Spartans claim Manly scalp at Blacktown Football Park
Goals to Danny Wells and Chris Gomez were enough to see off their opponents, whose goal came through youngster Will Pritchard.
There was action aplenty from the kick-off as Sean Mitchell went down in the penalty-area virtually in the 1? minute, though claims of a penalty were quickly dismissed by the referee.
Jacob Ott then curled the ball just over the ball before Manly had time to settle in. Once they had wrestled control Manly dominated the following 10? minutes with Colin Iley missing out with an early attempt.
On 20? minutes, a Peter Hubbard cross from the right was headed on by Gomez but the Spartans had no player at the far post to put the ball away.
A minute later and Sean Mitchell ran from the middle of the park and with opponents letting him go he was able to have a shot but the ball went just over the crossbar.
Manly United then responded but Scott Balderson scuffed his shot and the ball went wide. It was to be a break from the Mitchell show as the Spartan player swerved the ball just wide of the far post in the 22? minute.
Just on the half hour there was more goal mouth activity with Luke Boyd having his shot saved on the far post and his team mates unable to pounce on the rebound, a mistake they would not make again the next time.
Manly were not out of it and Iley broke and played the ball to Balderson who lost his marker but was closed down again as he fired his shot well over the target.
A minute later Balderson played the ball to Pritchard whose shot was deflected away from the target. The resultant corner also saw Manly come close.
In the 37? minute, Balderson was in on goal having fought off his marker and being found by Timashe Mugabe with a great pass. Balderson was only denied by a magnificent tackle from Danny Wells. Had he missed, Balderson would have been favourite to score.
Instead it was the home side who would take the lead. In the 40? minute a melee at the far post saw Gomez have his shot saved by the Manly United goalkeeper, but this time the Spartans pounced on the rebound in the area and Wells slid in and put the ball in the back of the net. For the home side it would not be their last shot at goal of the opening half, but Luke Boyd?s effort, after great lead up work from Greg Kondek, was blocked by a Manly defender.
If the first-half was fast, the second was frenetic and within 3? minutes the home side had doubled their lead before Manly clawed one back.
First, Spartans captain and goalkeeper Carlos Saliadarre cleared the ball up field. It was left by the Manly defence and looked to be going to Dylan Mitchell in the Manly goal before Gomez snuck in and took it before it got to him, slipping the ball home.
From the kick-off, Iley was back on the attack and played the ball across to Pritchard who played the ball into the goal to give Manly a sniff again.
Indeed the second goal really woke Manly up and for the next half hour they tried everything to equalise.
On 53? minutes, a Balderson free-kick came crashing off the crossbar.
On the hour, Bladerson claimed a foul on the edge of the penalty-area but his appeals were denied. Spartans chances were coming from breaks, led by Peter Hubbard and Jacob Ott, whilst in the centre of the park Luke Boyd stood strong and controlled this dangerous part of the game for Blacktown.
There were plenty of half chances from both teams but none were coming to efforts on goal.
In the 73? minute Kondek and Ott combined for Ott to get the crowd excited as the ball nestled into the net, but unfortunately for the home fans it was only against the side netting.
A minute later and Pritchard could have doubled his teams and his own goal tally but instead of shooting he tried to lay the ball off to Balderson and the Spartan defence intercepted the pass.
With 10? minutes to go, Manly United were presented their best chance to equalise as the ball was headed back into the goal area from a corner only for Michael Daly to put the ball over the crossbar.
3? minutes later and Chris Bedzo and Sean Mitchell combined for Mitchell to stab the ball goalwards only for the ball to get deflected away by the desperate Manly defence. Still the action came and Dylan Mitchell made a brilliant double save off Ott and Gomez.
Even substitute Steven Veleski had a chance in his few minutes on the field, having just returned from injury, but the angle he found himself on was too tight.
The home fans wondered if they would pay a high price for the misses throughout the match and their hearts must have been in their mouths when Todd Bamber, on as a Manly substitute, shot goalwards with seconds remaining. Bamber and his team mates appealed strongly for hand ball against the home team in the area. However, as had been the case in the opening minute of the game, the appeals for a penalty were declined by the referee.
The match was entertaining and both sides played their part. For Manly United FC coach Craig Midgely it was a disappointing result coming on the back of their brilliant win the week before:
?I can?t fault the effort of our lads though. We just missed that little bit of quality that makes such a big difference.
?We didn?t use our possession well tonight. We need to work hard to win, tonight all credit goes to the opposition, they passed the ball well. We need to get more consistent.?
It was all smiles in the home dressing room where Ben DeHaan was delighted:
?I am extremely happy, our ball movement from the middle of the park made all the difference tonight.
?Our dressing room still believes in what we are doing and that self belief played out on the park tonight.?
Match Stats
Blacktown Spartans 2 (Daniel Wells 40?, Christopher Gomez 47?)
Manly United FC 1 (William Pritchard 48?)
Saturday 19th May, 2012
Blacktown Football Park
Referee: Khodr Yaghi
Assistant Referees: Lee Corey and Robert Warry
Fourth Official: Samuel Grasso
Blacktown Spartans: 1.Carlos SALIADARRE; 2.Michael KHOURY (3.Nathan MILLIGATE 71?), 4.Danny WELLS, 5.Luke BOYD, 6.Greg KONDEK (19.Simon ZAHRA 81?), 20.Sean MITCHELL, 9.Chris BEDZO, 10.Chris GOMEZ (11.Steven VELESKI 89?), 17.Peter HUBBARD, 27.Jacob OTT, 36.Tomislav HERCEG
Substitutes Not Used: 8.Djordje DEGENEK, 40.Daniel SADAKA
Yellow Cards: Nil
Red Cards: Nil
Manly United FC: 1.Dylan MITCHELL; 2.Sean BOWDEN, 3.Roberto HAMAD (17.Todd BAMBER 81?), 4.Graeme FORBES, 5.Marc RICHARDS, 6.Michael DALY, 7.Scott BALDERSON, 8.Daniel GRANT (10.Adam FOTI 62?), 12.Colin ILEY, 19.Timashe MUGABE (9.Justin HAYWARD 62?), 29.Will PRITCHARD
Substitutes Not Used: 24.Kang Ho LEE, 21.Leigh EGGER
Yellow Cards: Sean Bowden 87?
Red Cards: Nil
Player Ratings:
3 – Luke Boyd (BS)
2 – Colin Iley (MUFC)
1 – Jacob Ott (BS)
-By Stuart Jones
