Spirited comeback sees Sydney United 58 FC past Suns
Alec Urosevski?s goal late in the first-half put the visitors in control before a stunning 5? minutes of football saw United pile on three second-half goals in quick succession to run away with the match.
On another day the final result could have been very different had Paul Kohler and Urosevski found the back of the net instead of hitting the crossbar and post respectively while leading by the single goal.
The hosts duly punished Rockdale for their missed opportunities with goals to Luka Glavas, Mirjan Pavlovic, and substitute Jared Lum, sealing all three points in a truly entertaining clash.
The match marked Rockdale coach Mark Rudan?s first appearance on the visiting bench after many years on the playing and coaching staff at United, while it also marked a return to the starting line-up for Glavas who has been the unfortunate victim of an injury plagued season.
The clash kicked off in frenetic fashion with chances opening up at both ends in the opening minutes.
Urosevski was played into an open hole in the centre of United?s defence in the opening seconds; however he may well have been caught off guard by the ease of the move as his tame finish gave Robert Kolak the simplest of early saves.
Steve Hayes set Pavlovic up on the edge of the Rockdale box moments later; the nomadic striker?s powerful finish was bravely blocked by Ryan Norval?s diving save.
Pavlovic found himself in on the action in attack regularly throughout the match, seeing another effort well held before the rebound of his deflected strike was narrowly blazed over by Glavas soon after.
A darting run saw Tommy Cirjak show the United midfield a clean set of heels before the midfielder played Sash Tirovski into the box.
The winger belted his finish into the side netting from a narrow angle as neither side were able to open the scoring in an action packed opening quarter hour of football.
The chances briefly dried up until the half hour mark when Cirjak cut inside from the left flank before seeing his deflected effort confidently held by Kolak.
Anthony Perri dragged an effort wide soon after yet Rockdale were soon rewarded for their efforts with the opening goal late in the half.
Urosevski produced a smartly timed run to beat the offside trap and run onto Pece Cvetanovski?s inch perfect through ball before rounding Kolak and firing the ball between the onrushing defenders to break the deadlock.
Paul Kohler came within inches of doubling their advantage in the last minute of the first period, side-footing Cirjak?s curled free-kick against the crossbar when he perhaps should have scored from his unmarked position.
United appeared hungrier in front of goal after the interval with only Askin Oygur?s solid block standing between Glavas and an equaliser seconds after the restart.
Urosevski should have given Rockdale some breathing space soon after as he again beat the offside trap only to place his finish against the frame of the goal from a one-on-one position.
Pavlovic ran onto Glavas? flick header minutes later and produced a powerful goal bound strike that was blocked by Norval while Urosevski saw his effort tipped wide in spectacular fashion by Kolak at the other end after the ensuing counterattack.
The hosts really came into life on the hour mark as they punished Rockdale for their missed opportunities with three goals in quick succession.
Pavlovic unconventionally flicked the ball over Rockdale?s centre halves for Glavas to produce the simplest of finishes as he tucked the ball past Norval to level the scores.
Just as the crowd began to retake their seats after celebrating Glavas? return to the scoreboard they were brought to their feet once again as Pavlovic produced a stunning low 30-yard drive to sneak the ball inside the far post and give his side the lead.
United didn?t take their foot off the accelerator there, effectively utilising their momentum to grab their third moments later as Glavas cleverly played Lum in behind Rockdale?s shell-shocked backline; the substitute made no mistake as he beat Norval at his far post with a powerful angled finish.
Pavlovic flicked Stejpan Paric?s free-kick just wide in the final quarter hour before Urosevski miscued his finish under intense pressure from Mitchell Speer at the other end soon after.
Tempers flared in the closing minutes as Ivo Bosnar, Daniel Barac, and Kohler all saw yellow, yet the late skirmish did little to dampen the high spirits at Sydney United Sports Centre as the hosts held on to seal an exciting win in front of their own fans.
While Sydney United 58 FC striker and goal scorer Luka Glavas was happy to be back in the starting line-up and back on the scoring charts, he modestly played down the significance of his return, highlighting the importance of the win for the club:
?It?s been a while,? said Glavas.
?I?ve been out this year with a lot of injuries so it was good to get out there ? and better to get the win more importantly.
?We were down and we needed a win today.
?The club was desperate for it so we put in a great effort to come back.
?The boys showed a lot of heart, we pressed hard and it paid off.?
While disappointed with the loss, Rockdale City Suns coach Mark Rudan thought his side stuck to their game plan well in a match that really could have gone either way:
?Overall I thought in patches it wasn?t great to watch,? said Rudan.
?We had a game plan in place and I thought we executed it quite well and got to the one goal lead.
?It?s a funny thing, football, because it can change very quickly
?Paul Kohler hits the crossbar just before the break when taking a 2-0 lead into half-time could have had the game done and dusted.
?We continued on in the second-half and Alec (Urosevski) had a couple of fantastic one-on-one chances with the goalkeeper and the game then turned on its head with 5? minutes of madness.?
Rudan highlighted Glavas? equaliser as the turning point in the match, and despite seeing his side lose their grip on the scoreboard could still draw plenty of positives from their match performance today:
?We got caught out of possession for the second goal and Glavas did extremely well,? said Rudan.
?It?s always dangerous when you cut across your own line of defence.
?Glavas is an absolute match winner, and after being out for such a long period he comes back and turns the game around.
?He inspired his players and got his team back into it before the second cracking goal.
?But that?s what happens when you allow teams to get back into it, they get their heads up.
?In the past we?ve held onto results, so I was disappointed not to hold onto a one goal lead.
?But again the effort was still there and we still created a lot of chances so we can take a lot of positives away from that,? Rudan concluded.
Match Stats
Sydney United 58 FC 3 (Luka Glavas 61?, Mirjan Pavlovic 63?, Jared Lum 65?)
Rockdale City Suns 1 (Alec Urosevki 41?)
Sunday August 12th, 2012
Sydney United Sports Centre, Edensor Park
Referee: Khodr Yaghi
Assistant Referees: Scott Edeling and Lance Greenshields
Fourth Official: Brendan Johansen
Sydney United 58 FC: 30.Robert Kolak; 2.Mitchell Speer, 6.Mitchell Stamatellis, 7.Mirjan Pavlovic, 14.Petar Markovic (8.Jared Lum 55?), 10.Steve Hayes, 11.Luka Glavas (17.John Krajacic 72?), 16.Stejpan Paric, 18.Mario Simic, 22.Daniel Barac, 23.Ivo Bosnar
Substitutes Not Used: 20.Ian Johnson, 35.Ben Vidaic, 28.K Ehart
Yellow Cards: Ivo Bosnar 80?, Daniel Barac 85?
Red Cards: Nil
Rockdale City Suns: 1.Ryan Norval; 2.Takuya Muruyama, 23.Askin Oygur, 21.Ricky Perinich (6.Joshua Lawson 28?), 3.Giorgio Speranza, 16.Anthony Perri (11.David Talevski 75?), 5.Pece Cvetanovski, 8.Paul Kohler, 17.Sash Tirovski, 10.Tommy Cirjak (12.Huseyin Jasli 64?), 18.Alec Urosevski
Substitutes Not Used: 7.P Apoleski, 22.Aaron Liddell
Yellow Cards: Paul Kohler 85?
Red Cards: Nil
-By Michael Shoolman
