Reds keep finals hopes alive with Sharks scalp
An unfortunate own goal to George Souris midway through the first-half, capped off with Mirjan Pavlovic?s poached attempt late in the second-half, proved enough for the Reds to keep alive its hopes of reaching the finals, meanwhile for Sutherland, hopes of a top-five finish seem almost certainly out of reach.
Cold conditions on a wet pitch greeted the players on the field, as all present observed one minute of silence following the passing of young Sydney United club supporter Mato earlier in the week. The Sydney United players showed their respect with the black armbands worn by each of the players.
Both sides came out of the gates with some pace, pushing the ball around the field swiftly despite the wet conditions under foot following a downpour prior to kick-off.
Sutherland Sharks created the first opening, in somewhat opportunistic fashion. Yianni Fragogianis? long-range attempt took a big deflection off Panni Nikas en-route to goal, though Robert Kolak did exceptionally well to parry down to his left.
Sydney United?s reply in the final third arrived via playmaker Stephen Hayes down the left 1? minute later. The speedy attacking midfielder beat his marker to create space for a cross; the delivery however failed to pick out a teammate.
The Sharks suffered a slight scare when Nikas was forced from the field for a facial wound following a collision with a Reds defender. The talented attacking midfielder received treatment and changed his shirt, returning with the number 40 on his shoulders instead of his personalised number 23.
The home side made progress again down the left on 12? minutes, this time via youngster Mario Simic, though his run to the byline was thwarted by the ever experienced Souris.
On 15? minutes, the Reds found the opening goal, in fortuitous circumstance. Sutherland captain Souris, attempting to intercept a searching ball by the Reds over the defence, failed to get his full boot behind the ball, instead looping the ball over his own goalkeeper to give the Sydney United supporters something to cheer about.
In the 19? minute, Nikas had a glorious chance to draw his side level following some fine buildup play by the Sharks. Matt Gordon?s centre from the left found Nikas on the penalty-spot, though the playmaker failed to connect with his attempted shot on the turn as the Reds defence, marshalled solidly by Michael Cindric and Mitchell Speer, thwarted any danger.
Nikas tried his luck again 1? minute later, this time from distance, though once more the Sharks creative player failed to connect cleanly with the ball as the chance went begging.
Stjepan Paric?s free-kick delivery in the 23? minute had Nathan Denham scrambling as he was pressured by some Reds players, though Sutherland managed to clear its lines with a desperate clearance before Hayes could get a look-in on goal.
Back at the other end Niko Tsattalios went close at the other end for Sutherland with a glancing header on 29? minutes. Tsattalios, playing upfront for this encounter, appeared to have the goalkeeper beaten though Kolak made an exceptional diving save to his left to keep Sydney United ahead on the scoreboard.
Paric continued his fine first-half showing out of midfield with a powerful attempt from distance, only just clearing Denham?s crossbar on 38? minutes.
In the closing stages of the opening half, the Reds pressed for a second, forcing the Sharks to defend desperately. Mitchell Speer clutched at a loose ball inside the penalty-area in the 41? minute with not enough purpose as the visitors cleared its lines with Nick Stavroulakis bringing calm to his teammates.
Sutherland created one last chance in first-half injury-time as Denham turned defence into attack with a quick clearance. Nikas latched onto the long searching ball and played Tsattalios through on goal, however the striker?s attempted first-time shot failed to hit the target as referee Adam Susz brought an end to first-half proceedings.
Following the break, Sutherland created the first opening inside the first 60?? seconds. Chris Price?s delivery from the left was cleared by Cindric directly into the body of Tsattalios, with the resulting ball finished wide of the mark.
Nikas tested Kolak with a long-range shot in the 47? minute. With Stavroulakis snooping around the penalty-area for scraps, Kolak did well to grab the ball at the second attempt.
Sutherland continued to press, and again Nikas was the orchestrator in the 48? minute. A mazy run on the edge of the penalty-area saw the playmaker provide Tsattalios with a square ball – the striker?s first-time attempt on the turn however finished over the crossbar.
Sydney United?s reply arrived via Pavlovic who ?slalomed? his way into the penalty-area, beating two players before Denham bravely put his body on the line to save at the big striker?s feet.
Despite Sutherland?s eagerness to get forward, and a whole lot of possession in the opening exchanges of the half, Sydney United doubled its lead with a well worked move down the right. Petar Markovic was the provider with a pinpoint cross that fell to the feet of Pavlovic who made no mistake from three metres to slot home past Denham.
