Waratah Cup Quarter Final: Sharks reverse weekend result in tight affair
After Blacktown?s win in the League in the same fixture last weekend, it was Sutherland?s turn to get up and consequently seal a semi-final berth in the Cup competition.
The opening quarter hour saw a midfield battle of attrition as both sides tried to settle, although Sutherland just about shaded it without creating any clear chances as each attempted to play football and work from the back as they probed to find the weakness.
Jimmy Bakis, although playing 20? minutes against the same opponent last weekend, made his first start of the season and looked a little rusty early on before growing into the game for the Sharks while Dillon Vorster looked useful for Blacktown.
The Sharks adopted a high tempo pressing game that Blacktown were able to deal with quite comfortably and hit on the break when the chance presented itself to good effect, but in the swirling wind and driving rain it wasn?t easy to carve out the opening goal.
James Monie had several chances in the 28? minute after Sharks goalkeeper Simon Jaeger found the greasy conditions difficult to handle the ball – two attempts were blocked by Jaeger and the third went closer to the corner flag that the goal but he was in the right place and was, perhaps, unlucky not to find the opener for the visitors.
The Sharks responded when Panni Nikas attempted a long range effort that sailed over the bar on the half-hour mark.
James Monie made a run down the left as the decoy as Matt Lewis scampered down the flank and pulled the ball back for Danial Bragg to slide agonisingly over the crossbar from the edge of the box in the 39? minute.
30?? seconds later, Nikas andvMatt Bailey sliced the Blacktown defence down the right but the centre for Niko Tsattalios went straight to Brody Crane between the sticks.
In stoppage time Ryuji Miyazawa sent over a cross for Blacktown from the corner spot that bounced its way across the 6-yard area with no-one able to get on the end of it, providing the home side a chance to mount a counterattack that was broken down at the last instant in the final action of the half.
It wasn?t the lack of enterprise that kept the score line goal-less at the break as the endeavour of both was exemplary, yet the feeling remained it would take a mistake or something spectacular to separate these two foes and it has to be said Blacktown could have scored twice in the opening stanza but for the quality of finishing and option choice.
With neither coach making a change at the break the battle recommenced at a brisker pace with more urgency being shown however. No chances were produced even though the tables turned and visiting City put the Sharks under heavy early pressure.
Tsattalios and Nikas worked a smart short corner in the 54? minute with the latter back-heeling a pass for the former but his shot with the outside of the foot was well covered by Crane at his near post as the home side looked to reassert their first-half performance.
Matt Lewis needed to be sharp to head away from Bailey at the far stick from a Matt Gordon cross that looked destined to ripple the net as Sutherland closed in but were still unable to profit from their good work. Nikas dragged a shot wide from the edge of the box moments later and it appeared only a matter of time before they found the net or Blacktown would capitalise on the space left at the back.
Tsattalios went crashing into the hoardings when attempting to whip a cross over for the Sharks, and Robbie Stanton was forced to replace his player after treatment with Chris Price on 68? minutes.
Hayden Morton warmed the hands of Crane in the City goal and they responded but heading up field and firing against the post in the 75? minute yet the deadlock remained in a tense and tactical match.
Luke Roodenburg, captain of Blacktown, fired harmlessly wide in the 78? minute but was leading by example as usual on the left of midfield as was counterpart Nick Stavroulakis in the central midfield position, constantly urging their sides to bigger efforts and greater urgency.
The short corner routine finally paid off for Sutherland when Morton headed home a Nikas cross neatly played via Matt Gordon to break the deadlock in the 83? minute to give the home side one leg in the semi-finals.
Nikas was denied a goal for taking a free-kick too early in stoppage time and the follow-up effort was well wide of the mark in the 93? minute as visiting City looked to have a sound claim for a penalty rejected 1? minute later.
Mark Crittenden, coach of Blacktown City admitted afterwards:
?I thought we played pretty well tonight to be fair, a lot better than we did at the weekend we changed a few things and did well.
?We had a few youngsters in the side and they acquitted themselves very well in the main and to be fair to Sutherland they pressed us and we soaked up a lot of pressure but we had a couple of good chances in the first-half that we would normally expect to put away and created enough chances overall to win tonight.
?It?s always hard to play the same side within four days and I thought they were outstanding at the weekend against us so with a couple of changes we did a lot better tonight and can take a lot of positives from the match,? he concluded.
Sutherland coach Robbie Stanton commented:
?Both sides probably paced themselves tonight.
?The tempo was a little slower, particularly in the first-half, overall I?m happy with the performance and it?s nice to win after three losses.
?The effort was there again tonight by all the players and in the end we got the result so it?s pretty pleasing I guess.
?To be honest I don?t think we were direct enough in that front third of the field and there are some errors we?ve got to work on.
?We?ve got to start trusting each other doing their job at the sharp end and try not to overdo it and look to help out someone else where needed but basically do your job first and if everyone does that more positive opportunities will come.
?We?ve had to go back and change a few things and regain our focus and we looked very solid in our performance, shape and structure and you saw that tonight where we were very tight at the back and still played out and did our thing so with a tough game against South Coast Wolves this weekend we can go into it with plenty of confidence.?
Match Stats
Sutherland Sharks 1 (Morton 83?)
Blacktown City FC 0
Wednesday 6th June, 2012
Seymour Shaw Park, Miranda
Referee: Adam Susz
Assistant Referees: Jerry Bitas and Alessandro Blamdino
Sutherland Sharks: 22.Simon Jaeger; 3.Tyson Rhodes, (5.Paul Cotte 83?), 4.Yianni Fragogianis, 6.Matthew Gordon, 7.Jim Bakis (9.Hussein Salameh 72?), 10.Matt Bailey, 13.Niko Tsattalios (8.Chris Price 68?), 12.Hayden Morton, 14.Nick Stavroulakis (C), 18.Michael Stuart, 23.Panni Nikas
Substitutes Not Used: 1.Nathan Denham, 9.Hussein Salameh, 29.Chris Naumoff
Yellow Cards: Bakis 70?
Red Cards: Nil
Blacktown City FC: 1.Brody Crane; 3.Ryo Watanabe (11.Yuchi Yamauchi 85?), 38.Dillon Vorster, (15.Danial Vellonio 80?), 6.Matt Lewis, 16.Luke Austin, 18.Kieron Paull, 12.David Cain, 7.Luke Roodenburg (C), 8.Daniel Bragg, 9.Ryuji Miyazawa, 10.James Monie (17.Sean Rooney 57?)
Substitutes Not Used: 14.Luke Jenner, 15.Danial Vellonio, 20.Luke Turnbull
Yellow Cards: Lewis 90?+2?
Red Cards: Nil
-By Micky Brock
