Marconi power into Grand Final with thrilling victory over Blacktown City
First-half goals to Yuchi Yamauchi and Travis Major twice gave Blacktown the lead either side of Nahuel Arrarte?s equalising spot kick after Zac Cairncross was adjudged to have fouled Jamie McMaster in the box.
McMaster levelled the scores soon after the restart before a 35-yard screamer from Shane Webb followed by an injury time goal to Joey Gibbs rounded off the win following Cairncross? dismissal for a second bookable offence.
The victory now hands Marconi a shot at silverware in next Monday?s Grand Final against a Bonnyrigg White Eagles side that scraped past them with a single penalty in last week?s Major Semi Final.
Mark Crittenden?s men threatened early as Yamauchi?s well timed run earned the fleet-footed attacker the first attacking chance of the match only to be denied by textbook defending by Andrew Mailer who cleared any danger at the expense of a corner.
Marconi responded in kind at the other end with a low angled effort from Nathan Elasi that flashed past Brody Crane?s far post.
Blacktown were handed the chance to threaten from the set piece after a Chris Nunes foul on the quarter hour mark and they took full advantage thanks to an inch-perfect delivery combined with non-existent marking from the Marconi defence.
Matt Lewis smartly curled the ball in behind the Marconi backline who were caught flat-footed, allowing the unmarked Yamauchi to divert the ball inside the far post with his head.
It was a typically clinical finish by the Japanese import yet an easily preventable goal had the hosts simply marked the shortest man on the pitch.
The visitors came close to doubling their advantage minutes later as Lewis? corner found the head of Cairncross, yet this time James Chronopoulos was alert to make a confident save to deny the towering centre-half.
Marconi began to find their feet in attack and found a lot of luck on the flanks as Elasi and Sean O?Connell continually tested the Blacktown defensive line.
Joey Gibbs? improvisational skills almost created an equaliser for Marconi on the half hour mark; the attacker unconventionally flicked the ball over the top of Blacktown?s centre-halves to find McMaster, yet the experienced midfielder?s finish lacked conviction and was easily held by Crane.
The hosts were rewarded for their resurgence soon after as Cairncross felled McMaster in the box; referee Ryan Shepherd duly pointed to the spot and showed Cairncross his first booking of the night.
Arrarte confidently stepped up to take the penalty; the Marconi captain led by example and blasted the ball past Crane to level the scores and bring the home fans to their feet.
Marconi perhaps should have hit the lead from their next attack when Elasi?s cross found Gibbs at the near post, however the young striker couldn?t get the connection required, letting the chance slip with a weak header.
Blacktown duly punished Marconi for the miss minutes later as they grabbed the lead on the counterattack.
Major utilised his pace to beat Wade Oostendorp to a long ball before turning inside the defender and cheekily clipping the ball over Chronopoulos to restore his side?s advantage.
Either side could have grabbed another goal before the interval as Ryuji Miyazawa shot wide following a brilliant through ball from Daniel Bragg before Elasi?s well-placed effort struck the far post and deflected wide.
Luke Casserly?s half-time words appeared to have hit the mark as Marconi emerged from the sheds to produce a second half display truly deserving of the win.
The in-form Elasi continued to threaten after the restart and came close once again with a placed first-time effort from the edge of the box that narrowly curled around the far post.
Marconi soon found the equaliser they craved when McMaster played a smart one-two with Gibbs to find himself through on goal just before the hour mark.
The Leeds United youth product was lethal with his finish, tucking the ball beyond Crane and into the back of the net to restore parity on the scoreboard.
Marconi?s hard work was almost undone by a weak back pass on the hour mark as substitute Ali Haydar gifted possession to Major; Chronopoulos was alert to dart off his line to block Major?s route to goal with a solid challenge.
Gibbs was next to threaten at the other end and came agonisingly close to giving Marconi the lead with a brilliant 25-yard effort that curled inches wide of the top corner; the effort was so close that the striker was already darting toward the corner flag in celebration.
While Gibbs? effort oozed brilliance Shane Webb?s following attempt was nothing short of spectacular.
Given a few yards of space 35-yards from goal Webb took one touch to steady himself before dispatching an absolute screamer into the top corner to give his side a well-deserved lead and create pandemonium in the stands.
