Men’s State League 1 Preliminary Final Review
Hills Brumbies booked their place in this weekend’s Men’s State League 1 Grand Final with a ruthless 4-1 win against Balmain Tigers at Valentine Sports Park.
Following their heroics against Rydalmere – Balmain Tigers flew out of the gate that peppered Brumbies custodian Jackson Franich but he stood tall.
Domenico Di Mento continued where he left off, shaking off his injury to provide the pass for Joel Cook, who had two golden chances in as many minutes but couldn’t get past Franich.
Brumbies had withstood the onslaught from the vibrant Tigers and struck a telling blow themselves.
Brendan Hoyer with the mazy run down the left into the box before he dinked it over Anthony Costa for 1-nil.
Costa once again was called to action in the 17th minute when he sprung to deny Christopher Bedzo after he got one-on-one.
Balmain Tigers have been fine creating chances this season but they have struggled finishing – Tom Hyde wasn’t able to hook his effort goalwards which allowed Hills Brumbies to break. Glen Kelshaw tapped it to Liam Lawler for 2-nil.
The floodgates had opened for the Brumbies and in the 27th minute it was promptly 3-nil. A long ball from the midfield dropped right at Bedzo’s feet and he finished expertly leaving Costa stranded.
Despite being 3-nil down – the Tigers continued to try to claw one back as Di Mento’s desperation to keep the ball in, gave Irish striker Jonathan Gowdy a chance but it fell safely to Franich again.
Joe Di Giulo responded to the poor first half and rung the changes at the break. Super substitute Scott Tonkin and lively winger Ahmed Chandab were thrown on to try and rescue the game.
The change almost worked as the Tigers created an opening but the header flew over the bar again. They were once again punished for their wastefulness.
Three of the main players for Hills Brumbies were involved as Bruno Pivato and Christopher Bedzo worked the ball around the box before Gregory Giovenali side-footed home for a ruthless 4-nil scoreline.
After the fourth goal the game was over as a contest but Balmain continued to chase a consolation goal as Giacomo Di Mento thrashed a volley wide from a Tonkin flick on.
Tonkin provided some spark for the Tigers after coming on – almost profited from a defensive mistake in the 74th minute but the ball evaded the net to sum up the day for the FFA Cup round of 32participants.
He would get a consolation late on Tonkin when he burst into the box and produced a lovely finish to get Balmain Tigers on the scoresheet.
Hills Brumbies saw out the final few minutes for an emphatic and passionate 4-1 win. They celebrated with the team song on the field but now, face the task of taking on North Shore Mariners in the Grand Final.
A devastated Joe Di Giulio once again rued the Tigers missing chances.
“We talked about it so much this week about taking our chances but we missed, they caught us on the counter,”
“It was a great season for the club and the boys. We will be back next season.” Added the Balmain Tigers boss.
Hills Brumbies coach Joe Giovenali praised his side for sticking to their game plan.
“We offered them chances because we relaxed again. Once we kept the ball and pushed forwards that’s when we made in-roads and scored goals,”
“We are now looking forward to playing in the grand final next week.” Added Giovenali.
MATCH STATS
Hills Brumbies 4 (Hoyer ’15, Lawler ’24, Bedzo ’27 and Giovenali ’53)
Balmain Tigers 1 (Tonkin ’85)
Hills Brumbies: Faulkner, Brandon (Robertson ’68), Pivato(Pace ’77), Lawler, Bedzo, Giovenali (Lane ’71), Hoyer, Kelshaw, Franich, McCracken and Savetta
Subs not used: Clark and Morrow
Balmain Tigers: Hyde, Cook (Tonkin ’45), Muir, Gowdy (Chandab ’45), Casali, G. Di Mento, D. Di Mento (Donato ’58), Wenyon, Karpes, Costa and Loke
Subs not used: Kiosidis and Broehl
-By Justin Davies, Men’s State League 1 reporter
