Mens State League 1 Round 15 Review
Round 15 action saw Hakoah regain their stranglehold on top spot as a slip up by Northbridge sees Hakoah’s lead increase to five points.
At the other end of the ladder Camden Tigers claimed their maiden win of the season.
Dulwich Hill FC v Granville Rage
Dulwich Hill claimed a 2-1 victory over Granville Rage in a storming encounter on Saturday afternoon. In a high pressure game, both teams finished with 10 men as Dulwich Hill held off a fast finishing Granville Rage.
With both teams missing a few first team regulars, the opening exchanges were fairly even as both midfields looked to assert themselves. Rage striker Almir Dizdaric showed his threat immediately by getting on the end of long balls in his direction and providing an outlet for his side.
After a cagey opening, the game came into life in the 15th minute with Dulwich Hill opening the scoring from the penalty spot. A loose back pass by the Rage defence saw Dully striker Aaron Cordova intercept and dribble into the box before being brought down by goal keeper Carl Mcmahon, with midfielder Adam Johnston stepping up and converting the spot kick with a well-placed shot to put Dulwich Hill up 1-0.
Rage looked for a quick reply and half chances fell to Dizdaric and Pecora, but the Dulwich Hill defence held firm.
As the minutes ticked away the game picked up in intensity but Rage still weren’t able to get any fluidity into their attack, with the final ball letting the side down and crosses from wide areas not hitting their mark. Dulwich Hill for their part looked sharper in the centre of the field, with Adam Johnston and Nicholas Mouzourakis bossing the side across the park.
Some nice work down the right hand side by Anthony lazarou led to Dulwich Hill doubling their advantage in the 33rd minute. The play started with the right back charging down the wing before delivering a precision cross in behind the Granville defence, and the cross was met at the front post and turned into the goal by Mark Pinto as Dulwich Hill took a commanding 2-0 lead.
With half time approaching striker Nenos Bobo tried to spark Granville into life, but despite continually beating his direct defender, the Dulwich Hill defence was able to snuff out any danger by getting numbers in the tackle.
The second half commenced and it was a more urgent Granville Rage who took the pitch, with two chances inside the first minute for Almir Dizdaric signalling their intentions. The strikers first shot was well saved by Dulwich Hill keeper Matthew Kasbarian and then from the resulting corner Dizdaric saw his thumping header flash over the crossbar.
A major flash point of the game then took place moments later when a hard tackle led to a fiery coming together between Rage defender Manut Yel and Dulwich Hill striker Aaron Cordova, with the incident seeing the referee produce red cards to both players.
After play resumed Nenos Bobo was then able to find a yard of space inside the Dulwich Hill box, but the striker couldn’t connect properly and his shot went straight into the arms of the keeper.
With both teams now down to ten men the game turned into a more open affair with the teams having more space to work with, but the next few minutes saw sustained attacking pressure by the Rage on the Dully goal as they looked for an opening.
The pressure finally told in the 75th minute as Granville got themselves back in the game when David Harding pulled a goal back to set up a tense finish. The captain initially saw his header crash off the crossbar, but his persistence payed off when he was first to react to the rebound and was able to poke the ball into the back of the net to make the score 2-1.
With their backs to the wall Dulwich hill struggled to maintain possession as Rage threw numbers forward, and a corner in the 82nd minute nearly saw the Rage draw level when a Nenos Bobo header was cleared of the line by the Dulwich Hill defence.
Bobo was at it again moments later after a delightful ball by Dizdaric sent the striker in on goal, but his left foot shot was just wide as it flashed across the face of the goal.
With little time left Granville were denied once again with two good chances back to back going ever so close to locking up the scores. First a good ball into the box by substitute Ahmed Chandab was met on the half volley by David Harding, but a great reaction save from Kasbarian saw the ball turned away for a corner, then from the resulting corner Almir Dizdaric was denied by the woodwork with his powerful header crashing off the cross bar.
A Dulwich Hill counter attack saw second half substitute Adam Rowntree have the chance to seal the game, but his shot from the edge of the box went straight into the arms of Rage keeper McMahon and soon after the referee blew full time as Dulwich Hill held on for a vital 3 points.
Best on ground for Dulwich Hill included goalkeeper Matthew Kasbarian, who made a string of fine saves throughout the game and really stood tall in the second half to keep Granville at bay. Centre back Sam Cornish was also a standout in the heart of the Dulwich Hill defence by making covering tackles all afternoon and showing good composure when his side was put under pressure, whilst Adam Johnston had a strong game in the centre of the park as he continually looked for the ball all afternoon and found plenty of space for his team by moving the ball to the open flanks.
