Parramatta FC stun Sutherland to earn first victory of the season
An energetic encounter, played on a very chilly evening, was decided by a sensational brace by striker Kwabena Appiah-Kubi. A goal at the start of both the first and second-half, and on either side of a Panni Nikas penalty, was enough to secure the battling Eagles three very valuable points in a bid to move off the bottom of the League ladder.
The Eagles supporters were left to marvel over the exceptional talent that is Appiah-Kubi, who showed pace, skill and an immense hunger to lead his side to victory in-front of the Eagles? home crowd.
A lively start by the home side had both the left and right sided midfielders get forward in the opening exchanges. The left sided Yuya Tamari got the better purchase on his cross though Nathan Denham was strong off his line to make a routine claim.
The Eagles continued to press in the attacking third and perhaps should have done a little better in the 4? minute as Appiah-Kubi and Aaron Peterson got into each other?s way on the edge of the penalty-area. Bryan Soane?s follow up failed to test the goalkeeper.
Appiah-Kubi did find the opening goal on 7? minutes. Fed beautifully out of midfield, the speedy striker fought off the challenge of his marker to go clear and drive the ball past Denham. Despite the goalkeeper getting a strong hand behind the shot, the effort carried too much of a punch and finished in the back of the net.
The Sharks response arrived via a set-piece down the right in the 10? minute. Nikas? short corner picked out Nick Stavroulakis, though the Sharks midfielder failed to find a teammate with his cross.
At the other end, Mark O?Reilly?s free-kick from the left-flank found the head of Akiyoshi Saito at the back post, however the Eagles? number 10 failed to hit the target.
The Sharks pressed again down the right, on 14? minutes, this time with Hussein Salameh. The attacking winger cleverly cut inside, beating his marker in the process, though his shot on goal was thwarted by the sea of legs protecting Matthew Nash?s goal.
The visitors found their equaliser in the 19? minute via the penalty-spot. Blake Powell was brought down inside the penalty-area, and playmaker Nikas expertly sent Nash the wrong way, slotting the ball home into the bottom right-hand corner.
Nikas went close to handing the Sharks the lead 2? minutes later as he was played into the penalty-area by Salameh. The Sharks? number 23 showed his fine array of touches on the ball to line up a shot on goal, however the retreating Eagles defenders got bodies behind the ball to thwart the danger.
Sutherland should have added a second in the 24? minute, again via a set-piece. Nikas? free-kick delivery from the right found the head of an unmarked Salameh who failed to get any purchase on his header, sending his attempt wide of goal.
On 28? minutes, the home side carved out a huge chance to take the lead after some tremendous build up play. Tamari cleverly sent Appiah-Kubi on goal before the striker beat his marker with a fine cut-in onto his right boot. With the goal at his mercy, Appiah-Kubi squared the ball into the path of Peterson who from point-blank range forced Denham into a world class save.
The resulting corner provided the Eagles another look-in, though O?Reilly?s header at the near post finished wide of the mark.
A follow-up corner on 32? minutes had the Sharks scrambling as Michael Stuart cleared off the line to deny the home side a go-ahead goal.
Both sides pressed late-on in the half in search of a goal to take the lead into the break, though both defences remained strong.
The Eagles? midfielders Nicholas Napoli and Saito enjoyed some positive possession in the middle of the park, though the final ball failed to penetrate the Sharks defence.
Sutherland?s forward forays went through the feet of Nikas and Matt Bailey, however they too found it tough as the half drew to a close.
Following the re-start Appiah-Kubi drove the Eagles into the lead. A fine attacking move by the home side saw Lee Sterrey?s men get the ball into the penalty-area, where the striker blasted his shot-on-the-turn into the back of the net, off the underside of the crossbar.
Saito had the Eagles? supporters on their feet when he tried a long-range attempt in the 53? minute – the midfielder?s dipping shot finished wide of goal.
Sutherland created their first chance of the half via Nikas. A free-kick from 25-metres out, Nikas forced Nash into a fine diving save to his left on 58? minutes.
The Sharks continued to press with Salameh showing his skill and pace down the right-flank moments later. The right winger however, ran into trouble with three Parramatta FC players thwarting the chance.
Salameh forced Nash into a fabulous save in the 64? minute. A find counterattacking move, initiated by Bailey before Nikas switched play from left to right, Salameh turned his marker and unleashed on target ? denied by a strong palm by Nash.
