Brilliant Bonnyrigg steamroll Sydney United 58
The League leaders were always in control following Chris Tadrosse?s go-ahead goal midway through the opening period, as a superb Tynan Diaz double and Harris Gaitatzis strike sealed the deal for Brian Brown?s men.
A physical opening saw both sides trade blows in the middle of the park with the defensive lines at both ends keeping a close lid on any forward forays.
The home side managed to create the first look-in on goal for the afternoon on 8? minutes as Tynan Diaz?s searching ball from the right sent Robbie Younis through. The burly striker however, closely marshalled by the Reds defence, was unable to unleash an effort on target.
The opening chance spurred Bonnyrigg to continue pressing in the front third as they again stretched visitors down the right moments later. Diaz?s delivery into the penalty-area this time finished over the goal line.
In the 15? minute, Younis created a yard of space on the edge of the penalty-area to drive on goal. The striker turned his marker neatly though was denied by a fine Robert Kolak save down to his left.
A goalmouth scramble followed on 17? minutes as Ben Spruce and Aleksander Canak both attempted to get shots on target as some desperate Sydney United defending saw the chance thwarted.
Bonnyrigg White Eagles continued to press forward on 20? minutes, and once more Diaz was the orchestrator with his trusted right peg. The right-sided midfielder delivered a pin-point free-kick from the right, picking out the head of Spruce who forced Kolak into a fine save.
All Bonnyrigg?s early possession and pressure finally paid dividends as captain Tadrosse netted an exceptional goal on 22? minutes. The left-sided midfielder met an accurate delivery from the right to volley his attempt across goalkeeper Kolak and inside the far post.
Sydney United?s attempts to hit back immediately took a huge setback after Canak fouled Ante Tomic on halfway. The skillful Sydney United midfielder remained on the surface clutching his knee, as the visitors reverting to their bench with Daniel Barac taking to the field.
On 28? minutes, Sydney United created its first real chance of the match via a set-piece. Stjepan Paric sent a dipping effort over the Bonnyrigg defensive wall though Andrew Bazi was well positioned to save on his goal line.
Sydney United had another set-piece opportunity on 38? minutes that went begging, once more from a promising position. Mario Simic?s left-footed attempt had some good pace behind it though once again there wasn?t enough dip on the ball.
Brian Brown?s men remained composed in the middle of the park, administering the lead with some possession and quick ball movement.
The side close to doubling its lead on 42? minutes as Canak received a short square ball outside the penalty-area before driving his first-time effort over the crossbar.
In the final chance of the half on 47? minutes, a swift Sydney United counterattack saw Pavlovic released down the right. The striker showed his strength, and speed, to distance himself from his marker before sending his diagonal effort across goal, only inches wide Bazi?s post.
Sydney United re-emerged from the dressing sheds with gun striker Luka Glavas on the field. The target man has missed a large part of the season through injury, though his goal scoring prowess in these matches is unquestionable.
It was the home side however who started the second-half on the front foot, much the same as the opening period. An early Tadrosse free-kick from the left had the Sydney United defenders on alert as Michael Cindric headed the ball away from danger.
Sydney United replied in the 50? minute with successive chances. Mitchell Speer?s snap-shot was well blocked by Spruce, who bravely put his body on the line, before Glavas had his first touch of the match with a volley on the turn that finished well wide of goal.
The Reds, today in their away ?yellow? strip threatened once more down the right moments later as Speer and Jared Lum combined to send the latter clear. Lum, with a fabulous first touch to beat his marker, reached the byline though failed to pick out a teammate with his centre into the penalty-area.
Bonnyrigg White Eagles doubled its lead in the 54? minute following a well worked move. Mitchell Long?s exquisite chipped pass into the path of Diaz allowed the Bonnyrigg number 7 the time to unleash a powerful diagonal effort inside Kolak?s right-hand post.
Long continued his wonderful performance with a slalom effort on the edge of the penalty-area 3? minutes later. The playmaker eased his way into space though failed to hit a clean shot on goal as Kolak made a comfortable save.
