Sharks stay clear with late win at Spartans

Sutherland Sharks returned to winning ways to keep clear at the top of the table with a hard fought 1-0 victory over Blacktown Spartans at Blacktown Football Park on Saturday night.
Patience was the key for the league leaders as they held off a valiant performance from their opposition to grab the win late on thanks to substitute Chris Naumoff’s confident finish.
After coming off the back of successive defeats Sutherland will look to use their win as a platform to get the team back on track ahead of the finals series while the Spartans did themselves proud tonight after matching their more fancied opponents for extended periods of the game.
Spartans fans will have fond memories of the last time table-topping opposition visited Blacktown Football Park; an occasion which saw the hosts send Bonnyrigg White Eagles home with their tails between their legs courtesy of a late goal in a famous 2-1 win.
With the stage set for yet another intriguing tussle both sides settled into the match quickly as they went head to head in was a fast paced and physical battle across the park.
Panni Nikas was at the heart of most of Sutherland’s attacks as per usual; his first effort was his 25-yard free kick dip harmlessly wide of goal.
Spartans’ youngster Reid Taylor looked sharp on the left flank throughout the match, particularly in the first-half; the fleet footed winger saw his first opportunity blocked by a wall of players in the Sutherland box on the quarter hour mark.
Sutherland looked particularly threatening on the counterattack as they repeatedly broke forward with speed and precision; Jamie McMaster did well to control a long ball in behind the home defensive line yet saw his volley from the edge of the box well held by Carlos Saliadarre.
The hosts appeared to have hit the self-destruct button when they coughed up possession in defense midway through the half; Sutherland had numbers forward to take advantage only to be undone by the referee’s whistle when Nikas was adjudged to have dived in the box and was consequently booked for his theatrics.
He looked to make amends on Sutherland’s next attack yet Saliadarre was equal to him as the goalkeeper pulled out a top drawer diving save to block Nikas’ powerful goal-bound effort.
Momentum then began to swing back in the home side’s favour as they began to create chances for themselves as Luke Austin began to assert his authority in midfield, pulling the strings and providing the engine his side needed to take the game to Sutherland.
Corey Biczo was first to try his luck as he saw his 20-yard strike blocked and eventually held by Nathan Denham.
Reid continued to threaten with his pace and combined well with Austin before cutting back for Greg Kondek who scuffed his finish well wide of goal.
Sutherland created a couple of chances late in the half, both from the set piece as Nikas looked to create further chances for his side as they hunted for an opener.
The first fell to McMaster when the home side failed to effectively clear Nikas’ corner, fortunately for the hosts Kondek was on hand to block the midfielder’s volley.
The next chance was handed on a plate to Nick Olsen by Nathan Elasi who headed Nikas’ free-kick down for the midfielder on the edge of the six-yard box; Olsen knocked his finish over the crossbar to let Spartans off the hook in the last action of the first-half.
McMaster was the architect of Sutherland’s first couple of chances after the restart, the crafty midfielder played Nikas and Elasi through on goal only for Saliadarre to produce brave blocks to deny the visitors a goal from each opportunity.
Only a brilliant save from Denham denied Spartans the opener on the hour mark; Keiran Dalton’s finesse shot looked to be dipping into the top corner only for the Sutherland custodian to tip the strike away for a corner with a magnificent diving save.
Spartans continued to threaten yet couldn’t find the target as Jun Kato and Biczo shot and headed wide respectively.
The hosts then created a golden opportunity as Taylor found himself one-on-one with Denham only for the goalkeeper to again come out on top as he reacted sharply to save the youngster’s finish.
Both coaches had tinkered with their teams throughout the half as they looked to edge their opposition, Robbie Stanton’s decision to inject Naumoff for a tiring Olsen proved decisive as the substitute soon struck what proved to be the winning goal.
The counterattack again proved successful as Nikas found McMaster who slid Naumoff through on goal; the substitute made no mistake, confidently belting the ball past Saliadarre to give his side a hard earned lead.
Both sides had chances to add to the scoring as Naumoff let his second chance of the match slip between a couple of Nathan Millgate chances, the latter of which saw the defender head the ball against the crossbar as Sutherland held on for the three points.
