and we definitely deserved the result in the end.
?Last time we played Sutherland, we managed to then get a positive run of results in the matches that followed. Hopefully, we have a series of good results to come for us in the following weeks after tonight?s win,? concluded Brown.
Out of the opposite dressing room, Sutherland Sharks boss Robbie Stanton was disappointed with the evening?s events:
?We didn?t really show up for the match tonight, and that is really disappointing,? explained Stanton.
?We had a chance to go level with Sydney Olympic, had we got the win tonight, and then really pushed for a top-two spot.
?I cannot really argue with the result, as we were second best and Bonnyrigg definitely deserved the win for what they showed over the 90? minutes.
?We were sluggish at the start, though I was happy that the boys stuck with it and pulled a goal back late on in the first-half. Unfortunately, conceding another goal straight after made the job all the more difficult.
?In saying that, we were very positive over the opening 20? minutes of the second-half, and maybe on another evening could have found an equaliser at 2-3.
?Thoughts now have to turn to next weekend where we will need to bounce back quickly to move as high up the table as possible,? concluded Stanton.
The Grade-20 encounter between Bonnyrigg White Eagles and Sutherland Sharks was called off to preserve the playing surface for the first grade encounter following the inclement weather over the past 24-hours.
Match Stats
Bonnyrigg White Eagles 5 (Jared Lum 10?, 32?, 45?, Brad Boardman 82?, Brendan Gan 87? )
Sutherland Sharks 2 (Matthew Bailey 43?, Todd Halloran 49? )
Saturday 20th August, 2011
Bonnyrigg Sports Centre, Bonnyrigg
Referee: Gerard Parsons
Assistant Referees: Sarah Ho and Steven Nguyen
Fourth Official: Chris Peck
Bonnyrigg White Eagles: 1.Andrew Bazi; 22.Jared Lum (14.Blake Powell 71?), 16. David Vrankovic, 17.Michael Robinson, 3.Nikola Zonjic, 10.Brendan Gan, 7.Nathan Elasi (11.Shane Webb 83?), 12.Takuya Murayama (2.Nikola Stanojevic 88?), 5.Chris Tadrosse (C), 8.Alexander Canak, 9.Brad Boardman
Substitutes Not Used: 15.Wely Al-Rikaby, 34.William Case
Yellow Cards: Nil
Red Cards: Nil
Sutherland Sharks: 1.Nathan Denham; 2.George Souris (C), 7.Jim Bakis (11.Todd Halloran 46?), 8.Chris Price, 10.Matt Bailey, 12.Hayden Morton, 14.Nick Stavroulakis, 15.Mike Katz, 19.Huseyin Jasli (5.Lachlan Cahill 46?), 20.Paul Kohler (6.Sam Awad 79?), 23.Panni Nikas
Substitutes Not Used: 3.Tyson Rhodes, 22.Alex Augusto
Yellow Cards: Nil
Red Cards: Nil
-By Joseph Carlucci
