White Eagles miss no beat with Sydney United 58 scalp
A delicate flick header from Alexander Canak and a long-range strike from Bo Hyun Chun gave Bonnyrigg White Eagles an unassailable advantage over their great rivals, Sydney United 58 FC.
The home side ran out 2-0 winners in a game that, truthfully, didn’t manage to live up to expectations, given that this was a first versus third encounter.
Sydney United 58 was again missing Luka Glavas via a hamstring injury and it showed, as they struggled to create genuine opportunities in attack.
Bonnyrigg White Eagles weren’t at their best and Robert Younis was quiet, but they did the job and ground out a tough victory against their off-colour opposition.
Sydney United 58 FC started brightly however, and would have been disappointed that they didn’t go ahead whilst they were on top.
A free-kick from Glen Trifiro fizzed narrowly wide of Matthew Nash’s goal, an early indication of the visitor’s set piece ability.
Sydney United 58 stand in skipper Mirjan Pavlovic, came close to opening the scoring when he cut inside from the left, but his fierce shot was parried away by Nash.
In that respect, Bonnyrigg’s opener came against the run of play.
A number of set pieces had been wasted by the home side, but in the 27′ minute they finally got one right.
Tynan Diaz played an in-swinging free-kick in from the left and Canak got the faintest of touches, the ball nestling in the far corner as the Bonnyrigg players and fans celebrated wildly.
Shortly afterwards, a free-kick from in front of goal saw Diaz test Liam Reddy, as Bonnyrigg began to show their table topping quality.
They should have doubled their lead with the first attack of the second-half but Younis, usually so clinical, headed over when he was unmarked ten-yards from goal after a cross from Diaz.
Chris Tadrosse’s delivery was impeccable as ever from the left hand side and he caused the Sydney United defence troubles as the home side pushed hard to find a second.
The Reds were struggling to create clear opportunities for Pavlovic and Robbie Mileski in attack and they were made to pay when Bo Hyun Chun gave Bonnyrigg the second goal that they so craved.
Sydney United 58 FC was too slow to push out in defence and when the ball fell to Chun, he fired a fierce 25-yarder with his left foot. Reddy got a touch and probably should have done better, but no matter; Bonnyrigg had the buffer that they needed.
It was nearly three in the 67′ minute when Adrian Ucchino hit the crossbar after another long-range shot from Chun deflected into his path. The follow up fell again to Ucchino but he scuffed his effort wide.
Sydney United 58 FC was trying their utmost to drag themselves back into the game and Ante Tomic was sent on with the intention of adding some extra quality to their attack.
He gave a demonstration of what he could offer, flashing a left footed shot wide in the 74′ minute.
Yuichi Yamauchi was thrown on in the final 10’ minutes and his creativity saw Sydney United 58 threaten more but also leaving themselves open to be hit on the counterattack.
Aaron Peterson had earlier replaced the quiet Younis and proved a constant menace for a Sydney United 58 side more concerned with attacking than defending.
Try as they might though, the visitors couldn’t find a way to goal and Bonnyrigg comfortably closed out the game.
Bonnyrigg White Eagles coach Brian Brown was delighted to have captured three further points in the quest for the title.
"It was a very hard game.
"(But) it was always going to be that way.
"We didn’t feel under any real threat, but it was just a battle all over the park.
"The difference was a few players in the game. Mitchell Long was outstanding and Ken Chun is as a good as any player we’ve seen in midfield this season, he was sensational.
"I don’t think we gave Sydney United 58 any time to play today.
"The intensity was high and we closed them down and I think in the end, that proved to be the difference between the two teams."
While for the opponents, United 58 playmaker Glen Trifiro was a disappointed figure in what was an intense affair.
“It’s never easy playing an in form side like Bonnyrigg.
“I felt we did well in the opening stages but fell away after that and came back in patches especially in the second half.
“We’ll regroup and get ready for our next match against the Marconi Stallions next Sunday with our focus on three points only as we want to stay in touch with the top five.”
Match Stats
Bonnyrigg White Eagles 2 (Alexander Canak 27′, Bo Hyun Chun 59′)
Sydney United 58 FC 0
Sunday 12th May, 2013
Bonnyrigg Sports Centre, Bonnyrigg Heights
Referee: Kurt Ams
Assistant Referees: James Tesoriero and Craig Fisher
Fourth Official: Nathan Roberts
Bonnyrigg White Eagles: 1.Matthew Nash; 5.Chris Tadrosse (C), 7.Tynan Diaz, 8.Alexander Canak, 9.Robert Younis (19.Aaron Peterson 66′), 21.Bo Hyun Chun, 14.Jordan Crighton (23.David Gullo 78′), 15.Steven Hesketh, 10.Mitchell Long, 11.Benjamin Spruce, 18.Adrian Ucchino (4.Vuko Tomasevic 85′)
Substitutes Not Used: 33.Nikodin Matic (GK), 16.Howard Fondyke
Yellow Cards: Nil
Red Cards: Nil
Sydney United 58 FC: 29.Liam Reddy; 3.Ben Jurman, 4.Nathan Sherlock, 5.Calum C’Connell (23.Ante Tomic 64′), 6.Mitchell Stamatellis, 7.Mirijan Pavlovic (C), 9.Robert Mileski (8.Yuichi Yamauchi 81′), 15.Anthony Tomelic, 10.Chris Triantis, 18.Glen Trifiro, 21.Theo Kofinas (2.Mitchell Speer 46′)
Substitutes Not Used: 41.Jordan Jennings (GK), 22.Daniel Barac
Yellow Cards: Robert Mileski 17′, Theo Kofinas 32′, Mirjan Pavlovic 51′, Mitchell Speer 57′
Red Cards: Nil
Player Ratings:
3 – Bo Hyun Chun (BWE)
2 – Benjamin Spruce (BWE)
1 – Glen Trifiro (SU)
-By Matthew Connellan
