Spoils shared between Parramatta and Blacktown
After taking the lead in the 14? minute thanks to a Greg Kondek header, Parramatta hit back with recruit Joel Wood tapping past an oncoming Carlos Saliadarre.
Parramatta FC showed their eagerness to play from the front in the early stages with Graziano Trimboli shooting over the bar in the 2? minute.
Blacktown Spartans responded almost immediately as Djordje Degenek?s snap shot went wide of the mark.
The away team continued to pass the ball in the middle of the park and almost took the lead in the 10? minute. A floating free-kick from Sean Mitchell found Peter Hobbard unmarked on the far post only for the latter to head his effort wide.
Blacktown?s aerial threat opened the scoring in the 14? minute when another Mitchell free-kick was met by the head of in-form Greg Kondek for the 1-0 lead.
Parramatta had a great chance to strike back 5? minutes later as Akiyoshi Saito struck the ball over the crossbar after Blacktown struggled to clear the ball from inside their own penalty-area.
The home fans started to believe their team had forgotten their shooting boots in the 24? minute when Patrick Dixon volleyed the ball wide with plenty of time.
The game turned into a midfield battle with both sides working hard but not creating chances.
2? minutes before the break Mark O?Reilly tried sparking his side to life but his attempted scissor kick failed to trouble Carlos Saliadarre.
Blacktown quickly pegged Parramatta in their own half from the onset of the second-half as they moved forward to try and double their lead.
In the 48? minute Kondek almost doubled his tally getting onto the end of another free-kick only for Matthew Nash to thwart the chance.
Parramatta FC Eagles coach Lee Sterrey turned to his bench in the 50? minute bringing on striker Bruno Pivato for Graziano Trimboli.
Pivato almost brought his team back into the game eight minutes later, bringing the ball to his left foot before sending his curling shot sailing over the goals.
Chris Gaitatzis responded with a chance in the 59? minute, beating two defenders on the right before rushing his shot.
Parramatta finally got on the board 2? minutes later when Joel Wood tapped the ball past the oncoming Saliadarre to bring the scores level.
The goal brought the game to life with both sides fighting hard for the three points.
A great play by Parramatta in the 63? minute ended in Joel Wood squaring the ball across the face of goal only for Pivato to just miss.
Pivato had another chance in the 77? minute, receiving the ball from Saito before switching the ball to his left foot and hitting a soft shot to the chest of Saliadarre.
Saito had a chance of his own in the 79? minute, striking the ball wide as Parramatta pushed forward in numbers.
The Spartans were not going to lie down wondering with Jacob Ott firing wide in the 80? minute.
With 5? minutes, remaining Mitchell continued the trend of missed shots for the Spartans striking the ball over the bar.
Gaitatzis got into the action in the 89? minute as a perfectly hit half volley again sailed over the crossbar.
Saito had the best chance to win the match for Parramatta but again saw his shot go well over the bar from close range.
Following the match Parramatta coach Lee Sterrey said his team?s poor start to the match cost them:
?Our first-half was disgraceful, from the start we were laying off them a lot,?? he said.
?I sat up top (in the grandstand) for the first time in a long time today and we just gave them 5-yards of space all over the park.
?We went out wanting to be aggressive and the first half was anything but that.
?The difference between the first-half and second-half was day and night.
?We threw everything at them in the second-half and I think really with the chances we should have taken the win at the end.
In the away dressing room Spartans coach Ben De Haan said he was happy to walk away with a point from Melita Stadium:
?They threw everything at us in the second-half and we had nothing in that final third,?? he said.
?We kept the ball well but really didn?t create anything apart from two chances to Sean Mitchell and Chris Gaitatzis at the end.
?We?ve got Sydney Olympic next week which is a tough game but I love the big games and we love getting up for them.??
Match Stats
Parramatta FC 1 (Wood 61?)
Blacktown Spartans 1 (Kondek 14?)
Sunday 24th June, 2012
Melita Stadium, Granville
Parramatta FC: 1.Matthew Nash; 4.Domenic Trimboli, 5.Mark O?Reilly, 6.Graziano Trimboli (11.Bruno Pivato 50?), 7.Paul Dixon (16.Daniel Gullo 86?), 8.Bryan Soane (C), 9.Aaron Peterson, 10.Akiyoshi Saito, 13.Joel Wood, 15.Masaki Nomoto, 17.Daniel Rezo (3.Andy Matloub 62?)
Substitutes Not Used: 14.Wandy Jajaw
Yellow Cards: Domenic Trimboli 39?
Red Cards: Nil
Blacktown Spartans: 1.Carlos Saliadarre (C); 3.Nathan Millgate, 5.Luke Boyd, 6.Greg Kondek (7.Chris Gaitatzis 53?), 8.Djordje Degenek, 9.Chris Bedzo (11.Steven Veleski, 78?), 10.Chris Gomez, 13.Hiroaki Kawasaki, 17.Peter Hubbard, 20.Sean Mitchell, 29.Chris Bush (27.Jacob Ott 68?)
Substitutes Not Used: 4.Daniel Wells, 40.Jesse Shewan
Yellow Cards: Sean Mitchell 67?
Red Cards: Nil
-By Chris Georges
