Wolves run riot in nine-goal thriller
The match didn?t take long to produce goals as the Wolves grabbed an early 2-0 lead through Ricky Zucco and Samuel Jacob.
Zucco opened the scoring when he delivered a deft lob over the keep on the 8? minute and Samuel Jacob followed suit when he ran onto a clever pass to score with a crisp finish from the corner of the penalty box.
The game settled down for the next 10? minutes and it looked as if the visitors were getting back into the match. But suddenly the Wolves struck again on the counterattack with a Peter Simonovski goal on 23? minutes. Simonovski hit the back of the net with a first time shot after a perfectly weighted through ball put him one-on-one with the keeper.
To their credit Sydney United kept fighting and were unlucky not to score after creating some decent chances. Elsid Barkhousir delivered some particularly dangerous crosses into the middle, but his teammates were unable to beat the Wolves defence to the ball.
Once again it started to look like Sydney United would get a goal back. But instead it was South Coast Wolves who scored another goal to make it 4-0 before half-time. A weak clearance from the Sydney United defence fell to Wolves defender Michael Robinson who sent an unstoppable drive past the Sydney United goalkeeper.
Finally, Sydney United?s courage paid off as they got a goal back from a corner which was deflected into the net by Barkhousir in the 45? minute. However, most of the credit for the goal must go to the corner taker Mario Simic, whose delivery curled ferociously into the six-yard box and only needed the slightest of touches by Barkhousir.
At the end of the first-half, the crowd at John Crehan Park had witnessed five fantastic goals, with the score line at 4-1 in favour of South Coast Wolves.
Sydney United started the second-half like they believed they were capable of scoring enough goals to salvage something from the game. Their self belief was rewarded in the 54? minute when Mirjan Pavlovic headed in their second goal from close range.
Sydney United continued to apply the pressure on the home side, who looked determined to sit back and defend for the remainder of the 90? minutes. It was unusual to watch Sydney United, who had already conceded four goals in the game, continue to play with such confidence. The linesman came to the Wolves rescue in the 65? minute when he signalled for offside when it seemed that Sydney United had pulled another goal back.
The visitors continued to control possession and push South Coast deep into their own half. However, against the run of play again, South Coast Wolves went straight up the other end and scored a spectacular goal. The goal came through Ricky Zucco who unbelievably turned with the ball in the centre circle and chipped the Sydney United goalkeeper who was standing on the edge of his penalty box.
The goals continued to rain down Sydney United went and scored their third goal with their first attack after the restart. Pavlovic controlled the ball six yards out and held off his marker before passing to Daniel Barac who roofed the ball into the top of the net.
Zucco made the score line 6-3 on 79? minutes when he completed his hat-trick after being one-on-one with the Sydney Unitied goalkeeper.
The game continued in a frantic fashion for its remainder, but no one else was able to get onto an already overflowing score sheet. As the final whistle went in the city of Wollongong, it brought to an end an unbelievable nine goal thriller and a certain contender for game of the season.
South Coast Wolves coach Trevor Morgan was pleased with his sides attacking effort, but equally disappointed that they did not close out the game:
?We were very happy to score six goals but disappointed at how open we left the game in the second-half.
?One of the things about the Wolves is that we know how to score goals, but we still need to learn how to control games,? Morgan concluded.
Sydney United player Stjepan Paric commented on his team?s performance after the game: ?Lately we haven?t been starting games well and it was the same this week, we copped two goals tonight in the first 20? minutes and then it wasn?t until the second-half that we really got into the game.
?We started pushing men forward and we got a couple of goals back, but in the end it wasn?t good enough,? Paric concluded.
Match Stats
South Coast Wolves 6 (Ricky Zucco 8?, 70?, 79?, Samuel Jacob 10?, Peter Simonovski 23?, Michael Robinson 35?)
Sydney United 58 FC 3 (Elsid Barkhousir 45?, Mirjan Pavlovic 54?, Daniel Barac 73?)
Saturday June 14th, 2012
John Crehan Park, Wollongong
Referee: Ryan Sheppard
Assistant Referees: Lee Corey and Nathan Wotton
Fourth Official: Nathan Roberts
South Coast Wolves: 20.Hayden Durose; 2.Jack Keating, 4.Michael Robinson, 5.Samuel Jacob, 6.Nick Littler, 8.Chris Nathaniel (11.John Martinoski 60?), 10.Sasho Petrovski, 13.Peter Simonovski, 26.Jacob Timpano (14.Fabian Iacovelli 60?), 15.Jack Madgwick, 17.Ricky Zucco (12.Mathew Floro 85?).
Substitutes Not Used: 16.Joseph Lavelle, Thomas Hamilton.
Yellow Cards: Peter Simonovski 32?
Red Cards: Nil
Sydney United 58 FC: 30.Robert Kolak; 2.Mitchell Speer; 6.Mitchell Stamatellis, 7.Mirjan Pavlovic, 8.Jared Lum (11.Luka Glavas 61?), 9.Elsid Barkhousir (22.Daniel Barac 46?), 21.Ante Tomic, 19.Mitchell Thompson (22.Stjepan Paric 46?), 10.Stephen Hayes, 18.Mario Simic, 23.Ivo Bosnar (C)
Substitutes Not Used: 20.Ian Johnson, 4.Michael Cindric
Yellow Cards: Mitchell Speer 42? Stjepan Paric 48?
Red Cards: Nil
-By Josh Watt
