Mens State League 1 Finals Series Round 1 Review
Gladesville Ryde Magic’s run for the 2014 Championship has come to an end after a 2-0 loss at the hands of the surging Balmain Tigers.
Meanwhile Northbridge FC have booked a date with Premiers Hakoah next week after a high octane 2-0 victory over Granville Rage on Sunday afternoon.
Elimination Final
Gladesville Ryde Magic v Balmain Tigers
Balmain staved off elimination on Saturday night with a 2-0 victory over Gladesville Ryde Magic. Extra time goals to Joel Cook and Rosario Occhipinti sealed the victory for the Tigers after the match ended 0-0 in normal time.
A change of venue saw the game moved to Ron Dine Reserve, and Gladesville fielded an unchanged line up from last week, while the Tigers welcomed back central defender Josh Karpes from suspension. As was to be expected for an elimination game, the contest got off to a cautious start, with both teams feeling each other out in the opening stages of the game.
Balmain looked to get into their rhythm first as the minutes ticked on, with Domenic Arcella moving the ball side to side, while Gladesville keeper Kiriakos Tohouroglou repeatedly looked for a quick release to striker Andrew McKie, who looked to make a nuisance of himself in the forward line.
The first warning shot came from Balmain in the 12th minute when a Liam Cole cross from the left hand side found Rosario Occhipinti with a bit of space in the box, but the striker could only manage a soft header into the arms of Gladesville keeper Tohouroglou.
The game continued to be a tight affair with little given away, Balmain started to settle and look more comfortable on the ball, with full backs Gavin Wenyon and Denny Noor providing plenty width going forward. But no clear cut chances could be mustered from either side as both defences were on top, and Gladesville defender Alexander Morris did especially well to keep the always dangerous Occhipinti quiet up to this point.
Balmain winger Domenic Di Mento’s combination with Denny Noor was starting to stretch the Gladesville defence, and only some desperate defending in the 34th minute by the Gladesville backline prevented Domenic Di Mento from nipping in on goal.
Moments later the best chance of the half came Gladesville’s way when a long throw-in fell to Andrew McKie in the Balmain box, the striker faking a shot to beat two Balmain defenders, but his strike on goal was blasted over the bar as the score remained level.
Gladesville grew in confidence as the half came to a close and looked to finish the stronger team, with another chance falling to midfielder Chris Gaitatzis just before the break, but the score remained 0-0 as the referee blew for halftime.
The second half commenced and an early chance fell to Gladesville, with midfielder Benjamin Kerr’s left foot strike flashing just wide of the goal. Both sides looked to go forward with more numbers in the next stage of the game, and Balmain striker Occhipinti also saw his effort go just wide of goal after he managed to slip away from defender Morris in the box.
With neither side finding the breakthrough, both coaches turned to the bench for a spark. Balmain brought on Joel Cook in place of James Kiosidis and Gladesville introduced Majid Eslami for Stephen Speirs, and it was Eslami who nearly got on the scoresheet, the striker just failing to turn home a teasing cross from Lachlan Wright in the 65th minute.
Majid’s pace added another dimension to the Gladesville attack, with the lively forward combining well with Stephen Lloyd and McKie as the game remained on knifes edge. At the other end Jacob Di Mento looked to drive the Tigers forward, and a nice through ball from the Balmain captain in the 76th minute left Occhipinti in the clear, but his snap shot was well saved by Tohouroglou in the Gladesville goal.
Both teams dug deep as the minutes ticked away, and it looked like one goal would be enough for either side to snatch the victory. Balmain nearly got the breakthrough in the 81st minute when substitute Scott Tonkin cut the ball back to Karpes on the edge of the box, the defender letting fly with a swerving effort which had Tohouroglou beat but was only kept out by the top post.
Both teams were out on their feet, but the tense final minutes saw neither side able to find the back of the net, and after a hard fought and exhausting 90 minutes of action, the referee signalled full time as the match headed into extra time and another 30 minutes of play.
The first half of extra time saw an immediate breakthrough for Balmain, with Joel Cook finally breaking the deadlock and putting the Tigers in front only one minute after the restart. Midfielder Cook showed great pace and determination to get on the end of an Arcella through ball down the right hand side, and with keeper Tohouroglou sprinting out of goal to meet the ball, Cook cut inside the keeper and hit a great left foot strike from a difficult angle which squeezed into the back of the net.
The goal was a crushing blow to Gladesville, and the Tigers now had the Magic on the ropes as Jacob Di Mento nearly sealed the contest shortly after, but Tohouroglou just tipped his effort over the bar.
With their season slipping away, Gladesville showed all their fighting spirit and grit in the second half of extra time as they looked to hit back. A Chris Gaitatzis cross in the 110th minute found Eslami in the box, but the striker’s thumping header sailed high over the target.
Gladesville continued to go forward as Balmain sat back in their own half, and two minutes from time the Magic were desperately unlucky not to pull level after a long ball forward was headed by a Tigers defender back towards the Balmain goal, but only a miraculous save from Balmain keeper Lachlan Kerr kept the ball out, with his fingertips save forcing a corner. From the resulting corner Gladesville centre-back Morris had another chance, but his free header in the box was agonisingly wide of the target.
