Family Ties grip Football NSW Competitions
It was the final round of competition in State League Division 1 on September 1st and former Sydney FC, Burnley, Dundee United, Wollongong Wolves and Socceroo Mark Robertson was waiting with anticipation for Hakoah Sydney City East’s final round clash with Nepean at Hensley Field to consolidate their position for the final series.
Robertson under the watchful eye of his father Alex, the former Sydney City and Socceroo defender, who coaches Hakoah’s under 20 outfit, has developed into an outstanding coach with the Hakoah 1st grade team while also making a great contribution to youth development.
It only seems like yesterday that Robertson made his debut as a sixteen year old with Stanmore Hawks under the late and great mercurial Socceroo flanker, Joe Watson, before being signed by Manfred Schaefer at Marconi.
Prior to embarking on his colourful career in Europe, Robertson was selected in the 1997 under 20 World Youth Cup squad which played in Malaysia .His teammates included Brett Emerton, Vince Gruella and Lucas Neill, and although the team defeated Argentina, they failed to progress to the second round.
However, Robertson’s finest hour occurred when he was brought on as a second half substitute on June 13th, 2000 for Wollongong Wolves in the 1999/2000 NSL grand final.
With Perth Glory commanding a 3-0 unassailable led, Robertson single- handedly took control of the match to engineer one of the greatest comebacks in the history of Australian football.
The Wolves scored three goals to take the match to penalties after extra time and were successful in winning the shootout.
This same day at Hensley Field was to evoke more passion and pleasant memories for those who cherish the history of our game.
In the under 18 fixture, Nicholas Bouhoutsos , the Hakoah goalkeeper, revealed a fine temperament and is hopefully following in the footsteps of his famous father, George, the former Parramatta Eagles and Sydney Olympic custodian.
George was once described in his heyday by a football writer as,” the daring young man on his flying trapeze” and is obviously having a great influence on his son’s development.
George sat proudly in the crowd with his father Nick who has supported the game since time memoriam.
At 1pm another hero of yesteryear entered the enclosure at Hensley Field. It was none other than former Socceroo, Ian Hunter, who will remain immortal in Australian football annals as the man who scored that decisive goal when Australia beat Argentina, the reigning world champions in world youth football on October 3rd, 1981 to the tune of 2-1.
That was no mean feat as the Argentine team included future international stars Burruchaga, Goyocochea, Borelli, Clausen and Tapia.
Hunter was there to witness his younger son, Brayden, play in the under 20’s and older son, Josh, compete in 1st grade.
Josh is a striker in the mould of his famous father but barely had a sniff on goal as Mark Robertson’s charges dominated the team from the west, cruising to a 3-0 win.
John Kosmina, the former Socceroo great, still has a presence in the Hakoah ranks as he is represented by his sons Nathan and Justin.
Unfortunately, Nathan was injured but watching Justin was so reminiscent of his father.
The way he holds his body upright, the little flicks to supporting players, the leaning on defenders and his strength on the ball are very similar to his father’s style of play.
Results continued to go Hakoah’s way as Alex Robertson’s under 20 side qualified for the preliminary final next week when they beat Inter Lions 3-1 and Mark Robertson’s first team achieved the same feat by overcoming Dulwich Hill in an epic 3-2 win.
The memories will continue to flood back next week when Bradley Walker, the son of former Eastern Suburbs and St George stalwart and coach of Hakoah under 14’s, Barry Walker, will return to the squad after a short trip to Kentucky University to fulfil scholarship commitments.
-By Roger Sleeman
