Blacktown City win Grade 20s Final in thriller

Blacktown City FC beat Marconi 3-2 in the PS4 National Premier Leagues NSW grade 20s grand final at Leichhardt Oval on Sunday afternoon, consolidating their Premiership title with a Championship to end the 2015 season on a high.

Blacktown raced out to a 2-0 lead in the first half before Marconi pegged them back to 2-2 in the second, but a late goal from Jonathan Grozdanovski sealed the victory for the side that finished top of the table during the regular season.

The Premiers were stamp their mark on the final early, and Marconi goalkeeper Kristian Sekutkoski nearly gifted Jonathan Grozdanovski a tap-in after just two minutes when he stumbled on the ball while looking to clear upfield, the keeper just managing to squeeze the ball out of danger under heavy pressure from the Blacktown City captain.

Aside from Sekutkoski’s close call, Blacktown struggled to make the post of their early possession, with play breaking down in the final third as Juan Zapata and Robert Perre looked to feed Grozdanovski through the middle.

Yet just as Marconi appeared to be finding their feet in the game, Zapata picked up the ball on the right wing and dropped a shoulder to cut inside the left back, before drifting along the top of the box and sweeping a curling shot across Sekutkoski and into the far corner of the net, giving Blacktown City a 1-0 lead in the 13th minute.

Before Marconi could settle and work towards an equaliser, Blacktown City had the ball in the back of the net again: Sam Perre chased a ball down as it rolled into the penalty area and poked it under Sekutkoski to double his side’s lead. Marconi, stunned after conceding twice in as many minutes, could only trudge back to the halfway line and start again.

Ryan Peterson provided a focal point for the Marconi attack, and the striker almost pulled one back with a free kick after Adrian Hadjisocratous hauled him down at the top of the box, but Tristian Prendergast stretched high to tip the ball over the bar for a corner which ultimately came to nothing.

Marconi continued to press for a goal before halftime, and should’ve halved the deficit when Callum Fitzpatrick met a cross from the left at the edge of the six yard box, but his first-time volley was improbably saved by Prendergast, who appeared to know little about Fitzpatrick’s effort but was nonetheless congratulated by his teammates for stopping an otherwise certain goal.

The Stallions started the second half with a purpose that had abandoned them early in the first, immediately putting Prendergast under pressure with a few looping balls into the box from the left flank, but the goalkeeper was confident under the high ball, claiming crosses outright rather than punching clear as he had in the first period.

A substitute at the break, Bright Appiah looked to make a quick impact down the left side, and swung an enticing ball onto the penalty spot for Sebastian Malfara to swipe under the goalkeeper, but the winger mistimed his shot and Prendergast did well do smother the ball as it spun loose in the six yard box.

Marconi continued to pour forward, and Jack Press had a golden chance to make it 2-1 as the ball ran clear into the penalty box in front of him, but he delayed his shot and allowed Eoin Montford to scramble across to make a crucial tackle. The Stallions eventually made their pressure pay: Peterson hung a cross up for Press at the near post, who flicked a header on towards Noah Chianese in the centre, the midfielder making no mistake with his volleyed shot from point blank range to pull a goal back for his side in the 67th minute.

Just as Blacktown City had scored twice in quick succession in the first half, Marconi followed suit in the second, and equalised in the 69th minute when Montford gave away a penalty for a clumsy foul on Jack Press in the corner of the box. Ryan Peterson stepped up and rolled a confident penalty down the middle of the goal, shoring up the scoreline at 2-2 and setting up a grandstand finish.

Chianese had a chance to complete the turnaround shortly afterwards as the ball bounced kindly for him at the top of the box, but he hit too far under his attemped looping volley and sent his shot sailing over the crossbar.

Rather than allow themselves to be rattled by Marconi’s equaliser, Blacktown refused to let the match roll on into extra time, and in the 85th minute Jonathan Grozdanovski grabbed what would turn out to be the winner: carrying the ball from the centre towards the right side of the box, he shot three times as Sekutkoski blocked at close range, the third attempt squeezing in at the near post to send the Blacktown bench into raptures on the sideline. 

Lahai Tengbeh might have made it 4-2 as the match approached the final whistle after receiving the ball from Mario Shabow in space on the left, but he dragged his shot wide of the near post when it might’ve seemed easier to put the ball on target. Either way, his miss was rendered inconsequential by the referee’s whistle just minutes later; Blacktown City riding out a late push from the Stallions to take out the Championship.

Blacktown City coach John Carnevale reflected on a tight match, and a hugely successful season for the club.

"I’m ecstatic for the boys," he said.

"We’ve put the icing on the cake this year by winning the Championship.

"After a decent first 20 minutes we stopped playing, and they came out hard in the second half with nothing to lose. Credit to Marconi, to Nick Dimovski and all their players, for making it interesting in the second half – the pleasing thing for us is that we regained our composure with 15 minutes to go, and grab a goal to win it."

Marconi’s Nick Dimovski was left disappointed by his side’s slow start, but was proud of their efforts in equalising at 2-2.

"They scored two quality goals – fantastic finishes. We made a few changes at half time which brought us back into the game, and I thought we won the second half.

"When you come back into the game and concede a scrappy goal right at the end like we did, it’s a hard pill to swallow. But these boys have been outstanding all year, and we pushed Blacktown all the way here. They’ve shown great character throughout the season, and I’m very proud to be their coach."

Match Stats

Blacktown City FC 3 (Zapata 13′, S. Perre 15′ Grozdanovski 85′)

Marconi Stallions FC 2 (Chianese 67′, Peterson 69′)

Sunday September 13, 2015

Leichhardt Oval

Blacktown City FC: Beumie, Flottmann, Grozdanovski, Hadjisocratous, Montford, S. Perre, R. Perre, Prendergast, Timotheou, Zapata, Rodic

Subs: Dimitriadis, Figueira, Shabow, Tengbeh, Elkhaldi

Marconi Stallions FC: Brown, De Marigny, Donatiello, Fabiano, Fitzpatrick, Peterson, Press, Schmidt, Sekutkoski, Stewart, Vella

Subs: Chianese, Appiah, Andricopolous, Roebuck, Malfara

– by Max Grieve, PS4 National Premier Leagues Grade 20s Reporter