Suns stun Blacktown City FC at Lily Homes
Rockdale City Suns did just enough to clinch the three-points with a 1-0 victory over home side Blacktown City FC in wet conditions at Lily Homes Stadium.
The battle between the sides placed 3rd and 4th on the IGA National Premier Leagues NSW Mens 1 table was a fairly even arm wrestle for much of the game, with a Brendan Gan header in the 81’ proving to be the difference between the side.
The game wasn’t too scrappy considering the conditions, but it wasn’t the prettiest of encounters with neither side creating too many chances.
Blacktown winger Matthew Mayora created the first chance in the 7’ minute, doing well to get on the end of a long ball, and doing just enough to keep it in and lay it off to Sean Rooney, only for the Rockdale defence to clear the ball from danger.
Mayora was on the end of a neat ball from Yianni Fragogiannis in the 10’ minute and the winger crossed the ball in to striker Harris Gaitatzis whose effort didn’t trouble Rockdale goalkeeper Diego Barcena.
Blacktown’s Kearyn Baccus made a nice run through the centre of the pitch and did well to find Ryuji Miyazawa on the left but his shot went right over the crossbar.
Rockdale’s Brendan Gan looked to be through on goal in the 27’ minute but Blacktown keeper Brody Crane rushed out to stop the Suns attack.
Blacktown’s Travis Major gave away a free-kick right on the edge of the area in the 43’ minute and earned a yellow card for his late challenge. Rockdale’s Richard Cardozo stepped up to take the free-kick and his shot managed to get past the wall but it was saved by Brody Crane.
Diego Barcena almost embarrassed himself at the start of the second-half. He held on to the ball almost long enough for Blacktown’s Mayora to dispossess him but managed to get it away in time.
Brendan Gan was on the end of a delightful through ball in the 52’ minute and he dinked it over the goalkeeper only to see the ball graze the top of the woodwork.
Hearts were in the mouths of the Rockdale supporters in the 67’ minute when a defensive mix-up saw an attempt at a clearance land straight into the path of an unmarked Travis Major. His effort was cleared but it fell to Blacktown’s Sean Rooney before the Rockdale defence managed to finally get the ball out of the danger zone.
In the 75’ minute, a bizarre Rockdale back-pass resulted in an indirect free-kick for Blacktown on the corner of the six yard box. It was all hands on deck to deal with the Sean Rooney free kick, and the ball bounced around the box like a pinball but the Suns did enough to hold on yet again.
Finally in the 81’ minute, a Takuya Murayama cross found the head of an unmarked Gan who put Rockdale up 1-0. There was a feeling that this would be the definitive goal and that the Suns had done enough to hold on to victory.
Suns Coach Branko Culina said his side were worthy winners and felt Brendan Gan got what he deserved after a few clear chances:
“It was a difficult game because of the conditions and much of it was played in the middle of the park but Brendan Gan had two clear chances and I think we deserved it,” Culina said.
“In the past we might not have won this kind of game – but I think I’m getting the players to believe in the philosophy of what we want to do and make sure that they share that with the team.
“There’s going to be ugly games where you have to graft it, but that’s all part of being a top team, doesn’t matter who you are.
“There are always going to be days where you have to roll your sleeves up. But we’ve played some good football and I’m pleased with where we’re going.”
Blacktown City FC coach Mark Crittenden was disappointed to walk away with nothing, but admitted his side were a bit flat throughout the match, in what was their first game without a goal:
“I thought we created some good opportunities but we didn’t take those,” Crittenden said.
“Rockdale are well organised and they keep running but I thought we deserved a point to be fair.”
Match Stats
Blacktown City 0
Rockdale City Suns 1 (Gan 81′)
Saturday 1st of June, 2013
Lily Homes Stadium, Seven Hills
Blacktown City FC: 1.Brady Crane; 4.Yianni Fragogiannis, 5.Patrick Gatt (16.Luke Clifford 85’), 6.Matthew Lewis; 7.Travis Major (18.Odadolor Edosomwan 86’), 9.Ryuji Miyazawa, 10.Harris Gaitatzis, 11.Sean Rooney, 12.Kearyn Baccus, 15.Matthew Mayora (3.Andrea Del Brocco 64’), 19.Zachary Cairncross
Substitutes Not Used: 13.Blake Tuxford;
Yellow Cards: Major 43’
Red Cards: Nil
Rockdale City Suns: 1.Diego Barcena; 3.Giorgio Speranza, 6.Takuya Murayama, 7.Brendan Gan, 8.Paul Kohler, 9.Alec Urosevski (11.David Talevski 74’), 10.Richard Cardozo, 13.Sam Munro, 14.Paul Reid (20.Roberto Speranza 74’), 18.Seiya Kawamura (16.Anthony Perri 64’), 21.Themba Muata-Marlow
Substitutes Not Used: 15.Max Burgess, 22.Aaron Lidell
Yellow Cards: Nil
Red Cards: Nil
(Player Ratings for second round will not be listed with Team of the Year announced at the awards dinner later this year)
-By Alex Cauchi
