Wolves seal first win over ten-man Spartans
South Coast Wolves notched up their first win of the season as they saw off ten-man Blacktown Spartans by a 2-1 score line on Saturday night at John Crehan Park.
John Martinoski grabbed a goal in each half to put his side in control against Spartans who had Greg Kondek dismissed just before the interval for his second bookable offence.
Andre Carle managed to pull a late goal back for the hosts to set the stage for a dramatic finish yet Spartans couldn’t find the equaliser they craved as Wolves held on for the win.
With captain Jacob Timpano and Ricky Zucco missing from their starting line-up through suspension the hosts fielded a fairly inexperienced squad with Michael Robinson assuming Timpano’s lead from the back in donning the captain’s armband.
Despite missing several key players Richard Lloyd’s young squad produced the hunger and determination they required to seal their first win of the 2013 campaign.
Luke Austin asserted early pressure on the Wolves defence with a couple of corners in the opening minutes before Kondek’s smart ball handed the young midfielder the first real chance of the match; Austin was unable to test the keeper, half-volleying his effort past the far post from the narrow angle.
Lloyd’s side soon settled their early nerves and began to control the park as they knocked the ball around on their home turf in search of an opening goal.
Their first half-chance came on the quarter hour mark when Chris Nathaniel picked out John Martinoski’s delightful run with a well weighted through ball; the winger seemed to be caught in two minds as he dragged the ball over the crossbar instead of hitting the target or picking out Mitch Del Turco at the far post.
Martinoski’s next effort tested Carlos Saliadarre in the Spartans goal as his curled 25-yard effort forced the keeper to tip the ball over the bar at the expense of a corner.
While Wolves failed to threaten from their first corner they had the keeper beaten from their next minutes later.
Despite being the shortest player on the pitch it was Martinoski that rose highest to head the ball past Saliadarre from 10-yards only for Wassim Hijazi to head the ball off the line and away for a throw in.
Narrowly dodging the bullet seemed to spur Spartans back into life as they began to create chances of their own as Japanese import Jun Kato saw his chance deflected over the crossbar by James Baldacchino’s last ditch sliding tackle.
Spending half of their season playing on the consistent synthetic turf of Blacktown Sports Park the Spartans looked most likely to score from dead ball situations rather than from open play as the surface of John Crehan Park appeared to hamper their usual pace in the attacking third.
The visitors first threatened from the set piece as Wilkinson’s driven left-footed delivery flew dangerously into the 6-yard box only for Daniel Collison to react quickest to get down low and gather the ball among a maze of onrushing players.
With attack being the best form of defence, the Wolves looked to catch Spartans on the back foot as they pressed higher up the park. Only the offside kept the hosts at bay on several occasions with Kondek receiving his first booking of the night for needless dissent in the lead up to a delayed offside flag.
The hosts finally found the goal they were hunting for late in the half as an attack down the left flank saw the ball make its way to Martinoski in the box.
The enigmatic winger had a couple of stabs at it as his first off-balance effort deflected back into his path, giving him the chance to bury his second attempt inside the far post to open the scoring and draw wild celebrations in the stands.
Things went from bad to worse for Spartans with the halftime whistle looming as Kondek saw his second booking of the night for breaking up a Wolves attack by cutting down Joseph Lavalle while the visitor’s defensive line was exposed.
With one of their best performers off for an early shower Ben DeHaan and his men had it all to do in the second half as the Wolves looked to have one hand on the three points going into the interval.
The visitors looked to hit Wolves on the counterattack after the restart as they launched long balls in behind the host’s defence to an effort to find a route back into the match.
They came close once again from the set piece early in the second period when Ott got his head onto Austin’s free kick yet the midfielder couldn’t get his header on target as he buried the ball into the side netting.
Despite their numerical advantage Wolves found themselves often limited to long range efforts as the Spartans backline looked to dig in for the second-half.
Del Turco did manage to slip in behind his marker soon after the hour mark yet couldn’t apply a finish as he belted his first of the match into the side netting.
He looked to have gone one better minutes later when he received the ball in the box before cutting inside a pair of defenders only to see his finish blocked by Saliadarre’s fine diving save.
The goalkeeper’s spectacular effort proved to be in vain as Martinoski collected the ball on the right edge of the box and produced a sublime finish which dipped under the crossbar and inside the far post to double his tally and his side’s advantage.
Spartans continued to threaten from the dead ball as Nathan Millgate drew a fine diving save from Collison as he powerfully headed another crossed Wilkinson free kick goalward.
