Olympic sting Sydney United 58 at Edensor Park
Despite the match being played at Sydney United Sports Centre, this Round 13 fixture was technically a home match for Sydney Olympic. The Blues home at Belmore Sports Ground not in great condition following the large amounts of rain, and traffic, on that playing surface.
The Reds squandered a 1-0 lead after Jared Lum won, and converted, a penalty for his side midway through the first-half. The lead was short-lived as the Blues immediately found an equaliser via Chris Triantis.
In the end, despite the fabulous performance of Reds goalkeeper Tomislav Romic, Sydney United conceded late on to hand the Blues maximum points; youngster Amaury Gauthier the hero.
Early proceedings saw the Reds take the initiative. On 2? minutes, Michael Cindric had a headed goal scoring chance go begging. A perfectly floated free-kick from deep found the head of Cindric, though the defender sent his header wide.
The Reds carved out another opening for Elsid Barkhousir 1? minute later. The speedy striker managed to lose his marker, however Brett Studman?s quick reading of the situation saw the expert defender thwart any danger.
Sydney United continued to apply the pressure early on, again via Barkhousir. Mirjan Pavlovic?s centre from the right picked out the striker who drove his first time attempt wide of goal.
The reigning champions offered their first threat on goal via the feet of Chris Triantis on 14? minutes. Following a neat run that was cut short by the Reds defence, Triantis tried his luck from distance, blasting the ball well over Romic?s goal.
David Gullo kept the Reds on the back foot 2? minutes later as he went on a slalom effort down the left flank. The attacking midfielder?s pace, and skill, allowed him to beat his marker and centre the ball, however no Blues teammate was on hand to strike on goal.
In the 18? minute, Pavlovic had a free-kick fly inches wide of Paul Henderson?s goal. The striker?s attempt following Stephen Hayes? lay-off was vicious, though lacked the accuracy to sneak inside the post.
Sydney Olympic created another opening in the 21? minute as Sam Awad?s header released Kutaiba Elrich. The burly striker dribbled his way into the penalty-area before blasting his attempt directly at Romic as the chance went begging.
Both midfields seemed to settle well over the first 25? minutes, though it was the Reds that appeared to have a little more going forward. Ivo Bosnar?s ability to win the ball, matched with the fine attacking prowess of both Hayes and Mario Simic,
Even with the Reds getting on top, the Blues continued to pose some serious threat via the feet of both Chris and Peter Triantis. It was the former that won his side a corner in the 26? minute before Emanuel Giannaros picked up a loose ball at the back post and forced the goalkeeper into a fabulous acrobatic save.
Chris Triantis then had the shot-stopper beaten with a fabulous dipping effort from distance. The attacking midfielder?s fine technique was brilliant for all present to witness, however the ball came back off the crossbar, much to the frustration of the Sydney Olympic bench.
The Reds did find their breakthrough just after the half-hour mark. Some fine build up play down the right was rewarded as Jared Lum won a penalty. Lum dusted himself off to take the spot-kick and cleverly slotted home for the lead.
Sydney Olympic?s reaction was instant, and the Blues had a penalty of their own as Zak Elrich went down inside the Reds? penalty-area at the other end.
Chris Triantis lined-up for the spot-kick, though after seeing his initial attempt well parried by Romic down to his right, the Blues? number 10 was on hand to drill home the rebound.
Following the break, Sydney Olympic should have taken the lead inside the opening minute. Gullo was played through on goal and unleashed a venomous left-foot drive across goal. The attacking midfielder however was denied by a tremendous reflex save by the Sydney United shot-stopper.
The Reds responded via Stephen Hayes in the 49? minute. Some neat passing in the middle of the park provided the playmaker with some time and space to turn and face goal. Hayes? attempt from distance carried a real punch though lacked accuracy as the ball finished well over the crossbar.
Blues substitute Marco Sama ? on for an injured Sam Awad ? almost made an immediate impact with his first touch. After riding the challenge of Cindric, Sama saw his shot on goal thwarted by the Reds defenders.
On 56? minutes, Gullo saw another chance go begging, this one slightly more difficult as he attempted a sensational volley with his trusted left peg that failed to hit the target.
Sama showed all his flair in the 58? minute as he dribbled his way past three defenders inside the penalty-area. Sama even rounded the goalkeeper in the tight space, though failed to cut the ball back on goal from a very acute angle.
The Blues possessional dominance continued as the Reds were forced to sit further back, salvaged on a number of occasions by the fine goalkeeping of Romic.
Barkhousir attempted to get his side back on the right foot with a rather ambitious effort from distance. The attempt arrived following some sweet play between Lum, Hayes and substitute Daniel Barac before the striker drove his attempt over the crossbar.