Despite the loss Blacktown Spartans coach Ben DeHaan was delighted with his side’s performance after pushing the league leader’s right until the final whistle:
“The performance was outstanding,” said DeHaan.
“It’s probably the best game we’ve played this year.
“I can’t say we outplayed them, I thought they probably had the better of the chances but we had as much ball as them.
“Same result though; no goals.
“Luke Austin was outstanding and it was time for Reid Taylor to have a run and his first game in first grade.
“He had the one-on-one which could have changed the game if he’d sunk it, it didn’t go in but it’s great signs from him after coming through the under-18s last year.”
DeHaan and his side relish matches such as tonight’s as they tend to produce their best football against teams of a high pedigree:
“I think it’s better to play these teams,” said DeHaan.
“Playing these sides that come and have a go at us and actually play football we get a good game.
“If you can watch this type of football all the time then you’d come and watch every week.
“There’s an attacking style, passing teams, no long ball, and plenty of chances come with it.”
Sutherland Sharks coach Robbie Stanton was pleased to come away with the win, putting the result down to the patience his side displayed throughout the match:
“You’ve always got to work for three points in this league,” said Stanton.
“You’ve got to work hard and you just can’t drop the ball at any time.
“When you get to the top everyone wants to beat you and those who have nothing to play for will take risks and throw bodies forward which means you’ve got to make sure you’ve got it covered.
“We had to be patient and I just knew we’d get a goal in the end; we could have had two or three and they could have had one or two as well but I thought we deserved our win today.
“That’s where we are at the moment and a lot of teams aren’t and that’s because of what we’ve been doing for the last three years.
“I don’t care what anyone says, it comes down to pure patience and some people think we need to be more direct and I don’t think so.
“We played to what we needed to do on that pitch today and I spoke to the players during the week about what we needed to do and they went out and did it.
“In the end we got the three points so we’ll still build up and still play through the lines.
“We discussed a solution at half-time, they took it on board, and we got the result so I’m happy with it.”
Recent back-to-back defeats have done little to faze Stanton and co as they stuck to their positive footballing mentality to return to winning ways tonight:
“To be honest I had a look at our last two games on DVD and I thought against Sydney United when we lost we hadn’t played well,” said Stanton.
“I watched the DVD and found it was our best performance we’d produced technically all year – and we lost 2-0.
“We were tired and I hadn’t realised until I watched the DVD – our movement and positioning – and they’d set up a strong block and are a good team.
“Today, like I said, teams that play carefree have nothing to lose and they’re the most dangerous.
“They were dangerous today and in the end we got the result because we treaded carefully and picked our moments.”
Match Stats
Blacktown Spartans 0
Sutherland Sharks 1 (Chris Naumoff 84’)
Saturday August 3rd, 2013
Blacktown Football Park, Rooty Hill
Referee: Adam Susz
Assistant Referees: Lance Greenshields and Craig Fisher
Fourth Official: Dylan Salotti? 
Blacktown Spartans: 1.Carlos Saliadarre; 2.Luke Austin, 3.Nathan Millgate, 6.Greg Kondek, 9.Jun Kato, 11.Tyson Rhodes (8.Brenton Rhodes 80’), 16.Emmanuel Giannaros, 22.Pasquale Polistina (14.Trent Barton 50’), 24.Reid Taylor (38.Zac Freeburn 89’), 25.Corey Biczo, 30.Keiran Dalton
Substitutes Not Used: 19.Simon Zahra, 20.Luke Turnbull
Yellow Cards: Luke Austin 45’, Corey Biczo 58’
Red Cards: Nil
Sutherland Sharks: 1.Nathan Denham; 2.Nick Littler, 3.Michael Stuart, 4.James McKenzie, 7.Nathan Elasi, 8.Nicholas Olsen (19.Chris Naumoff 70’), 10.Jamie McMaster, 14.Nick Stavroulakis, 15.Perry Moustakas, 17.Klim Gjorseski (6.Matthew Gordon 61’), 23.Panni Nikas
Substitutes Not Used: 13.Reo Morinaga, 18.Jayden Koulizakis, 22.Andrew Depta
Yellow Cards: Panni Nikas 24’, James McKenzie 65’, Nick Littler 82’
Red Cards: Nil
-By Michael Shoolman