The hosts finally found their route back into the match from the next free kick which saw Austin and Wilkinson take their time to plot their plan of attack before delivering the ball into the box.
Austin smartly touched the ball toward the centre of the park to open the angle up for Wilkinson who drew Collison toward the far post with a drilled effort that was coolly deflected inside the near post by Andre Carle’s header.
With a point up for grabs Spartans threw themselves forward in search of an equaliser which created openings at both ends yet the failed to produce another goal.
Spartans even sent Saliadarre forward for their final corner of the match; the custodian managed to get his head to Wilkinson’s delivery only to glance it wide of goal.
A late defensive foul on the edge of the Wolves 18-yard box set the stage for a nail biting finish; Collison held his nerve as he reacted sharply to his wall’s deflection of Wilkinson’s powerful free kick to safely hold the ball and keep his side ahead at the final whistle.
South Coast Wolves coach Richard Lloyd was delighted to see his side pick up their first win of the season without the likes of Timpano, Zucco, and Peter Simonoski on the pitch:
“Absolutely chuffed to get the three points,” smiled Lloyd.
“It’s probably been sixteen weeks of training and toil and to see the boys carry it off under the circumstances with a few senior players out it was even more pleasing.
“There was a little bit of luck there but we also played some good football.
“I’m wrapped with those young kids, I’ve believed in them and they’ve finally got that win so we’re off and running.
“Looking at our line-up today in terms of experience we lacked a lot of it and it was probably the weakest line-up we’ve put out in terms of experience but the young boys stuck it to them and have come off with the points.”
Lloyd also took time out to praise John Martinoski for a fine individual performance that saw him bag a vital brace en route to victory:
“I’m very happy with his performance,” remarked Lloyd.
“He’s the type of guy that lacked a lot of self-confidence so we’ve been building him up and building him up.
“He’s been staying back and doing extra training in taking extra time after sessions to work on finishing practice and tonight he got two.
“I couldn’t be any more happy for that bloke because he’s worked hard and he’s a great little player.”
Blacktown Spartans coach Ben DeHaan was visibly disappointed with the result after things just rarely seemed to go his side’s way throughout the match:
“It’s hard to talk about that one,” said DeHaan.
“You walk away from a hard pitch to play on and I thought things didn’t go our way in a lot of departments tonight.
“To finish the result 1-1 in just the second-half with ten men and probably have the better of the play and the chances I thought we restricted their chances in comparison to what we had.
“There were a couple of headers there that we should have sunk and they got the one chance and put it away.
“That’s been the difference for us for a few weeks actually in the top third.”
Match Stats
South Coast Wolves 2 (John Martinoski 40’, 70’)
Blacktown Spartans 1 (Andre Carle 81’)
Saturday April 13th, 2013
John Crehan Park, Cringila
Referee: Christopher Young
Assistant Referees: Matthew Wright and Nathan Wotton
Fourth Official: Lachlan Keevers
South Coast Wolves: 1.Daniel Collison; 2.Jack Keating, 3.Samuel Chapple, 4.Michael Robinson, 5.James Baldacchino, 6.Chris Nathaniel, 11.John Martinoski, 12.Joseph Lavalle, 14.Mitch Del Turco (15.Matthew Floro 85’), 17.Zachary Mackenzie, 21.Sam Matthews (9.Jack Madgwick 67’)
Substitutes Not Used: 20.Thomas Hamilton, 7.Dusan Kolonja, 8.Josh Bingham
Yellow Cards: Sam Matthews 21’, Joseph Lavalle 69’
Red Cards: nil
Blacktown Spartans: 1.Carlos Saliadarre, 2.Luke Austin, 3.Nathan Millgate, 4.Luka Dukic, 5.Daniel Wilkinson, 6.Greg Kondek, 7.Andre Carle, 9.Jun Kato, 10.Bryan Soane (40.Damir Prodanovic 70’), 17.Wassim Hijazi (38.Zac Freeburn 60’), 25.Corey Bizco
Substitutes Not Used: 20.Luke Turnbull, 19.Simon Zahra, 22.Pasquale Polistina
Yellow Cards: Greg Kondek 26’, Luka Dukic 56’, Daniel Wilkinson 88’
Red Cards: Greg Kondek 44’
Player Ratings:
3 – John Martinoski (SCW)
2 – Andre Carle (BS)
1 – James Baldacchino (SCW)
-By Michael Shoolman
