Bonnyrigg White Eagles crowned 2012 Premiers with remarkable Sydney Olympic defeat
With the White Eagles having already sealed the Premiership with the win at Parramatta FC last weekend, Brian Brown?s men ensured victory for their home supporters with another home win against last season?s stand-out side, extending the lead at the top of the League ladder to thirteen-points.
Robbie Younis netted twice for the home side, the burly striker reaching quota 19 for goals scored this season, before player of the match Tynan Diaz blasted a superb volley into the back of the net late in the second-half to seal the deal.
Sydney Olympic came out of the blocks quickly with its attacking intentions shown early in the front third as both Phil Makrys and Kutaiba Elrich attempted shots on goal. The latter?s effort in the 3? minute forced Nikodin Matic into a routine save.
The home side responded in the 5? minute with its first forward foray. Mitchell Long showed some fine skill as he slalomed his way past two defenders before driving his diagonal effort wide across the face of goal.
Bonnyrigg didn?t have to wait long to open the scoring as top scorer Younis netted with a fine finish on 7? minutes. Tynan Diaz?s set-piece delivery from the right fell into the path of the striker who took a first touch with his back to goal, before blasting the effort past Paul Henderson.
On 12? minutes, Marton Vass found a slight opening for the Blues. The tall midfielder picked up a loose ball inside the penalty-area before his powerful drive on goal was thwarted by some desperate Bonnyrigg defending.
The White Eagles doubled the lead 2? minutes later, again via Younis. The goal poacher was clinical with his first-time drive off his trusted left peg, blasting Aleksander Canak?s square ball past Henderson.
The visitors had the White Eagles on the back foot on 23? minutes when William Angel first, then David Gullo, skipped their way past a number of Bonnyrigg players. Both players, with the goal beckoning, were denied by some stern defending led by Nikola Zonjic.
The Blues should have re-opened the contest in the 28? minute as Chris Triantis delightfully played a chipped pass into the path of Kutaiba Elrich. With only the goalkeeper to beat, Elrich?s drive straight at Matic was expertly diverted over the crossbar by the shot-stopper.
Sydney Olympic continued to press late on in the half as Gullo combined with Angel to send the latter to the byline. Angel?s powerful drive across goal in the 37? minute failed to find a teammate as the chance went begging.
Bonnyrigg?s movement out of the middle of the park was at its typical best with Canak, Diaz and Adrian Ucchino in tremendous touch – the latter a true workhorse for the White Eagles.
In the 40? minute, Spruce was denied by Henderson. The Sydney Olympic shot-stopper made a fine save on his goal line from the defender?s powerful header, as Spruce rose highest to meet Tadrosse?s in-swinging corner.
Sydney Olympic closed the half on the front foot, much as they started the match, though Phil Makrys? best efforts off a set-piece, followed by some Gullo magic down the left, failed to carve out a clear goal scoring chance as Bonnyrigg went into the break with a two-goal advantage.
Following the half-time interval, Sydney Olympic created the first chance of note on 51? minutes. A Phil Makrys free-kick from a central position got around the Bonnyrigg defensive wall, however a lack of power failed to test Matic who claimed the ball comfortably.
Bonnyrigg responded in the 56? minute as Diaz got forward down the right. The right-winger?s deep cross found Canak at the back post, with the attacking midfielder cutting the ball back into the middle to find Younis who failed to hit the target with his headed attempt.
On the hour, a tantalising passage of passes by the White Eagles, started by Diaz and finished with Tadrosse, saw the home side completely cut-up the Blues defenders. Tadrosse?s square ball picked out Younis inside the penalty-area though once more the striker was a little wasteful, blasting his effort wide of the target.
Diaz continued to entertain the home supporters with a fine array of touches on the ball, constantly teasing his opponents as he continued to play neat two-touch football.
The right-sided midfielder combined with Ucchino moments later as the latter only just failed to carve out a defence splitting pass to release Younis.
The White Eagles deservedly added a third in the 71? minute, and rightly so it fell to Diaz. The Bonnyrigg number 7, from an angle, sent in a dipping volley hit with aplomb over the helpless Henderson who could only watch as the supporters went into a frenzy.
Diaz was at it again 3? minutes later as he tried his luck from distance. The midfielder?s low-driven effort appeared to have Henderson beaten though only just finished the wrong side of the shot-stopper?s right-hand post.
