SUPA IGA NPL NSW Mens 2 Round 9 Review
Spirit FC pulled off an unlikely comeback against Macarthur Rams in this week’s match of the round, allowing the chasing pack to make up some ground on the table toppers.
Elsewhere, Bankstown City, Hills Brumbies and Mounties Wanderers picked up three valuable points as a congested mid-table begins to open up.
Match of the Round
Spirit FC v Macarthur Rams
Think Liverpool in Istanbul – 2005. Think Newcastle United at St James’ Park – 2011. Think Sweden against Germany – 2012. Now remember Spirit FC at Christie Park – 2014.
Perhaps a bit of hyperbole there, but the home side pulled off perhaps the most inspired 10 minutes of their season to salvage a 3-3 draw with table toppers Macarthur Rams.
Spirit recovered a three-goal deficit, with the equaliser coming from the most unlikely of sources – goalkeeper Murray Nelson.
Macarthur put in a brilliantly polished performance for the first hour of the match and deservedly raced out to a 3-0 lead just minutes into the second half.
But a red card to Spirit’s Ossama Zaki in the 65th minute and perhaps a case of complacency paved a way for Robert De Ceglie’s men to pull off a miracle, with the comeback kickstarted by Andrew Robertson in the 81st minute and completed by Nelson five minutes later.
The hosts began the match on the front foot, wary of Macarthur’s tendency to play with three at the back and looking to pile on the pressure early.
A physical encounter ensued, with the referees whistle getting a workout as the two sides went hell for leather.
It didn’t take long for the Rams to click into gear and they quickly improved their transition of play, sending numbers forth at will yet dropping immediately after the turnover of the ball and preventing Spirit’s counter attacks.
The breakthrough came just 11 minutes in when Gerard Ouffoue poked a ball through for Shannon Hankin who buried his shot to hand the Rams an early lead.
Despite encouraging signs from Spirit early on, the goal filled Macarthur with confidence and their loaded midfield proved adept at winning possession and controlling the match.
It became a matter of route one for the side in yellow and their first real chance came via a Jacob Harris through ball, which was picked up by Stephen Grbevski only for the striker to be denied a shot by some brilliant cover defence.
It was to no avail as Macarthur doubled their lead in the 29th minute. The ever present Craig Cooley skipped past his defenders on the right flank and cut one back for a waiting Kyohei Kimura on the edge of the box, with the midfielder’s shot taking a deflection and sneaking past Spirit ‘keeper Murray Nelson.
Spirit had the pick of the chances to round out the first half, the first via Ossama Zaki who latched onto a long ball and sent his half volley rocketing towards the near post, forcing a brilliant save from Rams No. 1 Chad Taylor. It was the beginning a series of saves from the visiting gloveman, who was undoubtedly one of the standouts during the match.
Grant Cornwell then took a more direct approach, stinging Taylor’s palms with a shot from range. Joel Carter was next to try and pull one back for Spirit, but his tame shot failed to test the keeper and Rams headed into the break with a two-goal buffer.
Claudio Canosa’s side extended that to three just seven minutes after the restart, when Ouffoue played a precise ball behind the Spirit defence to Joel Craig who took on his marker and sent a low shot into the bottom corner.
Ouffoue may not have grabbed a goal but was instrumental at the apex of Rams’ attack.
Arguably the game’s turning point came after 65 minutes when Spirit attacker Ossama Zaki received a straight red card for kicking out at Benjamin Simpson.
Rams exhausted all of their substitutions and looked to have the game sewn up, but Spirit were determined to charge on rather than focusing on damage limitation.
Tom Lovell fired a warning sign on 77 minutes, cracking a half volley goalward only to be denied by a brilliant reaction save from Chad Taylor.
So it was little surprise that Spirit pulled one back in the 81st as Andrew Robertson finished off a tidy passing move and poked his way home.
That kickstarted an enthralling final 10 minutes, with Brendan Hoyer curling a brilliant shot into the top corner to reduce the deficit to one.
Grant Cornwell almost nabbed an equaliser with two minutes remaining in normal time, but his header was again denied by a great save from Chad Taylor.
But Rams’ resistance was broken down in the 90th minute as Spirit pushed everyone forward – including goalkeeper Murray Nelson – forward for a late corner. Remarkably, Nelson proved the hero, leaping up for a header which fired passed Taylor into the corner of the goal.