At the other end, Saito looked to finish off the Sharks with a neat run towards the by-line. The midfielder?s attempted cross was diverted for a corner.
Napoli was also denied for the Eagles in the 68? minute. The defender?s header was headed for the back of the net, denied only by a strong save by Denham.
Parramatta FC substitute Bruno Pivato, 2? minutes after entering the field of play, had a great chance to find a third. The substitute blasted his effort from a positive possession well-wide of the target.
In the 84? minute, Nikas combined well with Powell ? the latter looking to send his looping header over Matthew Nash ? however he failed to get enough power and direction behind his attempt.
On 93? minutes, referee Mr. Stephen Lucas called an end to proceedings, much to the delight of the home supporters.
Parramatta FC coach Lee Sterrey was ecstatic with his side?s showing:
?I am very very proud of my players tonight, for the win and for the effort shown out there,? commented Sterrey.
?We had the chances tonight and we scored two great goals.
?Many continue to say that we play deep and that we park the bus at the back, though we play with a style that suits the players we have,? explained Sterrey.
?We are a young team, still learning, learning a structure, and I am really proud of the efforts tonight because the boys have all been improving, and perhaps we deserved something more from the South Coast Wolves match last weekend.?
Asked about whether the win could prove the turning point for his side, Sterrey was very optimistic:
?At the start of the season, we had very few players remaining from last season, and we needed to start from scratch. What hurt us was the fact that we didn?t have the best pre-season preparation.
?I feel we needed more matches to be ready for the start of the season, and that has hurt us in the early part of the campaign.
?In saying that, I feel we have started to come good in recent weeks, and the win tonight could well be the shot in the arm we needed ? our performances show that we are moving in the right direction and I believe we do not deserve to be in bottom place on the ladder,? Sterrey ended.
Sutherland Sharks coach Robbie Stanton was a dejected figure outside of the dressing sheds, disappointed with his side?s showing:
?We were very sluggish from the start tonight, and never really got going at any stage,? said Stanton.
?There are no excuses, Parramatta deserved the win they were the hungrier side and they fought for the result.
?I don?t have an excuse for our guys, we were just too slow, lacking ideas, and that is disappointing.
?I am not even sure we would have found a goal had the match continued for another half, we just didn?t look like scoring apart from our goal.
?Unfortunately, with some of the other results tonight, we fall further behind the teams at the top, though that is football, we will look to bounce back with our Cup match this week and then back to the League next weekend,? Stanton concluded.
Match Stats
Parramatta FC 2 (Kwabena Appiah-Kubi 7?, 47?)
Sutherland Sharks 1 (Panni Nikas 19? (pen) )
Saturday 19th May, 2012
Melita Stadium, South Granville
Referee: Stephen Lucas
Assistant Referees: Nicholas Backo and Grant South
Fourth Official: Michael Robertson
Parramatta FC: 1.Matthew Nash; 3.Andy Matloub, 15.Yuya Tamari, 18.Nicholas Napoli, 4.Domenic Trimboli, 5.Mark O?Reilly, 10.Akiyoshi Saito, 16.Daniel Gullo (7.Graziano Trimboli 74?), 8.Bryan Soane (C) (13.Daniel Rezo 84?), 14.Kwabena Appiah-Kubi, 9.Aaron Peterson (11.Bruno Pivato 80?)
Substitutes Not Used: 23.Tomislav Romic, 2.Nicolas McInerney
Yellow Cards: Mark O?Reilly 75?, Nicholas Napoli 84?
Bench: J. Woods, Z. Elrich, W. Angel, V. Rigoli, I. Johnson.Sutherland Sharks: 1.Nathan Denham; 5.Paul Cotte, 6.Matthew Gordon, 8.Chris Price (17.Pat Savor 74?), 9.Hussein Salameh (11.Todd Halloran 74?), 10.Matt Bailey, 12.Hayden Morton, 14.Nick Stavroulakis (C), 18.Michael Stuart, 19.Blake Powell, 23.Panni Nikas
Substitutes Not Used: 22.Simon Jaegar, 3.Tyson Rhodes, 15.James McKenzie
Yellow Cards: Michael Stuart 11?, Blake Powell 88?
Red Cards: Nil
Player Ratings:
3 ? Kwabena Appiah-Kubi (PFC)
2 ? Akiyoshi Saito (PFC)
1 ? Panni Nikas (SS)
-Joseph Carlucci
