NSW Premier League 2011 Year in Review
Dominated by Premiers and Champions Sydney Olympic with their impressive attacking style of football, the twelve clubs entertained supporters with 387 goals scored across the competition.
Sutherland Sharks? Matt Bailey kick-started the campaign with the opening goal of the season back in March with Sydney Olympic captain Richard Luksic, somewhat fittingly, closing out the season with his side?s second in the grand-final.
Sydney Olympic?s triumphant season saw the Blues twice ?pip? Sydney United in the finals series in the run to grand-final win, after the sides shared the spoils with a win apiece in the regular season.
Season 2011 unearthed some fine talent with the likes of Peter Triantis of Sydney Olympic ? the 2011 Robbie Slater medal winner ? Jimmy Oates of Manly United FC and Hayden Morton of Sutherland proving that the future of Australian football is very bright, meanwhile the likes of Travis Major of Blacktown City, Chris Triantis of Sydney Olympic and Giorgio Speranza of Rockdale City Suns confirmed the sensational findings of the 2010 season twelve months ago.
Let?s have a closer look at the twelve NSW Premier League teams for 2011.
Sydney Olympic
Sydney Olympic deservedly added silverware to the club cabinet after what had been a rather lean spell for the former NSL side.
Wholesale changes were made at the club at the conclusion of last season with former player and captain Peter Tsekenis returning to the club as coach. Tsekenis and assistant Peter Papoythis, who both had big success at Bankstown City Lions previously, arrived at Belmore with the objective of building a competitive side to finish in the top five. A large number of former Lions players including Phil Makrys, Robbie Mileski, Brett Studman, Ibrahim Haydar and Richard Luksic to name a few, were integrated nicely into the group with striker Alex Smith proving the find of the season with his goal scoring talents. The Blues were flawless over the first part of the season, matched with an equally impressive start to the second half of the campaign. Following a slight drop-off in intensity late on in the regular season, which did occur during Smith?s A-League sojourn at Gold Coast United, the Blues came back to life to secure the Premiership and majestically administer the finals series with passion and finesse to score the League?s ultimate prize.
Sydney United
The Reds, as the final season verdicts proved, were without a doubt the best side in the competition after Sydney Olympic. Coach Jean-Paul De Marigny?s return to the club following a triumphant stint with the Edensor Park side in 2006 proved very successful with the former NSL player focusing on a very positive attacking football philosophy. Built on some strong foundations defensively with the likes of Mark Rudan and Michael Cindric marshalling the back-line ahead of dependable goalkeeper Vedran Janjetovic, the Reds were very intimidating for opponents in the front-third. Steve Hayes? flair out of midfield with Luka Glavas, Ben Vidaic and Elsid Barkhousir up-front, the Reds proved a major challenge for the eventual champions. Most impressive was the side?s 4-2 defeat of Sydney Olympic in Round 19 at Belmore where despite the Reds playing with ten-men for an hour, the side remained solid and threw caution to the wind with further testament to the side?s attacking abilities.
The grand-final loss was certainly disappointing for the Reds as former A-League stars Rudan and Ufuk Talay signed off from playing duties following distinguished careers both in Australia and abroad.
Blacktown City FC ?
Little chance of success had been handed to the 2010 NSW Premier League champions at the start of the season following the departure of coach Aytek Genc and star players Tolgay Ozbey and Joel Chianese. Despite the skeptics and a lacklustre start to the season, coach Mark Crittenden performed a mighty job in leading his troops to the Preliminary Final. Crittenden?s experience at the club proved priceless as he, with the leadership of captain Luke Roodenburg on the field, instilled the confidence required in his squad.
Travis Major confirmed his status as one of the best young talents in the competition, meanwhile Zac Cairncross, Milorad Simonovic and Mitch Long confirmed their abilities with some very good performances. Mitchell Long proved an ideal partner for Roodenburg in the front part of the field with both players leading the charge on the score sheet.
Sutherland Sharks –
One of the more exciting sides to watch in the competition with a neat passing game, the Sharks poor away form proved to be their undoing in 2011. A mammoth obstacle for opponents at Seymour Shaw, George Souris & Co. failed to find wins on the road to finish higher up the ladder. Despite the good home record and fine displays from midfield pairing Panni Nikas and Nick Stavroulakis, the Sharks finals series campaign was ended, surprisingly, at Seymour Shaw by Blacktown City FC. A somewhat ?thin? playing roster proved to be the side?s undoing as the team ran out of legs at the end of the season.
Coach Robbie Stanton though did unearth some fine talent with Hayden Morton playing well beyond his years in the heart of the defence alongside Souris. Yianni Fragogianis confirmed his progression as a footballer, even though his season was cut short due to injury. In the attacking third, it was Nikas again who orchestrated play with some big goals and fine assists with Matthew Bailey leading the way on the scorer?s chart.
Bonnyrigg White Eagles –
Somewhat surprisingly, Bonnyrigg White Eagles failed to re-capture the ?giant killing? form of 2010 when the side clinched the Premiership trophy before losing out on grand-final day against Blacktown City FC.
Tipped by many to go one better in 2011, coach Brian Brown?s men struggled with results in the first part of the season. Despite a revival, led by Brendan Gan and Jared Lum, in the second part of the campaign, the side failed to make an impact in the finals.
