Parramatta FC score valuable victory over Sharks
Early goals from Joshua Symons and Marco Sama set up a valuable 3-1 victory for Parramatta against Sutherland Sharks in their PlayStation®4 NPL NSW Men’s Round 16 clash at Melita Stadium.
Sutherland trailed by two goals at the break thanks to the quick-fire double from the Parramatta duo but halved the deficit immediately through Tomihiro Kajiyama’s spot-kick after Eagles defender Ibrahim Haydar was pulled up for a foul inside the box.
However any hopes of a comeback were quelled immediately by the impressive Sama who claimed his second shortly after the Japanese playmaker had pulled one back for the visitors.
The two finals outsiders clashed on a chilly Sunday afternoon hoping to further their finals credentials but Franco Consentino’s side emerged with all the plaudits once more after backing up last weekend’s upset defeat of Blacktown City with another impressive showing at home.
It was a game that the Eagles seized control of from the first minute and despite sporadic flashes of attacking endeavour from the visitors Parramatta never truly looked like letting their position of superiority slip.
Their two-goal cushion was established after an enterprising opening in which the hosts found the back of the net twice in the first twenty minutes.
Symons evaded Sutherland’s flimsy set-piece marking from Ante Tomic’s early corner to steer the ball past Nathan Denham on the volley.
The goal sent Sutherland on the back foot and Marco Sama doubled the advantage soon after, tricking his way into the box before sweeping a delicate finish past Denham and in off the inside of the post.
Sutherland were unable to muster any pressure on the Parramatta goal in the first half but found themselves back into the contest inside the opening seconds of the second half when Tomihiro Kajiyama scored from the penalty spot.
But Parramatta restored their two goal advantage as quickly as they had surrendered it when Ante Tomic outfoxed the Sutherland defence out wide before squaring to an unmarked Marco Sama who gleefully tapped home unmarked at the back post for his second of the match.
Parramatta coach Franco Consentino praised his side for securing important back to back victories after the match.
“After staying up last season we are all working on getting this club to where it’s meant to be and we have to take it on a game by game basis.
“It was great to get back to back wins especially after last week’s performance but we’re not thinking about finals yet.”
Match Stats
Parramatta 3 (Symons 12’, Sama 19’, 52’)
Sutherland Sharks 1 (Kajiyama 46’)
Sunday 26th June, 2016
Melita Stadium, Sefton
Parramatta: 17. Joshua GERSBACH, 6. Daniel GULLO, 7. David GULLO, 8. Daniel REZO (2. Ryan JOHNSTONE 84’), 9. Gosue SAMA (18. Tom MALLET 90+2), 10. Marco SAMA (3. Blake RICHARDS 90’), 4. Joshua SYMONDS, 23. Aram TAYEBI DERAZKALA, 11. Ante TOMIC, 1. Luke TURNBULL, 20. Ibrahim HAYDAR
Substitutes Not Used: 40. Jayden DIACONO, 12. Paul KATSETIS
Yellow Cards: 20. Ibrahim HAYDAR 46’
Red Cards: N/A
Sutherland Sharks: 10. Joshua DA SILVA, 1. Nathan DENHAM, 20. Mitchell FARMER, 9. Jordan FIGON, 19. Callum FITZPATRICK (16. Laureano GOMEZ CASTRO 78’), 35. Tomohiro KAJIYAA, 4. Stephen KAYES (15. Perry MOUSTAKAS 73’), 5. Nicholas LITTLER, 8. Christopher MCSTAY, 7. Jack PRESS (6. Matthew GORDON 57’), 12. Lukas STERGIOU
Substitutes Not Used: 21. Nikolas LOE, 3. Takuya MURAYAMA
Yellow Cards: 20. Mitchell FARMER 78’
Red Cards: N/A
-By PlayStation®4 National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s reporter Jacob Windon
