Ten-man Parramatta hold on for entertaining draw with Stallions
Parramatta FC spent much of the game defending but both sides created plenty of chances to score.
Marconi?s Daniel Severino had several opportunities to replicate that stunning free-kick winner from a week ago, and came agonisingly close as the ball smashed against the crossbar.
Parramatta coach Lee Sterrey said he felt a mixture of pride and disappointment – believing that his side should have walked away with all three points:
?Let?s get one thing straight there should have been one winner today and that was us,?? Sterrey said.
?We had the best goal chances throughout the match, even with ten men.??
It was the Stallions who came out firing in the first-half. Nathan Elasi and Jamie McMaster combined for a neat one-two but Elasi?s shot was saved by Parramatta FC goalkeeper Matthew Nash. The former Newcastle Jets player put in a much improved performance following last week?s horror debut for the club.
Marconi captain Nahuel Arrarte sent a long ball forward to Chris Nunes who had advanced up the left flank before sending the ball across the Parramatta goal into the path of Joey Gibbs who sent the ball well over the bar.
Parramatta?s Graziano Trimboli was lucky to avoid a booking in the 19? minute as he tackled Severino 30-yards out from the Parramatta goal. Severino stepped up for the free-kick but blazed the ball over the bar.
Parramatta?s Bruno Pivato looked certain to score in the 27? minute when he turned the ball in the box and had a clear shot on goal which was tipped over the bar by second-choice Marconi shot-stopper Michael Mercuri.
The game began to open up as both sides had a number of chances to take the lead. Parramatta sweeper Domenic Trimboli was shown a yellow card for a tackle from behind in the 39? minute. Severino stepped up for the free-kick from 25-yards with the former Gold Coast United man forcing a fantastic save from Nash.
Severino took another long-range shot from open play in the 42? minute, before Appiah-Kubi?s lovely run up the flank ended with ball hitting the side-netting.
Marconi came out firing again in the second-half. The Parramatta defenders continued to give away fouls well within Severino?s range. His 49? minute free-kick smacked the crossbar before coming out to Marconi defender Andrew Mailer who hit the ball straight into Nash?s arms.
Parramatta?s Akiyoshi Saito?s took an ambitious 35-yard shot in the 51? but the powerful strike smacked against the crossbar.
The game?s biggest flashpoint came in the 57? minute when midfielder Graziano Trimboli received a straight red card for a reckless two-footed studs up tackle on Marconi captain Arrarte.
The Parramatta side were forced to absorb wave after wave of Marconi attacks, with Nicholas Napoli and Dom Trimboli solid in defence.
Joey Gibb?s 62? minute strike looked to be on target but Parramatta defender Andy Matloub bore the brunt of the shot in his back, stopping what looked to be a certain goal.
Parramatta looked dangerous on the counter-attack, with another long run up the flank from Appiah-Kubi, forcing Marconi?s Mailer to pull off a crucial header over his own crossbar.
Another long-range shot from Severino was saved by Nash in the 71? minute, while a good interception from Napoli in the 78? minute sparked a counter-attacking move that ended with Bruno Pivato hammering a shot into the arms of Mercuri, who spilled the ball but was quick to re-gather.
The Parramatta faithful cheered as the referee blew the whistle for full-time, proud of the side for holding on with ten men.
Sterrey was adamant that his side deserved the win and had the best chances:
?We went down to ten men early in the second-half against a team that?s supposed to be a Rolls Royce- (they?ve) bought every player in Sydney- I mean maybe the Rolls Royce hasn?t got a rudder.?
?People say we park the bus and we play deep, well we play with what we got, and we still had the best chances of the match.??
Marconi coach Luke Casserly was disappointed not to grab all the points but said he expected Parramatta to play defensive:
?We knew what it was going to be like. Every game they?ve played so far they sit really deep and try to hit teams on the counterattack and they did that today.
?We didn?t make good decisions in the right areas,?? Casserly said.
?We hit the post, we were in good areas and didn?t make enough of it.??
Casserly said he was pleased with the side?s defensive efforts:
?We had to re-adjust things for this game and we?ve only conceded one goal this season so we must have one of the best defensive records in the competition.??
Match Stats
Parramatta FC 0
Marconi Stallions 0
Sunday April 15th, 2012
Melita Stadium, South Granville
Parramatta FC: 1. Matt Nash; 2.Nichlas McInerney, 3.Andy Matloub, 4.Domenic Trimboli, 5.Mark O?Reilly, 6.Graziano Trimboli, 18.Nicholas Napoli, 8.Brian Soane (9.Aaron Peterson 77?), 10.Akiyoshi Saito, 11.Bruno Pivato (7.Patrick Dixon 85?), 14.Kwabena Appiah-Kubi
Substitutes Not Used: 12.Eshan Popal, 19.A. Altee, 23.Tomislav Romic
Yellow Cards: D. Trimboli 39?, Saito 55?
Red Cards: G. Trimboli 57?
Marconi Stallions: 40.Michael Mercuri; 2.Andrew Mailer, 3.Ali Haydar, 4.Umut Tokdogan, 6.Shane Webb, 10.Joey Gibbs (7.Sean O?Connell 65?), 11.Nathan Elasi (9.Keith Shelvin 77?), 16.Daniel Severino, 18.Jamie McMaster, 23.Chris Nunes, 26.Nahuel Arrarte
Substitutes Not Used: 14.Joel Grenell, 19.Damian Travis, 21.Kresimir Kurdan
Yellow Cards: Nil
Red Cards: Nil
Player Ratings:
3 – Nicholas Napoli (PFC)
2 – Daniel Severino (MS)
1 – Andrew Mailer (MS)
-By Alex Zerafa