Moments later Balmain sealed the win when a Denny Noor tackle sent Tonkin away down the right hand side, Tonkin playing a delightful diagonal ball to Occhipinti, who took a touch inside the box and fired the ball into the net to make it 2-0 Balmain.
With that came the final whistle, much to the delight of the Balmain players and supporters.
It was a gut wrenching loss for Gladesville, whose season is now over, but the side played their hearts out for the entire game and certainly left nothing in the tank. Strong performances came from centre-back Alexander Morris, the veteran was a standout in the Gladesville defence and did a superb job man marking Balmain striker Occhipinti. Upfront Andrew McKie provided a great outlet for the Magic all afternoon, with the striker holding up the ball well and always being involved in Gladesville’s most promising moves.
Stand in Gladesville coach Yannis Sievas reflected on the loss, “It was an improvement from last week, we came back and we had our chances, but if you don’t take your chances the other team will score. All in all, we had a good season, a couple of games at the end cost us, but that’s football. I’m very proud of the boys effort and we will start again for next season”.
For Balmain the victory means they keep their season alive and move into next week’s semi-finals. Best on ground was Jacob Di Mento, who drove the team forward all afternoon with his energy and pinpoint passing from the centre of the park, the captain looked to get involved at every opportunity and really stood up when the game was on the line. Right back Denny Noor was strong in the tackle and was unpassable down his wing for the entire match, while Josh Karpes proved just how valuable he is to the side with a commanding performance in the heart of the defence.
Balmain Coach Joe Di Guilio was pleased with his troops, “It was a very close game. It was a different Gladesville to the week before and we knew that would be the case, they played well and had their chances. But I thought we also played well, we had a game plan and the boys stuck to it down to a tee. I’m very proud of the boys and now we’ll look forward to next week”.
Match Stats
Gladesville Ryde Magic 0
Balmain Tigers 2 (J.Cook 92’, R.Occhipinti 119’)
Saturday, 30th of August 2014
Ron Dine Reserve, Camden
Referee: Jerry Bitas
Assistant Referees: John Lalic, Jack Bell
Gladesville Ryde Magic: 5. Alexander Morris, 33. K Tohouroglou, 6. C Gaitatzis, 16.Andrew Mckie (7.Cameron Madden 85’) 15.Stephen Lloyd (9.Wool Reec 98’), 10. Lachlan Wright, 4. Samuel Alexander Powell 12. Stephen Speirs (Majid Eslami 62’), 8.John Martinez 2. Brett Townley-Jones 13.Benjamin Kerr
Substitutes Not Used: 3.Timothy Woodhouse, 1. Andrew Guirgis
Yellow Cards: S.Speirs
Red Cards: Nil
Balmain Tigers: 21.Gavin Wenyon, 27. Domenic Di Mento (11.W Donato 101’), 10.Jacob Di Mento, 17.Liam Cole, 29.Valentin Broehl (9.S Tonkin 65’), 6.Danny Noor, 14.Lachlan Kerr, 7.Rosario Occhipinti, 23.Dominic Arcella, 19.James Kiosidis (8.Joel Cook 55’), 16.Josh Karpes
Substitutes Not Used: 114. Martin Kerr, 25.Yaw Billy
Yellow Cards: S.Tonkin, J.Cook, D.Arcella, R.Occhipinti
Red Cards: Nil
Qualifying Final
Northbridge FC v Granville Rage
Northbridge flexed their muscles on Sunday afternoon with a 2-0 victory over Granville Rage at Arlington Oval, with two second half goals to Mitchell Lensink and Marquin Smith enough for Northbridge to see off a spirited Granville outfit.
The game started at a real fast pace as both teams went on the attack right from the get go. An early chance for Northbridge saw defender Jay Wynter go close, but his headed effort sailed just wide of the target.
Northbridge striker Ry Hardy then forced a fine save from Granville keeper Carl McMahon, while at the other end Granville Rage striker Nenos Bobo used his pace and trickery to keep the Northbridge defence on its toes.
A free kick by David Harding provided Granville striker Almir Dizdaric with a chance on goal, but the striker failed to find the target with his leaping header.
The second half saw Granville put some early pressure on the Northbridge goal as Dizdaric and Bobo looked for an opening. However it was captain David Harding who had the best chance to open the scoring after a cross from Alessandro Pecora led to Harding striking a low shot to the bottom corner, but Northbridge keeper Anthony Zecchinati was up to the task and made a great save to keep the scores level.
The end to end action continued and Northbridge broke the game open in the 67th minute when the Granville defence failed to clear a Northbridge corner, resulting in Mitchell Lensink blasting home a left foot strike to put the Bridge up 1-0.
Another set piece led to Northbridge’s second goal in the 75th minute, with Mitch Lensink hitting a free kick that was too hot to handle for Granville keeper McMahon, and Marquin Smith was on hand to smash home the rebound and put Northbridge up 2-0.
Granville threw men forward in search of a way back into the game as Northbridge looked for a third on the counter attack, but despite half chances for both sides the final score remained 2-0 in favour of Northbridge at the final whistle
The win sees Northbridge now move on to next week’s Major Semi Final against Premiers Hakoah Sydney City East FC, while Granville will need to bounce back quickly from the loss as they face Balmain Tigers in next week’s elimination Semi-Final.
Northbridge FC 2 (M.Lensink 67’, M.Smith 75’) Granville Rage 0
– By Diego Munoz
