Sydney Olympic strike late to defeat Manly United

The result was very harsh on the home side, given they had a raft of first choice players unavailable.
They deserved at least a point after a grafting team performance.
Substitute Zac Elrich broke their hearts with a cool finish at the far post on 89? minutes after Matthew Mayora squared him an inch perfect ball from the left.
10? minutes in Manly should have opened the scoring. Matt Sim ran with purpose towards the goal, but with only Paul Henderson to beat hurried his shot and the chance went begging.
Moments later Sydney Olympic skipper Phil Makrys stung the palms of United goalkeeper Dylan Mitchell from distance, and in the 18? minute Mayora shot wide of the target after Adam Foti foolishly gave the ball away.
With 28? minutes on the clock Sim had a chance to atone for his earlier miss, but once again couldn?t beat Henderson from point-blank range.
For the remainder of the opening half football wasn?t the winner as the contest descended into a battle for control in the midfield.
Zac Elrich was lively after being thrown into the fray on the hour mark and almost broke the deadlock with his first touch on 62? minutes. 
With the United defence retreating, Elrich twisted and turned in the box but Mitchell was alert to the danger, snuffing out the chance.
67? minutes in, Jordy Edwards whipped in a great ball from the right which Henderson beat Sim to in the nick of time.
Moments later Makrys placed a free-kick inches wide from the target and you sensed it was going to be a stalemate.
United boss Craig Midgley cleared his bench in the last 20? minutes and in the end it was pivotal.
Graeme Forbes was replaced at the death, and in the reshuffle that followed Mayora took full advantage, outpacing his marker before finding Elrich who composed himself and slotted home the winner.
Sydney Olympic boss Peter Tsekenis was a relieved figure outside the sheds on what was a chilly night on the peninsula: 
?We got a run for our money in the first-half, Hendo (Paul Henderson) kept us in the game,?? he said.
?We made a few changes after the break and I felt if we lifted our quality would show which it did in the end.?
His opposite Craig Midgley was shattered:
?That was one of our best performances of the year,?? he said.
?We had a couple of chances in the first-half which cost us in the end.
?They (Sydney Olympic) are one of the best teams in the league and we played them off the park at times.
?To lose it was a travesty, even a draw would have been harsh, but that?s football.?
Midgley also heaped praise on dynamic central midfielder Michael Daly:
?It astounds me how he hasn?t caught the attention of A-League scouts,?? he said.
?He keeps flying under the radar and is one of our best players each week.
?I just want to see him get an opportunity, he has worked for it and in my opinion you would be hard pressed to find a better player in his position in Australia .?
Match Stats
Manly United FC 0 
Sydney Olympic FC 1 (Zac Elrich 89?)
Wednesday 1st August, 2012
Cromer Park
Referee: Chris Young
Assistant Referees: Craig Fisher and Thomas Lee
Fourth Official: James Tesoriero
Manly United FC: 1.Dylan Mitchell; 4.Graeme Forbes, (18.Josh Ward 86?) 5.Marc Richards, 6.Michael Daly, 8.Danny Grant, 10.Adam Foti, 11.Matt Sim, (39.Mitch Macedo 78?) 15.Jordy Edwards, 17.Todd Bamber, (19.Michael McGinley 72?) 21.Leigh Egger, 36.James Cullingworth
Substitutes Not Used: 16.Mitch Lensink, 24.Tonu Liiband
Yellow Cards: Foti 70?, Grant 82?
Red Cards: Nil
Sydney Olympic FC: 1.Paul Henderson; 2.Emmanuel Giannaros, 3.Brett Studman, 7.Phil Makrys, 8.Peter Triantis, 10.Chris Triantis, (14.Sam Awad 90?) 12.Troy Danaskos, 17.Kutaiba Elrich (15.Zac Elrich 61?), 11.Will Angel (19.David Gullo 45?) 21.Marton Vass, 24.Matthew Mayora
Substitutes Not Used: 4.Ibrahim Haydar, 32.Luke Kairies
Yellow Cards: Gullo 66?
Red Cards: Nil