With the side?s chances of playing finals football on the line, Sutherland continued to press for a goal to re-open the contest. Coach Robbie Stanton opted to throw Klim Goreski into the mix for Stavroulakis, and the change almost brought about an opening for Nikas first, then Fragogianis. Both attempts were calmly dealt with by Kolak.
On 65? minutes, Denham denied Pavlovic a third goal for the Reds with another fine save down at the striker?s feet. A tantalising through ball by Hayes picked out the striker however his first-time attempt was smartly buried by the shot-stopper.
Reds coach Mike Gibson welcomed back Luka Glavas from injury. The striker, who played a cameo role in Wollongong last weekend, looked lively with some good movement in the front third, though the intensity to find another goal had definitely dropped.
In the 76? minute, Ivo Bosnar stung the palms of Denham with a ferocious drive from distance. The shot carried a real punch though was relatively central, making for a routine save by the Sharks shot-stopper.
Sutherland?s best attempts arrived from distance via Nikas and, on 85? minutes, Price who drove his left-foot drive inches wide of Kolak?s left-hand post.
Reds substitute Elsid Barkhousir went close to adding a third goal in the first minute of injury-time with a floated attempt over Denham, the shot-stopper off his line, though the ball finished on the wrong side of the post.
In the end, the win was a welcomed result for the Reds supporters who are hoping this result could signal the turning point in the side?s bid to reach finals football.
Coach Mike Gibson was a very happy figure at the final whistle:
?Very happy today with the result obviously, but also with the efforts of all the boys,? commented Gibson.
?Last weekend we had a heavy loss, and we needed to work on that during the week to get our minds back on the job and make a real go of the match today and the final few weeks of the competition.
?Like I said, today?s win is very important, and it certainly was the response that we were looking for following the loss against the Wolves.
?Things seem to be coming together for us now with the return of Luka Glavas and Elsid Barkhousir, and it is good timing as we come towards the end of the season,? concluded Gibson.
Sutherland Sharks coach Robbie Stanton was disappointed with the result, though relatively content with the performance of his players:
?Obviously I am disappointed with the result today, though I do think we played well enough to win the match ? we were the dominant team having created many more chances than them,? said Stanton.
?Not to discredit them (Sydney United), they took their chances, though I cannot fault my players at all, even on a very difficult pitch like the one today.
?We conceded the own goal which was unfortunate, and then their second goal was some poor marking by our guys ? when you look at the match, I don?t think we gave them too much more; we were just not good enough in the front third.
The Sharks weren?t helped in the front third with the absence of Matt Bailey and Blake Powell ? the latter signed up by Sydney FC last week. The Sharks coach will be still looking to get as much out of his players in the run towards the end of the season:
?Our objective is to continue playing our football, maintaining our style of play and getting as many points as possible.
?A number of the matches we still need to play are against sides that are positioned above us on the ladder, and we know that finals football is perhaps out of reach now, though we will continue to persevere and look to finish as high up the table as possible,? Stanton ended.
Match Stats
Sydney United 58 FC 2 (George Souris 15? (og), Mirjan Pavlovic 52? )
Sutherland Sharks 0
Sunday 22nd July, 2012
Sydney United Sports Centre, Edensor Park
Referee: Adam Susz
Assistant Referees: Craig Fisher and James Tesoriero
Fourth Official: Gareth Williams
Bench: J. Woods, Z. Elrich, W. Angel, V. Rigoli, I. JohnsSydney United 58 FC: 30.Robert Kolak; 2.Mitchell Speer, 4.Michael Cindric, 7.Mirjan Pavlovic (9.Elsid Barkhousir 81?), 8.Jared Lum, 10.Stephen Hayes (11.Luka Glavas 66?), 14.Petar Markovic (21.Ante Tomic 57?), 16.Stjepan Paric, 18.Mario Simic, 22.Daniel Barac, 23.Ivo Bosnar (C)
Substitutes Not Used: 19.Mitchell Thompson, 20.Ian Johnson
Yellow Cards: Stjepan Paric 60?
Red Cards: Nil
Sutherland Sharks: 1.Nathan Denham; 2.George Souris (C), 4.Yianni Fragogianis, 5.Paul Cotte, 6.Matthew Gordon, 8.Chris Price, 12.Hayden Morton, 13.Niko Tsattalios (28.Nick Olsen 86?), 14.Nick Stavroulakis (16.Klim Gjoreski 55?), 17.Pat Savor (11.Todd Halloran 57?), 23.Panni Nikas
Substitutes Not Used: 3.Tyson Rhodes, 42.Marko Bozic
Yellow Cards: George Souris 60?
Red Cards: Nil
-By Joseph Carlucci