Hayes should have forced Henderson into a save in the 73? minute when he had the ball standing up nicely at his feet. The playmaker?s first-time shot didn?t connect cleanly with his laces, as the ball finished wide of Henderson?s right-hand post.
On 75? minutes, the Blues managed to scramble the ball into the back of the net following a tussle inside the Reds? penalty-area. The referee however was quick to blow his whistle and award the Reds goalkeeper a free-kick for a foul on the Sydney United number 1.
Sydney United struggled to get out of their half and it was constantly the brilliance of Romic that kept the side in the clash at 1-1.
Despite the Reds goalkeeper?s fabulous performance ? arguably the best on the park for Sydney United ? Sydney Olympic?s winner arrived in somewhat bizarre circumstances.
A misguided ball in the penalty-area popped up high into the air, and as Romic attempted to claim the ball, he was anticipated by young Sydney Olympic substitute Amaury Gauthier who headed the ball into the back of the net for the win.
The Reds had a late chance via the feet of Ante Tomic ? on for Barkhousir – though the Blues defenders closed down the striker?s run and the chance went begging.
At the final whistle, Sydney Olympic coach Peter Tsekenis was extremely pleased with his players? efforts:
?Very happy with the win today, to come to Sydney United and play on their home ground, where we gave up our home ground advantage, is very pleasing,? explained Tsekenis.
?The boys worked hard, and I agree that had we not claimed the three points today, it would not have been justice simply for the way we dominated, especially in the second-half.
?We had a number of regulars missing today, and we now will be without Brett Studman next weekend (accumulation of yellow cards).
?In saying that, these players in my team are here because they have a lot of character and that is what is required in this team ? we showed this today,? added Tsekenis.
?We have created chances, we haven?t scored as many goals in recent weeks as we would have liked, though that is ok. We are here to stay in the race I am happy, and we will start pushing further to achieve our objectives,? Tsekenis concluded.
Sydney United 58 FC coach Mike Gibson, in the hot seat after Jean-Paul De Marigny stepped down from his position as coach, was visibly disappointed with the result, though remains optimistic of the Reds? chances of playing finals football this season:
?It was a tough match today, against a good side where we did give a good effort. I thought that we could have even taken a point in the end, though I guess that is how football goes sometimes,? Gibson explained.
?We changed our game plan from last week and started the match really well as we created some really good chances. Unfortunately, we weren?t able to put those chances away,? Gibson continued.
?We are just trying to work the same way we have, trying to reach finals football, and we are looking forward to getting Luka Glavas back for instance.
?Our top scorer in recent seasons, and we have really missed him, so hopefully we will have him and a few of our other regular starters back available for selection so that we can make a strong challenge for the finals.?
Asked about young goalkeeper Tomislav Romic, Gibson was more then impressed with his showing:
?He had a really good game today, very impressive indeed probably right up until the winning goal for them (Sydney Olympic). Unfortunately, he suffered a broken nose too during the match in one of the challenges, so we will see how he goes,? Gibson ended.
Match Stats
Sydney Olympic 2 (Chris Triantis 35?, Amaury Gauthier 89?)
Sydney United 58 FC 1 (Jared Lum 33? (pen) )
Sunday 24th June, 2012
Sydney United Sports Centre, Edensor Park
Referee: Kris Griffiths-Jones
Assistant Referees: Leigh Pigram and Adam Coombes
Fourth Official: Michael Weiner
Bench: J. Woods, Z. Elrich, W. Angel, V. Rigoli, I. JohSydney Olympic: 1.Paul Henderson; 2.Emmanuel Giannaros, 3.Brett Studman (C), 8.Peter Triantis, 17.Kutaiba Elrich, 10.Chris Triantis, 12.Troy Danaskos, 14.Sam Awad (6.Marco Sama 55?), 15.Zak Elrich, 19.David Gullo (23.Amaury Gauthier 68?), 21.Marton Vass
Substitutes Not Used: 35.Dylan Stivala, 18.David Dascal, 82.Luke Kairies
Yellow Cards: Brett Studman 75?, Amaury Gauthier 82?
Red Cards: Nil
Sydney United 58 FC: 1.Tomislav Romic; 2.Mitchell Speer, 4.Michael Cindric, 7.Mirjan Pavlovic (22.Daniel Barac 70?), 8.Jared Lum, 9.Elsid Barkhousir (21.Ante Tomic 77?), 19.Mitchell Thompson, 16.Stjepan Paric (12.Kyle Ewart 65?), 10.Stephen Hayes, 18.Mario Simic, 23.Ivo Bosnar (C)
Substitutes Not Used:, 20.Ian Johnson, 24.J. Kratcic
Yellow Cards: Ivo Bosnar 64?, Michael Cindric 65?, Mitchell Thompson 84?
Red Cards: Nil
-By Joseph Carlucci
