White Eagles soar over Parramatta FC
Parramatta had custodian Matthew Nash to thank for the narrow score line after a string of spectacular saves kept out all but Mitch Long?s follow up early in the second period as the hosts demonstrated why they are top of the NSW Premier League table throughout the ninety minutes.
Bonnyrigg held possession for extended periods during the opening stanza as they looked to assert early dominance, yet despite their best efforts the visiting backline held firm.
Robbie Younis attempted the unconventional approach of juggling his way through the heart of the Parramatta defence and was inevitably denied by a timely intervention.
Parramatta did well to absorb the continual waves of pressure, carving out opportunities of their own on the counterattack.
Kwabena Appiah-Kubi spearheaded Parramatta?s frontline and smartly set up Mark O?Reilly for an effort from range; however Ben McNamara was equal to the task, holding the 25-yard drive.
Aaron Peterson got himself in on the action midway through the first half, first going down softly under Alex Mansueto?s challenge in search of a penalty before forcing McNamara into another fine save with an effort from range.
The hosts continued to build structured attacks, and the space created by his teammates? runs provided Harris Gaitatzis with the chance to charge from the right flank into Parramatta?s box.
The winger?s finish let him down as he drilled his shot straight at Nash who stood firm in goal to keep the scores level.
Nash was called into action again soon after, darting of his line to intercept Gaitatzis? dangerous through ball from Long?s feet.
Long should have opened the scoring for Bonnyrigg late in the half yet inexplicably failed to do so; air swinging on the edge of the 6 yard box with the goal at his mercy.
Akiyoshi Saito tried his luck just before the break; McNamara was again well positioned to hold the 30-yard strike as the sides went level into the break.
Brian Brown?s half-time worked wonders for the hosts took control of the second half and soon found themselves in the lead.
Alex Mansueto, who had a fine game in the heart of defence, was allowed time and space to dispatch a low 25-yard effort toward Nash?s far post.
Nash got a hand to the shot which deflected into the path of Long, who instinctively bundled the ball home to break the deadlock.
Mansueto went close to doubling Bonnyrigg?s advantage minutes later, flicking Chris Tadrosse?s curled free kick goalward only to be denied by Nash?s diving save.
The crossbar came to the Parramatta?s rescue moments later; Gaitatzis? spectacular curled free kick struck the frame of the goal and bounced clear.
Younis headed Ken Chun?s cross wide on the hour mark as the hosts rallied to extend their lead while Parramatta were limited to long range efforts that were either off target or simply held by McNamara.
Gaitatzis saw another effort miraculously saved by Nash after Alexander Canak had set him on in the edge of the box, while Long had two late efforts ? the first of which was an ambitious lob ? brilliantly saved by Parramatta?s number 1.
Bonnyrigg held onto the ball throughout injury time until the full time whistle brought the close to proceedings with the hosts happy to take all three points.
Bonnyrigg White Eagles? coach Brian Brown was happy with the win, crediting his players with a well-earned result:
?I thought we started really well,? said Brown.
?Our movement and commitment to the game was really good but they defended well.
?Nash produced about four unbelievable to stop us scoring a few more.
?Our backline was solid, as they have been the whole season so far, and I thought Mitch Long and Adrian Ucchino played very well today.?
Sitting well clear at the top of the table Brown is looking to keep his players focussed on the task at hand to avoid getting distracted by early minor premiership ambitions:
?We?re not going to look any further than the next match,? said Brown.
?We just want to keep the boys focussed and hope that this run can keep going.
?We?ll have some players coming back to training so we?ll have a full squad to pick from soon ? we were starting to look a little bit thin.
?If we can win every game 1-0 until the end of the year I?ll be happy,? Brown added.
Parramatta FC coach Lee Sterrey was disappointed with his side?s performance, believing it to be a step backward from all they had achieved over the last month:
?We were probably 30% of what we?ve been in the last few weeks,? said Sterrey.
?It really was a poor performance in terms of intensity for us.
?We gave them too much space on the ball; they moved it around well.
?We got into the sheds at nil all when we probably didn?t deserve it as they controlled most of the first half.
?At half-time we talked about raising our levels and then came out in the second half to give away a goal like that ? Nash had the save and the defenders should have covered him but nobody did.
?We weren?t good enough on the ball, they laid off us a bit in the second half and nobody put their name on shots.
?Our quality in the final third wasn?t good enough; it?s as simple as that.
?Bonnyrigg deserved their win, bottom line,? Sterrey concluded.
Match Stats
Bonnyrigg White Eagles 1 (Mitchell Long 49?)
Parramatta FC 0
Saturday May 26th, 2012
Bonnyrigg Sports Centre, Bonnyrigg
Referee: Andrew Best
Assistant Referees: Alex Long and Lee Corey
Fourth Official: James Tesoriero
Bonnyrigg White Eagles: 1.Ben McNamara; 2.Alex Mansueto, 4.David Vrankovic, 5.Chris Tadrosse. 13.Nikola Stanojevic, 19.Harris Gaitatzis (10.Jordan Simpson 79?), 16.Adrian Ucchino, 21.Ken Chun, 8.Alexander Canak, 23.Mitchell Long, 9.Robbie Younis (17.Jordan Crighton)
Substitutes Not Used: 20.Andrew Bazi, 15. Luka Dukic, 11.Ben Spruce
Yellow Cards: Alexander Canak 69?, Nikola Stanojevic 89?
Red Cards: Nil
Parramatta FC: 1.Matthew Nash; 3.Andy Matloub, 15.M Nomoto, 4.Domenic Trimboli, 5.Mark O?Reilly, 18.Nicholas Napoli (7.Patrick Dixon), 16.Daniel Gullo, 8.Brian Soane (11.Bruno Pivato), 10.Akiyoshi Saito, 9.Aaron Peterson (13.Daniel Rezo), 14.Kwabena Appiah-Kubi
Substitutes Not Used: 2.Nick McInerney, 23.Tomislav Romic
Yellow Cards: Akiyoshi Saiko 27?, Domenic Trimboli 41?, Mark O?Reilly 71?
Red Cards: Nil
Player Ratings:
3 ? Alex Mansueto (BWE)
2 ? Matthew Nash (PFC)
1 ? Mitch Long (BWE)
-By Michael Shoolman