Blacktown pushed forward in numbers in an attempt to salvage the match and their chances were dealt a heavy blow when Cairncross lashed out with a wild challenge in injury time, earning himself a second yellow card and a slightly early shower.
Now a man short in defence the Blacktown backline allowed substitute Damian Travis to break down the left flank, draw Crane off his line, and centre the ball for Gibbs to knock the ball into an open goal to cap off a famous victory for Marconi.
Marconi Stallions coach Luke Casserly was overjoyed with the result and elated with the effort his side put in tonight:
?We?re obviously delighted with the result,? said Casserly.
?You come into these games and when it comes down to one game on one day you know anything can happen.
?I feel that in the last two months we played really good football and I actually through we dominated possession and did okay in the first half but we gave away goals that you just can?t do.
?They hit us on the counterattack and looked dangerous in that way.
?We tightened things up a little bit at the back and our back four was much better in the second-half as we didn?t let them hold up the ball and bring people into play.
?When we were dominating with that kind of possession in their half we know we?re going to get chances, it?s just a case of if we take them.
?I thought our goal to equalise at 2-2 was first class.
?Then when Webby (Shane Webb) struck that goal the momentum was with us and we went on from there.
?I couldn?t be happier for the football club and couldn?t be happier for these players.
?They?re a good bunch of boys and have worked very hard.?
Basking in the jubilation of tonight?s win, Casserly joked off any speculation about next Monday?s Grand Final against Bonnyrigg White at Bonnyrigg Sports Centre before his side begin preparation for the big game over the next eight days:
?I?ll start thinking about that tomorrow,? laughed Casserly.
Blacktown City FC coach Mark Crittenden was understandably disappointed with the loss and credited Marconi with a deserved victory:
?We?re shattered, just gutted,? said Crittenden.
?At the end of the day it was a case of boys versus men, they?re a very experienced side and we probably lacked a bit of experience.
?They pressured us and thoroughly deserved their win to be fair.
?The boys battled hard in the first-half and while I thought the penalty was extremely dubious you?ve got to take the good with the bad.
?We spoke at half-time about what we needed to do to try and win it but full credit must go to Marconi, they played very well.
?As I said they?re a very experienced squad and it showed.?
Blacktown will now look to recharge their batteries with an end of season trip after a tough campaign saw them exceed expectations after an unfortunate run of injuries:
?We?re looking forward to our trip away as we head off to Cairns,? smiled Crittenden.
?We?ll then have a couple of quiet ones and get ready to start all over again.
?We?re gutted by tonight but I?m proud of them.
?To get where we did as a squad with a number of injuries it was a good effort and I?m very proud of the boys,? Crittenden concluded.
Match Stats
Marconi Stallions 4 (Nahuel Arrarte 35? (pen), Jamie McMaster 57?, Shane Webb 76?, Joey Gibbs 90?+5?)
Blacktown City FC 2 (Yuchi Yamauchi 16?, Travis Major 39?)
Saturday September 22nd, 2012
Marconi Stadium, Bossley Park
Referee: Ryan Shepherd
Assistant Referees: Thomas Lee and Lance Greenshields
Fourth Official: Andrew Best
Marconi Stallions: 22.James Chronopoulos; 2.Andrew Mailer, 4.Umut Tokdogan, 6.Shane Webb, 7.Sean O?Connell, 10.Joey Gibbs, 11.Nathan Elasi (19.Damian Travis 88?), 15.Wade Oostendorp (3.Ali Haydar 46?), 18.Jamie McMaster (9.Keith Shevlin 88?), 23.Christopher Nunes, 26.Nahuel Arrarte
Substitutes Not Used: 42.Brendan Cholakian, 50.Hamish McLean
Yellow Cards: Nil
Red Cards: Nil
Blacktown City FC: 1.Brody Crane; 4.Travis Major, 6.Matt Lewis, 19.Zac Cairncross, 7.Luke Roodenburg, 8.Daniel Bragg (12.David Cain 81?), 9. Ryuji Miyazawa, 18.Keiran Paull, 16.Yianni Perkatis, 11.Yuchi Yamauchi (14.Adam Jenner 60?), 10.James Monie (15.Ray Miller 77?)
Substitutes Not Used: 3.Ryo Watanabe, 20.Luke Turnbull
Yellow Cards: Zac Cairncross 34?
Red Cards: Zac Cairncross 90?+4?
-By Michael Shoolman