Dulwich Hill Coach Norman Tome was pleased with the result, “It’s a confidence win for us, we’ve played well the last few weeks without picking up 3 points so it’s a good win for the boys”.
For Granville Rage, Captain David Harding was the engine of the midfield and became more influential as they game wore on, with solid distribution and dangerous runs into the opposing box. Upfront striker Almir Dizdaric was a handful all afternoon, creating problems with his aerial play as well as his smart positional sense and movement. Nenos bobo also had a strong performance with his pace and silky footwork nearly breaking the game open on numerous occasions.
Match Stats
Dulwich Hill 2
Granville Rage 1
Saturday, 5th of July, 2014
Garside Park, Granville
Referee: J Lalic
Assistant Referees: L Villarroel, R Warry
Dulwich Hill FC: 11.Mark Pinto(3.James Villazon) , 12.Aaron Cordova, 4.Sam Cornish, , 6.Adam Johnston, 1.Matthew Kasbarian, 16.Anthony Lazarou, 2.Jacob Maruca, 17.Anthony Dahdah, 35.Nicholas Mouzourakis 41. David Von Dinklage(15.Malik Bellouch) 10.Carlos Villazon(18.Adam Rowntree)
Substitutes Not Used: 22.Costa D’Addona, 8.Pedro Campos
Yellow Cards: S.Cornish, 35.N Mouzourakis,
Red Cards: Aaron Cordova
Granville Rage: 1.Carl McMahon, 4.Cristian Bottalico, 8.Daniel Bortoloazzo (10.Kushaba Kushaba) 15. Joshua Mesiti(3.R Smahel), 12.Daniel Vukovic, 17.Manut Yel, 24.Alessandro Pecora (9. Ahmed Chandab), 19. Almir Dizdaric, 5.Mitchell Luc, 7.David Harding, 11.Nenos Bobo
Substitutes Not Used: 18.Kurdvan Abduljabbar, 21.Adam Green,
Yellow Cards: C. Mcmahon, D.Vukovic
Red Cards: Manut Yel
Western NSW Mariners FC v Hawkesbury FC
Western NSW Mariners and Hawkesbury City played out a 1-1 draw on Saturday night at Glen Willow Stadium.
Hawkesbury struck first to take a 1-0 lead, but the Mariners pushed right until the end and got an equalising goal in the 88th minute when a great ball from Chris New-Tolley led to a Adam Scimone cross to Ricky Guihot, who slotted the ball into the bottom left corner to make it 1-1.
Western NSW Mariners FC 1 (R.Guihot) Hawkesbury City 1 (TBA)
Stanmore Hawks v Gladesville Ryde Magic
Gladesville defeated Stanmore Hawks 2-1 on Saturday night.
Chris Gaitatzis opened the scoring for the away side as Gladesville took a 1-0 into half time.
Stanmore answered back early in the second half with in form striker Neil Philippou levelling the scores, but Gladesville grabbed the all important winning goal when Majid Esalmi got on the scoresheet with 15 minutes to go.
Stanmore Hawks 1 (N.Philippou) Gladesville Ryde Magic 2 (C.Gaitatzis, M.Eslami)
Camden Tigers v Nepean FC
Camden Tigers battled to their first win of the season with a 2-1 victory over Nepean FC on Saturday night.
The Tigers struck first with Grant Mackechnie opening the scoring for the home side after 25 minutes, but a long range special from Nepean striker Jason Browne levelled the scores before half time.
The game winner arrived in the second half with Daniel Semaan converting a penalty late in the game.
Camden Tigers 2 (D.Semaan, G.Mackechnie) Nepean FC 1 (J.Browne)
Northbridge FC v Balmain Tigers FC
A thrilling 4-4 draw took place on Sunday afternoon at Northbridge Oval.
Balmain hit the front with Valentin Broehl opening the scoring, but Michael Cole equalised for Northbridge after converting a penalty kick.
The second half saw a flurry of goals as Jacob Di Mento put the Tigers back in front, before another Michael Cole penalty levelled the scores again. Goals to Jacob Di Mento and Domenic Di Mento put the Tigers up 4-2, but Northbridge struck back with a left foot strike from Mitchell Lensink getting Northbridge within a goal. With not long to go Michael Cole ensured Northbridge claimed a point with his third penalty of the game leaving the score at 4-4.
Northbridge FC 4 (M.Cole x3, M.Lensink) Balmain Tigers FC 4 (V.Broehl, J.Di Mento x2, D.Di Mento)
Inter Lions v Hakoah Sydney City East FC
Hakoah put on another vintage display with an emphatic 6-1 victory over Inter Lions on Sunday night.
The win sees Hakoah maintain their position on top of the ladder while Inters push for finals football suffered a setback.
-By Diego Munoz