On 61? minutes, Bonnyrigg put the match well beyond reach as Gaitatzis slotted home with a world class finish to make it 3-0. The young striker latched onto a tantalising through ball by Canak before driving his left-foot shot on the turn past a helpless Robert Kolak.
Sydney United?s best efforts to get forward were constantly thwarted by some expert defending by Nikola Zonjic as Bonnyrigg nearly added a fourth goal via Adrian Ucchino on 66? minutes at the other end. Ucchino wiggled his way past two defenders though failed to get a clean shot on goal as Kolak made a routine save.
Sydney United had Bazi on the back foot in the 75? minute as Simic?s in-swinging corner from the right forced the shot-stopper into punching the ball clear.
The Glavas and Elsid Barkhousir attacking combination, sent on by Sydney United coach Mike Gibson, struggled to get any real service in the front third as the home side looked to kill off the match with lengthy spells of possession across the park.
Bonnyrigg?s season members allowed at the venue for this fixture were all in full voice on 85? minutes as Diaz scored an absolute screamer of a goal. The right-sided midfielder latched onto a delivery from the left to blast a venomous first-time volley into the back of the net – in off the post.
The win further adds momentum to Bonnyrigg?s ambition to finish the regular season in top-spot.
The man of the moment, Tynan Diaz was understandably delighted with the emphatic result over their rivals.
?I am obviously very happy with what we achieved today and thought we played really well.
?We trained hard all week after what was a disappointing loss for us last weekend against Rockdale and turned it around with a positive performance today.
?I?m delighted for the fans and the club as I understand this victory meant a lot to them.?
With five goals in 2012, asked whether this was something he had worked hard on during the off-season Diaz replied.
?I am obviously happy scoring goals, they don?t come around too often but more importantly it?s all about winning matches and getting the three valuable points for the team and for the club ? that?s what counts in the end.?
Opening up a four-point gap at the top of the NSW Premier League table and with a match against the Blacktown Spartans in round 18, Diaz remained coy that the Premiership title was far from settled but remained up-beat about being a team on the rise week in week out.
?We don?t take any game differently and we know that there are still five matches remaining so we need to remain positive and continue with our consistency in results.
?We?re at the top of the table and every team should be fearing us we shouldn?t be fearing them, we need to go out and perform the way we know and I am confident we can carry our form right till the end.?
Match Stats
Bonnyrigg White Eagles 4 (Chris Tadrosse 22?, Tynan Diaz 54?, 85?, Harris Gaitatzis 61?)
Sydney United 58 FC 0
Sunday 29th July, 2012
Bonnyrigg Sports Club, Bonnyrigg
Referee: Kris Griffiths-Jones
Assistant Referees: Craig Fisher and Scott Edeling
Bench: J. Woods, Z. Elrich, W. Angel, V. Rigoli, I. JohnsoBonnyrigg White Eagles: 20.Andrew Bazi; 13.Nikola Stanojevic, 5.Chris Tadrosse (C), 11.Ben Spruce, 6.Nikola Zonjic, 23.Mitchell Long, 9.Robbie Younis (15.Chris Payne 78?), 8.Aleksander Canak, 19.Harris Gaitatzis, 18.Adrian Ucchino (21.Ken Chun 85?), 7.Tynan Diaz (2.Alex Mansueto 89?)
Substitutes Not Used: 10.Jordan Simpson, 44.Vincent Veneri
Yellow Cards: Aleksander Canak 24?
Red Cards: Nil
Sydney United 58 FC: 30.Robert Kolak; 2.Mitchell Speer, 4.Michael Cindric, 6.Mitchell Stamatellis, 7.Mirjan Pavlovic (9.Elsid Barkhousir 65?), 8.Jared Lum, 14.Petar Markovic (11.Luka Glavas 46?), 16.Stjepan Paric, 18.Mario Simic, 21.Ante Tomic (22.Daniel Barac 26?), 23.Ivo Bosnar (C)
Substitutes Not Used: 22.Daniel Barac, 10.Mitchell Thompson, 20.Ian Johnson
Yellow Cards: Michael Cindric 19?, Mirjan Pavlovic 44?, Mitchell Stamatellis 59?, Stjepan Paric 58?
Red Cards: Nil
-By Joseph Carlucci