Blacktown City FC confirmed their dominance of Bonnyrigg with a third win for the season in the elimination semi-final, the White Eagles were 10? minutes away from a date with Sutherland Sharks though conceded two goals to bow out for 2011.
Manly United FC ?
The Northern Beaches side performed admirably under the guidance of youthful coach Craig Midgley. With the assistance of experienced defender, and captain, Marc Richards on the field, the pair led Manly United FC to a sixth-place finish on the League ladder and, more impressively, a triumphant Waratah Cup campaign.
Manly United defeated Mounties Wanderers in tremendous fashion, proving that youthful sides can challenge for important season goals. Jimmy Oates was brilliant out on the right, whilst Matthew Simm and Scott Balderson scored some sensational goals throughout the campaign.
With Midgley?s presence confirmed for another season, Manly United FC?s development stands the side in good stead for an even more successful 2012.
South Coast Wolves –
Coach Trevor Morgan assembled a more than competitive side this season as the Wolves turned many heads in the competition. Led by experienced striker Sasho Petrovski, the Wolves only just missed out on a finals berth, due largely to an inconsistent early part of the season. With impressive victories against Marconi Stallions and Sutherland Sharks, Petrovski?s partnership with Mark Picciolini in the attacking third rendered the side a major headache for each of the top-five sides.
Impressive performers this season included Jacob Timpano, Andres Gomez and John Martinovski ? the latter a menace for opposing defences with his quick speed and elegant skill on the ball.
Rockdale City Suns ?
Rockdale City Suns season had its ups and downs as the side left their last-ditch bid for a finals berth a little too late. A well-organised side under the leadership of coach Lee Sterrey, a series of inconsistent results saw the club part ways with the former Marconi Stallions coach with former Socceroo Wally Savor taking over the reins.
The Suns were a little light in the front-third early on in the campaign with Jason Naidovski and James Monie coming to life with goals only in the run home at the end of the season. Adem Kir scored an absolute screamer of a goal against A.P.I.A.-Leichhardt early in the campaign though it was not enough to push the Suns into the top-five.
Finals hopes were shattered with a number of losses at home this season, though the talent in the group with the likes of Shay Spitz, Askin Oygur and Adem Kir does augur well to build for next season.
Marconi Stallions ?
The Stallions ninth-place finish does sum up a rather disappointing season for the former NSL outfit. Former player Luke Casserly, in his first season as coach, did get his side playing some good football with the likes of Matthew Mayora, Nico Sama and Giosue Sama highly rated in the competition. Despite the experience across the park with captain Nahuel Arrate and James Chronopoulos, the Stallions failed to find the consistency in their performances to warrant finals football.
A club with a proud history, the Stallions will be expected to quickly get over this season?s finish and get back to challenging for silverware next season.
A.P.I.A.-Leichhardt Tigers ?
The Tigers salvaged their campaign with a near perfect final month of the season. Their tenth-place finish was a far cry from the wonderful second-half of season 2010 where the side was unbeaten en-route to the semi-finals. 2011 proved a difficult season for the side who struggled to find any cohesion in their ranks. Early elimination from the Waratah Cup, and a spell at the foot of the table, sums up the side?s campaign as well below par.
The Tigers however did get the ball in motion over the final month of the season with wins against Manly United FC, Bankstown City and Sydney United proving just how good the side can be. Franco Parisi and Nick Rizzo led the side meanwhile Stephen Kayes and Anthony Hartshorn?s contribution out of midfield really lifted the side.
The positive finish to the campaign eliminated all concerns of a wooden spoon finish as the Tigers jumped Bankstown City and Parramatta FC to close the season in tenth-spot.
Bankstown City ?
Wholesale changes following the 2010 season, the 2011 campaign was always going to be a huge test for the Lions. Veterans Zlatko Joseski and Steve Liavas remained to lead a relatively inexperienced Bankstown City side this season, though the going proved really tough from the outset. Coach Blagoja Kuleski brought his experience and belief to the club, though the side failed to hit their straps over the first part of the season. Following Kuleski?s departure in early August, former Lions midfielder George Nohra teamed up with Blagojce Pilovski to see out the remainder of the season. The Lions eleventh-place finish was certainly well below the expectations of a club with a proud history in the competition, as the major changes in personnel proved too great of a challenge to overcome.
A positive for the Lions was the discovery of Aman Hadid. The attacking midfielder was one of the few bright lights for the Lions, though his time at the club was cut short after moving to A-League side Gold Coast United.
Parramatta FC ?
A difficult first season in the NSW Premier League for the promoted Parramatta FC saw the side finish the campaign in bottom spot. Faced with the huge challenge of cutting the gap between the Super League and the Premier League, the side did start the season on a high with a fine showing against Bonnyrigg White Eagles on the opening day.
The side?s inability to find wins ultimately resulted in Brian Dene?s departure, clearing the path for Manny Spanoudakis to take control of the first team.
An impressive win against Sutherland Sharks shortly after taking over the reins had the supporters confident of a final push to avoid the wooden spoon, though losses against Bankstown City and Rockdale City Suns in the final month of the competition made their task impossible to achieve.
Star performers for the Eagles this season included Bryan Soane and Daniel Fogarty, meanwhile experienced campaigner Evangelos Petratos did not fail to deliver with some very good performances in one of only a few bright points for the club in 2011.