Following a lengthy onslaught from the home side, Sydney Olympic finally got forward in the 77? minute. Zac Elrich got the look in as he picked up a loose ball inside the penalty-area before forcing Matic into a diving save down to his right.
Second-half substitute Matthew Mayora followed up that effort with an attempt of his own from distance 8? minutes from the end, though once more Matic was up to task.
At the other end, Younis was denied his hat-trick as he met Long?s cross from the right only to see his powerful header thwarted by the Blues defence.
Sydney Olympic rushed back down the other end and again forced Matic into a save. Mayora?s rifled attempt was dealt with by the goalkeeper before a follow-up attempt was also parried expertly by Matic.
The League?s top marksman again went close to finding his hat-trick on two more occasions in the 90? and 91? minutes. The first saw the striker drive his diagonal effort inches wide of Henderson?s left-hand post before driving a perfectly elevated ball over the crossbar from near point-blank range.
The miss didn?t deter the fans who were in full voice following the referee?s final whistle, as scenes of jubilation followed with the White Eagles squad deservedly celebrating a fine Premiership triumph.
Bonnyrigg coach Brian Brown was more than happy with his side?s achievement:
?I am very very happy with what these boys have achieved this season, the boys have all been tremendous,? commented Brown.
?Not many people would have given us a chance at the start of the season with so many players leaving the club, though the boys have all worked so hard and I am proud of every single player.
?We knew this match would be tough, Sydney Olympic is a top side and even though we clinched the Premiership last weekend, we really wanted to give our supporters a win for all their efforts this season too.
?Also, a win against Sydney Olympic ? and we have a match against Blacktown City FC next weekend which we will face with the same intensity ? is very important as we look to go into the finals series with some good momentum.
?A win tonight, with another clean sheet against a strong, dangerous side and fifty-points from twenty-one matches is very pleasing, though we will need to keep the intensity high between now and the end of the season,? ended Brown.
Sydney Olympic coach Peter Tsekenis was less impressed upon his exit from the Blues dressing room:
?All credit to Bonnyrigg, they have had a great season and deserved to win the Premiership, well done to them.
?On the match tonight, I thought we started well enough, we had some good intensity and over the course of the match we managed to create some chances.
?The difference between the two sides was that they took their chances and we didn?t.
?Then in the second-half, we really went missing.
?This result is a wakeup call for us, we know that we need to bounce back quickly and look to finish the regular season strongly next weekend in order to give ourselves the best chance possible for the finals,? Tsekenis concluded.
Match Stats
Bonnyrigg White Eagles 3 (Robbie Younis 7?, 14?, Tynan Diaz 71?)
Sydney Olympic 0
Saturday 25th August, 2012
Bonnyrigg Sports Club, Bonnyrigg
Referee: Alex Glasgow
Assistant Referees: Adam Coombes and Rob Nieuwenhaus
Fourth Official: Sam Abraham
Bench: J. Woods, Z. Elrich, W. Angel, V. Rigoli, I. JohnsBonnyrigg White Eagles: 33.Nikodin Matic; 2.Alex Mansueto (17.Jordan Crighton 89?), 6.Nikola Zonjic, 5.Chris Tadrosse (C), 11. Ben Spruce, 18.Adrian Ucchino (21.Ken Chun 86?), 8.Aleksander Canak, 9.Robbie Younis, 19.Harris Gaitatzis, 7.Tynan Diaz (15.Chris Payne 86?), 23.Mitchell Long
Substitutes Not Used: 20.Andrew Bazi, 10.Jordan Simpson
Yellow Cards: Nil
Red Cards: Nil
Sydney Olympic: 1.Paul Henderson; 3.Brett Studman, 21.Marton Vass, 12.Troy Danaskos, 2.Emmanuel Giannaros, 19.David Gullo (15.Zac Elrich 55?), 10.Chris Triantis, 4.Ibrahim Haydar, 17.Kutaiba Elrich (25.Amaury Gauthier 75?), 11.William Angel (24.Matthew Mayora 46?), 7.Phil Makrys (C)
Substitutes Not Used: 32.Luke Kairies, 14.Sam Awad
Yellow Cards: Kutaiba Elrich 16?
Red Cards: Nil
-By Joseph Carlucci