Macarthur were stunned, Spirit ecstatic, spectators in awe. A brilliant finish yielded a result perhaps more satisfying for the hosts, but Macarthur maintained their unbeaten streak and remain in first place.
Spirit FC 3 (Robertson 81’, Hoyer 82’, Nelson 90’)
Macarthur Rams 3 (Hankin 11’, Kimura 29’, Craig 52’)
Saturday May 17, 2014
At Christie Park
Spirit FC: 21. Joel Carter, 8. Grant Cornwell, 6. Stephen Grbevski (14. Hayden Pronin 45’), 7. Jacob Harris, 18. Lachlan Harte, 19. Tom Lovell (23. Brendan Hoyer 80’), 1. Murray Nelson (gk), 13. Kyle Roberts (9. Tim Simpson 73’), 2. Andrew Robertson, 4. Nicholas Trimble, 5. Ossama Zaki
Subs not used: 20. Michael Fakiye, 41. Kane Wallace
Yellow cards: Nil
Red cards: Ossama Zaki 65’
Macarthur Rams: 2. Craig Cooley, 15. Joel Craig (10. Benjamin Simpson 62’), 18. Louis Duchesne, 9. Shannon Hankin (19. Alvaro Malmierca 68’), 7. Kyohei Kimura, 12. David Mcmurray (17. Adam Wither 68’), 3. Naoyuki Nomura, 11. Gerard Ouffoue, 16. Daniel Ramirez, 1. Chad Taylor (gk), 8. Simon Valastro
Subs not used: 20. Harrick Sinpraseuth, 4. Matt Harvey
Yellow cards: Louis Duchesne 89’, Chad Taylor 90’
Red cards: Nil
Bankstown City v Central Coast Mariners Academy
Bankstown City returned to the top five with a gritty 1-0 win over Central Coast Mariners Academy on Saturday night. Arron D’Mello’s first half strike was enough to hand Bill Pilovski’s side all three points and the Lions, who have two games in hand, look to be making a steady ascent to the top.
Bankstown City 1 (Arron D’Mello)
Central Coast Mariners Academy 0
Hills Brumbies v Bankstown Berries
Hills’ rollercoaster season continued as the Brumbies leaped into the top five with a 4-1 win over Berries. The Bankstown side missed a good opportunity to climb off the bottom of the ladder but were powerless to stop the home side’s rampant attack as Nestor Meneses’ men took their tally to nine goals in three games.
Brumbies headed into the half-time break with a 2-1 lead as Dimitri Zakilas’ strike gave Berries hope of reducing the deficit. But another two goals in the second stanza put the result beyond doubt, with Kodai Hiyashi grabbing a brace and Dragan Savic and Jake Bradshaw pitching in with the other two.
Hills Brumbies 4 (Kodai Hiyashi 2, Dragan Savic, Jake Bradshaw)
Bankstown Berries 1 (Dimitri Zakilas)
Mounties Wanderers v Fraser Park
Mounties claimed back to back victories courtesy of a hat-trick to the experienced Daniel Severino handing Steve Appleby’s outfit all three points.
Former Gold Coast United midfielder Daniel Severino opened the scoring in the first half before adding another two in the second stanza, taking his tally for the season to 4.
Wanderers climbed into fifth position after encouraging results of late but Fraser Park languish towards the bottom of the ladder with two wins from nine attempts.
Mounties Wanderers 3 (Daniel Severino 3)
Fraser Park 0
Mt Druitt Town Rangers v Northern Tigers
Mt Druitt’s difficult run continued, this time at the hands of Northern Tigers, who maintained the pace with the frontrunners via a 3-0 win at Popondetta Park on Saturday night.
A red card after just two minutes meant Rangers were left on the backfoot for the entire match and Tigers made them pay with one goal in the first and two in the second half to secure victory.
Mt Druitt Town Rangers 0
Northern Tigers 3
Parramatta FC v Sydney University
Parramatta head into the midweek Waratah Cup clash with South Coast Wolves full of confidence after claiming a 4-1 win over Sydney University on Sunday afternoon. The goals came from all over the park as Frank Martey, Wandi Jajaw, Joshua Symons and Mathew Clowes got their names on the scoresheet.
Peter Crevani grabbed his third goal of the season for Raul Blanco’s men, but it proved to be a mere consolation for University.
Parramatta FC 4 (Frank Martey, Wandi Jajaw, Joshua Symons and Mathew Clowes)
Sydney University 1 (Peter Crevani)
-By Mitchell Grima
